Author: Karen M. McManus
Genre: Ya Mystery/Thriller
Release Date: 11.30.21
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: Audiobook via Library
My Rating: 3.5/5 stars
SYNOPSIS: “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–he’s been working two jobs since his family’s business failed. And outsider Cal just got stood up…. again.
So when Cal pulls into campus late for class and runs into Ivy and Mateo, it seems like the perfect opportunity to turn a bad day around. They’ll ditch and go into the city. 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. They all have a connection to the dead kid. And they’re all hiding something.
Now they’re all wondering–could it be that their chance reconnection wasn’t by chance after all?”
I’ve been following Karen M. McManus’ books since her debut novel, and I was happily surprised by her newest release. I loved One of Us is Lying but have had mixed feelings about her books since. Especially, with her release of The Cousins. I felt lost from this author and was ready to move on and stop picking up her books. But, I decided to give this author another shot. And I am glad I did. While You’ll Be The Death of Me wasn’t my favorite book ever, it was enjoyable, fast paced, and featured a cute side romance.
I actually read this story through the audiobook, which was so well done. There are three narrators for the story and they each got their own voices in the audiobook. It was really enjoyable to listen to and I felt completely engaged. The plot was really fun and fast paced, I felt like I was flying through the story.
I think my favorite part of this story was the characters and their relationship. Ivy, Cal, and Mateo were all so unique to each other with clear voices that were easy to distinguish. I loved their friendship and the complicated relationships they had that had grew from years of knowing each other. These three were perfect together and well crafted. I also loved the little romance that occurs. I would genuinely love to read more stories about them in the future, even just scenes of them all hanging out and bantering.
While the story was engaging and quick, I also found it slightly predictable? I wasn’t able to fully guess the ending, but there were some aspects that just felt so clear to me. Part of that may be because I’m a seasoned thriller/mystery reader, but I’m not sure. I wasn’t blown away by the big plot twists and ending. It was interesting, but it lacked the wow factor for me.
Overall, it was definitely an enjoyable story and I had fun with it. I wouldn’t consider it a favorite book, but because of the characters I could see myself revisiting it in the future. I would highly recommend this book for those who like friend trios, murder mysteries, and 24hr stories.
TRIGGER WARNINGS: inappropriate student/teacher relationship, mention of drugs multiple times, physical fights, murder, and mention of needles/syringes
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