Karen M McManus has done it again in this rollicking thriller that follows three formerly friendly high school misfits who try to recreate their Best Day Ever - an impromptu day of hookie that cemented a friendship between the three - but end up embroiled in a murder investigation. More like the Worst Day Ever.
Ivy is a Type-A overachiever. She has to be, to keep up with her genius-intellect younger brother, who has their parents' attention and affection. That's why today, the day after her humiliating loss in the run for student president, has to go perfectly - dead bodies were not on the carefully planned itinerary.
Mateo is burned out - working two jobs to support his ill mom, after the collapse of their family business, he's ready to have a day to just chill - but finding a body isn't the way to keep things chill. And Cal has been stood up - at his favourite doughnut shop! - and wants to get away from his burning shame. So when all three meet by coincidence in the carpark at school, a ditch day seems like a great idea. Pity it all goes horribly wrong, very shortly after they begin.
All three students have secrets, reasons to not want the police involved, and although they're implausible in the sense of teenaged truants, with a book like this you kind of just have to go with it. Overall, this is a rollicking, quick ride that I zipped through in only a day or so, and thoroughly enjoyable. Although stretched to implausibility at times, there were enough twists and turns to keep me engaged and guessing right to the end.

Fast-paced and centred around an engaging group of characters, You'll Be The Death Of Me is an exciting young adult murder mystery that's easy to enjoy over one sitting.

As someone who is much older than the intended audience and a fan of dark thrillers, this was definitely a very tame crime story for me, but I think it's a great thriller for young adult readers. Because although the main action itself is minimalised, more about the chase than the standoff, the characters are incredibly likeable and their relationships are very engaging.

Some of the dialogue did feel slightly too immature for its characters' ages at times, but other than that, I feel like they were brilliantly developed and this experience they are sharing together is a very interesting one. The influence of Ferris Bueller's Day Off is very obvious which I loved, and I certainly had a fun time with this short read.

I’ve been enjoying McManus’ work for years now, and I’m always excited to see she has a new book out. I normally find her thrillers captivating, intriguing, and… well, thrilling. The last couple though (this, and The Cousins) have felt a little off for me.

I don’t know what it is. Perhaps I’m outgrowing YA thrillers, in which case this is definitely a Me Problem. However, considering I read and still loved One of Us is Next only a couple of years ago, I wonder if I’m struggling with some of her plots in particular.

You’ll Be the Death of Me follows three students, none of which stood out to me at all. The three of them are old friends who are shoved back together by accident, and of course they become involved in a mdr mystery. I wasn’t
particularly engaged with any of their points of view, which is a shame. I remember loving the characters in One of Us is Lying, Two Can Keep a Secret, and even the characters in The Cousins had something about them (that could have been the almost incest, lol).

I think part of the reason I didn’t love this one is the overall concept of the book. I find that I really like small town mrdr mysteries and isolated mysteries on tiny, gloomy islands, but anything to do with the bigger city or dugs really doesn’t appeal to me.

The twists in this book were also a little mediocre compared to some of McManus’ others. While I didn’t hate them, they felt a little flat once they were revealed. I just… didn’t care?

All that said, this wasn’t a bad book. I just don’t think You’ll Be the Death of Me is McManus’ best. I hope to see her return to form in the next One of Us is Lying sequel, though.

Thank you to Turning pages NZ and penguin books NZ for gifting me an ebook of You'll be the death of me to review.

This book is a contemporary YA mystery.

Several years ago friends Ivy, Mateo and Cal skipped school together and had "The greatest day ever" since then they have drifted apart for reasons that they barely understand themselves.

Near the beginning of the book they reconnect and on a whim decide to skip school again, hoping for another magical day or at the very least to forget for a day their real lives and the things they want to avoid at school that day.

Their adventure has only just begun when they stumble over the body of a classmate and the day turns very quickly into "the worst day ever". With the Police looking for a girl who matches Ivy's description and their classmates social media rife with speculation about the death and about the coincidence of the three's non appearance at school that day they are being pursued on every side as they try to solve the crime themselves and clear their names.

Ivy, Mateo and Cal each have a secret they are keeping from each other but do any of those secrets relate to their dead classmate? And will their newly rediscovered friendship survive the revelation of those secrets?

The book has plenty of twists and turns while staying believable.

I've read and enjoyed all of the authors mysteries and I'll be interested to see if this one gets a sequel. The last chapter leaves it open for a sequel.

My daughter 14, has many Karen McManus books and raves about them so seeing this on Netgalley I jumped at the chance of reading an ARC of You'll be the death of me. This book is a fast paced, easy read, that keeps you guessing. It's told from the first person narratives from three teens. In the first few chapters I had to double check who's POV I was reading but it soon felt natural and I liked how the mystery unravelled.

I may be 40 but I still love the YA genre and Karen McManus didn't disappoint. I'll definitely be buying this for my murder mystery mad daughter.

Another distinctive murder mystery/thriller from Karen McManus and likely to be popular with her existing fans as well as new readers. 'You'll be the Death of Me' follows three teens, Ivy, Mateo and Cal - the story unfolds in the first person and each of the characters tell part of the story from their perspective. The three characters used to be friends in middle school but have grown apart since starting high school. All three are experiencing problems and decide to cut school on the same day for very different reasons. The three inadvertently stumble across a murder and become implicated - for high-achieving Ivy the only solution is to solve the murder before the police... This novel touches on some mature themes including child protection/exploitation and because of this I will be recommending it to children in years 9 and above.

What a great YA novel! It’s hard to believe Karen McManus can do this with every novel she writes but she really can. This book explores some great relevant themes regardless of what some individuals might think about it. The story is pitched at the right pace and would be suited to a wide variety of readers! Thanks very much to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this now

Karen McManus continues her run of fabulous YA thrillers and this one does not stop with the twists and turns

I've read and LOVED everything Karen McManus has written and You'll Be The Death of Me was no different. It was a great YA thriller that kept me gripped the whole way through. I love trying to figure out who's responsible for the murder before it's revealed and I was left guessing right until the very end.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Karen McManus needs no introduction if you read YA books. We all know we can count on her to give us solid YA trillers. And yes, I think she delivered again with this new release.

Ivy, Mateo and Cal used to be close childhood friends before high school. But now they are older, they barely know each other. But one day, one thing led to another, they decided to skip school for one day and hang out together like old days. What’s supposed to be a cheeky fun day tuned to be a nightmare as they found a dead body of someone they know from school…. So the mystery begins.

The structure and the formula in this book is very similar to One Of Us Is Lying. I guess that’s McManus style? So if you liked other books by her, you are very likely to enjoy this book.

I liked all the characters (OK, Ivy is a bit annoying but she is a teenager, so I forgive!). Especially Mateo.. I just want to give Mateo a hug (not because he is a hottie, but because I feel like he is the one who struggled most). McManus is so good at capturing teenage angst and combine it with a murder mystery, it sucked me in quickly.

As you get into the second half of the book, there are twists and turns. I didn’t see some of them coming and was pretty surprised! For me, this is important for thrillers/mystery books. I need surprises!

All in all, this is a solid YA thriller. But who’s surprised when it’s written by McManus?

Thank you @netgallery and @penguin for giving me the chance to read this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

(Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for an eARC in exchange for an honest review)

[Actually rating - 3.5/5 stars]

It's no surprise to anyone that i love a good mystery novel and when i heard the author of one of my faves (One Of Us Is Lying) was releasing a new book, i just had to read it.

You'll Be The Death of me was a super quick and easy read, i read it in just over a day. All of Karen M. McManus's books are perfect for getting you out of a reading slump and this one is no exception. Some of the plot twists i never saw coming, and there was a lot them. The plot was quite good and very well written (as all of her books are) but there wasn't anything unique about it. I feel like all her other books had this little extra something that You'll Be The Death Of Me was lacking to really make it something special.

As for the characters, I really liked them all. They had lots of depth and when tense moments occurred, i did find myself rooting for our main trio. The romance was a little random though but I appreciated how it wasn’t full on in-your-face. This book does contain multiple POVs which can be quite confusing, especially in mystery novels, but the three in this book where easy to understand and i didn't get any of the main characters mixed up (which I normally do a lot).

Overall, I enjoyed the mystery and liked the characters but it was nothing super special

I received a copy of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books.

This book was on my anticipated reads for this year so I was stoked when I was approved for the e-arc!

I really enjoyed this book! I think this author is better at writing standalone books rather than a series!

It follows 3 characters - Cal, Mateo and Ivy. The characters were very well fleshed out, you found out a lot of details about them so it felt like you knew the characters and how they’d react to the various situations they find themselves in.

I blitzed through this and found it very interesting. I never guessed the who-dunnit and found that reveal to be surprising!

When I saw this one on Netgalley I honestly never thought I would be approved for it! But I was over the moon when I was! I’ve loved all of Karen McManus’s books so far so I knew I would read this regardless.

You’ll be the Death of me focuses on three high schoolers who used to be firm friends in middle school however have drifted apart since then.

Then one day, all for different reasons, they decide to ditch school for the day and get sucked into the murder of one of their classmates. Now without an alibi and having been seen near the crime, the three desperately try to solve the murder. All finding themselves linked in one way or another.

So much suspense throughout and every time I thought I had worked it out, something happened that kept me guessing right up till the end!

Honestly I love books like this and this one took the grand total of two days to finish because I just didn’t want to put it down!

I really struggled putting this down and honestly Karen McManus has done it again! I don’t think there’s a book I haven’t enjoyed by her. I really liked the twists that kept on coming and honestly it was just soo good.

I love Karen M McManus books ever since her first debuted. One of Us is Lying and I couldn't wait to jump into this one!

It was an easy read, I managed to binge read it within a few hours. I was easily sucked in and I really enjoyed the plot, I always find mysef trying to figure things out myself throughout this book and I have to say, I got it completely wrong with a twist I never saw coming! I liked the main three characters and how they developed together, three old friends who drifted apart, pulled back together again.

I definitely recommend this one and I'm looking forwards to whatever Karen brings out next!

Another great mystery from Katherine McManus.

We follow the three main characters, Ivy, Mateo and Cal, through alternating perspectives. Ivy, the straight A student running for class president, Mateo, the typical good looking bloke, and Cal, the outsider, who just wants to be a part of something. The cast may seem quite obvious, but McManus grows each of them into really unique characters.

As with any good teen YA drama, it wouldn’t be nearly as suspenseful if the trio just did the sensible thing from the beginning, and tell the authorities that they walked into a crime scene!

The book has MANY twists and turns along the way, although these take a while to come into play, with the start being a lot of scene setting rather than solving anything. I was interested by the whodunnit factor of course, but the real mystery is in each characters own individual secret, which somehow ties into the main plot. Each of these reveals was really well done, and paced throughout the book, compelling you to keep reading.

I’m not usually a fan of the typical “teen romance” as they all read very much the same to me - but I actually quite liked this one - it was very genuine and I did end up rooting for them (and the ongoing Sugar Babies saga!)

The ending was a bit disappointing after all the build up - The culprit was surprising, but seemed quite out of the blue after all the other clues we were given - it felt like McManus was trying to get one last plot twist in just for the sake of it, rather than there being an actual motive for the character.

McManus also leaves the book with a bit of a cliffhanger, which left me a bit confused, as I don’t think she will be following up with a sequel.

All in all, a solid YA mystery that fans of Katherine McManus’ other reads are sure to love.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC.

4.5 stars, for what I am hoping is the beginning of a new series (maybe duology?) from Karen M McManus!
Reasons you should bump this one to the top of your TBR:
-As with all of Karen M McManus' novels, this one is super engaging and will suck you in almost immediately. The chapters are short and sharp, with perfectly timed reveals and plot twists.
-I really appreciated the choice to focus more on the secrets and mysteries that tie our three main characters together. The slow reveal of what occurred between them many years ago, leading to a falling out, and the secrets they are currently keeping from each other, was incredibly well done.
-I enjoyed the dynamic between the friends, and I am very much invested in all three of their storylines.
-I find that some thrillers (YA in particular) become so unbelievable and over the top, that it really hinders my enjoyment. This one manages to maintain a sense of believability, without being boring or predictable, but also still deliver on the pure escapism that I want out of my thrillers!
-I truely sped my way through this book, and the feeling at the end that we may get at least one more book was a nice surprise.

Reasons you may want to bump this down your TBR:
-If open endings aren't your thing. As I say, I think this may be book 1, so there is some questions at the end to set that up. I personally think we got enough answers and enough of a 'wrap up' to be satisfying, whilst keeping me interested enough to be waiting on news of a follow up, but I do imagine it won't be for everyone.
-If you are looking for a wild and crazy time from start to finish, you may be a little disappointed in this one. I feel like this book really focuses on the micro elements of the central mystery/s, but if we do get a book 2, it will become more macro in focus.
-If multiple POVs are not your thing. I personally really enjoy them, but it did take me a bit of time to learn how to differentiate between them. My main critique is that I felt like our three main characters had to similar of a 'voice', which did mean sometimes I had to look back to the start of the chapter to remind myself whose POV I was in.

Overall, I truely think fans of the YA thriller genre will absolutely enjoy this one! I would recommendit those fans, and anyone looking for a fun, twisty read that will keep you guessing right to the end.

Huge thank you to Penguin Books NZ and Turning Pages NZ for the free review copy!

Amazingly good!!
I’ve not read the other books from Karen M. McManus so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but the kids at school cannot get enough so I was very happy when I was given the opportunity to read this!!
The book follows three friends, Ivy, Mateo and Cal and is told from their points of view. Ivy is quite high strung and feels overshadowed by her genius younger brother. Mateo lives with his mum and cousin and works two jobs to keep food on the table. Cal is a little bit of a loner and has just broken up with his girlfriend.

The three were best of friends after they experienced The Greatest Day Ever! Until they got to eighth grade and their friendship fizzled out.
The three happen upon each other again one day and decide to skip school and try to recreate The Greatest Day Ever! Little do they realise how wrong they will be.

The story keeps you on your toes and there are many twists and turns that you don’t see coming!! A fantastic read and the kids at school will devour this, just like Karen’s other books.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

'You'll Be the Death of Me' is the latest YA thriller from Karen McManus who has penned such absorbing works as 'One of us is lying' and (my personal favourite) 'Two can keep a secret'. She has proven that she can weave interesting plots with morally questionable characters, so I was excited to see whether this new novel lives up to its predecessors. Here, we see former friends Ivy, Mateo and Cal skip school to relive 'The Greatest Day Ever' of their middle school friendship. When they stumble across the dead body of a classmate on their travels, everything begins unravelling and it becomes clear no one can be trusted, including our three narrators.

I am sad to report that this thriller lacks the bite of McManus' former works. She has set up an interesting story with a corrupt cast of characters who all seem to have some stake in the central mystery (although the explanation for the opening murder is glaringly obvious from the start). There are a couple of genuinely surprising reveals towards the end which I appreciated. However, the very final "twist" left me feeling cold. I never felt like there was a genuine threat towards the three teen narrators and the villain of the piece lacked terror due to being underdeveloped.

Overall, this was a solid read but not McManus' best novel. I would return to some of her earlier thrillers before reading this again, particularly to find more genuinely sinister and threatening characters I felt this was lacking. 3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Three old friends find themselves caught up in a murder when they cut class on a whim.

A few weeks after reading this and I have already forgotten it. All I really know is that it was the least favourite of McManus’s books so far.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.