January was supposed to involve a book-buying ban – a promise to myself that I would finally clear some of those unread books – however, ‘One of Us is Next’ came out and I had to know what was going to happen next. So, bam – there went my book-buying ban.
‘One of Us is Lying’ was such a great piece of YA fiction, I was so excited to know how the story continued. We returned to Bayview as ‘Truth or Dare’ game appears to have taken hold of the community. Suddely, it appears to end in tragedy. Again the teens of Bayview are brought together to try and work out who ‘Intense Guy’ is and what the connection is to their little community.
The conclusion of this novel is a good one – I was honestly surprised by the outcome but, to me, that is simply the sign of a wonderful mystery book. Yet this is not just about the mystery, it also explores relationships – between family members, peers and strangers – as the friends also establish their place in the world. There was one moment between father and son that even caused me to shed a tear.
This is a well-written tale that should not be defined as a YA novel but also one that adults will enjoy too. I hope there is more heading our way from Karen M McManus as she certainly has a talent for the mystery book.