I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
One of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus Series: One of Us Is Lying #2
Published by Delacorte Press on 1/7/20
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 374
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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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.
Short and Sweet Review
After Simon’s death you would think things at Bayview would be okay, but a lot of copycat apps have popped up since then. Now someone has made a game, Truth or Dare. Phoebe, Knox, and Maeve are sent texts to play and so are a few of their classmates, and it’s always easier to choose dare, because the consequences of not playing is one of your secrets being revealed. Simon may be gone but someone wants to keep his legacy alive.
Phoebe is the first one targeted and unfortunately she chooses not to answer and one of her secrets is revealed to the entire school. I felt bad for Phoebe the amount of crap she got for it was awful. Phoebe’s home life is okay, things haven’t been the same since her father died and now it’s just Phoebe, her brother, sister, and mom. Things get tense between Phoebe and her sister Emma, and we can see the dynamic between the two is just awkward and you wouldn’t want to be in a room with them.
Maeve also choses not to reply and one of her secrets leak but it also affects her friend Knox. I really liked Maeve we saw her in the last book and I’m glad we got more of her. She’s a computer genius and I like how determined she was to find out who could be behind Truth or Dare. Maeve is also dealing with the possibility that her Leukemia might be back and she’s been keeping it a secret because she doesn’t want to go through all the treatments again. Maeve also has a little romance with Luis and I just thought it was so cute, I loved those two together.
Knox isn’t asked a Truth or Dare question but we do see that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Knox and Maeve are best friends but we see a little bit of a fallout after Maeve’s secret is revealed, but they do reconcile after they realize that their friendship is more important. Knox’s father also owns a construction company and that plays a big role in the book.
Someone at Bayview just made a new game with new rules. This is Truth or Dare to a new level. Phoebe is texted first but after not replying her secret is revealed and now people know this is the real deal. After what happened to Phoebe other students start to pick dare. Maeve is asked but she chooses not to reply and after her secret is revealed she tries to ignore the repercussions. One of the students decide to take the dare and that’s when things get ugly, he dies and that’s the same time Knox was in the wrong place. Knox, Phoebe, and Maeve know this is serious so they invest more time trying to figure out who could be behind Truth or Dare, by doing stakeouts, following people, and hacking computers. I did like that we saw characters from the last book, there was a lot of them because Addy’s sister was getting married so that was a subplot. I loved the ending I wasn’t sure who could have done it but once everything started getting revealed, I figured out who did it and what their motive was.
This book held my attention from the first page to the last. I love mysteries and One of Us is Next is better then One of Us is Lying. I just love how the stakes were raised and how Phoebe, Knox, and Maeve worked together. This book was hard to put down and it just makes me want to read another book by Karen M. McManus!
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