O — ONE OF US IS LYING, ONE OF US IS NEXT, both written by Karen M. McManus; reviewed by Debi O’Neill

Published by Delacorte Press.

Karen M. McManus, I salute you. You belong in the Hall of Fame of YA writers, and you deserve every degree there is for knowing the deepest level of the inner workings of different people.

I never heard of this author until my daughter, a middle school teacher who shares my love for young adult and middle-school literature, recommended that I read ONE OF US IS LYING. One of her students recommended the book to her. And now I aim to devour every Karen M. McManus novel I find.

We all know the power of gossip. Do you remember it at its worst? Remember the magnetic lure it had back in middle school and high school? Wow. Karen McManus captures it beautifully. This novel opens to tension on the first page, with Simon, the creator of a gossip app, introduced in the first paragraph. Then he and four other students wind up with detention. They are all secluded in the detention room, and yet Simon never gets to leave. He’s dead, just before he was about to post something in his gossip app that could destroy lives.

Naturally, the other four students are all suspects. They all have something to hide, a secret to protect. Did one of them really do it?

The sequel, ONE OF US IS NEXT, follows in the wake of Simon’s disaster at the same school. Now, a bunch of copycat gossip apps have popped up all over social media, and this time, a scheming puppeteer is masterminding a game of devious truths or deadly dares among the characters.

A third book to the series, ONE OF US IS BACK, is next on my TBR list. I can’t wait! I’m just sorry I didn’t read it in time for this blog-hop. (The Kindle version and the hardcover copy are available now, and the paperback is available for pre-order and will arrive in November.)

Happy reading!