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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.