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One of Us Is Next
One of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus Review: A Propulsive YA Thriller Sequel
One 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.
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
YA mystery-thriller fans aged 14 and up who loved the social dynamics of Bayview High in One of Us Is Lying and want a propulsive new story set in the same world with a fresh central trio.
Worth it if
The truth-or-dare escalation mechanic and McManus's clinically precise drip-feeding of reveals are enough to keep you turning pages — especially if you're happy to meet new protagonists alongside familiar returning faces.
Skip if
Readers who prize richly differentiated narrative voices will likely be frustrated, as the revolving first-person narrators share a noticeably uniform interior tone throughout.
What readers & critics say
The Guardian praised McManus's plotting precision, noting she "keeps the juicy subplots ticking over and drip-feeds reveals as clinically as an IV tube," while qualifying that "everyone's interior monologue sounds the same" across the multiple narrators. Publishers Weekly awarded it a starred review, calling it "full of exciting and unexpected twists" and "a complicated story of friendship and revenge," as quoted across several bookseller pages including Barnes & Noble and Watermark Books.
“McManus keeps the juicy subplots ticking over and drip-feeds reveals as clinically as an IV tube.”
— The Guardian“Everyone's interior monologue sounds the same — a small gripe, but a real one for voice-conscious readers.”
— The GuardianAsk LuvemBooks
Was this helpful?
- Is it worth reading?
- For fans of YA mystery thrillers, One of Us Is Next delivers where it counts most: in its plotting. Critics credited McManus with keeping juicy subplots ticking over and drip-feeding reveals with clinical precision, and the truth-or-dare mechanic is a smartly designed escalation device that raises the stakes with each chapter. The main caveat is a structural one — reviewers at The Guardian observed that all three first-person narrators' interior monologues sound the same, which flattens character distinction even as the plot races forward. Readers who can overlook that limitation will find a propulsive, intricately constructed thriller.
- Similar books
- Readers drawn to One of Us Is Next's blend of high-school social dynamics and propulsive mystery plotting will find much to enjoy in the curated titles below. One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus is the natural starting point — the original Bayview thriller that spawned this sequel and spent roughly 100 weeks on the New York Times YA bestseller list. Jennifer Lynn Barnes's The Inheritance Games and The Hawthorne Legacy deliver similarly intricate puzzle-box plotting in a YA mystery framework. E. Lockhart's We Were Liars shares the privileged-yet-dangerous social world and the unreliable-narrator tension, while Megan Lally's That's Not My Name offers another propulsive YA thriller for readers who want the genre's adrenaline without the school setting.
- Who should read this?
- One of Us Is Next is squarely aimed at fans of the YA mystery thriller genre — particularly readers who enjoyed One of Us Is Lying and want to return to Bayview's darkly competitive social world. It also works for readers new to the series who are drawn to ensemble mystery plots with a high-school setting and a social-media-era threat mechanic. Those who watched the Peacock adaptation of season two will find the source material recognisable, though the book offers a different texture and pacing. Readers who prioritise richly differentiated character voices over plot momentum may find the uniform narrators a limiting factor.
- What age is it for?
- Best for ages 14 and up. The review identifies a target audience of high school readers (grades 9–12), and the novel's anonymous-threatener premise and fatal consequences from a truth-or-dare game make it more suitable for older teens. Common Sense Media, Kirkus Reviews, and The Guardian all reviewed the book positively within its YA context.
- Tell me about the adaptation
- One of Us Is Next forms the basis for the eight-episode second season of the Peacock teen drama One of Us Is Lying, released in October 2021. The adaptation helped cement the series' crossover cultural footprint, building on the success of the first season drawn from McManus's debut novel. Readers who watched the second season will find the source material recognisable in its core premise, though the review notes the book offers a different texture and pacing — as is typical of most adaptations.
- How does it compare to One of Us Is Lying?
- Where One of Us Is Lying focused on Bronwyn, Addy, Nate, and Cooper — the original Bayview four — One of Us Is Next shifts the lens to a new central trio: Maeve Rojas, Knox Myers, and Phoebe Lawton. McManus chose not to retread the original's formula, instead designing a new threat mechanic (the truth-or-dare game) while keeping Bayview's toxic social ecosystem intact. The review credits the sequel as a worthy follow-up, noting that the plotting precision carries over from the first book, though the narration-voice critique — all interior monologues sounding alike — applies to both entries.
- Where should I start with Karen M. McManus?
- For most readers, One of Us Is Lying — McManus's 2017 debut — is the recommended starting point. It establishes the Bayview world, its central characters, and the social dynamics that One of Us Is Next builds on, and its extraordinary commercial reach (roughly 100 weeks on the New York Times YA bestseller list, over 200,000 UK copies sold) reflects its status as the stronger standalone entry. McManus also published Two Can Keep a Secret in 2018 before returning to Bayview for this sequel.
Summarize this book
One of Us Is Next: The Sequel to One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
4.5
/ 5
One 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.
View on LuvemBooks →
One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
4.5
/ 5
Karen 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. This review is based on the book's content and published reception, not hands-on reading.
View on LuvemBooks →
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Sources & Further Reading
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en.wikipedia.org
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Age & Reading Level
Recommended age
Ages 14–18
Reading level
Young adult
3 content notes · who it suits
Content to know about
Best for: Ages 14+ (grades 9–12) — the escalating danger of the truth-or-dare premise and its fatal consequences suit older teen readers; Common Sense Media, Kirkus Reviews, and The Guardian all reviewed it within a YA context
Skip if you want richly differentiated character voices rather than plot-driven momentum, or are hoping to follow the original Bayview four (Bronwyn, Addy, Nate, and Cooper) as the central protagonists
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