Review: One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Five high school students--near strangers from very different social circles--end up in detention.

Cooper, the baseball star

Bronwyn, the scholar

                                   Addy, the homecoming queen

                                   Nate, the trouble maker

                                   Simon, the outcast

If you are a fan of 80s films or a reader of a certain age *cough*like me*cough*, you may think you know this story. But you do not.

One of Us Is Lying takes the set-up from that classic comedy and twists it into a nail-biting thriller. Within minutes of the start of detention on Monday afternoon, Simon is dead. By Tuesday, investigators suspect the remaining four because each are named in an unreleased gossip post written by Simon. And each has something to hide.

McManus has crafted an modern locked-door murder mystery that moves at breakneck pace. The story is told from four points of view but moves effortlessly from each character's first person account. The short chapters keep the reader in the center of the action.

Someone in that room is lying. Others are hiding the truth. I love the character growth as each person confronts their own past and works to figure out the facts of Simon's death.

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