Review: One of Us Is Next (One of Us Is Lying #2) by Karen M. McManus

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The highly anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestselling thriller everyone is talking about, One of Us Is Lying! There’s a new mystery to solve at Bayview High, and there’s a whole new set of rules.

Come on, Bayview, you know you’ve missed this.

A ton of copycat gossip apps have popped up since Simon died, but in the year since the Bayview four were cleared of his shocking death, no one’s been able to fill the gossip void quite like he could. The problem is no one has the facts.

Until now.

This time it’s not an app, though—it’s a game.

Truth or Dare.

Phoebe‘s the first target. If you choose not to play, it’s a truth. And hers is dark.

Then comes Maeve and she should know better—always choose the dare.

But by the time Knox is about to be tagged, things have gotten dangerous. The dares have become deadly, and if Maeve learned anything from Bronwyn last year, it’s that they can’t count on the police for help. Or protection.

Simon’s gone, but someone’s determined to keep his legacy at Bayview High alive. And this time, there’s a whole new set of rules.

I really enjoyed One of Us Is Lying and have been eagerly anticipating One of Us Is Next. While it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, I still ended up really enjoying it, as well.

I was a little bit disappointed when I first found out that this sequel wouldn’t follow the same characters as the first book, but I ended up not minding at all. We still get to see all of the Bayview Four in more than just quick cameos and they even all get some character development, too. I also liked the new cast of characters. The three POVs follow Maeve, Bronwy’s sister – who I liked in the first book – and two new characters – Knox and Phoebe. I didn’t love Phoebe, but I really liked both Maeve and Knox. I also enjoyed Knox’s family dynamic with his many sisters and Maeve’s love interest, Luis. The story is pretty character driven and I just enjoyed reading about them.

The mystery wasn’t bad, but I did figure things out long before they were revealed. I also thought the secrets that were revealed and the dares that were made were kind of lame. I mean, there was a definite embarrassing factor for the secrets, but I guess I kind of expected something more. I also had a hard time believing that every single student in the school would keep the game completely a secret from their parents, school administration, and everyone else, just because they would lose phone privileges during school hours. That said, the stakes did raise a lot in part two and we got more of the suspense that I was expecting in the beginning.

Overall, I enjoyed One of Us Is Next. Though the mystery didn’t surprise me like I had been hoping, it was still pretty well done. What really kept me reading were the characters. I loved what we got to see of the characters from the last book, and I really enjoyed reading about the new ones. I think fans of YA Mystery will definitely enjoy it.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Stars