One Of Us Is Next

After racing through book 1 and really enjoying it, I was excited to get started on this one. I wasn't sure what to expect or where the author could take it as the first book wrapped up quite nicely, but I was invested and ready to find out so I had some time yesterday to sit and read so I started. Within 3 hours, I had finished - I basically devoured this book in one sitting, reading quite fast because I had to know what was going to happen next, I was totally absorbed that I couldn't stop for a second. This book starts off a year after the first, we have some new characters and the reappearance of some of our original four. Maeve (Bronwyn's sister) is now one of the main narrators, along with a girl named Phoebe who works in a local coffee shop where Maeve and Addy like to hang out. We also now have Knox - who is Maeve's best friend and ex-boyfriend. I loved getting to see more of Maeve and seeing her develop as a character in her own right. Knox is so sweet and a bit of a nerd, always just on the outskirts but still caring and thoughtful and willing to help others. Phoebe is sassy and funny but also sweet, we also see her sister Emma and find out about her background which helps her to be relatable. Of course we have appearances from Bronwyn and Nate, Addy is around a lot with her sister Ashton and the lawyer Eli, and Copper makes start appearances but isn't a full focus of the story. I was nervous how the dynamics would be different with new characters and old ones going off to college but it worked really well, I liked the new groups and found myself wanting to know all I could about them. Simon has been gone for a year now, but some people are trying to keep his gossip alive, there have been some copycat blogs and messages, but most of those have been shut down - but then a text goes out. The biggest game of Truth or Dare in history is going to be played. Everyone in Bayview High is glued to their phones - who will be the first to pay? If you text back Truth, your worst secret will be revealed, if you text back Dare, you will be given a task to complete. If you don't reply - your worst secret is revealed anyway. The pace of this book is perfect, the perfect mix of action, dialogue and information. Considering the most tragic part is about halfway through, you think it would then drag, but then things start to get even more serious and our group have to find out who is behind it all before something else blows up in everyone's faces. Hopefully no one else will get hurt, but this player is very clever and he has revenge on his mind. In my opinion this book was even better than the first and I wish there were more from this series. I haven't been this absorbed in a book for a long time, something that can just grip me and carry me away. The only thing I didn't like as much was that the ending was a little bit open ended, I wanted to know what would happen next and if there would be anything further, but overall I can see why she ended it this way, and it didn't destroy my enjoyment of the book as a whole. A definite must read!

Definitely one to read after One Of Us Is Lying, not because you need to read that first, but because it will give away the ending of the first book if you don't. This book follows on with the same group of characters a year after the first novel, although it focuses on characters who were previously side characters. I really enjoyed the story, it kept me gripped wanting to find out who was behind everything and why. I often find with YA books that some of the characters come across as absolute whiny brats, but in this series they're all likeable and I found I was glad to come back to the series and see how they were all doing.

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus is a really gripping mystery about five high school students who end up in detention together, but only four walk out alive. Simon, the student who dies, ran a gossip app where he exposed other students’ secrets. After his death, the four students who were in the room—Bronwyn, Addy, Nate, and Cooper—quickly become the main suspects. What I liked most about the book is how each chapter is told from a different character’s point of view. This makes the story feel more personal and helps you understand what each person is going through. At first, some of the characters seem like typical high school stereotypes, but as the story goes on you realize they are more complicated than they appear. One quote that really stood out to me was: “Everyone got secrets, right? What really matters is how far you’ll go to protect them.” This quote shows one of the main ideas of the story—everyone is hiding something, and those secrets can cause serious problems. Overall, One of Us Is Lying is a suspenseful and entertaining book that keeps you guessing until the very end. I’d definitely recommend it to people who enjoy mystery stories with lots of twists.

I actually think this book might be better than the first one. I couldn't stop reading, I needed to know what was going on! It has the same characters as One of Us is Lying, and it was kind of hard to remember who they all were at first, as I read that book a while ago. But it doesn't really matter if you remember the last book or not as this one has different main characters. The story is very intriguing, and keeps you guessing right until the end. It's possible to work some of the plot twists out, but I would be very impressed if anyone managed to work them all out, especially the last one! I definitely recommend this book and look forward to more written by Karen McManus.

My granddaughter has the set of 3 now. She loves them. She has just turned 15 if age helps

My 12 year old daughter read this book and loved it. The book was so good and was as good as the first one.

I was a bit surprised to learn that One of Us Is Lying had a sequel, as the novel really does stand on its own very well. Yet, on the whole, this was a very solid read. The prose is fast-paced and well written, certainly keeping my attention throughout. As with the first book, the thing it excels at is building realistic teen characters. The book does not use tired stereotypes, instead showing each character as being wonderfully complex and revealing hidden depths as the plot thickens. Yet there was something a little unsatisfying about the plot this time around. While One of Us Is Lying felt believable, I did feel that the Truth or Dare game went a bit far. The scale of it was just too vast, and I couldn't believe that (following the events of the previous story) that the entire school would be able to keep it a secret from parents, teachers and authorities. The pacing of the story also slowed down dramatically in its seconds half. While the first chapter reveals that one student will die, the identity of this person is not revealed until the mid-point of the novel. After this, the story changes quite drastically. The Truth or Dare game - the driving force of the first half - completely fades from the tale as the mystery becomes much further-reaching. While I won't say any more here for fear of spoilers, I will just say that I found this second half of the story to be less gripping. It just did not maintain the fast pace of the opening, and I quickly got a handle of who the killer had to be. Yet, while it is easy to guess who the guilty party is, the novel does do a great job of fleshing out their motives over the final act. The climax unveils twist after twist, neatly drawing together all the threads of the plot in a satisfying conclusion. That is, until the sting. Sadly, the final twist is not revealed until the final couple of pages and this is where it all fell down for me. This last reveal just pushed my suspension of disbelief to the limit, leaving me with a bit of a bad-taste in my mouth. In terms of character, the novel was certainly as strong as One of Us Is Lying. While the characters of the first book do have minor roles in this story, it focuses more on Maeve (Bronwyn's younger sister) and her circle of friends. While their narrative voices could sometimes be a little samey, all three of the narrators were very sympathetic and were wonderfully fleshed out as the story progressed. I was particularly fond of Knox in particular, especially as the novel explored his feelings of inadequacy and awkward relationship with his strict father. So, all in all, this novel is certainly worth reading if you enjoyed the original. While the plot isn't quite as strong, it is a well-written mystery with a very strong core cast. I will certainly be reading more of McManus's work in the future.

I have given One of Us Is Next by Karen M, McManus four out of five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A very intriguing, entertaining and suspenseful book that had me gripped right up until the last page. I’m definitely a sucker for YA mystery thrillers, especially if there are games involved and in this case, Truth or Dare is our deviously dangerous game that this story is revolved around. I really liked how the characters from the first novel, One of Us Is Lying, had been incorporated into the sequel. I had only read that book at the end of last year however, it’s easy to forget events that happen sometimes so it was great to revisit being back at Bayview High School. The characters that we focus on in this multi-narrative story are: Maeve, Phoebe and Knox. I really enjoyed reading about all three protagonists, I thought these characters and their backstories had been developed incredibly well, all unique to one another. I would love to see this sequel gain another book in this series as I really love the characters that we meet and learn about. McManus is very talented in her writing when it comes to creating characters and building up their relationships with one another. The only reason why I didn’t give this book the full five stars was due to the main plot twist that takes place, as I started to cotton on to who it’s most likely to be. Which I guessed correctly, however there were still elements of surprise which I didn’t expect from this novel that made me thoroughly enjoy it. I would say that this book could be read as a standalone but it does include a lot of information and characters from the first book so it might be best to read that one first before moving onto One of Us Is Next then you’ll be clued up on all the events that took place. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of YA mystery thrillers, fast-paced and suspenseful novels.