Karen M. McManus
2
Books Reviewed
One of Us Is Next: The Sequel to One of Us Is Lying
4.5/5
reader rating · 22,092 ratingsOne of Us Is Next is a mystery thriller novel by Karen M. McManus, set a year after the events of One of Us Is Lying, in which a new anonymous tormentor targets students at Bayview High with a deadly game of truth or dare. Originally published on January 7, 2020, and available in a Delacorte Press reprint edition, the novel received generally positive reviews from outlets including The Guardian and Kirkus Reviews, and went on to serve as the basis for the second season of the Peacock series One of Us Is Lying. This review covers the book's content, structure, and reception from published sources.
Reviewed Sep 7, 2026
One of Us Is Lying
4.5/5
reader rating · 48,829 ratingsKaren M. McManus's debut YA mystery-suspense novel One of Us Is Lying—originally published by Delacorte Press in 2017 and a #1 New York Times bestseller—drops five high schoolers into Saturday detention, from which only four walk out alive, and builds its whodunit from the rotating perspectives of each surviving suspect. Praised by reviewers as "Pretty Little Liars meets The Breakfast Club," the novel earned an extraordinary sweep of year-end honors and has since launched a two-sequel series and a television adaptation.
Reviewed Aug 2, 2026
Ask LuvemBooks about Karen M. McManus
- Where should I start?
- Start with One of Us Is Lying, McManus's debut and the book that sets up Bayview High. It works as a self-contained whodunit told through the rotating perspectives of the four surviving detention suspects, and its sequel picks up a year later, so reading order is straightforward. It carries a 4.5/5 reader rating from nearly 49,000 Amazon ratings.
- What's their writing style?
- Across the two books we've reviewed, McManus's distinctive move is telling a high school mystery through multiple rotating viewpoints—in One of Us Is Lying, each surviving suspect narrates, so the reader pieces the whodunit together from competing perspectives. Their tone blends teen drama with genuine suspense, which is why reviewers reached for the 'Pretty Little Liars meets The Breakfast Club' comparison. The sequel keeps the formula but swaps the central mystery for an anonymous tormentor's truth-or-dare game.
- Books we've reviewed
- We've reviewed 2 Karen M. McManus books. One of Us Is Lying (4.5/5 reader rating from 48,829 Amazon ratings) is the debut whodunit where five students enter detention and four walk out. One of Us Is Next (4.5/5 from 22,092 ratings) is the sequel, set a year later, in which a new anonymous tormentor runs a deadly truth-or-dare game at Bayview High.
- How do their books compare?
- One of Us Is Lying is the tighter origin story: a single detention death investigated through the rotating voices of the four surviving suspects. One of Us Is Next widens the lens, revisiting Bayview High a year later with a new anonymous tormentor and a truth-or-dare game that turns deadly. Both hold the same 4.5/5 reader rating on Amazon, though the original has roughly twice as many ratings behind it.
- What genre do they write?
- Karen M. McManus writes young adult fiction, specifically YA mystery and thriller. One of Us Is Lying is categorized as Mystery and its sequel as Young Adult, and both center on high school students caught in deadly, secret-fueled puzzles.
- What should I read after One of Us Is Lying?
- The natural next step is One of Us Is Next, the direct sequel published in January 2020. It returns to Bayview High a year later, where a new anonymous tormentor escalates from secrets to a deadly game of truth or dare. Within our reviewed coverage, these are the 2 McManus books available.
Who is Karen M. McManus?
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