One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 368

Publisher: Penguin

Released: 1st of June 2017 

Yale hopeful Bronwyn has never publicly broken a rule.

Sports star Cooper only knows what he's doing in the baseball diamond.

Bad body Nate is one misstep away from a life of crime.

Prom queen Addy is holding together the cracks in her perfect life.

And outsider Simon, creator of the notorious gossip app at Bayview High, won't ever talk about any of them again.

He dies 24 hours before he could post their deepest secrets online. Investigators conclude it's no accident. All of them are suspects.

Everyone has secrets, right?

What really matters is how far you'll go to protect them.

What I Have to Say 

A good mystery like this one was exactly what I needed right now. It had very real, believable characters who you couldn't help but like as piece by piece you got to know their real personality. I don't think there was actually one of the four that I didn't love completely by the end. The way it's written makes you feel like you know them at the start but then as they get caught up in being investigated for murder and their lives start to fall apart, it uncovers more about their personalities and you start to really know them as individuals rather than stereotypes. 

The mystery was compelling and beautifully written. I guessed the ending, but in a way that made me feel really clever rather than like it was predictable, because of the fantastic twist to the story. You've got to be able to guess the endings sometimes, or what's the point, right?   It was just perfect and exactly the answer that satisfied me immensely. 

Above all this is a story about secrets. There are so many secrets hidden in this book and it's all about what happens when they come out. I absolutely loved that idea and the way that everything changed as the plot progressed. 

This is definitely one of the most perfect contemporary mysteries I've read and I would recommend it to anyone. 

My thanks go to Penguin Random House and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review.