Continuing on with my reviews of all the mystery novels I read in March, the next group of reviews feature three books I felt like captured the perils of teen life.
One of Us is Lying, by Karen M. McManus, The Cheerleaders, by Kara Thomas and Follow Me Back, by A.V. Geiger are all thoroughly enjoyable mysteries. Although nearly all the books I feature here are YA, these in particular felt as if they captured the distinct feeling of being in high school.
One of Us is Lying features a murderous version of The Breakfast Club, with new archetypes of modern teens. The characters, all of whom have secrets and fears of their own, are thrown together as suspects in the murder of their classmate, Simon. Each of them stood to gain from silencing Simon and his gossip blog, and yet each of them shines through the text as deeply believable characters one cannot help but root for. So who killed Simon? You’ll have to get to know each of the other students before you find out the answer.
The Cheerleaders is also filled with secrets, some of which may just keep you awake at night until you’ve unearthed all the answers. Tightly plotted, this mystery was so full of twists, I’m unsure how to describe it without spoilers, but I’ll try. Five years after a town tragedy, the protagonist sets out to discover what happened to the cheerleaders who died. Convinced that the series of accidents were actually a series of murders, she digs into the dark secrets in her hometown and finds out things she never expected. The high emotions and realistic portrayal of trauma really stuck with me, and I think this book is worth a read for mystery fans everywhere.
Follow Me Back may not be set in the halls of a high school, but the love story unfurling beneath the dark mystery is distinctly teen. The rush of first true love spooled together with a twisty mystery make for a cocktail of excitement. This book kept me guessing until the very end, and I’m told that I made a “tiny howling” sound when I read the last twist.
I highly recommend all these delightful, twisty mysteries.
Happy reading!
-Kat
Kat Pollock 