Review: One Of Us Is Back - Book #3 Bayview Trilogy Series - Karen M. McManus -July 2023 I have been so excited to read this one as I remember back when Karen M. McManus first released her debut novel One of Us is Lying, since then she has been one of my favourite YA thriller authors. One of Us Is Back is book #3 in the Bayview High series as the group is back for the Summer and about to learn that Jake - the guy who set them up for the murder of Simon and tried to kill the group is being let out of jail after 6 years. At the same time, a new billboard has popped up with the words "Time to Play a New Game". Is someone starting up another murderous game in Bayview? The group is a combination of the characters from the first book and then the other half is from Book #2. I enjoyed this one but was a little disappointed when the villain was revealed as it felt disconnected from the main theme of being related to the Bayview Group itself, but more focused on Jake and his family...

Review: Nothing More to Tell - Karen M. McManus - August  2022 You know how you have those authors that no matter what they publish, you will read? For me, Karen M. McManus is one of those authors as I love YA thrillers, and her books despite being different characters and different stories all connect one way or another. I am now up-to-date with Karen's books and can't wait for her latest one in the One can Keep a Secret series. Nothing More to Tell tells the tale of Brynn Gallagher and her sister Evie who have moved back to their small hometown after living away for a few years. When Brynn left, her best friend was Noah aka Tripp and he broke her heart by calling her a stalker. That was also the day that one of her favourite teachers Mr. Will Larkin was found murdered in the woods by the school. He was found by Tripp, Charlotte, and Shane who claim they stumbled upon him. After a scandal at her last school, Brynn wants to get back into her journalism and what better than a M...

Review: You'll be the Death of Me - Karen McManus - November 2021 As readers of my blog know I love my YA thrillers and have read all of Karen McManus's books to date, so was excited to read You'll Be the Death of Me, which I have had on hold from my library. I finally got around to it this morning and I have to say even though I finished it, it wasn't one of my favorites by her as there was something about it that just fell flat in the end, and the last part of the book when everything was coming to a close just felt rushed and shoved under the carpet. The book starts with three students who back from 6th-8th grade were the best of friends and then they went their separate ways, now in their senior year, the three are having a bad day and decide to relive their greatest day ever, and skip school to Boston. We have Cal, Mateo, and Ivy. The three head to Boston with plans to just have fun, but when they find the dead body of one of their classmates also skip school. Th...

Review: The Cousins - Karen McManus - December 2020 After reading Karen's two previous books One of Us is Lying and Two Can Keep a Secret and enjoying them, I was excited to read The Cousins. In this book, we meet the Story family. We have the head of the family - the unknown Grandmother Mildred and her four children - Adam, Archer, Alison, and Anders. Years ago when their father died and the tragedy occurred in the smalltown - all four children were written out of their families' will and received a message from their mother disowning them and one sentence "You know what you did". The thing is that the children had no idea what they did, but they acknowledged their mother's wishes and went their separate ways. Now twenty years later, the next generation - Mildred, Aubrey, and Jonah have all received letters from their grandmother to come and stay with her for the summer. Neither grandchild wants to go, but their parents are forcing them. When they arrive, it seem...

Review: One of Us is Next - Book #2 One of Us is Lying Series - Karen M. McManus - January 2020 Karen M. McManus has jumped back to the first book with her third novel by making it a sequel to One of Us is Lying. Those who read Karen's debut novel will remember Simon who tried to frame four students for his death. Each of those students had a dark secret that if it was revealed could have ruined them for good or at least their college prospects from stealing tests to cheating on boyfriends to drugs and being gay. When Simon died, the students thought they would be safe but copycats tried to become Simon and torture the students with gossip etc. These were shut down pretty quickly and none of them were as dangerous as Simon, that is until now. There's a new game at play called Truth or Dare. If you pick Truth or do not respond then a secret of yours' will be exposed to the world, everyone is saying that the only way to play and be safe is to pick D...