Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus

Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus
Genre: Thriller
Release Date: 8th January 2019
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: Publisher
Add it: Goodreads
Rating:

Echo Ridge is small-town America. Ellery's never been there, but she's heard all about it. Her aunt went missing there at age seventeen. And only five years ago, a homecoming queen put the town on the map when she was killed. Now Ellery has to move there to live with a grandmother she barely knows.

The town is picture-perfect, but it's hiding secrets. And before school even begins for Ellery, someone's declared open season on homecoming, promising to make it as dangerous as it was five years ago. Then, almost as if to prove it, another girl goes missing.

Ellery knows all about secrets. Her mother has them; her grandmother does too. And the longer she's in Echo Ridge, the clearer it becomes that everyone there is hiding something. The thing is, secrets are dangerous--and most people aren't good at keeping them. Which is why in Echo Ridge, it's safest to keep your secrets to yourself.

Two Can Keep a Secret is such a meaty thriller. There was so much going on, and there were so many characters and relationships to wrap my head around. Because there was so much going on, I felt like there had to have been a lot of pressure on the author (and her editor!) to do a good job of it. And I think they did great! Two Can Keep a Secret flows incredibly well, and the suspense is real.

There are two point of views in this book, which is not my favourite thing ever. McManus did a really good job with them, but I was much more interested in Ellery than Malcolm so it wasn’t exactly balanced. That said, having the two points of view added a new dynamic and provided information, so that was good. It just took away from the tension a bit.

Ellery was much more focussed on the case than on her budding relationship with Malcolm, which I loved. I’m really tired of YA thrillers including so much romance that it detracts from the mystery plot. If I wanted a romance, I’d read a contemporary. The romance in this book was a lot more chill, which I appreciated.

I had so many theories about who the killer was in this one, and I was guessing right up until the end. I think this would be a good one to reread in the future so I could connect the dots and see what I missed the first time.

If you couldn’t tell, I loved this book, and I think I might have liked it more than One of Us is Lying. A bold claim, I know. But McManus has developed her writing and really improved, so I’m owning it.