Today is my stop on the tour for You’ll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus. This blog tour is hosted by The Write Reads. Keep on reading to find out more about the book and what I thought.
A big thanks to the publisher for providing me with an e-arc to read and review!
Publisher: Penguin
Length: 336 Pages
Publishing: 30th November 2021
Amazon
Goodreads
From the author of One of Us Is Lying comes a brand new pulse-pounding thriller. When three old friends re-live an epic ditch day, it goes horribly-and deadly-wrong.
Ivy, Mateo, and Cal used to be close. Back in middle school they were best friends. So, when Cal pulls into campus late for class, and runs into Ivy and Mateo, it seems like the perfect opportunity to turn a bad day around. They’ll ditch school and go into the city. Just the three of them, like old times. Why did they stop hanging out, anyway?
As soon as they pull out of the parking lot Cal knows why. Ivy’s already freaking out about missing class, and heartthrob Mateo is asleep in the backseat, too cool to even pretend like he wants to be there. The truth is they have nothing in common anymore.
At least they don’t until they run into the fourth student ditching school that day. Brian “Boney” Mahoney is supposed to be accepting his newly won office of class president. Which is why Ivy follows him into an empty building, only to walk into the middle of a murder scene. Cal, Ivy, and Mateo all know the person lying on the ground of that building, and now they need to come clean. They’re all hiding something. And maybe their chance reconnection wasn’t by chance after all.
Review
I’ve come to know books by this author as books I can read in one sitting and that was also the case with You’ll Be the Death of Me. This book was pitched as “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off with murder”. I’d say that’s a pretty accurate description. When Ivy, Mateo, and Cal decide to ditch school for a day nothing goes like they think it will.
What I love about books by this author is that they’re always told from multiple POVs. This gives us readers a chance to get in the minds of all the characters. Even though this often makes it even harder to figure out who is behind it all. All three of our characters never thought to stumble upon a murder scene after taking the day off. These three characters used to be friends, so even though it’s awkward they still care for the other in one way or another. None of them want to see each other go to jail. I tried to puzzle along with our characters, but I can honestly say I didn’t have everything figured out before the end.
You’ll Be the Death of Me is filled with murder, twists & turns, lots of secrets, and a lot more going on in their town than they realize. While I liked seeing the characters growing closer again I didn’t really connect with any of them, so they weren’t very likable to me. Also, certain aspects of this story felt weird and the ending was a bit anti-climatic to me (things wrapped up just a bit too smoothly). That being said I still really enjoyed this book and I’m excited to see what this author gives us next.
About the Author
Karen M. McManus is the #1 New York Times and international bestselling author of young adult thriller/mystery novels, including One of Us Is Lying, One of Us Is Next, Two Can Keep a Secret, and The Cousins. You’ll Be the Death of Me will be her next novel, publishing December 2021. Her work has been translated into more than 40 languages worldwide. Karen lives in Massachusetts and holds a master’s degree in Journalism from Northeastern University, which she mostly uses to draft fake news stories for her novels. For more information, visit www.karenmcmanus.com or @writerkmc on Twitter and Instagram.
You’ll Be the Death of me was another addicting read written by Karen M. McManus. I love books that once you start you just can’t put them down. I can’t wait to see what this author gives us next. Have you read anything by this author? If so, what was your favorite? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.
