One of Us is Next by Karen M. McManus || Book Review

I really loved the first book, One of Us is Lying, which I read earlier this year and it made my list for the top 10 books I loved between January and June 2022.

I was excited about the series on Netflix and after watching it, I was very disappointed because it didn’t follow on the book. The beginning was still true to it but by episode five, I knew the series was going in a completely direction which meant the ending would be very different (it was) and the characters won’t have the same paths as in the book (they didn’t), and that One of Us is Next won’t pick up from the same place that the TV series ended… See where I’m going with this?

So I decided that I wasn’t going to even continue with season 2 of the TV show and that I’d just stick to the books instead.

While the first book left me on high, this book just didn’t live up to the same standard of awesome.

DISCLAIMER: This review could contain possible spoilers based on my opinions. All opinions and views are my own.

Book review: One of Us is Next by Karen M. McManus #bookreview #karenmmcmanus #bookseries #thrillerbooks #youngadultbooks #booktwt #bookaddict #booktwitter
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Originally published: 2020

Pages: 374
Format: E-book

Plot from GoodReads:

Welcome back to Bayview High…

It is a year after the action of One of Us Is Lying, and someone has started playing a game of Truth or Dare.

But this is no ordinary Truth or Dare. This game is lethal. Choosing the truth may reveal your darkest secrets, accepting the dare could be dangerous, even deadly.

The teenagers of Bayview must work together once again to find the culprit, before it’s too late…

Thoughts:

Okay, I totally get that the premises have to be slightly similar to each other for the story to make sense and follow on each other, but did it have to be so similar that it felt like this was a cheaper rip off of the first book.

Some of the characters from the previous book make a few significant appearances but it’s clear that this book isn’t about them. One of the characters that was a secondary character in the first book is now a main character in this book – Maeve.

The story revolves around her, Phoebe and Knox as someone sets off to ruin their lives. Sounds familiar? While they are the main focus in the book, there are plenty of other characters to keep track of and which of those characters are associated with which main character to follow the plot.

The POV in the book changes between these characters as they tell their stories and experiences with the events unfolding in the book. It was a good move to help keep track of what’s happening in their lives and the thoughts they are having dealing with the events.

I liked Phoebe’s character over Mav, and Knox wasn’t too bad either. Mav really ticked me off at some point by not being honest about the seriousness of one of her situations and how badly things could’ve ended up. Maybe it was an attempt to add some suspense and worry to the plot, but it didn’t feel that way.

The attempt to add some twists and turns to the plot wasn’t subtle but they didn’t live up to the expectations.

The reveals at the end were interesting but didn’t carry enough punch to make the book stand out, from the beginning right until the end.