One of Us is Lying-Book Review
One of Us Is Lying is a YA mystery/suspense novel by American author Karen M. McManus. By now, you have probably seen it over the internet and in the bookstores, as it was a Best-Seller and it is still a Best-Seller at Amazon.
The book revolves around five students that walk into detention one day, but only four make it out alive. Each high school student has secrets that they would do anything to protect, so how far would they go to make sure they’re kept out of the spotlight?
Just by the title, I felt interested and intrigued because, of course, I wanted to know why one of the characters is lying. Once I began to read, I couldn’t stop. I just wanted to know who the murder was.
However, I didn’t love this book. I get why it might have become so popular; it has an entertaining plot, suspense, and mystery. But it fails to bring something new, unique, and memorable.
I will share some of the things I liked and make this book worth reading and why it was not what I expected.
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The Plot
This is not the type of book I would pick up at the bookstore. For one thing, it is a young adult, and the plot revolves around a murder; that is not my thing. However, if you like Riverdale, Pretty Little Liars, and The Breakfast Club, you will love it.
That being said, I enjoy a good mystery that will make me create conclusions and formulate a hypothesis. One of Us is Lying most certainly got me invested in resolving the murder, and for me, that was my favorite part of it.
McManus did a splendid job connecting the clues and events. I have to say that I am not that good at resolving mysteries and murders, so I suspected of almost every character along the book. Maybe if you are better at this, you will guess who the murder is and who is lying.
The Mystery Murder
The murder revolves around Simon, who had a gossip website where he exposed the students personal and delicate secrets.
Five different characters, Bronwyn, Nate, Addy, Cooper, and Simon, are sent to detention. While they are in detention, Simon falls dead.
According to further investigation, it is found that he died of an allergic reaction, leaving as suspect the other four that were present in the same room. But that is not the main reason why they are the primary suspects.
Simon had an unpublished article for all of them that he was supposed to post the day after he died. All of these posts contained problematic and damaging secrets of them.
The writer does a great job exploring all of these secrets and connecting all the characters with each other, even though they are entirely different.
The Characters
There are four main characters in this book, and the four of them play a stereotypical role. Brownyn is the typical smart and good girl who dreams about going to Yale. Nate is the bad boy who does bad things but has a good heart, a motorcycle, and a dysfunctional family. Addy is the popular pretty girl that is obsessed with her boyfriend and being perfect. And Cooper is the typical jock who is working for a scholarship that his father is obsessed with.
These characters are pretty cliché, but I was not entirely bothered by that. Sure, sometimes it was a little cringe because of all the stereotypes. But the author did this purposely, so I kept that in mind. She said: “I’ve always been interested in the concept of different types of people being brought together and having to interact with one another, and thought that adding a mystery would raise the stakes in an interesting way.”
And even though they are cliché characters, they have more than that. Each character presents their struggles, and they change through the book. Although for me, the character that changed the most and grew is Addy. She is my favorite character, and I appreciate that the author didn’t make her a one-dimensional character, despite her stereotype.
There is also a cute romance between the two main characters, and that was good. It is a cliche of the good girl with the bad guy, but who doesn’t likes that?
Nate and Bronwyn have a solid background; however, they don’t come off as memorable. Maybe Nate is the second-best written character, but Bronwyn was like pretty much every other good girl.
On the other side, I found Cooper a little bit boring. His POVs were not exciting, and most of them talked about baseball. In the half of the book, he reveals a secret that makes his character a little more unexpected.
However, the way this secret is treated can be seen as controversial because the author used it as a plot twist, and it was instead used to give a wow factor, and not for the purpose, it should be used. This sound wordy, but I don’t want to give any spoilers.
The supporting characters were okay. They are also divided into stereotypical high school groups. I would have liked that the author showed a little more about them so some things would make better sense at the end.
Conclusion
I have mixed feelings about this book. The whole time I felt like I was reading a Wattpad story, but it was fun and enjoyable. It is not memorable, and it is far from being a fantastic book. But if you are looking for a light, fun read, then you will enjoy it.
If you like Wattpad stories or books that have stereotypical roles, then this book is for you. I would have enjoyed this book way more if I read it while I liked Riverdale or was fourteen years old.
Despite this, I do recommend it to everyone. It is nice to try to resolve the murder and see how the characters connect. Just try not to overthink the plot holes you will find and the clichés. Instead, enjoy it as a fun read; you will have a lot to think about.
I give this book 3.5 stars.
