REVIEW: One of Us Is Back (book) by Karen M. McManus

One of Us Is Back is the third (and final?) book in McManus' One of Us Is Lying series. I bought my copy new.

Review:

This review contains spoilers for the events of the first two books.

It's been almost 2 years since Simon's death in the first book. Jake, Addy's ex-boyfriend, is about to be retried and potentially let out. Addy is understandably terrified - Jake has been working hard to turn public sentiment in his favor. Meanwhile, Phoebe is killing herself with worry that Owen, her little brother, will turn out like Jake because she and her sister didn't turn him in for his part in the events of Book 2. 

Then someone hacks a billboard, announcing the start of a new game, and one of the Bayview Crew goes missing. Is Jake responsible, or someone close to him? 

This was a mostly believable extension of the original story, although I still think it would have made more sense for the person involved to have done something sooner. 

By this point in the series, the Bayview Four has grown into a fairly large Bayview Crew, and it was something of a relief that the author limited the POVs to Nate, Phoebe, and Addy, the characters still grappling with questions about their futures. 

The setup wasn't as intriguing as the first book, but it was still an interesting enough mystery with lots of red herrings.