For this month’s Writer’s Book Club, I’m reviewing the young adult mystery One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus. In the novel, a teacher sends five high schoolers to detention for having phones—phones they claim aren’t theirs. When one student goes into anaphylactic shock and dies, it’s assumed his death is accidental, but then the investigation points to murder.

A car accident in the parking lot distracts Yale-bound Bronwyn, gifted athlete Cooper, pretty, popular Addy, and drug-dealing Nate, as outcast Simon, creator of the high school’s notorious gossip blog, drinks from the water cooler using a disposable cup. Simon goes into anaphylactic shock. His EpiPen is missing, and so are the EpiPens in the nurse’s office. The paramedics are too late to save him.

I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook version, expertly narrated by Kim Mai Guest, MacLeod Andrews, Shannon McManus, and Robbie Daymond.

What I liked about One of Us Is Lying

One of Us Is Lying does a terrific job of accurately capturing the teen years while avoiding the typical stereotypes. There are plenty of good twists, realistic reactions to events, and likable, but flawed, characters.

Chapters are told from each character’s distinct point of view. As the story unfolds, it’s clear Simon knew secrets about each of the main characters and threatened to leak them, giving motives to all four. Some secrets were predictable, and others were a surprise, but all were realistic and devastating to the characters.

Bronwyn, Cooper, Addy, and Nate bond over their shared nightmare, and a sweet romance develops between two unlikely characters.

What I didn’t like about One of Us Is Lying

In this murder mystery, red-herrings lead me to believe several possibilities for Simon’s murder. However, after Simon’s death, someone posts inside knowledge about the investigation and the secrets Simon had threatened to expose. It’s a good twist, but no one attempts to discover who is posting these things, including the police. That was odd.

I figured out who had done it late in the book and right before a minor character hinted at the culprit. This character shouldn’t have made the connection, and I wish McManus hadn’t been so obvious in revealing this.

I wanted more (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing)

They had made this book into a TV series in 2021 (now streaming on Peacock) , so I gave it a shot. Unfortunately, the male actors all look considerably older than seventeen or eighteen. And the actor playing the baseball pitcher Cooper has a more muscular build than even a professional baseball pitcher. The dialogue wasn’t up to the book’s standards, and the acting was lacking. Halfway through the second episode, I stopped watching.

There are two sequels, which I will probably read, as I’m invested in these characters.

How this has affected my writing

I appreciated how well McManus depicted teenagers in language, mannerisms, hopes, and fears, and will try to emulate that in my young adult novels.

One of Us Is Lying gets 👍🏻 👍🏻 👍🏻 👍🏻 for an engaging young adult mystery with lots of surprises.

For more teenage adventures, check out my Devil Particle Series.