One Of Us Is Lying

By Author / Illustrator

Karen M. McManus

Genre

Adventure

Age range(s)

11+

Publisher

Penguin Random House Children's UK

ISBN

9780141375632

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

01-06-2017

Synopsis

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

Five students go to detention. Only four leave alive.

Yale hopeful Bronwyn has never publicly broken a rule.

Sports star Cooper only knows what he's doing in the baseball diamond.

Bad boy Nate is one misstep away from a life of crime.

Prom queen Addy is holding together the cracks in her perfect life.

And outsider Simon, creator of the notorious gossip app at Bayview High, won't ever talk about any of them again.

He dies 24 hours before he could post their deepest secrets online. Investigators conclude it's no accident. All of them are suspects.

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

'Tightly plotted and brilliantly written, with sharp, believable characters, this whodunit is utterly irresistible' - HEAT

'Twisty plotting, breakneck pacing and intriguing characterisation add up to an exciting single-sitting thrillerish treat' -THE GUARDIAN

'A fantastic murder mystery, packed with cryptic clues and countless plot twists. I could not put this book down' - THE SUN

'Pretty Little Liars meets The Breakfast Club' - ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

View Extract

Reviews

This mystery is one where the reader can play an active role in trying to figure out who committed the crime. Five students report for detention, but by the end of it one of them is dead. Who committed the murder, and how?? A working knowledge of American schools and some culture would be useful, and doesn't detract from the story, but it may make it tricky for readers with less awareness. The story is a quadruple narrative - told from the perspectives of the four main suspects, and as the narrative unravels the reader finds out clues at the same time as the character they are following, and sometimes before other characters. The characters are likeable, and the split narrative adds to the pace of the novel, meaning it is hard to put down. I had to flick back to the beginning of the chapter a few times to check which character the story was following, but by and large they are well defined and developed as the book progresses. The narrative is believable, and you root for the characters - having four leads means you may connect with some more than others, which is part of what I enjoyed about the book. A rip-rolling mystery that had me gripped from the very beginning. 368 pages / Ages 12+ / Reviewed by Alison Tarrant, school librarian.