One of Us Is Lying is the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide.

Pay close attention and you might solve this.
On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.
Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.
Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.

Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention Simon’s dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose?

Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them. – Goodreads.com

Nearly every review you read about this book will compare it to The Breakfast Club, that iconic, coming of age, John Hughes film from the 80’s – stereotypical high school students sentenced to detention.  As with the characters in that movie, these characters are so much more than they appear on the surface, and as this story progresses, their layers are gradually peeled away.

Early on I was sure I knew who’d killed Simon – and then I’d decide it was someone else.  Which is one of the best things about this book – it keeps you guessing with its twists and surprises.  With the story told in four different perspectives, each character’s inner thoughts, viewpoints, and feelings regarding their lives and Simon are revealed.  The character development is outstanding, with one character in particular undergoing a considerable transformation.

I couldn’t quite buy into the way law enforcement was portrayed – leads not pursued, obvious questions ignored, and assumptions without investigation.  Suspension of disbelief is required in some areas.

Clever, gripping, and unpredictable, this is a suspenseful YA mystery and one of my best reads this year so far.  This book is scheduled for publication May 30th, 2017.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.