Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus

10 reviews

emmajh91's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Kidnapping, Vomit, Cursing, Death of parent, Car accident, Child death, Confinement, Grief, Murder, Infidelity, and Violence

daralexandria's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, and Murder

lilith_hmr's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

3.75

This like the 'One of Us is Lying' series was an easy read. The flow was smooth and the plot twists were unpredictable. But McManus could have increased the tenseness a little more in the last act because I didn't find it all that satisfying. Although a little flimsy, the conclusion wasn't too horrible. The book's final sentence had such a shockingly unexpected conclusion. At first, it wasn't very apparent, but once I got it, it was good enough to state that Karen McManus is a plot-twist genius.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, Vomit, Murder, Mental illness, Car accident, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Pedophilia, and Gun violence

Moderate: Gun violence, Alcohol, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Vomit

Minor: Blood, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, and Alcohol

harmonygracie's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Blood, Car accident, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Murder, Vomit, Bullying, Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, and Violence

halfbloodprincess_hogwarts's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Ugggggghhhh, the end was so fucked up🤢🤮 def a great read in time for the spooky month with a ton of suspense🤍

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Car accident, Alcohol, Body horror, Child death, Grief, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Stalking, Vomit, and Sexism

joan_salder's review against another edition

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...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Murder, Death, Cursing, and Car accident

Moderate: Bullying, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, Violence, Stalking, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Deadnaming, and Blood

c100's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, and Bullying

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Death of parent

tinytrashqueen's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Car accident, and Confinement

sorcha's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death of parent, Confinement, and Kidnapping

spearly's review against another edition

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Child death, and Violence

Moderate: Grief, Infidelity, Bullying, Car accident, and Blood

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Vomit