One of Us Is Next: The Sequel to One of Us Is Lying

Written by Karen M. McManus

Narrated by Maria Liatis, Holly Linneman, Fred Berman and Karissa Vacker

The highly anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestselling thriller everyone is talking about, One of Us Is Lying! There's a new mystery to solve at Bayview High, and there's a whole new set of rules.

Come on, Bayview, you know you've missed this.

A ton of copycat gossip apps have popped up since Simon died, but in the year since the Bayview four were cleared of his shocking death, no one's been able to fill the gossip void quite like he could. The problem is no one has the facts. 

Until now. 

This time it's not an app, though—it's a game. 

Truth or Dare.

Phoebe's the first target. If you choose not to play, it's a truth. And hers is dark. 

Then comes Maeve and she should know better—always choose the dare. 

But by the time Knox is about to be tagged, things have gotten dangerous. The dares have become deadly, and if Maeve learned anything from Bronwyn last year, it's that they can't count on the police for help. Or protection.

Simon's gone, but someone's determined to keep his legacy at Bayview High alive. And this time, there's a whole new set of rules.

And don't miss Two Can Keep a Secret, Karen's third "must-read YA thriller" (Bustle)! 


Cast of Audiobook Narrators:
Holly Linneman as PHOEBE
Maria Liatis as MAEVE
Fred Berman as KNOX
Karissa Vacker as THE NARRATOR


Praise for One of Us Is Lying:

“Pretty Little Liars meets The Breakfast Club....so make room for One of Us Is Lying in your bags, because this is one carry-on you won’t want to put down." —EW.com

“You’ll tear through this juicy, super-fun (if murder can ever be fun?) thriller."—Bustle.com

"A whodunit with a Breakfast Club twist...following four unique voices on a chase to find the killer, this one will keep you guessing until the very, very end."—Popcrush

"Twisty plotting, breakneck pacing and intriguing characterisation add up to an exciting, single-sitting thrillerish treat."—The Guardian

"This is no ordinary whodunit…surprising and relevant."—USA Today

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
• Release date: Jan 7, 2020
• ISBN: 9781984842107

Karen M. McManus

Karen M. McManus estudió la carrera de Lengua Inglesa en el College of the Holy Cross y cursó un máster de periodismo en la Northeastern University. Cuando no trabaja ni escribe en Cambridge, Massachusetts, le gusta viajar con su hijo. Alguien está mintiendo es su primera novela.

Reviews for One of Us Is Next

[bellac89 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

DNF will not continue reading this series. BOOK 1 Was such a disappointment too...

[bookconcierge · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Digital audiobook performed by Maria Liatis, Holly Linneman, Fred Berman and Karissa Vacker.
2.5**

This is a sequel to the immensely popular One of Us is Lying. I understand the pressure, especially in the YA market, to produce series, especially when you have a hit with the first effort. But I think the author should have quit when she was ahead.

It’s a year after the events of the first book and those students have moved on to college or careers. But social media needs to fill the gossip void and all sorts of copy-cat apps have appeared in the meantime. Simon may be long gone, but someone seems determined to keep his legacy alive. And this time it’s a challenge game: Truth or Dare.

If you refuse the dare some “truth” about you will be revealed, and after the first student is targeted and her dark secret is revealed, everyone quickly decides that the best way to deal with whoever is running the game is to take the dare. And then the game turns deadly.

I really did not like this sequel. I was never invested in the kids and thought the plot was manipulative (although, that was probably the point). Just way too much drama for drama’s sake, in my opinion.

The ending leads me to believe a further sequel might be in the works. If so, I won’t bother to read it.

The audiobook was performed by four talented voice artists, which helped in determining which of the characters was narrating.

[dara85 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Bayview High group Knox, Maeve, Phoebe and Luis are out to find out how a student died under strange circumstances. Was it part of the Truth or Dare game or was it murder? The group of students follow the clues. The ending is not what you suspect, and ending was cleverly done.

[Diegomiguel08 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In my opinion, Blood Ties is not a bad book. I think the theme is very good but that it could have been approached differently. I thought it was going to be different; I thought they would have to discover clues to find out why their grandmother disinherited them (as happens in the trilogy of An Inheritance at Stake), but it wasn't like that. Furthermore, I really like how the story is told, with different points of view, but I think there are too many characters, and it's very, very confusing. (Translated from Spanish)

[familiar_diversions · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Just in case it isn't obvious, you shouldn't read this book, or even this review, unless you're comfortable with the possibility of getting major spoilers for the first book in the series, One of Us Is Lying. You've been warned.

It's been a year since the events of the first book, and although Simon copycats have occasionally popped up, none of them have stuck around for long - it's hard to be as devious as Simon was, and as well-informed about everyone's secrets. When Bayview High students suddenly get texts from yet another Simon copycat telling them that they're going to be playing Truth or Dare, everyone figures it'll fizzle out like the other times. The anonymous texter picks Phoebe as their first victim, and she ignores them...only for one of her most hurtful secrets to be revealed to everyone when she misses the deadline to play along.

Who is this person, and what's their goal? Those questions are on everyone's minds as the game goes from hurtful and/or dangerous to deadly.

It's been a couple years since I read the first book, but there were enough details in this one to remind me of what happened and the basics of who all the returning characters were. A lot of familiar faces (the Bayview Four, Luis, Eli, etc.) made appearances and had varying levels of involvement in the story, but the POV characters, this time around, were Maeve (Bronwyn's younger sister), Knox (Maeve's best friend, and currently an intern at Unproven), and Phoebe (works as a waitress at Luis's family's restaurant).

Although the setup for this book wasn't as intriguing as the first one, I liked the new POV characters well enough. Maeve was the relatively familiar core - readers already knew a bit about her, her past struggles with leukemia, and her actions in the first book. She spends a large chunk of the book secretly worried that she's having a cancer relapse (I worried right along with her every time she got another nosebleed), but it's later revealed that she's still cancer-free. Knox was probably the least interesting of the three POV characters, but he was still a decent guy I could root for, and I ended up liking Phoebe a lot more than I initially thought I would.

Bronwyn and Nate continued to be kind of exhausting - it would have been weird not to have any updates about them and their relationship, but I was much less interested in them than I was in the POV characters' potential romances. That's one thing I definitely liked about this book more than the first one - the romantic subplots. They developed nicely and didn't feel overdone in the face of everything else going on in the story.

I guessed one of the book's big revelations well before the end, and certainly well before the other characters, although there were still aspects that surprised me. I didn't see that final piece coming at all, and I'm doubtful that the decisions certain characters made about it would hold up well if the story had continued any further.

As usual, McManus delivers a decent but not stellar YA mystery/thriller.

Extras:

Includes a book discussion guide and an interview with the author.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

[danielle.desrochers · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked this book less than I thought I would.

The first one appealed to the gossip-minded, drama queen, teenager in me and brought me so much nostalgia. I loved the characters and I really wanted them to succeed.
In this book I also loved the characters, but the plot was a bit predictable (though there was one twist I did not see coming) but some of the conversations between characters was a little unrealistic and a bit forced.
I think I’m being too hard on this book. I’m giving it 3.5 out of 5.

[PascualAlfahuir · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I expected more, I don't know. Maybe I had my expectations too high. (Translated from Spanish)

[Alaska18 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I admit I didn’t have much enthusiasm for reading it; it crossed my mind that it would be the typical story of mystery or revenge, the basics. But the more I read, the more I fell in love with the characters; I felt more anger, more sadness, and I identified with them.
It’s a powerful reading, complete, well-timed; you won’t like having to stop to do another activity. The characters are so well developed, so detailed that the imagination soars...
It’s a read that can make you reflect, see more, be more detail-oriented, and understand that the world is vast, but we are not the only ones with problems; we should help each other, not humiliate one another. (Translated from Spanish)

[mrsgrindelwald · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really liked it, I have a special fondness for this trilogy because its first book saved me from the severe reading blockage I was experiencing, I really liked the new characters and I must admit that I felt anxious for Maeve. I also really liked that the couple of Nate and Browlyn continued, it was a bit of what I expected to read in this book. (Translated from Spanish)

[linaswriting · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Long live young adult and mystery books ?
This book came to save my December after spending ✨months without being able to finish reading anything.✨

This is the second part of “Someone Is Lying,” but we have different protagonists. A little over a year after the events of the first book, these events occur where a mysterious person begins to stalk Bayview students with a game of truth or dare. Those who are selected have 24 hours to choose whether they prefer a challenge or for a truth about themselves to be revealed.

I feel like the author develops the characters very well, giving them depth and making them interesting. For me, this story went beyond the game; I wanted to know what was going on with the other details, and the fact that the author could create that seems super amazing to me.

When the mystery of who is behind it all begins to unfold, I was somewhat disappointed because I expected more BUT I didn’t count on that final chapter and the author leaving the resolution of everything up to my thoughts. Just for this reason, the book rose in my ranking of favorites of the year. ? (Translated from Spanish)

[CarolForero · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah, a trio of cousins who are unexpectedly summoned by their grandmother to spend the summer at her resort after she stopped talking to their parents 25 years ago. After years without seeing each other and being basically strangers, they become embroiled in the mystery surrounding their family, joining forces to unravel all the unresolved issues from when their parents were teenagers.

It was okay; I wouldn’t say it’s the best book by the author. It’s entertaining and easy to read. The story suffers from trying to be darker than it really is, which can be somewhat disappointing in the end, although the direction the mystery takes throughout the book is well-constructed. On the other hand, I personally enjoy books that tell the story through various perspectives, but in this case, I feel that, despite reading each cousin's point of view, it felt as if there was really only one narrator; at times, I even had to go back and check which cousin was narrating.

In conclusion, it's a book to pass the time; it's light despite being a mystery book and has a bit of romance as well. But if what you're looking for is a story that keeps you doubting and theorizing, this is not the right book. (Translated from Spanish)

[Brencx · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

So far, it has been the one I liked the least by this author. (Translated from Spanish)

[CJaraB · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The way of narrating didn't make me feel intrigue or strong emotions. The relationship that develops between the two characters doesn't make sense, or the book didn't convey it to me, but while reading, I just kept thinking, "But why?" It's easy to read, and I think that's why I finished it, because the book itself didn't motivate me to keep going since everything was predictable and deducible. (Translated from Spanish)

[Pipi0610 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

very good, for a moment I expected part of the ending but I was absolutely surprised by everything (Translated from Spanish)

[ValeriaAviles♡ · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved it!
The ending definitely blew my mind ?
Going hand in hand with these three cousins who really don't know each other to their grandmother's house that they have never seen and who disinherited their parents... The more they get to know each other and the days go by, the more strange things happen in that family, and with the grandmother...
I was hooked ? (Translated from Spanish)

[SilviaSR106 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I find it a very interesting story, something different, how it addresses various themes, the mystery of the story, just that I noticed a small error in the synchronization of the dates when the narrator changes, but apart from that, I liked the story. (Translated from Spanish)

[JuniorGtz · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's somewhat tedious but a good book. I love the touch of romance that the author added, the mystery is well developed, the book keeps you in suspense until the end, making you suspect everyone, and when you find out who it is, WOW, you definitely don't expect it. Great book! ღ (Translated from Spanish)

[soarin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

an engrossing book, at no point does it bore you, as the entire plot is captivating. (Translated from Spanish)

[yazmingg · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's a book that will make you doubt everyone, although by halfway through you'll probably have an idea of what happened. (Translated from Spanish)

[ZeyendYilder · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very good book, an incredible thriller. (Translated from Spanish)

[LUWattpad · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved the book! You always suspected everyone and in the end, something always slipped away from you. I have to say that at the beginning it was a bit more boring, but as the book went on, it became very interesting. I liked the ending, but it leaves you wondering whether they end up together or not. I hope that gets resolved in the sequel. (Translated from Spanish)

[PerlaLimon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved it, the unexpected twists are fabulous ?? (Translated from Spanish)

[dairyqueen84 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I couldn’t really remember the first story and characters but that didn’t really matter because this featured different characters and different plot lines. This was hard to put down because each chapter ended on a cliff hanger. Even though the story was serious with cyber bullying there were some funny parts lightening the mood.

[AnaFC · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Simon has created an app to count the most scandalous gossip from the school.

In a punishment class, this boy dies in a provoked manner (almond oil, being allergic to nuts) in front of four classmates. These four people will be the main suspects in Simon’s murder, and only one of them will have all the necessary answers. Or not?

The story will focus on the police investigation into these four boys.
In short chapters narrated in the first person by each of them. It is clearly indicated who is talking, when, and at what time, allowing us to make our own deductions.

A story that hooks you from the very first page because you start to unconsciously think of your own theory.

It is very enjoyable and easy to read, with protagonists very well developed by the author; even the secondary characters are well integrated into the plot, and you empathize with them as well.

In short, a very entertaining and gripping story that I recommend to see how the series turned out later. (Translated from Spanish)

[leylacide · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I didn't expect that ending. (Translated from Spanish)

[ErikaNR · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This story was one of the first mystery novels I read. I like how everything begins with a murder and especially how such different people have to support each other to find the culprit. But I feel that it didn't captivate me as much as I expected. (Translated from Spanish)

[dsJessy23 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Five students enter detention at school, and only four leave alive. Everyone is a suspect, and each has something to hide.
On a Monday afternoon, five students from Bayview High enter the detention room: Bronwyn, the genius, committed to studying at Yale, never breaks the rules. Addy, the beautiful one, the perfect definition of the prom princess. Nate, the criminal, already on probation for drug trafficking. Cooper, the athlete, star of the baseball team. And Simon, the outcast, creator of the school's most famous gossip app.
But Simon can't leave. Before detention ends, he is dead. And, according to investigators, his death was not accidental. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he was planning to post some very hot gossip about his detention mates. This makes the four suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect victims of a killer who is still on the loose?
Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect yours. (Translated from Spanish)

[LdeLectora · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I think I started to suspect where things were going about halfway through, but it was still very entertaining, in a good way. I even got a bit caught up in all the high school drama. Simon will always seem to me like a wannabe dictator. (Translated from Spanish)

[Lucho• · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A good book, full of mystery and secrets. It was very quick to read, gripping. The main characters are well written, as each one matures from beginning to end, and the secondary characters are great as well. Without a doubt, a book I would recommend if you have any reader's block. (Translated from Spanish)

[kodaline2323 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

On a normal school day, five students are sent to detention, but this is not going to be a normal day because one of them dies. Simon, the creator of a gossip page, is going to die, and all eyes will be on the other students, who are completely different from each other and didn’t even exchange more than two words throughout their time in school.

I really liked the book; it felt like a mix between Gossip Girl and Riverdale. I can't say I wasn’t expecting the ending because one of my sisters already watched the series and spoiled it for me (I’m still angry because she didn’t let me enjoy the book fully). Throughout the book, there are things that are somewhat easy to guess, making one think that the book is going to have a pretty typical and easy ending, but nothing could be further from the truth. Without a doubt, it is one of the thrillers that took me the least time to read, and I highly recommend it for those who want to start reading this type of genre. (Translated from Spanish)