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A review by kccool12255
One of Us Is Back by Karen M. McManus
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.75
Now, let's be honest.
Did One of Us Is Lying NEED a sequel? No.
Were all of the characters and their archs perfectly summed up, even in the first book? Yes.
But am I going to buy every new book and devour it every single time? Yes.
This is by no means the best book I've ever read, but for what it is, this is absolutely AMAZING. Karen M. McManus KNOWS what she's doing, and she EXCELS at her craft every single time. Though One of Us Is Lying didn't need a follow-up, she smashed it out of the park with One of Us is Next, and you just HAD to have a follow-up to the cliffhanger ending. I love every single one of these characters, and I love reading in their POVs and seeing how they react to situations, as well as make (very understandable) mistakes. It was great getting to read Addy's and Nate's POVs again, since I did miss them from the first book, and even Phoebe's POV was much better than last book. She's had a lot of development, and I love seeing her (and her relationship with Knox) on the page. (Though I still am complaining how we didn't get a kiss scene, but I do understand and respect that they're taking things slow. It would've been GREAT to see, though. I don't think we had ANY kiss scenes in this book.) However, I do question the logic of THESE three characters being chosen for POVs in this book. Since we have like NINE main characters now, I was under the impression that Karen M. McManus was going to do split-POVs with ALL of them, and while that could've been very messy, I still would've liked to see it attempted. Bronwyn and Cooper got shoved into the background a LOT as a result, and it's sad that we don't get to see as much of them as usual. What I also would've liked to see is maybe some POVs from the characters we HAVEN'T seen yet. Namely, Luis, Kris, maybe even Vanessa, this random girl who gains importance this book, and maybe Keely, since she's also kind of important to the story (I get she's on vacation, but maybe if she was a main character, she could've been given more of a role in the mystery-solving aspect.) Luis and Kris are CONTINUALLY shoved into the background of this book, and bringing their POVs in could've made them more central characters. One of Us Is Lying had Bronwyn, Cooper, Addy, and Nate, and then the second book switched it up by bringing in Maeve, Bronwyn's sister, Knox, and Phoebe, and I would've loved to see new main characters for this book as well. But I don't hate the final product, and I think these POVs gave a lot of insight and a lot more depth to the story overall. I LOVE seeing Nate's development as well as Phoebe's, and as always, I love seeing how much of a girlboss Addy is becoming.
Speaking of Addy, I do have a slight critique. Was her budding romance with Keely REALLY necessary? I mean, I know she's finally gaining independence after ending her relationship with Jake, but I would've really just preferred to see her remain single. I also don't think it's necessary to make her gay, but that's a story for another time. Bottom line is, I don't HATE the pairing, but I would've loved to just see Addy stay single and continue to figure out her place in the world.
What I do LOVE, though, is getting to see Jake and SIMON'S POVs. That was a VERY welcome surprise, and it added a lot to the story. Everything came together in the end, which is always nice to see.
And because I don't know where else to put this, while some character relationships were really well-developed and fleshed out, others felt completely abandoned. Like what the heck happened to Maeve and Knox being best friends? I get they both have romantic interests now, but I don't think we saw them interacting with each other in a scene ONCE this book. It was very disappointing.
But in retrospect, the ending also feels very lackluster. I know Karen M. McManus definitely didn't PLAN for these books initially becoming a series, but I wish the "villains" were more tied together and cohesive. Jake DID come back in this book, but he wasn't the main villain, and it was just honestly a little disappointing, though the plot twists were definitely well-implemented. And talking about books being well-tied together, we didn't even get a really good GAME in this book. In the first book, you had all the gossip thingies, in the second book, we had dangerous truth or dare, but in this book, we don't really get much of ANYTHING other than the "practice makes perfect", which doesn't even turn out to be that important, if I remember correctlly . And the ending is REALLY nice, but I wish it had involved good things for ALL of the characters, not just Addy. Kinda like in the epilogue of the first book, where EVERYBODY comes together for the ending. I just wish that wasn't the ending for the entire series, was just Addy reflecting and looking forward to the future.
But all that being said, I absolutely LOVE this book. While it could've done more, I LOVE reading about these characters and this world, and I wouldn't change that for anything.
It's been a fun journey, One of Us Is Lying. I'm gonna miss you.
Did One of Us Is Lying NEED a sequel? No.
Were all of the characters and their archs perfectly summed up, even in the first book? Yes.
But am I going to buy every new book and devour it every single time? Yes.
This is by no means the best book I've ever read, but for what it is, this is absolutely AMAZING. Karen M. McManus KNOWS what she's doing, and she EXCELS at her craft every single time. Though One of Us Is Lying didn't need a follow-up, she smashed it out of the park with One of Us is Next, and you just HAD to have a follow-up to the cliffhanger ending. I love every single one of these characters, and I love reading in their POVs and seeing how they react to situations, as well as make (very understandable) mistakes. It was great getting to read Addy's and Nate's POVs again, since I did miss them from the first book, and even Phoebe's POV was much better than last book. She's had a lot of development, and I love seeing her (and her relationship with Knox) on the page. (Though I still am complaining how we didn't get a kiss scene, but I do understand and respect that they're taking things slow. It would've been GREAT to see, though. I don't think we had ANY kiss scenes in this book.) However, I do question the logic of THESE three characters being chosen for POVs in this book. Since we have like NINE main characters now, I was under the impression that Karen M. McManus was going to do split-POVs with ALL of them, and while that could've been very messy, I still would've liked to see it attempted. Bronwyn and Cooper got shoved into the background a LOT as a result, and it's sad that we don't get to see as much of them as usual. What I also would've liked to see is maybe some POVs from the characters we HAVEN'T seen yet. Namely, Luis, Kris, maybe even Vanessa, this random girl who gains importance this book, and maybe Keely, since she's also kind of important to the story (I get she's on vacation, but maybe if she was a main character, she could've been given more of a role in the mystery-solving aspect.) Luis and Kris are CONTINUALLY shoved into the background of this book, and bringing their POVs in could've made them more central characters. One of Us Is Lying had Bronwyn, Cooper, Addy, and Nate, and then the second book switched it up by bringing in Maeve, Bronwyn's sister, Knox, and Phoebe, and I would've loved to see new main characters for this book as well. But I don't hate the final product, and I think these POVs gave a lot of insight and a lot more depth to the story overall. I LOVE seeing Nate's development as well as Phoebe's, and as always, I love seeing how much of a girlboss Addy is becoming.
Speaking of Addy, I do have a slight critique.
What I do LOVE, though, is getting to see Jake and SIMON'S POVs. That was a VERY welcome surprise, and it added a lot to the story. Everything came together in the end, which is always nice to see.
And because I don't know where else to put this, while some character relationships were really well-developed and fleshed out, others felt completely abandoned. Like what the heck happened to Maeve and Knox being best friends? I get they both have romantic interests now, but I don't think we saw them interacting with each other in a scene ONCE this book. It was very disappointing.
But in retrospect, the ending also feels very lackluster. I know Karen M. McManus definitely didn't PLAN for these books initially becoming a series, but I wish the "villains" were more tied together and cohesive. Jake DID come back in this book, but he wasn't the main villain, and it was just honestly a little disappointing, though the plot twists were definitely well-implemented. And talking about books being well-tied together, we didn't even get a really good GAME in this book. In the first book, you had all the gossip thingies, in the second book, we had dangerous truth or dare, but in this book, we don't really get much of ANYTHING
But all that being said, I absolutely LOVE this book. While it could've done more, I LOVE reading about these characters and this world, and I wouldn't change that for anything.
It's been a fun journey, One of Us Is Lying. I'm gonna miss you.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Car accident, Violence, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Stalking, Gore, Cursing, and Blood
Minor: Vomit