Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

To kan holde på en hemmelighet... hvis en er død by Karen M. McManus

19 reviews

rayne_1906's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

3 hours 12 minutes - I was enjoying this book immensely up until the ending was revealed, and don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad, but I was slightly disappointed, mainly because I didn't like how a lot of the information was relayed to Ellery via Ryan, almost an infodump of facts that the author couldn't figure out how to relay in a more natural way. However, I do think the reveal was good for the most part, unexpected but not unrealistic/far-fetched. I thought the character's were fairly interesting: Ellery maybe fell a little flat as a character but for the most part she was mostly fleshed out. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

inejstan's review against another edition

Go to review page

so boring. se siente como esos libros pretensiosos de wattpad. los personajes no tienen ni una gracia, y cuando piensas que se va a poner bueno, no lo hace 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

joan_salder's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

First of all, this was 'the best book' of all Karen books I have read till now (only 2). The ending is mysterious, but the last sentence brings up a lot of thoughts to our mind.
It brought up the thought of Sarah sleeping with Peter, because that is the only way he would think of Ellery to be her daughter. Secondly, Sarah knew something which Sadie didn't and that is her and Peter's relationship, because if it was only homecoming queens getting kidnapped and murdered then there is no chance that Sarah might have suffered, because Sadie was the homecoming queen. I am literally so sorry to the characters I suspected because they were not guilty and I just had crazy thoughts. So, well, that is literally it.
I loved the plot set up and everything. I even liked Ryan Rodriguez and Ezra and Malcolm and Declan. Of course who doesn't. But beware of the choices you make...
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

familiar_diversions's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

3.75

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

that_person22's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I absolutely loved this book. I was making theories every five second
and when I discovered that the murderer was Peter I felt sick to my stomach. What a plot twist!
I absolutely adore the characters and love how there lives and family’s aren’t perfect! Absolutely devastated that the book is finished.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

sorcha's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

spearly's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

“You might want to tell that sister of yours to lie low for a change. Doesn’t seem like a great year to be homecoming queen, does it?”


Someone in Echo Ridge has it out for prom queens. First, a girl named Sarah disappears on Homecoming night 20 years ago. Then, Queen Bee Lacey disappears 5 years ago. When Ellory and Ezra's mother - who also happens to be Sarah's twin - is admitted to rehab, they are shipped off to live with their Grandmother in Echo Ridge. That's when the threats start showing up; I'M BACK. PICK YOUR QUEEN, ECHO RIDGE. HAPPY HOMECOMING

Honestly... I've been spoiled. A Good Girl's Guide to Murderhas set the bar for YA mysteries, and unfortunately, Two Can Keep a Secret just fell short.

Told in dual POV, the story follows Ellory, whose aunt disappeared from town 20 years prior, and Marcus, the brother of the guy everyone thinks killed Lacey 5 years ago. Which is all fine and good, except their voices were so similar, I had trouble remembering whose chapter I was reading.

The side characters felt weak, indistinct, and honestly, kind of pointless. The only one who ended up mattering to the story was Officer Rodriguez. I was disappointed to see that even Ellory's twin Ezra was relegated to c-character status. You'd think he'd play a larger role, given that all that familial trauma (of not knowing their father, of losing their aunt, of their mother having a drug problem and needing to go to rehab) that affects Ellory on a daily basis should alsoaffect Ezra. And yet, we barely see him.

I had a large issue with pace, too. It's more than halfway through the book by the time any real investigating goes on. For a murder mystery, readers never really get that satisfaction of clues falling into place, of solving the crime alone with our MCs, of rushing to put the puzzle together before it's too late. Ellory is a self-declared true-crime aficionado, and yet we're barely following her and Malcom solve the mystery because every theory of theirs is wrong. The only real sleuthing they do is when
they dig through the recycling to find what Brooke was looking for
. I never felt the stakes. Again, I'm spoiled by Holly Jackson's whodunits, and now nothing holds a candle.

That aside, I still feel that One of Us Is Lying is the stronger mystery from McManus. More intrigue. More teen detective work. Better reveal. Better characters.

But credit where it's due. You seldom read a mystery where the antagonist doesn't spell everything out for the MCs in some forced villain speech (even A Good Girl's Guide to Murder does this), but that is not the case here. Our villain reveals very little, and readers don't find out the whole story until after the climax. Which is a nice reprieve from the expected.

Overall, not the best teen mystery I have ever read, but a quick, easy read that kept me turning the page nonetheless.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

claire_luna's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

While it took a couple chapters for the stage to be set and a bit of time spent figuring out the various characters and the timeline, after chapter 10 the story had me completely hooked. There were some predictable elements while other twists were entirely surprising. Interspersed in the story there were moments of reflection and issues that were touched upon, giving it depth beyond merely the tension of the general plot. Overall a very satisfying mystery/thriller. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

chrysalis's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings