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Karen M. McManus books in order

Karen M. McManus is an American #1 New York Times and international bestselling author of twisty young adult thrillers.

She is best known for books such as One of Us Is Lying, which has been adapted into a TV show on Peacock and Netflix, as well standalones Two Can Keep a Secret (2019), The Cousins (2020), You'll Be the Death of Me (2021), and Nothing More to Tell (2022).

The holder of a BA degree in English from the College of the Holy Cross, and an MA in journalism from Northeastern University, Karen's award-winning novels have been translated into more than 40 languages, selling multiple copies around the globe.

She lives and works in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and enjoys traveling with her son whenever she isn't working or writing.

More about Karen M. McManus

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult

Born: 1969

United States

Website: https://www.karenmcmanus.com/

Non Series

  • Two Can Keep a Secret (2019)
  • The Cousins (2020)
  • You'll Be the Death of Me (2021)
  • Nothing More to Tell (2022)

Bayview High

  1. One of us Is Lying (2017)
  2. One of us is Next (2020)
  3. One of us is Back (2023)

Collections

  1. Marple (2022)

Omnibus Books

  1. Karen M. McManus Boxset: TikTok made me buy it (2021)
Collections

Detailed book overview

Non Series

Two Can Keep a Secret

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 has 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.

Author: Karen M. McManus
First Release: 2019
ISBN: 978-1524714710
Publisher: Ember
The Cousins

Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story are cousins, but they barely know each another, and they've never even met their grandmother. Rich and reclusive, she disinherited their parents before they were born. So when they each receive a letter inviting them to work at her island resort for the summer, they're surprised...and curious.

Their parents are all clear on one point--not going is not an option. This could be the opportunity to get back into Grandmother's good graces. But when the cousins arrive on the island, it's immediately clear that she has different plans for them. And the longer they stay, the more they realize how mysterious--and dark--their family's past is.

The entire Story family has secrets. Whatever pulled them apart years ago isn't over--and this summer, the cousins will learn everything.

Author: Karen M. McManus
First Release: 2020
ISBN: 978-0525708032
Publisher: Delacorte Press
You'll Be the Death of Me

Ivy, Mateo, and Cal used to be close. Now all they have in common is Carlton High and the beginning of a very bad day. Type A Ivy lost a student council election to the class clown, and now she has to face the school, humiliated. Heartthrob Mateo is burned out from working two jobs since his family’s business failed. And outsider Cal just got stood up . . . again.

So when the three unexpectedly run into each other, they decide to avoid their problems by ditching. Just the three of them, like old times. Except they’ve barely left the parking lot before they run out of things to say. . .

. . . until they spot another Carlton High student skipping school—and follow him to the scene of his own murder. In one chance move, their day turns from dull to deadly. And it’s about to get worse. It turns out Ivy, Mateo, and Cal still have some things in common...like a connection to the dead kid. And they’re all hiding something.

Could it be that their chance reconnection wasn’t by chance after all?

Author: Karen M. McManus
First Release: 2021
ISBN: 978-0241473665
Publisher: Penguin Books
Nothing More to Tell

Four years ago, Brynn left Saint Ambrose School following the shocking murder of her favorite teacher—a story that made headlines after the teacher’s body was found by three Saint Ambrose students in the woods behind their school. The case was never solved. Now that Brynn is moving home and starting her dream internship at a true-crime show, she’s determined to find out what really happened.

The kids who found Mr. Larkin are her way in, and her ex–best friend, Tripp Talbot, was one of them. Without his account of events, the other two kids might have gone down for Mr. Larkin’s murder—but instead, thanks to Tripp, they're now at the top of the Saint Ambrose social pyramid. Tripp’s friends have never forgotten what Tripp did for them that day, and neither has he. Just like he hasn’t forgotten that everything he told the police was a lie.

Digging into the past is bound to shake up the present, and when Brynn begins to investigate what happened in the woods that day, she uncovers secrets that might change everything—about Saint Ambrose, about Mr. Larkin, and about her ex-best friend, Tripp Talbot.

Four years ago someone got away with murder. More terrifying is that they might be closer than anyone thinks.

Author: Karen M. McManus
First Release: 2022
ISBN: 978-0241473689
Publisher: Penguin Books

Bayview High

One of us Is Lying

Pay close attention and you might solve this.

On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.

    Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.

    Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.

    Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.

    Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.

    And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.

Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention Simon's dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose?

Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.

One of Us Is Lying (TV Series)
Director: Jennifer Morrison
Cast: Annalisa Cochrane, Chibuikem Uche, Marianly Tejada, Cooper van Grootel, Barrett Carnahan, Jessica McLeod, Mark McKenna, Melissa Collazo
Author: Karen M. McManus
First Release: 2017
ISBN: 978-1524714758
Publisher: Delacorte Press
One of us is Next

Come on, Bayview, you know you've missed this.

A ton of copycat gossip apps have popped up since Simon died, but in the year since the Bayview four were cleared of his shocking death, no one's been able to fill the gossip void quite like he could. The problem is no one has the facts.

Until now.

This time it's not an app, though—it's a game.

Truth or Dare.

Phoebe's the first target. If you choose not to play, it's a truth. And hers is dark.

Then comes Maeve and she should know better—always choose the dare.

But by the time Knox is about to be tagged, things have gotten dangerous. The dares have become deadly, and if Maeve learned anything from Bronwyn last year, it's that they can't count on the police for help. Or protection.

Simon's gone, but someone's determined to keep his legacy at Bayview High alive. And the rules have changed.

Author: Karen M. McManus
First Release: 2020
ISBN: 978-0241376928
Publisher: Penguin Books
One of us is Back

The third time’s a charm.

It’s been almost two years since Simon died in detention, and the aftermath has been hard to shake. First the Bayview Four had to prove they weren’t killers. Then a new generation outwitted a vengeful copycat. Now the entire Bayview Crew is back home for the summer, and everyone is trying to move on.

Only, this is Bayview, and life is never that simple.

At first the mysterious billboard seems like a bad joke: Time for a new game, Bayview. But when a member of the Bayview Crew disappears, it’s clear this “game” is serious—and whoever’s in charge isn’t sharing the rules. Or maybe there aren’t any.

Bronwyn. Cooper. Addy. Nate. Maeve. Phoebe. Knox. Luis. Kris. Everyone’s a target. And now that someone unexpected has returned to Bayview, things could start getting deadly.

The thing is, Simon was right about secrets—they all come out eventually. And Bayview has a lot it’s still hiding.

Author: Karen M. McManus
First Release: 2023
ISBN: 978-0593705339
Publisher: Random House

Collections

Marple

One doesn't stop at one murder...

Jane Marple is an elderly lady from St Mary Mead who possesses an uncanny knack for solving even the most perplexing puzzles. Now, for the first time in 45 years, Agatha Christie’s beloved character returns to the page for a globe-trotting tour of crime and detection.

Join Marple as she travels through her sleepy English village and around the world. In St Mary Mead, a Christmas dinner is interrupted by unexpected guests; the Broadway stage in New York City is set for a dangerous improvisation; bad omens surround an untimely death aboard a cruise ship to Hong Kong; and a bestselling writer on holiday in Italy is caught in a nefarious plot. These and other crimes committed in the name of love, jealousy, blackmail, and revenge are ones that only the indomitable Jane Marple can solve.

Bringing a fresh twist to the hallmarks of a classic Agatha Christie mystery, these twelve esteemed writers have captured the sharp wit, unique voice, and droll ingenuity of the deceptively demure detective. A triumphant celebration of Christie’s legacy and essential reading for crime lovers, Marple is a timely reminder why Jane Marple remains one of the most famous detectives of all time.

Author: Karen M. McManus
First Release: 2022
ISBN: 978-0063266056
Publisher: HarperLuxe

Omnibus Books

Karen M. McManus Boxset: TikTok made me buy it

Secrets. Lies. Murder. The Karen M. McManus boxset has it all:

ONE OF US IS LYING

Five students go to detention. Only four leave alive.

ONE OF US IS NEXT

Truth or dare turns deadly. Who would you believe?

TWO CAN KEEP A SECRET

Two dead homecoming queens. Who's next?

THE COUSINS

Secrets. Lies. Inheritance. Family first always. Right?

Author: Karen M. McManus
First Release: 2021
ISBN: 978-0241553725
Publisher: Penguin