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mahi_nad's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
3.5 stars
“Things'll get worse before they get better.”
That's a quote from One of Us is Lying, and oh boy, is it true.
REVIEW:
Going into Such Charming Liars, I wasn’t expecting too much, especially after my experience with One of Us is Lying. But this book really surprised me. While I anticipated some of the twists, a few of them caught me so off guard that I had to put the book down just to process what happened. Even though I saw some of the reveals coming, others hit with enough force to make the story feel gripping and unexpected. And the characters' trauma? Dang, that hit hard. This book definitely upped my personal view of McManus and her books.
And the characters' trauma? That hit deep. Especially Jamie's. This book definitely elevated my opinion of McManus and her writing.
The only issue I had was the pacing—it was all over the place. It started off slow, then suddenly, BAM, it throws unexpected twists at you. I was also hoping for more from the heist aspect of the book. I wanted a real heist, you know? While it's understandable since it's primarily a murder mystery, I would've loved to see more of those classic heist elements.
BOTTOM LINE:
Fun murder mystery, good plot twists
AGE RATING:
12+
“Things'll get worse before they get better.”
That's a quote from One of Us is Lying, and oh boy, is it true.
REVIEW:
Going into Such Charming Liars, I wasn’t expecting too much, especially after my experience with One of Us is Lying. But this book really surprised me. While I anticipated some of the twists, a few of them caught me so off guard that I had to put the book down just to process what happened. Even though I saw some of the reveals coming, others hit with enough force to make the story feel gripping and unexpected. And the characters' trauma? Dang, that hit hard. This book definitely upped my personal view of McManus and her books.
And the characters' trauma? That hit deep. Especially Jamie's. This book definitely elevated my opinion of McManus and her writing.
The only issue I had was the pacing—it was all over the place. It started off slow, then suddenly, BAM, it throws unexpected twists at you. I was also hoping for more from the heist aspect of the book. I wanted a real heist, you know? While it's understandable since it's primarily a murder mystery, I would've loved to see more of those classic heist elements.
BOTTOM LINE:
Fun murder mystery, good plot twists
AGE RATING:
12+
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicide, Blood, and Abandonment
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book feels different from McManus's other books, and I think it might actually be my favorite of hers this far. There are still lots of twists and turns that keep you guessing as you delve into the mystery, and I liked the heist aspect of the story. It was well-developed and made for an interesting plot.
Fans of McManus will definitely enjoy her latest installment.
Fans of McManus will definitely enjoy her latest installment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Blood, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment
soph_peonies's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
kivacorent1ne's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
velkeyta's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Karen M. McManus NEVER misses, I was so invested.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
megnut's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I'm normally not a heist story person, but I enjoyed the mystery part of the story. (Plus totally adore Liam & Augustus .)
The solution was way convoluted and unrealistic in any way... I'm willing to suspend belief to just enjoy the story, but it did also mean I enjoyed it less than some of her other ones.
It was alright, but not one I'll buy to read again.
The solution was way convoluted and unrealistic in any way... I'm willing to suspend belief to just enjoy the story, but it did also mean I enjoyed it less than some of her other ones.
It was alright, but not one I'll buy to read again.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Stalking
greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I guess when people are “tools,” all that matters is what they can do for you.
Karen McManus, the queen of young adult mysteries, is back with a mystery that is quite different from her other books. The whole plot isn’t wrapped around a murder. *gasp* Instead, we have an Ocean’s Eleven type book, which is really becoming my favorite type of mystery to read these days.
Cast of Characters:
- Kat: a teenager who isn’t supposed to be following her mom’s last heist job but figured out a way to smuggle herself there regardless.
- Jamie: Kat’s mother who is a jewel thief but wants out. She agrees to do this last job and then she’s cleaning herself up.
- Ross Sutherland: the billionaire who is having a birthday party. Scene of the jewel heist.
- Luke: A con man who makes up sob stories about him and his “young” son to get money out of unsuspecting women. Has his romantic claws in Ross Sutherland’s daughter. Was married to Jamie for 48 hours.
- Liam: Luke’s teenage son who hates everything about Luke but ends up at the birthday party of Ross Sutherland so he can meet the new woman his father is interested in.
All of these characters end up in the same location one weekend. When a member of the Sutherland family ends up dead, no one knows who to trust. Jamie is sick and Kat doesn’t know who she can trust and the only person she feels she can turn to is Liam. Can she trust him?
While this was different from McManus’ other mystery books, I did still enjoy it. As expected with McManus, there were plenty of twists and turns so I wasn’t sure how things were going to pan out. I personally also enjoyed there were only two POVs to keep track of - sometimes I can get lost when there’s more than three characters telling the story. For whatever reason in this story I couldn’t keep everyone’s names straight so I kept mixing up who was who. That definitely impacted my enjoyment of the book. I do think teenagers are going to enjoy this book!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment
lea3141's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Stalking, and Murder
lochnessvhs's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Karen M. McManus really said "all straight men are monsters".
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Murder
arireadsitall's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I am a huge Karen M McManus fan and this one was just as captivating as her others! Multiple pov centered around a heist with a whole lot of family drama. This one is close to 400 pages but I sped through it. I will say this one felt darker and more violent than her others (big dv warning) but these characters are so compelling and you really want to root for them
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Murder