Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - One of Us Is Back

I have been really liking this series, and I thought this installment was a particularly strong one. Families are so messy, and it's interesting to look at the effect of having the perfect family can have on your social capital.

Content Warnings

dramagirl2003's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

it's so satisfying to finally read the conclusion of the trilogy. it was brilliantly executed, and i loved the revelation of unknown details from the time of the first book

thoughts while reading

p7: I bet it's flipping owen
p8: oh never mind, ofc it's jake
p10: *cough* murderer
p18: oh right, never mind. it's been a few months since i read one of us is next, and i clearly forgot the ending. poor owen, I was wrongly remembering him as a villain. also I forgot he was so young
p136: totally fair, I would also wanna punch that guy even at the risk of losing my job
p137: oh now I really would punch that arrogant smirk off his stupid frickin face
p144: IF THAT DEVIL SPAWN HAS DONE ANYTHING I'LL PLOT HIS MURDER WITH NATE
p148: stab the snow 🤣
p205: it really, really better not actually be owen this time. i'm gonna scream if it is
p210: mr alton is 100% the reason mrs riordan was so excited about work six years ago
p282:

WHAT THE HECK EVIE YOU COW

p284: no but like i'm confused. does nate work at the construction site as well or just the bar? i mean they might have told us at the start of the book and i could've just forgotten
p288: no come on cause nate told phoebe he was at work until 3, but he's still at the bar at 7, so where's the consistency here??
wait, did he mean 3am?? ughh can we just have a little more clarity here
p292:

GAVIN!! SHIT!! AND YOU JUST HANDED ADDY OVER TO HIM NATE!!

p297: I FREAKING KNEW IT!! OH SHOOT
p317:

WHATTT JAKE IS ALTON'S SON???

p323: oh shoot, what now??
p327: dear gosh, he really was a murdering psyopath right from the start wasn't he
p331:

shit she's totally gonna shoot jake before she leaves

p332: what did I say
p344: aw knox, my hearttt that was so cute
p347: AHHHH i forgot about that!! thank goodness for addy!
p351: stoppp 🥺 i'm actually about to start crying 😭
p356:

it's a GIRL!!!

Content Warnings

melodyseestrees's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

The characters are diverse in that there are LGBTQ+ characters. All characters feel very white, even though some of them may not be. This may just be an error in reading on my part or some sort of internalized stereotype however.
This book starts as possibly the slowest and most boring book of the trilogy. The first forty percent of the book contains a lot of set up and very little suspense. The characters also feel like they should all be in their late twenties, even though two of them are in their late teens. They don't feel old in the way most other traumatized characters do either. They seem mostly unphased by the events of the last two books other than when there is an active threat.
There are several potential antagonists being hinted at throughout the novel. This is often a very nice technique however I felt the technique was a bit fumbled upon the reveal.

It winds up being none of them. It is two characters, one who shares a work place with one of our main characters and another character you lowkey forget exists until the reveal.

The world is also unrealistic in how it handles certain events

Owen being revealed to be complicit in the actions of Jared in book 2. The whole town just seems to shrug and go 'huh. okay.' The town also seems fine with revealed accusations that Jake's legal father killed his biological father.

There was also very unrealistic use of an ankle monitor. This is partially justified by the incompetence of the local police.

You have only a few minutes before the ankle monitor alerts the police of any potential tampering. Jake would have been found before he even had a chance to be missing.

The ending is a happy one with promises at a good future for all of them. Well for everyone who survives. Hooray for therapy!

Content Warnings

hales_1243's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

While this isn't my favorite book in the trilogy, I do like how it ended. I love that the Bayview crew gets a happy ending, while also growing and acknowledging what they've been through. The pacing was nice and I really enjoyed the story. It did get a little dull halfway through, but I think it picked up again after the final reveal in part 1.

I loved the discussion about privilege and how it plays into the legal justice system. </Spoiler>

In regards to a potential drug use trigger,

a character was roofied at a party.

In regards to a potential sexual violence trigger,

there is a storyline discussing nonconsensual recording of sexual acts.

Content Warnings