One of Us is Lying Series

5/5 ★

I loved this book. The electrifying energy and constant addition to the plot energized me. But my favourite part was the realistic vibe. When writing about teenagers, adults often try to infuse cultural references or slang, and it comes out as cheesy. But Karen McManus flawlessly executed the way teens communicate with each other and the way they live their lives. As for the plot, it had a chokehold on me. I read this book in a single day, which is very rare of me even when the book is fast-paced. A lot of books are anti-climactic in the ending, but this book perfectly built up the storyline and ended it with a bang. The character development of four peculiar students dependent on one another was precious. They hid, ran, and lied their way through this formidable journey. And I appreciate how the characters struggled to solve each mystery, instead of directly coming to the answer like an unrealistic detective. I presume nothing less will come from the Sequel, One of Us is Next.

Recommendation

I would 11/10 recommend this to everyone. It is realistic fiction, mystery and so much more. Even to this day, I love this book with my whole heart. Everything about it is exemplary. The way it was set up, the process of collecting surprising information, watching the characters put it together, and finally the ending that almost gave me a panic attack! The result was captivating and reading the gears turn in the characters' heads was almost as thrilling. I hope you take my word for it and read this evocative book.

One of Us is Lying

5/5★

This book definitely rose above my standards even though they were extremely high from the first book. I automatically loved this book because of its charming and realistic vibes. Although it was based on new characters, the original cast from One of Us is Lying still contributes to the plot. It's a great quick read and it never feels like a filler book, quite like most second or fourth books do. Karen McManus has climbed to my top 3 authors because of her writing style and life-altering plot twists/cliffhangers. With that being said, I can't wait to read the third book and finally finish this incredible series.

Recommendation

I think this book can appeal to several genre lovers, such as romance, thriller, mystery and young adult. This is a great book to recommend even if someone hasn't read the first one because it doesn't have too much of a connection and the characters over-explain things anyways. I can't say a single bad thing about this book because it blew me away with the overall storyline, character development, and absolute bomb of a cliffhanger. Tons of people were livid when they read the end of the book, but I wouldn't have it any other way. This is one of my new top favourite series!

One of Us is Next

5/5★

I absolutely loved this book, and even though it wasn't the same as the first two books, it was still amazing. Unlike the first two, I had no idea what was going on in this book until the last 20% of it, when everything happened at once. This book might be a little darker than the others, seeing that characters get kidnapped multiple times, but it's light and humorous overall. One of my favourite aspects of Karen McManus' writing is her use of multiple POVs, which she especially leans into this time. I think it's interesting and worth noting that the actual plot was based on each character's deepest fears and guilts they had carried with them, while outside characters did all the murder and mystery. After all, it's always the ones you least expect. Anyway, this book undeniably deserves 5 stars.

Recommendation

If you couldn't already tell, I love this book and think you will too. Just try reading the series, I promise you won't be disappointed. I wasn't much of a mystery buff before McManus, but she makes mysteries easy to understand and still hard to dismantle at the same time. I would strongly suggest this book to readers who want to either get into mystery or reading in general. It's an easy read that leaves you feeling elated, and mostly not broken, which is always good. Summarizing, you should read this book because it's painless and incredibly written.

One of Us is Back