One of Us Is Lying: by Karen M. McManus Paperback – 28 Feb. 2023

High school might not hold fond memories for the majority of us, detention even less so, but reading this debut YA thriller from the comfort of an armchair is a wholly pleasurable experience! As an onlooker with access all areas to a cast of adolescent narrators, One of Us Is Lying is an experience to relish and fiendishly addictive!When a diverse group of students at Bayview High all show up for Mr Avery’s detention after getting caught with their mobile phones in their bags during class they are convinced they have been set up. On a superficial level the individuals who walk into detention are a teen movie just awaiting a script; Yale-bound perennial overachiever, Bronwyn Rojas; notorious supplier and slacker Nate Macauley; airhead homecoming princess Adelaide (“Addy”) Prentiss; all American heartthrob and baseball star, Cooper Clay and social pariah and man with a smoking gun, aka creator of “About That”, Simon Kelleher. Given that these students do not ordinarily move in the same social circles, converse or even trust each other, most definitely not Simon, a twitchy atmosphere prevails when Mr Avery has to leave the room.“If all you knew of Bayview High was Simon Kelleher’s gossip app, you’d wonder how anyone found time to go to class.”Things take an unexpected turn for the worse when Simon takes a sip of water, collapses and dies and the Bayview Police enter the fray and discover that his drink was laced with peanut oil. With no EpiPens on hand and Simon’s allergy widely known, it isn’t long being the rumour mill gathers apace and given that the Internet gossip application created by Simon, ‘About That’, has ruined plenty of lives already in some pretty serious ways, the list of students who have reason to want to orchestrate his demise is abundant. In fact, asking which students do not have an axe to grind with Simon would probably be more useful, but given only four other people along with Mr Avery were in the room, the discovery that Simon had queued a blog post due to go live the very next day revealing some juicy gossip about each of those students in the room puts Bronwyn, Nate, Addy and Cooper squarely in the frame. And with the revelations most definitely not trifling and having the potential to change the course of the future for all involved, all four have possible cause to plot Simon’s murder. As readers get to hear from all the students under suspicion, tentative alliances begin to form but as further revelations and a series of Tumblr posts follow the foursome under suspicion decide they must work together as a team to ensure their freedom and restore their besmirched reputations. As Bronwyn’s sister, Grace, digs into Simon’s online persona and his posts to some very twisted internet community forums they start to see a different side to the student they all thought they knew.Karen McManus proves that writing a YA novel with well-realised characters is most definitely not an oxymoron, and excels by not adhering to the stereotypes and cliched tropes of the genre. In fact she goes much further and actively turns them on their heads. It is this excellent characterisation which leaves the reader second guessing each and every one of the ‘suspects’ who make it out of detention alive, because nothing these students do is predictable and they do not subscribe to the proscribed norms. Hard to believe, but even Simon who we learn much more of after his demise and the supporting cast of relatives, best friends and associated rubberneckers and gossipmongers all feel like real individuals. By switching the narrative, McManus keeps her readers in the dark, chasing their tail in a bid to identify just who is lying and who is scrambling from the fear of their past catching up with them. A more ambiguous bunch you could not want to meet and however much contempt the reader summons for Simon’s cretinous trolling, it is hard not to conclude that he played to his strengths and whilst not entirely being a “public service” as Simon attests, there is an obvious element of entrepreneurship at work with the creation of his gossip app.Although I did work out where the novel was heading before it was made clear by the author, I am not ashamed to admit that I spent two-thirds of this novel playing detective and it took me far longer to get a handle on matters than with some adult thrillers! However the real joy of this novel is not how realistic and convincing McManus is able to make this story feel, it is the growth and evolution of the lead characters who all discover more about themselves and escape the confines of their designated niche in society. It sounds supremely naff to say that all four become better people during the course of their month under the microscope, but they do all discover more about themselves as people and without feeling overly twee due to a few stumbling blocks along the way it feels truly authentic. What contributes to making this such a fantastically compelling read is that the tone never even verges on becoming too preachy and the obvious lessons are not writ too large. In contrast to the majority of YA novels which unfold from the perspective of a loner or school misfit navigating the tricky waters of high school, One of Us Is Lying showcases a diverse cross section and some wonderfully individual perspectives.Review written by Rachel Hall (@hallrachel)

An original 'whodunnit' with traditional high-school characters. Written through several different perspectives which was good but it relied too heavily on Brownwyn's perspective. It needed to be balanced. I wish the author developed the characters more so I felt connected when I read their chapter. The plot lacked pace and the book was in my opinion too long. I did like the inventive twist, however I just wish the writer explored the issue further because it wasn't written that long ago and in today's world it is an important topic. Nate in particular behaves in an inappropriate way which needs to be checked. It made me extremely uncomfortable and I know many other young girls who read it felt the same. Anyone who reads this born in 2000s will find themselves googling a few references.

Karen M. McManus’ debut novel and book one of the bestselling Bayview series, One Of Us Is Lying, follows the mystery and criminal investigation of the death of Simon Kelleher, nerdy and unpopular gossip mogul who was pretty much hated by everyone. But there’s only four suspects, the four students who were in detention with him when he died: valedictorian to be Bronwyn, star baseball player Cooper, bad boy Nate, and popular Addy. Of course, they all claim they’re innocent, so which one of them is lying? My favourite characters, or at least the ones I find myself relating to and supporting the decisions of, are Bronwyn and Addy. There are so many more people to dislike in the book than the show, including Cooper’s dad, and then the obvious choices like Simon and Jake. I recommend this book because I absolutely loved the show and I’ve been wanting to start reading this series for ages. I’m so glad I finally did. I think the show did a good job of enhancing the story and also making sure there was still some mystery for those who had previously read the books. ‘For the first time in a long time, I feel free.’

My 12 year old daughter read this book and really loved it. She first knew about it from her friends and asked me to get it for her. This book and the series is good for 11 and above and is great for kids who like murder mystery books.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish! I was completely hooked and have now ordered the following two. How Simon died was a great twist. I also enjoyed the unexpected secret that Cooper had and appreciated the representation. How Addy’s character went from rather boring to badass was engaging and the whole “opposites attract “ trope with Bronwyn and Nate was a fun addition. I truly was upset at the outcome of their relationship before reading the epilogue.