Ok so Two Can Keep A Secret was EXCELLENT and exactly what I want a thriller to be!
Usually I’m tentative about thrillers and One of Us Is Lying, while I admire it for being super-famous, it didn’t click for me. However this one?! Miiiiine. It had the small town vibes, an autumn-y Halloween aesthetic, and siblings dynamics that I adored. It took time to develop the characters and there was muuuuurder. Obviously. It is literally a murder mystery. But someone must be Captain McObvious here and I volunteer.
And no joke: I obsessed over solving the case whenever I wasn’t reading! I was invested!
Thank you to Penguin Australia for the review-copy! This was out January 8, 2019!
➸ I really cared about the characters!
That’s what I want out of a book ok. Make me CARE. (Which is hard with my stone cold little rock of a heart.) But the book balanced unwinding this twisty murder mystery AND developing both the narrators (Ellery and Malcolm) into dimensional and complex humans who need a hug several times during the course of the book. Or two hugs, in Malcolm’s case. Kid had it rough.
✧ Ellery: She just moved to Echo Ridge (while her mum is in rehab) and she and her twin brother, Ezra, are staying with their estranged grandma. Ellery has a bushel of curly hair, possibly Latinx complexion (her dad is unknown), and a deep love of murder mysteries. Her brother is the chill sweetheart who frequently has to say things like: “NO MURDER BEFORE BREAKFAST, ELLERY.” And I loved them so much. (I wish Ezra had been more developed though. He’s queer, but his storyline is just a sliver.)
✧ Malcolm: His older brother is the aggressive epic jock dude, who was heavily suspected in his girlfriend’s murder several years ago. Never arrested. But Malcolm lives in that shadow, despite his mum having remarried this rich flashy lawyer and now Malcolm’s actual step-sister is like the QUEEN BEE of highschool which gets Malcolm a little school cred. (He also plays IN THE BAND so like…not that much cred.) Malcolm is a little nerdy and dorky and Soft™. I absolutely adore how his relationship with Ellery was really slow-burn, despite the shortness of the book. Also he has an epic platonic relationship with Mia and they are!! so nice !!! (Mia is also Korean-American and the book discusses how it feels to be part of a minority in an overly white town.)
I lowkey suspected Malcolm of murder at one point but like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I SUSPECTED EVERYONE. SUREFIRE WAY TO BE RIGHT AT THE END.
➸ The plot had me super invested.
I think because I cared about the characters so easily! I wanted to know if these string of missing-girls was connected. It reminded me of Sadie when they called out how missing girls need to be taken seriously, not just called a statistic. It’s twisty and there’s lots of theories with Ellery playing detective (but she’s not obnoxious about it). I called one of the twists about her mother’s past! I’M PRACTICALLY SHERLOCK. Nevermind that I was so wrong about the actual murderer. Lmao. Minor detail.
➸ I do confess I (a) got confused with all the characters, and (b) it didn’t chill me to my bones.
Honestly they’re such small complaints anyway! I felt like this was a Quiet Murder Town (shh that’s now a thing) and I didn’t actually have my heart in my mouth for Ellery’s safety. But I still WANTED TO KNOW so that’s a win. And hey I’m just generally bad at names and there are SO many characters here. And everyone just had these very common-American-names like LIZ, SARAH, MIA, DAISY, BROOKE, OH HELP ME.
It was really satisfying. I just wanted to keep reading and find out all the answers. Sure I didn’t get goosebumps, but I had a thoroughly good time investing in the characters and this odd little town of Echo Ridge. It felt like a sinister contemporary, full of autumn leaves and family secrets, with a background of murderrrr. Perfect.
Ellery’s never been to Echo Ridge, but she’s heard all about it. It’s where her aunt went missing at age sixteen, never to return. Where a Homecoming Queen’s murder five years ago made national news. And where Ellery now has to live with a grandmother she barely knows, after her failed-actress mother lands in rehab. No one knows what happened to either girl, and Ellery’s family is still haunted by their loss.
Malcolm grew up in the shadow of the Homecoming Queen’s death. His older brother was the prime suspect and left Echo Ridge in disgrace. His mother’s remarriage vaulted her and Malcolm into Echo Ridge’s upper crust, but their new status grows shaky when mysterious threats around town hint that a killer plans to strike again. No one has forgotten Malcolm’s brother-and nobody trusts him when he suddenly returns to town.
Ellery and Malcolm both know it’s hard to let go when you don’t have closure. Then another girl disappears, and Ellery and Malcolm were the last people to see her alive. As they race to unravel what happened, they realize every secret has layers in Echo Ridge. The truth might be closer to home than either of them want to believe.
And somebody would kill to keep it hidden.
Goodreads | Booktopia | Book Depository | Penguin Australia
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I really liked this book in comparison to the previous one as well! The plot was definitely more complicated than the characters were in this tale (although the characters were interesting).
Yeah the first one had more twists!! But for some reason this one worked better for me.😂
For me I think it was the fact that I did not see the reveal coming 🙈and that is a rare feeling 😁
OMG I loved her first book and seriously cannot wait for this one 😀 !
thanks for the detailed review
-Lena
x
http://www.lenasnotebook.co.uk
Thanks for reading! 💛
Glad to see you enjoyed this one! I ended up really enjoying One of Us Is Lying when I finally read it last year, and I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did, but I’ve seen fairly ‘meh’ reviews of this one so far so it’s great to see a more positive review. You’ve definitely made me want to check it out! I love a thriller from time to time, and a thriller in a small town with big secrets is always good fun. Great review!
Yes it was really fun and also sort of sweet?! So I think maybe if you’re in for a hair-raising one, it might not meet expectations. But it was more of a subtle-creepiness that I enjoyed a lot!
Ahhh, I’m so excited for this! I enjoyed One of Us Is Lying, and this new one has SMALL TOWN and AUTUMN VIBES, and even more character work? yES PLEASE give it to meeee.
Moog Florin | https://moogflorin.com/2019/01/18/magical-new-year-disney-wishlist/
AUTUMN VIBES ARE MY FAVOURITES. I think maybe because I’ve never had an autumn. 😂
Wow this book sounds so good!!! *Adds to my towering mental TBR* murder and plot twists and interesting characters and mystery? Bring it!! I’m really excited to read this book at some point! I never read One of Us is Lying, but maybe I should before this one?
Characters mean wayyyyy more to me than the plot. A book can have a complicated, twisty, unique plot and I’ll hate it if I didn’t love at least one of the characters. I need to feel people’s emotions!!
Thanks for the fabulous review, Cait!
They’re not related so you definitely don’t need to read One Of Us Is Lying first! (Although I’m loving how her titles started with ONE and now TWO…ooooh if the next one is THREE DEAD CHICKENS or something. Done it. I’ve plotted the next bestseller.)
Oh, I really want to read this one! I’m a sucker for a good thriller. I have read One of Us Is Lying and to be honest I really enjoyed that one. There were parts that were a bit confusing and rushed out, in my opinion, but other than that I can see why a lot of people enjoyed it. Now I need to get my hands on this one ASAP!!!
I’m glad you liked her first book a lot too! Like I was really keen to finish it and get answers, but it was the whole “these characters are cliches”! with that being the point that didn’t work for me. 😂
Oooh, it’s not often that you read a mystery, it’s refreshing. I liked Two Can Keep a Secret but I liked One of Us is Lying better. It is currently my fave YA mystery. Ellery and Malcolm are cinnamon rolls (they are too likable to be in a murder book) while the quartet protags in the author’s debut book all have dark sides. 🙂
They are far too adorable and like, yes, I suspected Malcolm of murder like 9 times bUT HE WAS SO SOFT.
Crap your comparing it to Sadie now I feel like I have to read this to know. I wasn’t planning on reading this since I DNF’d One of Us Is Lying (I guessed the murderer in the first chapter and hated the characters) but now I’m interested. Also I’m a sucker for comparisons with my favorite books and Sadie was amazing
It’s not the emotional calibre Sadie is though !! Just so you don’t go in with that kind of expectations (ajfdkslad I love Sadie so much it WRECKEd me).
A thriller I recently read (which is now one of my favorites) is The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn and IT WAS SO AWESOMELY CREEPY. Plus its set in 1700’s Japan with Samurai, tea, and basically a Japanese Sherlock Holmes. IT IS SO GOOD.
I’VE READ THAT ONE!! years and years ago though 😂 I barely remember it, but at the time I loved it!
wait omg this sounds so good???? how have I not heard of it??? definitely checking to see if my library has a copy right now.
It’s just freshly out but the author is uber famous so i hope your library gets it in!!!
I can’t read that title without singing the opening song from Pretty Little Liars. However, it does sound like a great book that I am going to have to check out. Thrillers and mysteries are my absolute favorite!
I just realised that her first book is “ONE Of Us Is Lying” nad now this one is “TWO Can Keep A Secret”…will the next title have a three in it?!
I really hope that it does! It would make my little heart happy to have it numerical like that.
So, I actually loved One Of Us Is Lying bc The Breakfast Club + murder mystery actually did it for me lol (also I didn’t guess the ending) but I was *kind of* on the precipice about this book after reading the blurb a *long* time ago until now because turns out the book is nothing like the blurb I remember reading so my memory is obviously too great (I blame all the useless and random information it decides to retain). Anyway, after reading your review, I am SO. HYPED. for this book. Esp the sibling dynamic? I frickin love twins in books. I’m also excited to know if I can actually crack the mystery- I mean, same, I suspect everyone in my mind while reading a crime thriller.
AHH THIS MAKES ME HAPPY THAT NOW YOU WANT TO READ IT! *flails* It is pretty different to her first book, which I actually admire. But like complicated or sweet sibling dynamics are my fave thing, so it won me over there.
okay, this makes it official. i’m adding this to my tbr! i never picked up one of us is lying because of the dubious mental illness – and queer?? – rep it is meant to have but this one! the positive reviews have me convinced. it’s so hard to find good ya thrillers/mysteries so i’m keen to give it a chance
I actually don’t remember if the first one had dubious rep 😱 But I hope this one lives up to expectations for you then!!
One of us is lying was okay? BUT THIS ONE IS SET IN A SMALL TOWN WITH AUTUNMY CREEPY VIBES (my brand) I WANT IT.
The creepy autumn vibes is everything tbh. HERE FOR IT.
can someone please tell me how ellery develops though the book character wise?