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A review by enchantedfiction
One of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus
4.0
It's been a little over a year since Simon Kelleher died, and it looked like the gossip train had died with him. Until one day when the school gets a mass text from Anonymous saying they are going to play a game of truth or dare. The person chosen has 24 hours to make their decision, and if they refuse to participate, a dark secret of theirs will be revealed to everyone. Phoebe, a girl struggling with her home life after her father's tragic death three years ago, is the first target, and when she's unwilling to participate, her dark past surfaces for everyone to see. Maeve gets targeted next, and knows that the best thing to do would be to take the dare, and her best friend Knox is ready to support her in any way. But what started out as harmless dares and dark truths turns deadly, and yet another student from Bayview High ends up dead. Who took over Simon's place of all knowing gossip and turned a simple game deadly? Everyone starts looking suspicious, but no one has all the facts to point a finger at the culprit.
I have listened to each of these books on Audible, and have enjoyed all three with the full cast experience. I knew when One of Us is Next was coming out I had to get it, especially since it brought it all back to the beginning of the series. I loved the inclusion of the Bayview Four, since it felt realistic, and it was cool to see them in a different way than under the spotlight. I also enjoyed the new characters and their kind of stereotypical high school cliches and actions. The truth or dare game to taunt people into doing outrageous things or have their secrets spilled was something I actually wish had gone on a little bit longer, like a time lapse of a few months of it going on before the deadly dare (no spoilers!). I think that would have been a little more believable with each of the dares becoming a little bit more dangerous until the last one.
Unlike in Two Can Keep A Secret, I was able to figure out whodunnit before the characters. When that happens, I usually just get annoyed with the characters for not seeing what I found obvious into who is to blame, BUT the ending took me off guard, which I did enjoy. I would be really interested to see if Karen McManus continues this story line or leaves it as is, and obviously I have liked these books enough to get them all. The small issues I had with it which is why it's not a 5 star review is the fact I could figure it out before the characters, some of the actions of characters were weird, and again, I didn't think that the game really went on long enough to be thoroughly thought out like it seemed to have been. But if you have read the other books and enjoyed them, I would definitely recommend One of Us is Next. I would recommend them all as a whole if you haven't read any of them, because I do think the writing is pretty good and the story is engaging. I am really excited to see the One of Us is Lying TV series, and hopefully that it stays somewhat true to the actual story, but with this genre I feel like liberties can be taken a little more than for a fantasy book/series.
I have listened to each of these books on Audible, and have enjoyed all three with the full cast experience. I knew when One of Us is Next was coming out I had to get it, especially since it brought it all back to the beginning of the series. I loved the inclusion of the Bayview Four, since it felt realistic, and it was cool to see them in a different way than under the spotlight. I also enjoyed the new characters and their kind of stereotypical high school cliches and actions. The truth or dare game to taunt people into doing outrageous things or have their secrets spilled was something I actually wish had gone on a little bit longer, like a time lapse of a few months of it going on before the deadly dare (no spoilers!). I think that would have been a little more believable with each of the dares becoming a little bit more dangerous until the last one.
Unlike in Two Can Keep A Secret, I was able to figure out whodunnit before the characters. When that happens, I usually just get annoyed with the characters for not seeing what I found obvious into who is to blame, BUT the ending took me off guard, which I did enjoy. I would be really interested to see if Karen McManus continues this story line or leaves it as is, and obviously I have liked these books enough to get them all. The small issues I had with it which is why it's not a 5 star review is the fact I could figure it out before the characters, some of the actions of characters were weird, and again, I didn't think that the game really went on long enough to be thoroughly thought out like it seemed to have been. But if you have read the other books and enjoyed them, I would definitely recommend One of Us is Next. I would recommend them all as a whole if you haven't read any of them, because I do think the writing is pretty good and the story is engaging. I am really excited to see the One of Us is Lying TV series, and hopefully that it stays somewhat true to the actual story, but with this genre I feel like liberties can be taken a little more than for a fantasy book/series.