One of Us Is Lying

Written by Karen M. McManus

Narrated by Kim Mai Guest, MacLeod Andrews, Shannon McManus and Robbie Daymond

All the secrets of the Bayview Four will be revealed in the TV series now streaming on Peacock!

THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY • BUZZFEED • POPCRUSH

“Pretty Little Liars meets The Breakfast Club” (Entertainment Weekly) in this addictive mystery about what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive.
 
Pay close attention and you might solve this.
On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.
    Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
    Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.
    Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
    Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
    And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.
 
Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention Simon's dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose?

Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.

And don’t miss the #1 New York Times bestselling sequel, One of Us is Next!


Audiobook Cast of Narrators:
Kim Mai Guest - Bronwyn
Shannon McManus - Andy
Robbie Daymond - Nate
Macleod Andrews - Cooper 


“An addictive, devour-in-one-sitting thriller with so many twists and turns you'll be wondering until the very end: Who really killed Simon?”—Kara Thomas, author of The Darkest Corners and Little Monsters

"This fast-paced blend of Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, and classic John Hughes will leave readers racing to the finish as the try to unravel the mystery on their own."—Kirkus Reviews

"A smart, twisted, and unpredictable YA mystery that will have readers guessing until the very end."—SLJ

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
• Release date: May 30, 2017
• ISBN: 9781524756895

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 Lying

[colie77 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was really proud of myself for figuring it out, but I'm mad because I doubted myself and dismissed the thought.

[electrascaife · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A handful of high school students get detention for something they all claim they didn’t do, and while the teacher leaves the room, one of them dies. It seems likely that one of them killed him, but who, and how will the truth be discovered when they all had their own motives?

Breakfast Club, but make it Agatha Christie. Fun, but the whodunnit reveal isn’t all that shocking. I did enjoy the side love story, though.

[ffortsa · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I picked this up by accident from Jim's Kindle. It is probably classified as a YA novel, but until almost the end I was fascinated, and I'm a long way from YA!

Five high school students are unexpectedly sent to detention for carrying forbidden cell phones, but the phones aren't theirs. While there, something awful happens, and they are propelled into a murder investigation during which secrets become not so secret.

I was able to deduce the last few surprises well before they were revealed, but in spite of that the book held my attention by the very vivid portrayals of teens struggling with ambition, parents, feelings, and shame. The only flaw was the ending. See if you agree.

[laphenix · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was sorely disappointed by the curveball, but the climax and the denouement made up for it.

[faedemon · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

this briefly got a lot of hype but imo it's not very good. it's predictable--which is not necessarily a bad thing--but in this book's case, it didn't work. the culprit ended up being the most boring possible choice, to be honest.

[seaslimes · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fundamentally, this is a story about a lot of kids going through a lot of shit and not having the sort of support they need to flourish. At the very core of One of Us is Lying exists the... enduring question about teenage autonomy. Which definitely sounds pretty extreme for a YA / Teen Fic murder mystery whodunnit, I'm sure. But I stand by my assessment pretty firmly.

One of Us is Lying is a shifting first-person story with a cast of four, or five. While we do not hear from or read the perspective of the victim— the murdered boy called Simon —he is painfully present throughout the entire story. All of his actions necessitate the plot, both in the act of dying and in the act of what he got up to in life. See, Simon was a bit of a weird kid who wanted to be popular. The "dime a dozen" sort of wannabe satellite which exists in a lot of middle-class highschool experiences. In his attempts at fame, Simon concocted an gossip app called About That where he records all of his fellow students' misdeeds and aired their dirty laundry with utter abandon. There were no secrets on About That.

What this means is that when Simon dies of anaphylactic shock during after-school detention, there are probably dozens of people who could be implicated for the crime. However, inexplicably, the suspects are the four students that Simon was in detention with. In fact, almost laughable in the predictable, most of the book is about the police hyper-focusing on the four students with whom Simon died to the point of ignoring obvious suspects or people of interest in the victim's life.

Such as his best friend, or a former childhood friend, or even the teacher that was managing detention that day. This is due to unpublished rumors on About That, words that Simon had set to go live the day after he was killed, about the four he had detention with. This unfairness is the crux of the book, because each of the four suspects—The Liars, in short—has very limited support from both their peers and the adults in their lives.

Bronwyn is a smart "nerdy girl" type with affluent parents that pride themselves on being self-made, her father a Columbian who came to the US for business opportunities, and she cheated in her worst-subject class to make the cut for a high-level college. Addy is the pretty girl, second daughter of a defunct pageant queen that will never measure up, dating one of the most popular boys in school and subsequently cheating on him with his best friend. Cooper is a baseball star, the sporthead himbo with nothing on his mind but the game, and he is hiding his homosexuality from his family because he knows it will never be accepted. Nate is the son of two addicts, his father around but too drunk to exist and his mother assumedly dead in a car accident to a commune in another state, turning to drug dealing in an effort to pay his bills.

The adults in these kids' lives are distant or antagonistic. They impress upon their kids all the expectations of their generation. To succeed, to be perfect, to pull themselves out of things like poverty or irrelevance or adversity with little to no help. Even when adults do step in, our four protagonists are in a state of self-defense, resistant to change or to assistance even when the answers are so obvious. Spoilers, of course, but... When the story ends, we find out that none of these kids were guilty of this crime, that someone else had a reason to implicate them all in the killing of Simon.

Despite this, the story is firm. These kids got through all that shit by making an unlikely friendship—a murder club of sorts—the foundation of their success. The adults who tried are largely unimportant. They wouldn't have had any impact at all if Bronwyn stopped pushing the envelope, if Cooper stayed in the closet, if Addy didn't take her life into her own hands, if Nate didn't make lasting human connections.

Teenage autonomy, and the autonomy of children, is the key to a good future. A world where the mistakes that teens make isn't cause for alarm, but for celebration from their families and support networks. I actually won't tell you whodunnit, despite my propensity for spoiling stories in reviews, because having your initial suspicion confirmed is the best part of the book. Really loved it. Despite everything, my favorite character was probably Addy! Her relationship with her mother and her older sister were powerful dissections of inter-generational "pretty girl" expectations, but Cooper was a blast as well.

Like many YAs, there is a dorky teen romance but I genuinely think that it services the plot well and felt completely acceptable rather than annoyingly in your face. Good stuff.

[olegalca · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My only complaint: not fond of first person narratives that switch between characters. Otherwise, one of the best teen books I've read so far this year.

[bookconcierge · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Book on CD performed by Kim Mai Guest, Shannon McManus, MacLeod Andrews, and Robbie Daymond
3.5***

Five high school students are found with cell phones in class, which is a violation of class rules. All claim the phones are not their own, but their teacher still requires them all to go to detention. While together in the room, but without the teacher present, one of the students dies. As it turns out there are significant questions about how this happened and the police are involved. Who did it?

This was a twisty mystery and the students surprised me with their insight and tenacity in trying to clear their names. Of course, there is the usual teenage drama as well: getting into college, sports, relationships, parents, bullying, social media, etc. There are also issues of dysfunctional families, and racism. Surprisingly I didn’t think all this teen drama distracted from the central plot. I certainly was kept guessing and didn’t figure out the culprit until the author chose to reveal the truth.

The audiobook is wonderfully performed by a quartet of talented voice artists. I’m not sure which artist performed which chapters, other than that the women voiced the teen girls and the men voiced the teen boys.

[PascualAlfahuir · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

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

[mrsgrindelwald · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I finished this book in less than a day. It kept me so hooked that I couldn't put it down.
The protagonists (especially the blonde) have a pretty good development, and the ending definitely made me teary (I'm probably very sensitive).
I am very grateful for this book ?? (Translated from Spanish)

[amzzz_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was fine. The ending a little predictable and the characters a bit stereotypical but overall an enjoyable and easy read.

[formerenglishteacher · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The quintessential YA book, complete with the appropriate amount of teenage angst. The plot is clever and keeps the reader engaged. I would gladly recommend this book at teens, especially teen girls, who would recognize many of the characters as friends of theirs in real life.

[dara85 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Five kids are in detention and one of them dies. The other four kids are suspects. The boy who died was Simon, who spilled everyone's deepest, darkest, secrets online to the whole school. Everyone of the other four had a reason to have killed him. Which one is guilty? The police and the media put pressure on each of the students to admit to wrong doing. This is first book of a trilogy. If you are into high school romance, peer pressure and teenage angst this is the book for you.

[mkh43 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

It's easy to see why this book is so popular, although it was a little disappointing to me, likely because I walked in expecting adult-level thrills and suspense from a YA book. Don't get me wrong, this book was good, but it was also trope-heavy, and I definitely would've been more engaged with it if I had read it when I was a teenager.

[tuusannuuska-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3,7 stars

A YA mystery where I went around in circles trying to figure out the culprit, considering the possibility of it being who it ended up being on several occasions. However, there were enough red herrings to keep me from being convinced before the ending, so that was good.

I enjoyed the main romance right up until the point where the author decided to go full cliche and turned an otherwise believable teenage relationship into corn fest.

There was nothing wrong with the writing, but there also wasn't anything particularly memorable or striking about it either. The characters were okay, and I liked how the author made the effort to develop them through the story, even though this was a mystery.

Definitely closer to a four than a three star read.

[randymorgan-144387 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Simon created About That; Bayview High’s most popular gossip app. He planned on reviling the life changing secrets of Bronwyn, Addy, Nate, and Cooper. Coincidentally, all five of them wind up in after school detention the day prior to publication. Tragedy strikes when Simon goes into anaphylaxis and dies. Investigators believe his death was a murder.

Everyone has secrets. How far would one go to protect a secret?

One of Us Is Lying was a good audio book and mystery. I bounced between two suspects regularly. Karen managed perspective changes and character relationships well. Though, the character development was a little flat.

[Brencx · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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

[ladyoflorien_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a wonderful read for teens. I enjoyed the concept of the book and thought the various characters were fun to read about.

[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: 5 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)

[mutantpudding · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Eh, it was ok. But I guessed the end and wasn't impressed.

And spoilers, annoying that the title is technically a lie and gross to see suicide used as a revenge tactic.

[familiar_diversions · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It all starts with detention. Five students at Bayview High whose social circles don't usually all overlap find themselves cooped up together. Soon, one of them ends up dead, killed by a peanut allergy after drinking water from a peanut oil-tainted paper cup. One of them is almost certainly the killer, but which one is it?

The story is told from alternating POVs. There's Bronwyn, a perfect student who's destined to get into an Ivy League school. There's Addy, the pretty girlfriend of Jake, the captain of the football team. There's Cooper, a rising star baseball player. And there's Nate, a detention regular who's already on probation for dealing. Simon, the victim, ran a gossip blog and knew secrets about each of them that he'd been preparing to expose to the world. Could someone have killed him in order to protect themselves?

I'm drawn to YA mysteries and thrillers, and this is one I've wanted to read for some time. Although it took me longer to get through than I expected (I'm not much of an e-book reader anymore), I liked it overall.

With one big exception, the characters weren't as compelling as they could have been. The publisher's description presents them all as stereotypes: the brain, the beauty, the criminal, the athlete, and the outcast. They all had more to them than those labels might imply, but the only one that really grew on me was Addy. It surprised me, because she was initially one of my least favorite characters. Her entire life revolved around her boyfriend, to the point that she even wore her hair the way he preferred. It was a joy to watch her grow and figure out what she wanted to do.

The mystery was okay and kept me interested. The solution was messed up, but made sense considering the way it was framed.

I was wondering how McManus managed to continue this since this book wrapped things up pretty well, but it looks like the next book stars all-new characters. I may give it a shot.

Extras:

The author includes contact information for those who might need help with some of the various serious topics that the book touches upon, such as substance abuse and depression.

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