Karen M. McManus has done it again!! She is quickly becoming my favorite YA thriller author. You'll Be the Death of Me follows three former middle school best friends who ditch school together on a whim only to stumble upon a murder scene. The story is filled with secrets, twists, and plenty of suspects. Oh - and you can't forget that unpredictable ending! McManus writes solid, fully fleshed-out characters you actually want to read about. If you're looking for an excellent YA whodunnit thriller, this is the one to check out!

For teen librarians, the go-to genre nowadays is Murder. And, if you are looking for a cosy-ish mystery with a low body count set in and around school, look no further than Queen Karen McManus. In this, her current offering, three teens get caught up in a drugs death. Caught is probably too light a word, because they tangle themselves so densely in the ensuing web of intrigue that only a miracle will free them. But this isn’t a fantasy, and Ms McManus isn’t known for giving her characters an easy ride, so our protagonists must find the stamina, strength, and bravery to find out whodunit.

'You’ll be the death of me', is reassuringly straightforward in the ‘just the facts ma’am’ genre of detective stories. She presents the readers with fully fleshed-out characters who, thankfully, make mistakes. The plotting is fast-paced, the clues are both clear and nuanced to give the reader more than one ‘A-ha!’ moment. Everyone is a suspect and I mean everyone.

The murder is off-page (no gory details) and there is a healthy balance between angst and humour. Ms McManus is a wizard at credibly getting rid of the adults so that the teenage protagonists can tramp all over the murder scene and get themselves into tricky situations. There are no far-fetched scenarios (e.g., it was only a dream) meaning that the action is relatable and engaging.

Thankfully, too, the villain is truly a villain, with no literary soft-soaping. They are bad. End of. In the interest of cringeworthy romance, there’s an awkward teenage romance going on in the subplot. There is also a subtext about media sensationalism which is bound to enthral your book groups.

If your reader is allergic to multiple points of view, I believe they will be ok with You’ll be the death of me. The author is either an expert plotter and planner or has an eagle-eyed editor who has done stellar continuity checking. Every reader will root for the main characters, they will not have to go back through the text to fact-check and will be satisfied with the growth and development each undergo. I PROMISE.
Thank-you to NetGalleyUK and Penguin for the eARC. I loved it.

I received this book from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I am a HUGE Karen McManus fan, and I have been hyped about this book all year, even knowing nothing but the title. Her mysteries have a way about them that I really enjoy. You'll be the death of me definitely follows in the footsteps of her previous, but is slightly less of a conspiracy than her others, which I found refreshing.

When three teens skive off school and end up discovering a murdered body, they soon find themselves in over their heads. With plenty of people to suspect, and plenty of people suspecting one of them, can they get to the bottom of it in time?

This was definitely more wrong place, wrong time than Karen's previous books, with less of a set up against our main characters, and I really enjoyed that, as I could see this really occurring. Having said that, I did spend a portion of the time wondering why they didn't just go to the police! That did lower my score a little, though it's hardly uncommon in YA mysteries. That said, I really liked how it ramped up both in the investigation and how things were playing out against them.

A good fun murder mystery, and it's open for more - I'm dying to know what they get up to next given the ending! 4 stars.

Here's the difficulty with reviewing Karen McManus books; her first book was so amazing, so clever and fantastic, it set the bar really, really high. So books like this, that if written by anyone else would be brilliant, just - feel a bit of a let down. Still really clever, well done, great insights into characters, but just - not as good. Which is unfair to Karen, because this really is good.

As often happens, it took me a while to tell the characters apart. Once I got them down, though, I enjoyed the different points of view. It is a good way to show different parts of the same story unfolding. The story flew by quickly as I wanted to find out what was going to happen and whodunnit.

Spoiler: I was disappointed to see that I couldn't have figured out whodunnit, as none of the characters ever interacted with them. It feels a little bit like a cheat. However maybe other people did figure it out - kudos if you did!

I enjoyed this very much and I'm looking forward to seeing what Karen does next - I know there's a sequel to Lying coming along, but hopefully the one after that will be a sequel to this one! I can't wait to see what happens next.

As in The Cousins, You’ll Be The Death of Me features three protagonists: A-grade student Ivy has just lost the student council election to the class clown despite years of organising school initiatives; girl-crazy Cal has just been stood up by his latest crush; and hard-working Mateo just needs a break – he’s been burned out working two jobs ever since his Mom got sick and the family business went under.

So when the three former best friends bump into each other, they decide to stage a repeat of their Middle School escapade – the ‘Best Day Ever’ – and skip school together for one last time. When a fellow student is murdered, however, the ‘Best Day Ever’ soon turns into a nightmare. Ivy, Cal, and Mateo all have their reasons for disliking Brian ‘Boney’ Mahoney – and, as they day turns ever more deadly – all three have secrets to hide that might just be the death of them.

Whilst You’ll Be The Death of Me doesn’t deviate too far from McManus’s trademark formula: teen angst, deadly secrets, and a dash of budding romance; there is a strong element of ‘if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it’ here. McManus does what she does SO well that fans of her previous books are sure to adore You’ll be The Death of Me with the same fervour.

Whilst I initially didn’t like Ivy, Cal, and Mateo all that much, I gradually warmed to the three teens as the book went on. Yes, each of them is a bundle of teenage angst but, to be fair, each of them has challenges to deal with. Ivy is trying to find her place amidst her high-achieving family, Mateo wants to help his Mom, and Cal just wants to fit in. Their vulnerabilities and anxieties are woven throughout the story and provide a strong emotional pull to the narrative.

The ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off with murders’ premise is utterly genius and McManus makes the most of its potential here, offering up plenty of suspects and a wider, all-encompassing plot that kept me guessing until the final pages. The ending also has a real sting in the tail – and possibly sets up events for a continuation – and, whilst not exactly ‘happily every after’ had a realistic feel that suited the story well. There’s also some poignant reflections on growing up and moving on that will resonate with readers of any age.

Whilst I didn’t love the characters or the high school setting quite as much as the atmospheric island of The Cousins, You’ll Be The Death of Me soon drew me in with its brilliant premise, page-turning plot, and regular twists and turns. Fans of McManus will find her latest novel just as compelling as her last, whilst those new to her work could do far worse than starting with this solid YA thriller.

McManus really is deserving of the moniker the ‘Queen of Teen Crime’. Reading her Mysteries are like combining the skilful pacing and plot reveals of an Agatha Christie combined with the perfect amount of teen angst. You’ll Be the Death of Me is a perfect example of what not just YA mystery but what mystery genre can be.

The finesse for the mysteries construction is perfectly paired with fabulously inner monologues of the characters as they deal with all the perils of teenage years, from friendships to family, school to social climbing, responsibility in varying levels. All of which add up to complex and interesting characters to read about. I found myself both loving and hating aspects of all the characters which I think is a sign of good writing. I would be upset for them, happy for them and also frustrated with them too. I liked how we rotated through the three perspectives giving us insight from all three angles.

I love how McManus plays with the tropes and twists they stereotypes into compelling mysteries. My favourite in this is how she perfectly balances the “just tell an adult“ Trope, every reasoning as to why these teens find themselves not asking for help is really well thought out. The Plot itself is just awesome. The Ferris Buller vibes in the beginning are just perfect and then we quickly pivot into our trio getting pulled into the mysterious death of on of their classmates, the panic and fear of being a suspect, who is really to blame and uncovering all manor of secrets, some big some small, some completely unrelated, protecting friendships, family and themselves as they try to figure out what happened.

McManus is also the Queen of plot twists, she throws so many curve balls at the reader that I really couldn’t see where this one was going. Just when I thought I had it figured out she would through a twist, a red herring or double back just to leave you guessing even more. I devoured the second half of this book in hours as I couldn’t put it down.

I'd like to preface this review by saying I'm a huge fan of Karen M. McManus, and I was incredibly excited to read my ARC of this book!

Unfortunately, You'll Be the Death of Me just missed the mark for me. I found the characters hard to engage with. I generally love McManus' ability to create real, three-dimensional characters with clear motives and backstories. In my opinion, her characters make her books as much as the mysteries do. Mateo was my favourite of our three protagonists, but even then I didn't have a solid connection to his character. This made the book hard to get into for me, and as such it was a slow read.

The mystery had the perfect set-up, and should have kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. I just felt like too many things were tied in together to create "the perfect mystery", and as a result of that, all of it fell a little short. I didn't enjoy the reveal at all - to me, it was more a plot point of convenience than one of credibility.

However, I loved the writing. McManus has a way of drawing the reader back for more with her words. The environment and settings she created were real and I did enjoy some of the dynamics in the novel. I loved the growth of the relationships within Ivy's family, I think that was really relatable and well-done.

Overall, You'll Be the Death of Me was a good murder mystery. Unfortunately, not a great one and I did leave it disappointed as I was hoping for a little more. Therefore, I am rating it 3/5 stars, as I think it was a relatively enjoyable read, but not a book I would consider rereading or as leaving a lasting impact.

First of all, I have to admit that I am already quite a bit of a Karen McManus fan. I read ‘One of Us is Lying’ and have had plans to read her next books even before I got the chance to review this book. Karen McManus is probably one of my favourite Young Adult authors, so I had pretty high expectations for this book

and I am so glad to announce that ALL my expectations were met.

This book was such a well-written, twisty, young adult murder mystery that had me putting of my dinner just so I can read a couple more pages. There is so much to unpack from this book, but first let’s talk about the mystery element. Like I said, I thought this was a pretty well-written book. Karen McManus has rightfully earned the title as ‘YA Mystery Queen’ has a gift for creating suspense without dragging the pacing. There was never I moment where I felt bored or uncommitted to finding out what happens next. The author leaves small hints here and there (that you can easily catch if you know where to look) without giving away too much and leaves you yearning to find out how the next revelation connects to the rest of the plot. I also really enjoyed how there were subplots for the characters that can still be linked back to the main plot– like, they weren’t given this storyline just for the sake of it, and instead formed part of the larger part of the overarching plot.

Speaking of characters, let’s talk about them.

‘You’ll Be the Death of Me’ follows three main characters; Ivy, Mateo and Cal. These three used to be close friends, but eventually grew apart. They decide to meet up and ditch school, but coincidentally wounded up in the immediate vicinity of a murdered dead body. The chapters are divided into the three characters’ perspectives and it’s interesting to see, not only the mystery unfold, but also their own secrets exposed through the character’s eyes. Despite the initial almost one dimensional introduction to the characters, where the characters don’t really seem that interesting, you can expect character development by the end of the book. It was really nice to see that the author leaves space in-between uncovering the mystery to develop the characters individually without compromising the main plot.

This is a book that you can pick up at anytime and just get lost in. I love the fact that we get three perspectives and the chapters jump in between the characters. With some chapters ending in shocking revelations or plot twists, the abrupt change to another perspective just had me glued to my seat unwilling to put this book down until I find out what the hell happens next.

Karen McManus is clearly a very talented thriller/mystery writer, and although most of her work has been within the YA genre, I do hope to one day see her explore the New Adult/Adult thriller genre. I would love to see her work with older characters instead of High Schoolers just because I know this means the author can incorporate darker and more twisted themes in her books. For now, I am more than content with Karen McManus’ work within the YA sphere, and I’ll be doing my best to catch up and read her other works. I cannot wait to read more from her.

4 stars.

This is a story about teenagers who made decisions without thinking about the repercussions and consequences of their actions.

Ivy, Mateo and Cal used to be best friends, however, they drifted apart. Ivy is a determined and bright young girl, who takes life very seriously. When she loses an election for class president to Boney Mahoney, she is devastated. So devastated that she cannot face school. Outside the building she bumps into Cal and Matteo, and soon the two boys persuade her to skip school for the day, just like they did in the past.

The trio heads to Boston, where they spot Boney Mahoney heading into a building. They decide to follow him and walk straight into a murder scene. Boney is dead. Then, if that wasn't bad enough, the police turn up. Ivy, Cal, and Mateo manage to escape. Soon, they see the news informing them that a blonde girl has been spotted leaving the building... Ivy has blonde hair. Everyone immediately think that Ivy is a suspect.

Ivy swears she had nothing to do with Boney's murder. Is she telling the truth? Can the trio discover the true killer? More importantly, how will the day affect their friendship?

I loved this book - it is the first one that I've read by Karen McManus and now I feel that I have to read her previous work. The plot was excellent and I adored the characters. Each and every one of them had something to hide. I loved the fact that the book was written from the three perspectives, providing us with the insight into what the particular character was feeling and thinking.
This book is full of twists, action, and mystery. You will not be disappointed.

You'll Be the Death of Me by Karen M McManus is a YA thriller from a master of the genre. In this stand alone novel we meet three teens who decide for various reasons to try to recapture the glory of their former friendship by ditching school for the day. Unfortunately their plans for a day of fun go awry almost from the very beginning whey they follow another classmate into an abandoned building down town and stumble across his dead body moments later. Out of their depth, the trio end up fleeing the scene , but not before one of them is spotted, and becomes a suspect in the investigation of the crime. Desperate to clear their names and figure out what happened to their former classmate, the trio embark on an investigation of their own that will lead to some deeply buried secrets being revealed and might just destroy what remains of their friendship forever.
This is a fast paced thriller with plenty of action to keep the reader entertained, and three great characters in Ivy, Mateo and Chris, each of whom have their own issues to contend with. One of my favourite things about the book was the skill with which the author crafted these characters, and how my feelings towards them changed over the course of the book, as their shared history and secrets were revealed. Fans of traditional mysteries will enjoy the clues sprinkled throughout the book , but be warned there are one or two red herrings in there, and I for one did not see the ending coming, though I did think it felt a little weak in comparison to the rest of the story.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I never used to really read YA, especially YA thrillers, but that has completely changed because of The Write Reads, and partly because of Karen M. McManus. I first read one of her books because of a Write Reads blog tour, I loved it, and it made me want to pick up more YA thrillers. So, when Dave sent out the email announcing this tour, you better believe me when I say that I have never signed up to a tour so quickly in my life, and You’ll Be The Death of Me certainly didn’t let me down!

From the very beginning, this story has you hooked. The story is told from the perspective of Ivy, Mateo, and Cal, and after a little introduction to each of the characters, and some background context, it jumps straight in to the action. When the trio decide to skip school because they’re all having a bad day, they could have never imagined that their bad day would turn in to the day from hell. They took being in the wrong place at the wrong time to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL, with terrible consequences. You very quickly become invested in the plot of this story, and the mystery and secrets throughout.

There were some interesting characters in this story, and some of my favourites were actually not main characters! In regards the main trio though, my feelings towards each of them were constantly changing depending on the most recent revelation in the story. They each had their own problems to contend with, and although they didn’t always make the right choices, I think they handled them as best as they thought they could.

This story had me guessing from beginning to end. I had multiple different theories along the way, but it certainly wasn’t the outcome I was expecting! This book is jam packed full of adventure, excitement, suspicion, and mystery, and I loved every second of it. Karen M. McManus has a way of pulling you in, and not letting go. I can’t wait to see what else she has in store for us in the future.

I give You’ll Be The Death of Me a 5 star rating!

As a huge fan of the One Of Us Is Lying series I was so excited to receive this ARC of You’ll Be The Death Of Me. I found this to be quite an easy read (I normally struggle to read mystery books) but I really love McManus’ style of writing. I read this in two days as I was completely hooked from start to finish and I couldn’t put it down.

I really liked the characters and how their relationships develop throughout the book. I also really enjoyed each characters backstory and I had fun trying to guess their secrets that would end up being revealed. There are some darker topics mentioned in this book so I would recommend checking the trigger warnings before reading this!

I did find the “plot twist” kind of underwhelming and somewhat predictable, but despite this it was a good read and I would definitely recommend it! The overall ending seemed quite broad so I’m kind of hoping there’s maybe a sequel to this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Children’s UK for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I’ll also be posting this review on my Instagram @laurleareads .

You'll Be The Death Of Me is the latest YA thriller from Karen McManus!

It follows 3 teenagers who used to be friends, reunited for one day to skip school. They were trying to recreate "the best day ever" and find themselves walking into a murder scene and having actually a pretty rubbish day!

The chapters alternate between the three teenagers' points of view as is McManus's usual style, however this time I felt like it took me ages to connect with the 3 characters and remember anything about them and their lives!

I felt like the plot gets off to a slow start, too much backstory when we first meet the characters, and not enough truly gripping action. It was only the last third, when everything started to come together and the action started happening, did I truly feel the urge to find out what happened.

Not my favourite of her books but at 336 pages it was a quick read with an ending I enjoyed!

You’ll Be The Death of Me is a fierce, creative and fascinating mystery from a queen of YA murder mysteries. Yet again, McManus just has that magic touch.

I fell in love with McManus’ concept of Ferris Bueller with a dash of murder. This book more than lives up to that premise, with a thrilling plot packed full of brilliantly executed twists and turns.

There are so many layers to what initially seems a simplistic story, with a great discussion of the lengths we will go to in order to protect our family and avenge perceived wrongs. As always, the pacing is impeccable, balancing that character work with the unrelenting pace of the mystery unfolding. Even at the final page, there is still more room for another story to be told, with a fascinatingly open element being played out. You have a sense of where it is headed, but it’s like McManus passes over the story to be continued in the reader’s imagination.

The whole roadtrip format and use of three narrative voices really allows us to connect with the characters. I loved how Ivy, Mateo and Cal all really stood out and felt like three-dimensional, realistic characters. They all have layers to them and secrets from their past that are now coming to light.

McManus gives you time to really get to know them, while also developing the tangled web of secrets and lies that colours the book. For me, the central concept was this idea of reconnecting their friendship and possibly restarting hints of a romance, but then all the murder and hi-jinks comes in.

You’ll Be The Death of Me shows that yet again, McManus has smashed it out of the water with plenty of devious twists and turns.

Another thrilling page-turner from the queen of YA crime, Karen M McManus.

When Ivy, Mateo and Cal sneak out of a boring talk in Middle School and onto the streets of Boston, they have the Best Day Ever. Year later, and no longer friends, they find themselves in their high school carpark faced with the same choice. But ditching school won't recreate the magic of their previous escape. Murder, secrets and danger quickly turn this into the Worst Day Ever - but will it also be their last?

I loved this book. It's filled with complex characters who each have their own problems and secrets, which intertwine with each other in unexpected ways as the plot progresses. No one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes - or has previous choices come back to haunt them. While there is a spontaneity to their decision to ditch, there's a sense that the events of the novel could only happen to these characters, and that their mistakes would have caught up with them in the end even if they'd gone into school.

Like McManus' other books, You'll Be The Death of Me is an edge of your seat page-turner. It takes a lot to convince me to stay up late reading at the moment and not go back to sleep as soon as the baby does, but this book was impossible to put down and absolutely worth the sleepless night!

The ending was satisfyingly superb. I definitely don't want to give anything away but it's a great final twist.

Thank you The Write Reads and Penguin Platform for letting me be a part of the tour!

Thank you Netgally for a review copy of this amazing book in exchange for an honest opinion.
This is the story of Ivy, Cal and Mateo, who are in the wrong place at the wrong time. The 3 of them used to be best friends, but as always something happened and they lost touch. Present time, they all struggle with their own personal issues, so when they bump into each other at the school entrance they decide to skip the day and try to recreate 'The Best day Ever'.
Unfortunately, as they arrive in Boston, Ivy sees Boney, the cause of her humiliation, and decides to follow him into an unknow building. Ivy finds Boney, but he is slumped behind a sofa, dead. From here their adventure starts. Ivy is a murder suspect and her 2 friends both hide something. Ivy does not want to disappoint her parents so she embarks on a mission to solve the murder.
I really enjoyed this book. I liked the 3 main characters and their banter, I liked how the other characters added to the story and the end was brilliant. I did guess who the murderer was around 30%, but I did like seeing how the story came together.
A great read. Definitely recommend.

You'll be the Death of Me was an underwhelming mystery that I wasn't a fan of. The characters were stereotypical and lacked depth. The plot was quite boring and I wasn't invested in it. The big reveal wasn't that shocking. The writing, however, was quite engaging but as a whole, this book was quite lacklustre.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free e-arc!

Synopsis:
Ivy, Mateo, and Cal were close friends in middle school. They lost contact soon after they entered the doors of high school. They met again on the day they all needed a break from school. They decided to relive ‘The Best Days of Their Life’, which is the day they became friends. However, they didn’t expect that this day they will walk into the middle of a murder scene. Brian "Boney" Mahoney was supposed to be accepting his newly won position of class president, but instead, he was the one laying on the ground.

Book Review:
The story is about teenagers that got themselves into such a mess that slowly they had no idea how to get out of it. They made so many mistakes on their way but without them, there wouldn’t be such a good book by the end. I like that instead of just ignoring what they’d seen and leaving it all for the police, they tried to learn who's guilty of Boney’s death. One of the reasons for them was that Ivy was the main suspect in this case.

Besides them playing detectives, I love how many subjects this book included like the relationship between an adult and a minor, drugs, school pressure, consequences of revenge, and unequal treatment of people of color. But that wasn't all. Each of the characters also had their own secrets that turned into a storm between this group of theirs when the truth came out. However, I think that this part was one of the things that made them stronger and finally got them back to being friends.

I was suspecting so many in this book to be a murderer, or just connected to the murder. By the end, even the main characters were on my list of suspects. I was quite surprised when the truth came out, I didn’t even think that this person could be guilty of that, which means the author was successful with the ending of the story.

I’m not sure what to think about the ending. It was quite open so I’m wondering if there’s going to be the second book in the series. The author would need to come up with a new murder or drama to make it work but I would be happy to read it. This book has only 280 pages but it’s very easy to connect with the main characters, which is a major advantage. Overall, I loved the book and I think it might be my favorite book of this author.

I would like to thank TheWriteReads, Penguin, and Karen M. McManus for providing me with a copy of this great book! I was so happy to take part in this book tour, and I could share my review with you!

CONTENT WARNING: death of a parent, drug use, death, murder, violence, blood

It’s no secret that I’m already a huge fan of Karen M. McManus, but I think this has got to be my favorite one of her books so far. It incorporates so many different aspects of teen life — family dynamics, navigating friendships and dating, the pressures of school and home life, and then throws in an extra twist. Murder.

The story is told from the perspective of each of the three main characters — Cal, Ivy, and Mateo, so we get a front seat into each of their thoughts and emotions. And there’s so much going on for each of them. Yet, they are each hard not to empathize with, and they’re all endearing in their own way. Even if they all have secrets.

We learn about them slowly over the course of the book, as well as how they factor into the story that unfolds. They’re estranged friends, yet they manage to come together to recreate a day from four years ago when they cut school together. However, this ditch day plays out radically differently — going from the Best Day Ever to the Worst Day Ever. And they have to figure out how to work together to solve the mystery of what happened to their classmate.

I was on the edge of my seat as the story played out. McManus is at the top of her game, dropping little breadcrumbs throughout the story, yet keeping our attention focused on the various subplots that are happening as well. Each of the three main characters has family issues to face, and there are relationship issues involved. I loved the way that the characters interacted with each other. The conversation felt natural and realistic, as did the characters themselves.

Even with all of this, the story delves into some darker topics as well — the opioid epidemic that’s unfortunately all too common across the country, divorce and parental abandonment, chronic illness, and financial struggles, while still discussing issues that aren’t as heavy but still carry weight, like sibling rivalry and navigating your place in the family, controlling anger, and feelings of loneliness and isolation.

Each time I read one of Karen M. McManus’s books, I’m reminded all over again why I love her books so much. She’s hands down one of the best mystery/thriller authors in the YA sphere, and I always look forward to starting one of her new books. While I’m a fast reader to start with, I finished this book in record time. I was unable to put it down, and was on the edge of my seat, wanting to find out what happened to the characters, and who was behind the murder. And despite trying my hardest to figure it out, the majority of the plot twists smacked me in the face when they were revealed.

I have really enjoyed all of Karen M. McManus' books before, my favourite is definitely Two Can Keep a Secret followed up her duology One of Us is Lying. I went into this one really expecting to enjoy it and I wasn't disappointed.

This follows three friends(? kind of?) who have a connection to a kid from their school who has died under suspicious circumstances. It took me a little bit to get into this, but I was hooked from the 30% mark and really struggled to put it down. This author writes really fun YA Mystery Books and despite them being full of cliches and tropes, I feel they are a fresh take on old ideas.

I would definitely recommend picking this up when it comes out in December!