One of Us Is Lying (One of Us Is Lying #1)

Ever-changing perspectives, this book establishes the characters from the offset really well. We get to understand more about why Bronwyn is so particular, that Addy's life isn't anywhere near perfect and she relies on Jake a lot, Nate might be a criminal but is not a bad person, Cooper has a lot of pressure on him from the other around him not thinking that maybe he isn't always as strong as the person he projects himself as and Simon the writer for the school's gossip app that leaks everything about everyone, but he dies as the story id starting from drinking some water that somehow had peanuts in it.

Everyone one of those people might have motivation for this killing, but who was the one who actually did it? Or was it none of them at all?

The author shows at first hints that every person in this story hold some sort of secret and that it is a secret that could change their lives. They are all aiming for something, something that could be taken away from them if their secrets were revealed- is what we are led to think.

I really liked the way that each character reacted significantly different to the reveal of their secret. Bronwyn was much more scared of the opinion over what she did, rather than the actual consequences. She worried in ways that the other people didn't and was able to tell her parents straight away that what was said wasn't a lie.

Addy did what she did, which wasn't a nice thing to do, but it felt like it ended with the best outcome. She wasn't happy in that situation and she found out more about herself once the secret was revealed, no matter how painful it was at first.

Nate was affected the least in the moment, but obviously, because he is on probation, he doesn't have any room for error. He was still struggling in his own ways, as his family not only isn't as wealthy as some of the others but also wouldn't be willing to help him out by any kind of monetary payment for some kind of lawyer.

Cooper on the other hand isn't as affected by all this as people don't know whether the rumour about him is true or not, and he doesn't clear it up one way or the other so most just assume that there isn't much truth to the allegations. What is revealed when we are able to go inside his head is that there is more to the allegations than we think. He is doing something else that he doesn't want anyone to find out and we are led to believe that it is a certain thing that involves his girlfriend, or should I say doesn't involve her.

It was beautifully crafted, being able to see how they all reacted differently. Not only in how they dealt with the revelations, or how it affected their relationship, or what kind of reproductions they worried about but also in the way they thought of it. Every person had a different way of thinking things through. A clear voice that came through without any trouble.

It is shown in a way that almost resembles waves. First, it affects one person more, then the next person, until it hit Nate last, in the most severe way. The mystery, wondering if it was one of the four, or if somehow someone else got involved themselves and made it look like that. The hardest part about all these theories was figuring out why. Why would someone want to kill Simon, frames four other students and try and ruin their lives? What would be the motive, especially since only Addy and Cooper were close from the start. Their secrets didn't relate to the other in any way, and it wasn't like they all screwed over one specific person who was trying to get revenge.

Throwing suspicion around made it extremely hard to know who was the real killer, who was excluded from being the real killer, and it felt like everyone who was suggested was a realistic person to have a motive for killing Simon. All the theories presented were believable, and I never knew which one was going to be the one to get that little bit of extra information to make it the most believable.

There had been hints at the ending the whole time, they were just together with all the false information so it was hard to find out whether it was real or not. It all made sense and I really liked how they ended the story.

I would recommend this book, it was a very fun and intriguing read, and it had a satisfying ending that answered all the questions that had previously been brought up.

book: One of Us Is Lying

author: Karen M. McManus