I truly enjoyed the fast pace of You'll Be the Death of Me and the suspense of the murder mystery.
However, what this book lacked for me was complex characters and a fully engaging plot.
In relation to the plot, yes it moves quickly, but to me it did not feel like a lot developed in the middle of the book which would have allowed an exciting build up to the conclusion.

There was a lot a teen angst and perhaps this took centre stage instead of trying to resolve the murder mystery. Most of Ivy’s and Mateo’s narrative near the end of the novel shifted away from the murder focus and onto their unresolved teenage romantic feelings and it just didn’t fit in with the overall plot for me. Cal unfortunately becomes the desperate third wheel and struggles to get the narrative back on track towards finding out who the killer was. Their overall friendship then became unbalanced and off kilter which made me struggle with the final chapters of the book.

In the end, I did enjoy this book mainly because it was so easy and quick to read but overall I struggled with the lack of character development and midway detour through teenage love town. That being said, if you enjoy the murder mystery genre and don’t mind easy going characters than You'll Be the Death of Me is worth a read for you.

We all should know by now that I love a book combining murder and an educational setting! I know I can always count on McManus for this!

Having been part of the tour for her previous book, The Cousins, I wasn't sure how things could get any better.

You'll Be the Death of Me, builds relationships up so intensely that you begin to feel everything the character do. The question of "whodunit" kept me on the edge of my seat for the entirety and just like One of Us Is Lying, I NEVER saw it coming!

Thank you to @thewritereads @penguinplatform and @writerkmc for my #gifted e-copy and for allowing me the pleasure of being on this tour!

This book definitely is Karen M McManus’ worst. It’s not necessarily a bad book, it just lacks the usual suspense, romance, and well-developed characters her other books have. And I think it’s pretty obvious why that’s the case. I feel as though we are re-repeating from the last few books but with different characters? Not sure if maybe it's time to try a different approach and avenue? I still love the author but this fell short for me.

Another entertaining read from the author. I was invested in the characters and found myself speeding through the book to get to the big reveal. Easy to read and fast paced.

You'll Be The Death Of Me is the latest Ya thriller by Karen M. McManus and she's done it again! This is another explosive offering from the Queen of teen thrillers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an early copy of this book.

McManus does it again! After a book that was sort of disappointing for me (The Cousins), I was really looking forward to get back to one of her books.

This time, it's a trio – Ivy, Mateo, and Cal – who are the unfortunate stars of this thriller. They were friends a long time ago, but split apart with time. Until all three decide to ditch class at the same time... and end up involved in a murder.

It was a fast-paced read, exactly what I'm looking for in a YA thriller. Plot and climax were both solid, with a twist that managed to surprise me, though I'd been suspecting that person on and off.

I do have to say, though, that after the success of her first two books, it feels like she's going back again and again to the same sort of slightly cliché characters. It might be worth trying something completely new (let's get rid of the good girls and bad boys!), and surprising her readers with a story that we truly didn't see coming.

You’ll Be the Death of Me is another solid YA Mystery by Karen McManus. The story follows three ex-friends who decide to skip school on a whim and end up coming across the dead body of one of their classmates. With suspicions shrouding the three of them for being absent on this fateful day, they set out to uncover the truth behind what happened, all while trying to hide their own dark secrets.

I’ve read many books from Karen M. McManus (all of them possibly?) and I’m disappointed to say that while this was as readable and twisty as the rest of them, it was probably my least favorite of the group. In particular, I was terribly annoyed and disappointed by the ending. I’m not sure why mystery novels feel the need to leave things untied at the end when they are standalone novels (which I think this is). It’s possible that it’s a nod to the fact that real life isn’t so clean cut, but often it just makes me feel unsatisfied.

Something that I thought this novel handled well, however, was the miscommunication/unnecessary secrets trope. Typically this trope annoys me to no end, especially when teenagers in mystery novels often spend the entire novel not telling any adult for no good reason, but I thought McManus did a good job balancing this. Secrets were kept but for reasons that I found both believable and understandable. Relationships grew and fell apart naturally, though there were a few things at the end that I felt were a bit too convenient.

Overall, if you’re a plan of YA mystery novels like McManus’ previous books, Diana Urban, or Holly Jackson, I think this will be a fun ride for you.

I always enjoyed MacManus' books, and this was no different. Great mystery, characters and intriguing plot.
If you're into young adult crime, she's a great writer to follow.

Ivy, Mateo, and Cal used to be best friends but their bond dwindled. When they decide to skip school together they hope to relive the Greatest Day Ever that started it all. But once the day begins it starts to spiral into chaos and they have to rely on each other more than they have in a long time. Helping solve a murder is definitely something that bonds you for life...

Thank you to The Write Reads, Penguin, and Karen M McManus for including me in their Ultimate Blog Tour for the new release You'll Be the Death of Me. I've always loved McManus' books, I pre-ordered this months ago and completely forgot until the email came through! Her writing is always so engaging and her plots are expertly planned out with incredible twists so I jumped at the chance to be a part of this tour!

It's clear that McManus has tapped into whatever pool of genius there is for writing young adult thrillers because everything she writes is incredible and an easy four stars. Stepping into the world of Ivy, Mateo and Cal felt like slipping into a warm jumper, the writing is so familiar to me at this point and she explains everything so perfectly that it feels easy to read. I do believe that I'm a little above the average age of her target audience but it doesn't stop me from falling in love with this book.

With You'll Be the Death of Me I was obviously expecting the murder mystery aspect, it's the tagline of the novel, but I wasn't expecting the level of detail to the mysteries surrounding the three core characters. Everything seemed to knit together and play a key part in the overall story. I'm amazed by McManus' ability to connect every revelation to the other without creating a boring and easy to anticipate narrative.

For the first time when reading a McManus book I actually didn't immediately connect to all of the characters, which actually seemed intentional. McManus stepped out of the typical mindset for these characters and made their flaws clear and key to their personalities, making a redemption arc for them a concept for readers to follow throughout the novel. In particular, my hesitation lay with Ivy. She was depicted as this typical high-achiever but only because of the pressure she got from her parents to live up to Daniel, but her actions always pointed toward jealous and impulsive which put all three of the main cast into the trouble they find themselves in. As the narrative progresses she definitely finds her feet and her own identity which inevitably creates an epic conclusion alongside Cal and Mateo.

Once again, McManus knocks it out of the park with her new release. I could find a couple of niggles but nothing could really distract me from the exceptional plot, and even more exceptional character depiction.

Once again Karen McManus has written another brilliant book! 3 former friends decide to ditch school for a day and stumble across a dead body and chaos ensues. This had so many little twists and turns and I loved the 3 characters different points of view. That ending!

Although I did enjoy this book it did not have me gripped as much as the others.
The characters were great and i enjoyed the rekindling of friendships.
The plot was a bit slow and felt a bit rushed, it needed more grit and a thrill.

looking forward to the next McManus title.

3.5 stars

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.

I’ve read (and loved) one other book by Karen M. McManus and really enjoyed how fast-paced, intriguing and yet so easy to read it was. And she delivers again with You’ll be the death of me. Actually, I might even like this one a smidge more than I did The Cousins (which says a lot).

It perfectly fit my mood and was just what I needed after some tiring days at work. To get lost in the pages of a book that had me turning the pages without even knowing, glued to the pages. I flew through it and loved every moment of it.

Ivy, Cal and Mateo are all so different from each other and yet, they kind of compliment each other. Even though they haven’t really talked a lot in a few years and are both very close through their past friendship and also distant through the secrets they each keep. It was always easy to tell which chapter I was in as they have all very distinct voices. Their personalities really shine through. Ivy with her self-doubt and wanting to prove to herself and everyone else that she isn’t less than her talented younger brother. I loved her little trivia facts that she sends randomly (and at weird hours of the night). Cal with his relationship problems, his talent for making comics and his struggles to find real friends. And Mateo, who has two jobs to help his ill mother, his love for his family and his calm but also distant demeanor.

I loved the dynamic between these three and how it shifted from time to time. Every one of them has their own problems to deal with that influence their behavior in this chaotic situation. I loved exploring their past, their current situation at home, and with their family just as much as them trying to solve the murder. They all went through some character growth throughout this whole adventure and I really appreciated that.

When you mix three teenagers who used to be friends, with a spontaneous trip for old's sake time and a dead classmate you get chaos, secrets, twists, misunderstandings, and betrayal. And just everything you need to not think about your own world for a while.

Would recommend to:

Everyone in search of a fast-paced mystery that has lots of little twists and keeps you guessing. With well-developed characters that make mistakes but also grow throughout the story.

I found McManus’s earlier work to be incredibly engaging and was very excited to pick this up! Another hit from an established voice in YA, but OOUIL still reigns unbeaten…

Karen's previous works were FAR better in my opinion. This just didn't work for me and I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped to :/

This book is an easy edge-of-your-seat YA mystery/thriller! As always Karen M. McManus delivers the goods, but the flow of her stories are just beginning to feel a bit repetitive.

I liked the characters, however, I felt there were a few too many, which meant that they weren't developed enough and became a bit confusing. It seemed as though I was constantly checking who was who and how they were involved in the story. The characters needed a lot more development, in my opinion, although I did love the slow burn between Mateo and Ivy. There was a whole teacher-student relationship that was hinted at, but never really concluded, which was frustrating.

This story keeps you guessing, until the last minute, and is quite intense, but I felt there were a few aspects that were under-developed. Otherwise, it was thoroughly enjoyable, and is still a really compelling read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this eARC of You'll Be the Death of Me, <strong>in exchange for an honest review

I enjoyed that she wrote each character in a distinctive way and made them each individually relatable, the switches between POV's is something I've come to expect from this author and it adds to the nature of the text but slowly feeding the information to the reader which i enjoy a lot because then the reader is never sure who to trust, who has hidden motives, and what is really going on in the bigger picture.

With a hint of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, this story is a fun twist on being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It seemed like no one was interested in the murder as much as in drama and teen romance. I found the book to be very slow in the middle and the ending wasn’t necessarily the most enjoyable. I get that McManus was trying to throw in a twist, but it was not satisfying to read. In the end, I thought this was a fun but typical YA book, full of teen drama and an overdone plot. 3.5 stars.

Thank you to The Write Reads for organizing and inviting me to participate in this blog tour. Thank you to Penguin for providing me with an advanced copy of this book through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

This is my second Karen M. McManus book, and it certainly will not be my last. You’ll Be the Death of Me follows three teens, Ivy, Mateo, and Cal, who, in an attempt to recreate their best day ever, they end up living through their worst day ever. This Ferris Buller’s Day Off-inspired story features a mysterious death, a complicated web of drugs, and enough twists and turns to keep you guessing to the very last page.

The first thing I want to talk about is the characters in this book. It’s been a very long time since I last watched Ferris Buller’s Day Off, so I can’t make a character comparison between the two, but I feel like there are parallels. Ivy is your typical type-A character. She’s driven, organized, a problem solver, and feels like she’s never enough. Mateo is burned out because he’s been dealing with the fallout of multiple family crises. Finally, Cal is a forgettable outsider, dealing with relationship problems and trying to hold onto something. These characters used to be friends in middle school, but then they drifted apart in high school. Personally, I didn’t find any of the characters particularly memorable, but I thought they made a great trio.

I loved the mystery in this book. It was full of twists and turns, and it kept me guessing to the very last page. I loved reading about the characters stumbling upon clues, piecing everything together, and using their skills and experiences to help put everything together. I don’t want to say much more about the mystery because I don’t want to spoil anything, and a lot of the reveals are quite great to read. I also liked that as the characters travelled around, trying to piece together the clues, they pieced together what went wrong with their friendship.

Overall, this was an exciting book to read. It had twists and turns, and it was the kind of book that made you want to keep reading.

I like when I return to certain authors and I know what I’m going to get, in the case of Karen M. McManus I’m always expecting a mystery that will keep me hooked and a few good secrets to keep things interesting. I also like it when I am surprised by a book when it goes beyond what I expected and let me tell you I was surprised.

I think what made this book so appealing from the offset is that I could relate to not wanting to face something so badly that I just decide to do something different and in the case of the characters it’s skipping a day of school. It’s great that the premise is you take a day to get away from the bad thing and then continually stumble into much worse things, it keeps you on side with the characters because they are all flawed but I really wanted to see how they would get themselves out of trouble.

There is something quite magical about the character dynamic in this book, Cal, Ivy and Mateo were at one point best friends and now they hardly know each other. The secrets that each of them are harbouring, because they don’t know whether they can fully trust the others yet, gives the story a lot of tension and the characters too. They are simultaneously connected and disconnected from each other and for me, it meant they could have the camaraderie but also reasonably go behind each other’s backs successfully and it was kind of fun to see that play out.

To be honest I did think at one point that the author had made the set-up too easy and I was veering towards a little bit of disappointment, thinking I’d maybe figured out an important detail way too early in the book. Turns out I fell for a red herring hook line and sinker and was totally not expecting how the story would actually end up, the second half of this book is an absolute whirlwind rollercoaster and I loved the twists and turns, I really got that edge of my seat reading feeling as it got closer to the end.

Another great book from this author and I’m interested to see what comes next.

As we follow three students through their worst day we embark on a detective style mystery

The characters are likeable enough but there's some parts of the story that felt a little unbelievable. I know its fiction but there were just a few flaws that spoiled it a little for me. However because the writing is great it didn't stop me reading.