A disappointing sequel to a genuinely fun novel. One of Us is Lying was strong because of its plot, a murder mystery. This book shifts to focus more on a new group of characters and their relationships. It also revisits the characters from the first book which doesn't do much for me. McManus isn't strong at creating characters that I care about. They're stereotypes with one Big Thing they're going through.

The mystery is teased twice (or 3 times?) during the first part of the book. Who died? Except I was hoping it was any of these dull characters by the time the murder did finally come around. You spend the first 200 pages just reading about these characters friendship and family drama with no stakes. The mastermind behind the texting game is even blocked and ignored by the characters mostly until right before the death of

that douchebag was his name Jared? idc

I became invested in the last 50 pages (of 300? cmon McManus...) 

This book feels like a setup for the third in the trilogy or whatever the author is trying to do. Feels bad. I'd recommend reading the first one and leaving it there.