One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

Summary:
On Monday 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 Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, 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.
Review:
I chose to listen to this book on audiobook because I was on sort of a time crunch to read it before the end of February. So, when I saw it available from my library, I knew I could fly through it while doing other things. I’ve heard mixed reviews about One of Us is Lying, but I ended up enjoying it. I was expecting it to be more of a thriller, but it was mostly just mystery. I enjoyed the up and down of the story with a surprise here, a reveal there. I think the pace of the story was well done. It was fast enough where I was interested in the mystery and figuring out what happened but slow enough where I felt like I really got to know the characters and feel their struggles.
The characters are really what made this story for me. I really enjoyed the idea of each of them having a label and then learning that they might not be exactly what they’re labeled as. I enjoyed getting to know each character and learning more about them. Bronwyn is the smart girl, but she’s also a sister and a friend, determined and fiercely loyal. Addy is the princess, but only because of the influence of others. She realizes that and really takes time to figure out who she is and wants to be. Nate may do criminal things, but it’s because he has no other choice. Cooper plays baseball and is good at it, but there’s so much more to him than that. And Simon is an outcast, but it seems that he made things that way himself.
I think the audiobook made this book ten times better. If I read the book physically, I think I may have been bored or not as invested in the story. The four narrators did an incredible job bringing life and personality into their characters and the rest of the story.
Overall, I wasn’t blown away by the story, but I enjoyed the experience of reading it. I didn’t predict any of the twists or reveals, but there weren’t any jaw dropping moments. I really adored the characters and their interactions most of all. I recommend the audiobook for sure if you’re interested in reading this story.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.