Karen M. McManus’ One of Us Is Lying is often described as a blend of Gossip Girl or Pretty Little Liars and The Breakfast Club. Five high school seniors walk into detention one afternoon and by the end of the day, one of them is dead. When it turns out the death was a homicide, naturally the other four students are suspects. When we discover the victim ran a nasty gossip app that was about to reveal dirty secrets on the other four kids in detention, suspicions raise even further. Now Bronwyn, Addy, Cooper and Nate have to figure out who would have wanted Simon dead badly enough while also hating each of them enough to frame them.
This is the perfect book for the beach. I read it in four days but probably could have made it in two if I were on vacation. The central mystery is not incredibly complicated, but I was kept guessing long enough to satisfy my mystery needs. The reveal wasn’t a huge surprise by the end; it was something that kept popping up in my mind throughout the book but seemed really far-fetched. Each chapter is from a different character’s point of view. There is Bronwyn Rojas, a type A overachiever with beauty AND brains. Next we have Addy (I forgot her last name); she is the popular Barbie type dating the homecoming king. Cooper (I also forgot his last name) is a rising baseball star with a heart of gold and a southern accent. Nate Macauley is the bad boy with the beautiful smile. All four students are likable enough once you get to know them through their chapters. The victim, Simon, is the one character you walk away feeling like you don’t understand. What personality disorder did he have that made him want to spill everyone’s dirty little secrets but then get angry when no one ever wanted to include him in anything? You spend the entire book thinking that the murderer did the world a favor, to be honest.There is a little romance in this book, which is the most Breakfast Club-y plot line. Bronwyn and Nate’s interest in each other is still compelling to me even if it’s a little cliched.
Obviously this book isn’t going to take home a Pulitzer. But, if you’re interested in fun page-turner that probably would work as a miniseries on whatever ABC Family is called now, then go for it.