Penguin to publish sequel to McManus' One of Us is Lying

Penguin Books will publish a sequel to Karen M McManus’ bestselling YA thriller One Of Us Is Lying, entitled One of Us is Next.

The third book by the American author “takes readers back to Bayview High a year after the action of One of Us Is Lying,” the publisher said. “When someone starts playing a lethal game of Truth or Dare— where choosing the truth may reveal your darkest secrets, and accepting the dare can lead to danger and even death – the teenagers of Bayview must work together once again to find the culprit, before it’s too late.”

One of Us is Next will be published on 7th January, 2020 by Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House Children’s.

Holly Harris, editorial and media development director at PRH Children’s, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights in this book and one other from Charlotte Bodman at the Rights People on behalf of Rosemary Stimola with Allison Remcheck at Stimola Literary Studio. The book has already been sold in 14 foreign territories.

McManus’s breakout bestselling thriller One of Us Is Lying sold more than 200,000 books according to PRH, “becoming the bestselling YA debut of 2017”. The debut spent 79 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, has been sold in 40 foreign territories, and is being developed into a TV series by Universal Cable Productions. The author’s second thriller, Two Can Keep a Secret, was published by PRH last January and also focused on a small-town murder mystery.

Harris said: “We are completely thrilled to be publishing more brilliant books by the wonderful Karen. Her novels grip readers of all ages with their killer concepts, one line hooks, and their addictive high school backdrops. It’s like reading the most binge- worthy Netflix series, and I recommend them to literally everyone. We can’t wait to bring Karen back to her UK readers with her incredible third book.”

McManus is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and trained as a journalist at Northeastern University.