A review by beckyyreadss
You'll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus

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

3.0

I wanted to read this book as I really enjoy Karen M. Manus’s writing style. I have read all the books in Karen’s collection expect for the newest one that was released this year. I liked this book but I wasn’t as thriller as I expected - I was expecting something like One of Us is Dead and it wasn’t.  

This book is based on Ivy, Mateo and Cal. They used to be close back in middle school. So, when Cal pulls into campus late for class, and runs into Ivy and Mateo, it seems like the perfect opportunity to turn a bad day around. They'll ditch school and go into the city. Just the three of them, like old times. Why did they stop hanging out, anyway? As soon as they pull out of the parking lot Cal knows why. Ivy’s already freaking out about missing class, and heartthrob Mateo is asleep in the backseat, too cool to even pretend like he wants to be there. The truth is they have nothing in common anymore. As least they didn’t until they run into the fourth student ditching school that day. Brian “Boney” Mahoney is supposed to be accepting his newly won office of class president. Which is why Ivy follows him into an empty building, only to talk into the middle of a murder scene. Cal, Ivy, and Mateo all know the person lying on the ground of that building, and they need to come clean. This is a young adult mystery.  

This book was a really quick read. But it didn’t feel like much of a thriller than I expected it to be for Karen’s work. I wanted the book to be longer and maybe more than a day thing. I feel like it could have been better if it was set over a longer period like One of Us is Dead. I just wanted more and it just didn’t deliver. I really loved her series and nothing has seemed to top that even with all the standalones. I was hoping for some more depth within these characters. The characters were fine but I just wanted more. I enjoyed the storyline and it was an okay and easy read.
  
Karen McManus will always be on my instant author buy list but I just want her to give us more.  
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