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 Back by Karen M. McManus
Series: One of Us Is Lying #3
Published by Delacorte Press on 7/25/23
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 362
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

It’s been almost two years since Simon died in detention, and the aftermath has been hard to shake. First the Bayview Four had to prove they weren’t killers. Then a new generation outwitted a vengeful copycat. Now the entire Bayview Crew is back home for the summer, and everyone is trying to move on.

Only, this is Bayview, and life is never that simple.

At first the mysterious billboard seems like a bad joke: Time for a new game, Bayview. But when a member of the Bayview Crew disappears, it’s clear this “game” is serious—and whoever’s in charge isn’t sharing the rules. Or maybe there aren’t any.

Bronwyn. Cooper. Addy. Nate. Maeve. Phoebe. Knox. Luis. Kris. Everyone’s a target. And now that someone unexpected has returned to Bayview, things could start getting deadly.

The thing is, Simon was right about secrets—they all come out eventually. And Bayview has a lot it’s still hiding.

Short and Sweet Review

It’s summer in Bayview and all of the Bayview crew are back together. You would think after Simon’s death two years ago and another group stopping the copycat that this would be the end, but nope someone is targeting the group again. It starts with a sign on a billboard then one of the crew members goes missing. Simon warned everyone before he died that secrets will come out, and there’s a few more Bayview has to give.

I love this series and as happy I was to hear there was going to be an installment I don’t think this book was needed. We’re back in Bayview and this time everyone is there, but we only get the POVs of Addy, Nate, and Phoebe. I understand Phoebe and Addy but not really sure we needed Nate. Phoebe is trying to figure out if her brother is a psychopath and we need Addy because Jake is back and we need to follow her thoughts and emotions through it all. If I had to guess why we got Nate maybe it was so we could see how he’s trying to better himself and also his relationship with Bronwyn. Anyway, Jake is out and about on probation so when the “games” are starting he looks like the number one suspect except that’s too easy. I honestly think Jake was there to throw us off and it’s funny because he’s still a horrible person so it very well could be him. When we get to the end and everything is explained it just feels like it was out of left field, because really how out of whack can one town be? Anyway in this book we get our normal something is happening that shouldn’t be, lets do a little investigating, something happens to one of our members, and we were a little off but now we know who the suspect is.

I do enjoy this series but I do feel like everything here was so convenient and out of nowhere that it worked but also made me feel like this shouldn’t have been a new book. I liked seeing all of the characters together and how the characters from the first book were like mentors to the characters from the second book, they had a great friendship with each other. Definitely recommend this series books 1 and 2 were amazing this book threw me for a loop.

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
Buy on Amazon

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!