One of Us is Lying - Karen M McManus
This book is fairly popular amongst my students presently, and (like many of the books I have read this year, it turns out) is another murder mystery. The gimmick for this one is that the crime happens during a high school detention. Each of our characters/suspects fits a broad stereotype (somewhat like the characters in The Breakfast Club) and yet, of course, they each have secrets ready to be revealed.
The secrets are particularly important in the plot of this book, as the murder victim - Simon - ran a blog in which he would reveal the secrets of his fellow students. It turns out that he had a blog post prepared in which each of our four main characters was going to be exposed in some way, and considering that each of the characters seem to have arrived in detention under suspicious circumstances, it is possible that each of them could have done it.
Or is it? As with In the Hall With the Knife (the Cluedo inspired book I read earlier in the year) One of Us is Lying makes the choice to give each of the main characters point of view chapters. This means that we are more invested into each character, but also means (an issue I had with In the Hall...) that it seems unlikely that any of them could be a legitimate suspect, unless they were hiding something intentionally within their narration. Considering that we get their inner thoughts and suspicions, this does seem less likely.
The book is very modern in its sensibilities, so it is taken for granted that characters are sleeping with one another, there is a bit of language, etc... but I can also see why it is a popular book. It is well written, the characters are likeable, and the outcome is satisfying enough to work.
For me, a one time read. But enjoyable.
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