Hello, bookworms!
I am currently still watching the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships, but today is groups day and the competition will start in the afternoon, so I have a few hours to catch up on some more reviews and read some books. Not too many, because I then I will have to update the social medias of the gymnastics news outlet I work for. Busy day of writing and reading, today, I don’t know how I am surviving these days, to be completely honest.
Anyways, today we are going to talk about One Of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus, the sequel to One Of Us Is Lying, which I recently reread and reviewed here on my blog. I had been wanting to read this ever since it came out, but for some reason I procrastinated it. Now that the third book came out, though, I just had to finish the whole series and I did it!
So, without any further ado, let’s get this review started.
About the book
Title: One Of Us Is Next
Series: One Of Us Is Lying #2
Author: Karen M. McManus
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication date: January 7, 2020
Pages: 377
Plot, as stated on Goodreads
Come on, Bayview, you know you’ve missed this. A ton of copycat gossip apps have popped up since Simon died, but in the year since the Bayview four were cleared of his shocking death, no one’s been able to fill the gossip void quite like he could. The problem is no one has the facts. Until now. This time it’s not an app, though—it’s a game. Truth or Dare. Phoebe’s the first target. If you choose not to play, it’s a truth. And hers is dark. Then comes Maeve and she should know better—always choose the dare. But by the time Knox is about to be tagged, things have gotten dangerous. The dares have become deadly, and if Maeve learned anything from Bronwyn last year, it’s that they can’t count on the police for help. Or protection. Simon’s gone, but someone’s determined to keep his legacy at Bayview High alive. And this time, there’s a whole new set of rules. The highly anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestselling thriller everyone is talking about, One of Us Is Lying! There’s a new mystery to solve at Bayview High, and there’s a whole new set of rules.
My rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Review
Out of the three book of the trilogy, this is the weakest one, without a doubt. I haven’t watched the second season of the One Of Us Is Lying show yet, but I’ve been told they did not follow this book’s plot, and I honestly can understand why. It would have been hard.
First things first: as I told you, for some reason the Bayview Four have grown on me to the point that I consider them among my favourite characters, in spite of the fact that I recognise they are not the most original nor the most well written cast ever. The same can’t be said for the three main characters of One Of Us Is Next, unfortunately. Maeve was one of my favourite from book one, so is no surprise she is the only one I save in this book as well.
Phoebe and Knox were just not strong enough, for me. I don’t care about them all that much, but they weren’t the worst either. I much preferred Maeve’s POVs though, especially because through them we got a bit of the Bayview Four. Not to be repetitive or anything.
The plot was interesting and engaging. When I say I understand why they did change it in the show is because of the way the changed the most important things in season 1, not because I think you could not make a TV series out of this book. It wasn’t as twisty and camp as the first book, but I was still interested and the secrets were juicy. I especially liked a twist in the end, even though I had seen it coming. I cannot tell you what it was, but it’s a plot device I’ve encountered in a few YA mysteries by now — like Little Monsters by Kara Thomas — but I think Karen M. McManus is one of the authors who used it best.
The pacing was a bit weird. Maybe it’s because I had just finished rereading One Of Us Is Lying, but in the first half I struggled to get into it. After the midway point, however, things picked up and I couldn’t put the book down. I had to know if I had guessed it all right (I mostly had, but I don’t mind guessing the plot twists, if I enjoy the ride to get there) and it took me very little to finish the whole thing at that point.
Which is something that I love about Karen M. McManus writing. Even when the book is horrible (*coff coff* The Cousins *coff coff*), she has the power to keep me glued to the pages and make forget about everything else. It’s a talent, and that’s probably why I consider her a favourite of mine despite our difficult history together. Honestly, I will keep reading everything she ever writes, as long as she keeps writing mysteries, I think.
So, even though this second chapter in the trilogy wasn’t the strongest, I still recommend reading it. It’s not the best, but it’s not the worst either, and you have to read this in order to read One Of Us Is Back. I love that these books are all truly connected to one another.
Speaking of which, this is going to be all for today. I will talk to you soon with some new reviews and in the next few days I will be also reviewing One Of Us Is Back, so that I complete my trilogy of reviews. Keep an eye out for that and I’ll see you soon!
La Petite Pritt 