One of Us is Next - Karen M. McManus

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Come on, Bayview, you know you've missed this.

A ton of copycat gossip apps have popped up since Simon died, but in the year since the Bayview four were cleared of his shocking death, no one's been able to fill the gossip void quite like he could. The problem is no one has the facts.

Until now.

This time it's not an app, though - it's a game.

Truth or dare.

Phoebe's the first target. If you choose not to play, it's a truth. And hers is dark.

Then comes Maeve, and she should know better - always choose the dare.

But by the time Knox is about to be tagged, things have gotten dangerous. The dares have become deadly, and if Maeve learned anything from Bronwyn last year, it's that they can't count on the police for help. Or protection.

Simon's gone, but someone's determined to keep his legacy at Bayview High alive. And this time, there's a whole new set of rules."

My reading experience with this book on three acts:

Act One - Let's take this slow. Read a chapter or two a day. Let the suspense build.

Act Two, maybe a day later - Ok, this book is incredible, but I'm only about halfway through. I am definitely not going to stay up late and finish this tonight.

Act Three, several hours later - Hot fuckin damn, that ending!

Bayview High is back on their bullshit, but something about this time is different. For one thing, Phoebe knows she didn't tell anyone her secret, and there's no reason the only other person who knew about it would either...so how did Simon's copycat find out? For another, why turn it into a game at all? Most of the dares are fairly tame, and isn't the whole point of a stunt like this to out people's shameful secrets? Then there's everything going on outside the game - Phoebe's sister suddenly acting out of character, Knox's boss getting repeated death threats, and a mysterious man showing up at the restaurant where they all hang out.

Maeve, who helped unravel everything that happened the year before, is sure she's onto something again when she stumbles across a web forum exactly like the one Simon used to post on before it got shut down. Is the copycat following in Simon's footsteps? Or is she just seeing what she wants to see? Only time will tell...but how much time do they have left?

WOO! Karen McManus can write a book, y'all. At one point I literally clutched my chest and gasped out loud. And there were so many times where I thought I had things all figured out, only to have another curveball lobbed at me. What a ride. If you haven't read One of Us is Lying, read it, then read this. If you have, then what are you waiting for? Read this!