Review – One of Us is Lying

Title: One of Us is Lying

Author: Karen McManus

Rating:

I don’t read many mystery books and I especially don’t see many YA murder mysteries (maybe I’m just looking in the wrong places) but I couldn’t ignore the hype surrounding this new release and so frankly, the premise sounded really good so I had to go buy it and find out what was happening. And uhm.. wow.

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.

But only four walk out.
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? 

So first off (and the book does mention this) it’s basically The Breakfast Club with a murder mystery added to it and I do appreciate that they acknowledge this because how can you not with a group like this.
If you haven’t watched The Breakfast Club then no, you won’t get it, but I do recommend you watch it. It’s really good (pumps fist into the air).

As this is a murder mystery, I of course spent the whole time reading trying to figure out who the murderer could be. I changed suspects a few times, but eventually had it figured out before the end, but it was a good story that kept you on your toes as you Nancy Drew’ed your way through all the clues and suspicious actions of our main and not so main characters.

I did find it a little stretched that this Simon guy was able to snatch up SO MUCH gossip and how much work he put into finding out these things. A little over-the-top, but fine, it made for an extra juicy book.
Overall it was a good story that kept the suspense going even if you had figured it out, so that you were able to enjoy the rest of the book. For me it was a fast read, but I suppose I just really wanted to get to the end to find out if I was right.

Do I recommend this book?
Yes.

To whom?
To those who like solving mysteries in books and enjoy a good guessing game.