Karen M. McManus

Random House Staff

One of Us Is Next

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.

One of Us is Lying #2

One of us is next

saya snyder

"Listen, Maeve. You don't have to worry about Bronwyn and me, were endgame."

Maeve, seriously. What's going on? Who do I need to fight?

If I wear the beaded bracelet lta gave me, this test won't hurt. If I avoid all the cracks in the floor, my white cell count will be normal. IfI eat twelve grapes at midnight on New Year's Eve. I won’t die this year 

The sequel to the international bestseller One of Us is Lying Welcome back to Bayview High . . . It's been a year since the events of One Of Us Is Lying. But nothing has settled for the residents of Bayview. Not now someone has started playing a sinister game of Truth or Dare. Choose truth? You must reveal your darkest secret. Choose dare? Well, that could be even more dangerous. Even deadly. When the game takes an even darker turn, suddenly no one at Bayview High knows who to trust. But they need to find out who is behind the game, before it's too late. _____ Praise for One of Us is Next: 'Given that her high-school-based murder mysteries read like bingeworthy Netflix dramas, it's easy to see why queen of teen crime Karen McManus is a bestseller on both sides of the Atlantic.' - THE OBSERVER 'McManus keeps the juicy subplots ticking over and drip-feeds reveals as clinically as an IV tube.' - THE GUARDIAN Praise for One of Us is Lying: 'Tightly plotted and brilliantly written, with sharp, believable characters, this whodunit is utterly irresistible' - HEAT 'A fantastic murder mystery, packed with cryptic clues and countless plot twists. I could not put this book down' - THE SUN

One Of Us Is Next

Ellie 

"Were all afraid of putting ourselves out there and not getting anything in return.

The thing is, though, nobody looks back on their life think-ing, 'Damn, I wish I'd been less honest with the people I care about.'"

People like to think they're open-minded, but if you toss a tired gender stereotype in their path they'll run with it every time. I don't understand why the world insists on stuffing kids into boxes we never asked for, and then gets mad when we won't stay there.

Bronwyn used to tell me, when we were younger, that I had crushes on unattainable boys because they were safe. "You like the dream, not the reality," she’d say. "So you can keep your distance."

Kylie Robinson

It's weird, and kind of uncomfortable, to realize you might've started outgrowing a thing that used to almost be your whole life. Especially if you're not sure what else to do with yourself.

Eva Marquant

Holding on to resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die

I'm so proud of what you did. I'm proud of you, period.”

One of these days, I hope to be the type of person who worries about a girl who was allegedly part of a revenge-swapping plot to destroy me. 

"Why is no one picking up?" I yell in frustration, banging my fist on my knee. "Were Generation Z, for God's sake. Our phones are supposed to be permanently attached to our hands."

I collapse onto the toilet seat and the tears come, silently but so hard that my shoulders shake. Despite my best efforts at pretending none of this is happening, it is, and I don't know what to do. I feel isolated, hopeless, terrified, and just plain exhausted.

My white blood cell count, probably. God, I’m fun. 

Samantha

The highly anticipated, #1 New York Times bestselling sequel to One of Us Is Lying! There's a new mystery to solve at Bayview High, and there's a whole new set of rules. 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. “Few craft teen suspense like McManus.” --Entertainment Weekly “A thriller from one of the best writers in the YA mystery genre, One of Us Is Next delivers more shocking surprises and twists you won’t see coming.” --PASTE

The Sequel to One of Us Is Lying

sarina

sophie bastow

Bria

I didn't care about these characters except Maeve ofc

** spoiler alert **
           I was debating whether to give it a 4 stars or 5. I ultimately decided for 5 because the story was so good and well written. It gripped me, I would've read it in one sitting if I could (but it was in two, which is okay). I just didn't really like the ending. I understand that it could be intentional that the culprit (from the final 2-3 pages) goes unscathed, because the same thing happened to the person who died, I really think they should've been punished. It ruins the whole purpose of the game, in a way? And the final paragraph is hypocritical, given who's talking. But I really enjoy McManus' writing and worldbuilding, it really wasn't hard for me to slip back into the world of Simon even two years after reading One of us is lying.

Kaylee Ray

oh…my god. the ending. i cannot believe.

This was even better than the first omg the end 

Pia 

tris

4/5 — actually 5 stars but i miss the OG bay view four but anyways, loved how the story builds up and starts to make sense each chapter i read!! there’s a third book in this series and ngl im so confused why is there a need for a third book but ig we’ll see :)

Julia

It was a pretty okay sequel. I feel like the ending wasn’t that satisfying as I thought it would be but the characters were very entertaining.

Atli 💗🧚🏽‍♀️

Karen M. McManus  is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.  "One of Us Is Next"  is the follow up to her breakout hit "One of Us is Lying", and it doesn't disappoint. At all. 

While I enjoyed the first book, "One of Us Is Next" felt even more intimate — due to how close to home the events were this time and the person behind the Truth or Dare game. McManus has a real gift for crafting multilayered mysteries and dropping clues throughout the story to keep readers guessing until the very end. I was constantly trying to put all the pieces together and figure out whodunit before the big reveal. Also, the twist at the end? I figured it out but the way it was executed was   BIZAAR.   

The characters in this book feel just as richly developed and complex as those in the first novel. Even as the mysteries and dangers escalated, I still found myself deeply invested in each character's life and their goals and ambitions. 

My favs were:
1. Knox Myers
2. Phoebe Lawton
3. Maeve Rojas

It was a mood read for me since I started it in July for 2 days then restarted it in September and finished it in November. Despite that, the suspense and twists kept me engaged from the beginning to the very end. 

I gave "One of Us Is Next" 5 stars because it frequently offered a thrill of red herrings and a truly shocking conclusion - proving once again why Karen M. McManus is one of the top authors in the YA mystery genre. Fans of thrillers and mysteries won't want to miss this addictive sequel. I cannot wait to read the last book in the installment "One of Us is Back. "

rhegan🧋

** spoiler alert **
           the ending was just meh.. like it didn’t make me feel any shock or suprise like the twist was so obvious and so stupid and like there were definitely some clues throughout the book but it’s still like an unsatisfying twist that just has me like “wow i wasted 3 hours of my life reading this”. the ending pisses me off even more cuz it’s like the whole point was actions have consequences and ppl need to learn that so it was laughable when they didn’t tell on their brother in the end like i get it’s their brother but cmon that psychopathic ass child needs some consequences! overall it was entertaining i guess just nothing mind blowing

I really enjoyed this one. I read the first one so long ago but am actually trying to make steps of reading my TBR. And I have been sleeping on this one. I think I do like this one more. And that ending. So good. If you haven’t checked out this trilogy highly recommend!

Priscilla Stanfield

rakshu

i HAVE NO WORDSSSSSS WTF WAS THIS BOOK OMG

Karen M. McManus is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. "One of Us Is Next" is the follow up to her breakout hit "One of Us is Lying", and it doesn't disappoint. At all. 

While I enjoyed the first book, "One of Us Is Next" felt even more intimate — due to how close to home the events were this time and the person behind the Truth or Dare game. McManus has a real gift for crafting multilayered mysteries and dropping clues throughout the story to keep readers guessing until the very end. I was constantly trying to put all the pieces together and figure out whodunit before the big reveal. Also, the twist at the end? I figured it out but the way it was executed was BIZAAR. 

The characters in this book feel just as richly developed and complex as those in the first novel. Even as the mysteries and dangers escalated, I still found myself deeply invested in each character's life and their goals and ambitions. 

It was a mood read for me since I started it in July for 2 days then restarted it in September and finished it in November. Despite that, the suspense and twists kept me engaged from the beginning to the very end. 

I gave "One of Us Is Next" 5 stars because it frequently offered a thrill of red herrings and a truly shocking conclusion - proving once again why Karen M. McManus is one of the top authors in the YA mystery genre. Fans of thrillers and mysteries won't want to miss this addictive sequel. I cannot wait to read the last book in the installment "One of Us is Back. " 

Karen M. McManus is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. "One of Us Is Next" is the follow up to her breakout hit "One of Us is Lying", and it doesn't disappoint. At all. 

While I enjoyed the first book, "One of Us Is Next" felt even more intimate — due to how close to home the events were this time and the person behind the Truth or Dare game. McManus has a real gift for crafting multilayered mysteries and dropping clues throughout the story to keep readers guessing until the very end. I was constantly trying to put all the pieces together and figure out whodunit before the big reveal. Also, the twist at the end? I figured it out but the way it was executed was BIZAAR. 

The characters in this book feel just as richly developed and complex as those in the first novel. Even as the mysteries and dangers escalated, I still found myself deeply invested in each character's life and their goals and ambitions. 

My favs were:

1. Knox Myers

2. Phoebe Lawton

3. Maeve Rojas

It was a mood read for me since I started it in July for 2 days then restarted it in September and finished it in November. Despite that, the suspense and twists kept me engaged from the beginning to the very end. 

I gave "One of Us Is Next" 5 stars because it frequently offered a thrill of red herrings and a truly shocking conclusion - proving once again why Karen M. McManus is one of the top authors in the YA mystery genre. Fans of thrillers and mysteries won't want to miss this addictive sequel. I cannot wait to read the last book in the installment "One of Us is Back. " 

Maria Liatis

Holly Linneman

Fred Berman

Karissa Vacker

Lamia Hajani

I can say with some confidence that One of Us Is Lying was better. However, One of Us is Next is not, by any means, anything less than good. The writing can be somewhat awkward, but that's just how McManus is. McManus does weave together a good mystery though, and I read this book in a day. I'll continue to be a supporter, as McManus puts characters of color in the foreground, and I appreciate that.

Matthew 

Characters - five ⭐️

Story - 3 ⭐️

-

I’d wish more of the plot. For me the title and the story wasn’t a great match. Sure to begin with the characters were scared of getting the text but, as the story developed (way to fast for me) the characters became more depressed rather than scared. 

The story however had really cute romance scenes and great character development. 

I couldn’t stop reading it which must make this book a 4/5. 

Maria Shade

oh. my. god. 
the ending?? completely caught me off guard.

Nessa Luna

I think Karen M. McManus is going on my auto-buy list, because I just keep on enjoying her books every time I pick them up. This one was maybe a bit more predictable than the other two (then again, I think YA thriller/mystery books are a tad bit more predictable than adult ones, for me at least) but I still enjoyed it til the last page (view spoiler)[and oh my god that REVEAL on the last couple of pages??? Did NOT see that coming (hide spoiler)]

I loved seeing the characters from the previous book make their appearances, though there were mentions of other characters (that apparently were also in the previous book) that I couldn't really remember. Still, I really liked this book and I will definitely pick up Karen's latest book!

nienke

One of Us is Next by Karen M. McManus
4.25/ 5 stars
tw: sexual assault, murder and attempted murder, death threats, bullying

The sequel on One of Us is Lying!

This story follows the life of Maeve, Knox and Phoebe. As the game Truth or Dare stars, players are given two options: play or let the truth be revealed. 

I liked this book a bit less than the prequel. The suspense was less, but at least I didn't figure out who was behind the game (and murder) until I got further in the book. The pace was right on spot; not too slow nor too fast. A fun read and easy to follow the plot.

Liana

It’s was actually alright but I didn’t like how look it took to build up the plot I eventually got used to the characters and ended up loving them however it could’ve been better

Lynn

This was enjoyable, an interesting take on a sequel and felt appropriately young adult silly and ridiculous. Fans of pretty little liars will enjoy this, but like the series this keeps adding unnecessary and unlikely turns. Without the last 30 pages this would have been a 4 star sequel. Phoebe was my favourite by far.

Wassila fajr

I loved this book, the emotional roller-coaster with Maeve about her sickness really hit home for me, and I loved the romance between her and luis, and the friendships too !

Susan 

I literally just finished this book so my mind is going 100 miles due to the ending. That being said, let's talk about these amazing books.

I'm going to start off by talking about the first book (One of Us is Lying). I love that book so much and I feel this book is a great sequel to it. While reading book one a while ago, I did get a hunch at who was behind the entire thing around a half through the book, as I am sure many people did. This book, however, I had zero ideas what so ever about who was behind Truth or Dare until I had less than 100 pages left. Even then, I thought I was wrong and didn't want to believe my theory.

This book had me wanting to read more to the point I hated to put it down every day. I wasn't even planning on finishing the book today as I had over 100 pages left. The problem was I needed to know who was behind the game and how/why it ended the way it did.

The ending honestly had me hoping I read it wrong. My heart dropped when I saw the messages and I knew I read it correctly. Out of everything this book offers, I was not to get a twist within the last couple of pages!

Another book well done! I cannot wait to see what else Karen M. McManus has to offer!

Jacqueline Englund

After reading “One of US Is Lying” last year, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the sequel. I absolutely love “One of Us Is Lying” so naturally I had really high hopes for this one.
While I really enjoyed going back to Bayview and finding myself tangled up in another mystery, I didn’t feel as much suspense throughout the second half of the book. Just felt more predictable. However still a really great read!

Omg! Totally loved this, it so good ! Totally recommend. At first I thought I wouldn't really like it but honestly it's great!

Deppy

Okay okay I liked this one more than the first book! It was so so good all the twists! I saw the main reveal coming a bit before but it was still really exciting and that final chapter twist was so good!!  

I really did like how this expanded on the events of the first book and just kinda didn’t just set it in the same world it almost used the events of that one as inspiration! 

I don’t really know what more I can say without spoiling it except I loved this concept a lot! I can’t wait for book 3 and honestly I’m gonna start reading more YA mystery cos it’s just so fun!

One of Us Is Next

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