Review - One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

Described as "The Breakfast Club" meets "Pretty Little Liars", One of Us is Lying begins with after-school detention for four unlikely students.

There's Nate, the rebellious teen who deals in drugs and is on probation, Bronwyn, the Type-A good girl, Addy the girlfriend of the popular jock, Cooper, all-American pitcher - and Simon.

Simon, who everyone hates and no-one trusts, thanks to his gossipy app, About That where he posts scandals about students.

The thing is, everything on About That is true, and Simon has posts - not yet published - queued up about each of the other people in detention with him.

However, when Simon dies of an allergic reaction, suddenly the other four find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation.

Who did it? Who could have done it? Simon was unpopular with everyone, and all of the students who had been in detention with him had reason to want him silenced.

I really, really enjoyed One of Us is Lying. I can see the comparisons to The Breakfast Club and Pretty Little Liars, but I felt there was also a bit of Cards on the Table (Agatha Christie) about it - in Cards on the Table there are only four people in a room, and one is murdered. With such a limited pool of suspects it makes everything that much more heightened.

I found myself caring about all of the main characters - in their own ways their secrets were heartbreaking and potentially damaging. The story kept up its pace and I ended up staying up till about 1am so I could finish it and find out what REALLY happened to Simon.

Definitely recommended.