One of Us Is Lying Synopsis
“On Thursday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.
Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.
Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.
Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention, Simon’s dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Thursday, he died. But on Friday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they just the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose? Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.”
Note: This review is spoiler-free!
Why did I pick it?
As a general rule, I do not read contemporary YA fiction, ever. In fact, it’s only recently that I picked one up, and even then it was by accident as I hadn’t read the blurb properly. This one, however, was mentioned and raved about SO MUCH on Twitter by the YA reading community that it almost seemed like I HAD to read it… so, ever the sheep that I am, I did!
What I loved about it
It’s unusual these days that I put life on the back burner and read a book from cover to cover in a day or two, but for this book, I did just that. I couldn’t help it; In the car on the way to work (not driving obviously!), on my lunch break, whilst cooking dinner (badly of course!) I was devouring the next chapter of this book. The author does a great job of keeping you guessing and teasing you just enough that you have to keep going, I loved that the most. The anticipation, the thrill of not knowing until the very end.
Apart from the main “Who killed Simon” plot point there are lots of friendship and family relationships developing throughout, which kept the story moving as you slowly delved deeper into the mystery. It’s told from each of the main characters POV’s and this added to the mystery and really helped to flesh out the characters as you started to learn more about them as you tried to decide whodunnit
What I loathed about it
Nothing, I honestly didn’t, and I rarely say that. Anytime that it felt like the story might be getting a bit monotonous, BAM! A twist came and moved the story on.
I wanted to hate the stereotypes because really, this book RUNS on stereotypes, but I didn’t. Even though they were all classic high school characters, they were all flawed in a variety of different ways, which made them interesting and relatable rather than annoying.
Thoughts
It’s like a Dan Brown novel for YA readers, a mystery/thriller that keeps you guessing right to the very end, and whether you guessed right or not, you won’t really care as the ride it so enjoyable.
When and where can you can get it
You can purchase One of Us Is Lying on Amazon today
This sounds fab! I am very picky about whoddunits thiugh byt I livevthe idea it’s all during detention and the POV. Thanks for reviewing I shall be adding it to my reading list 🙂
I’ve heard endless good things about this book – It’s high up on my to-read / to-buy list. I absolutely love the whole “breakfast club” type theme to it. I’m also super excited to see it on the World Book Night books list this year, so when I sign up for that, I’ll certainly be requesting this one to give out to people! xxx
i dont normally read books like this but this sounds so interesting!
This one sounds like so much fun! I love a good murder mystery.
A Sparkle Of Grace
I love when you’re surprised by a book, especially when it’s not normally a genre you’re into x
Anna
http://www.glass-shoes.com
Ok I absolutely love Dan Brown and YA so after hearing your description I’m putting this book much higher on my TBR!!
I really enjoyed this one too! I agree with what you said about the stereotypes – usually they can be really boring because they’ve been done so much but they were really interesting and readable this time around. I love it when I give in to the hype and it ends up being right!
I’m glad you liked it, I thought it was a very good novel! I really liked the characters too, even though they were obvious highschool stereotypes. Lovely review! <3
I have put this one on my wish list because everyone keeps raving about so I feel that I have to know why!
I love a good mystery book that keeps on on the edge. Keeping my finger crossed that Santa got it for me ☺️
This sounds like such an interesting read, even if it isn’t my usual genre! xx
Jamie | http://www.jamies-corner.com
I actually added this book to my tbr today! I saw it on good reads and was really taken in. Your review has just sealed the deal :’) thank you!
I am definitely going to give this a read! Thanks for sharing! <3
I might actually pick this one up, now. The whole Breakfast Club thing put me off at first. Not because I don’t like the movie, but because I love it and didn’t think this book could live up to it!