One of Us Is Lying

One of Us Is Lying is a young adult, mystery/suspense novel by American author Karen M. McManus. The book is her debut novel, originally published in the US by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House, on 30 May 2017. The book uses multiperspectivity to show the points-of-view of all four student suspects. It has received several accolades including a five-year run on the New York Times best-seller list. Plot At Bayview High, Bronwyn, Simon, Nate, Cooper, and Addy attend detention with teacher Mr. Avery after he found mobile phones in each of their school bags, against his strict no-phone policy. However, each of the students claims that the phones are not theirs and that someone has planted them there to get them in trouble. They hear a collision and some loud arguments in the school parking lot, and Mr. Avery leaves to investigate. Simon—creator of the 'About That' gossip app in which the personal lives of students at Bayview High are posted for the rest of the school to see—begins a speech about the stereotypical personalities of the other four students and how he, through his app, is the omniscient narrator. He drinks tap-water from a plastic cup and suffers a fatal allergic reaction due to his peanut allergy. The others attempt to help, but it is too late and Simon dies in the hospital. Initially, the incident is considered an accident, but after a Tumblr post claiming that Simon's death was planned and the killer watched him die is shared, the police begin to investigate and find an unpublished post by Simon that features the secrets of the other four students. Each of the secrets would affect the students’ future: Bronwyn's cheating on a test could impact her college applications; Nate's repeated misdemeanor could send him to jail; Addy's infidelity might end her relationship with Jake; and the accusation of steroid use could halt Cooper's potential baseball career. The four are initially suspicious of one another but begin to grow closer due to their shared situation.