One of Us Is Next

McManus follows up her page-turning One of Us Is Lying with an equally breathless read, this time focusing on secondary characters from the original story. Following the events of the first book, the Bayview Four—Bronwyn, Addy, Cooper, and Nate—have now gone their separate ways. Only Addy remains in town, working as a server, alongside Phoebe, at Café Contigo. Maeve, Bronwyn’s younger sister, a leukemia survivor, spends a great deal of time there with Knox, her best friend and former boyfriend. When a new Reddit thread mysteriously begins under the moniker “Vengeance Is Mine,” and an anonymous texter begins a Truth or Dare game on Bayview High students’ phones, the new friends’ secrets are revealed in a public and embarrassing way, via school-wide texts. The anonymous texter ends the reveal with a warning: “Always take the dare.” When the dares go from shocking to dangerous, Maeve, Phoebe, Addy, and Knox find themselves at the center of a new mystery with an even more dangerous puppet master. Full of exciting and unexpected twists and racing toward a shocking conclusion, McManus’s tale will not disappoint fans, and those unfamiliar with her previous work will inhale this complicated story of friendship and revenge. Ages 14–up. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio. (Jan.)■