Book Review: Two Can Keep a Secret

Author: Karen M. McManus

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Genre: YA mystery, YA thriller

Pages: 336

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Synopsis:

“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’s 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.”

To be honest, I’m disappointed. Two Can Keep a Secret isn’t a bad book by any stretch of the imagination… I just expected more from this author. Although I did enjoy the mystery in this one a lot of the other areas of the story bothered me extensively. I think it may have been my fault for getting my hopes so high, but I definitely feel a little let down after reading this.

My biggest problem with this story was how underdeveloped the side characters were, specifically Mia and Ezra. Only two of the four “main characters” got to share their povs which really limited the story. I never got a good feel for Mia or Ezra; I think if they had gotten more spotlight in the story it would have been better balanced. I didn’t mind Malcolm and Ellery narrating the story…but it felt like there was a limit on everything because of how trapped their two minds were.

I thought Ellery was an interesting character, she’s authentically quirky which I LOVED. Otherwise the characters didn’t stand out much to me. Malcolm felt very cookie cutter, I never got a good sense of Mia and the only thing I knew about Ezra was that he’s gay but it was a washed out detail and a missed opportunity to toss in a cute side romance.

Another thing that really bothered me with these characters was that I didn’t feel any connection between Ellery and Malcolm. It felt like the entire book just forced them together. They didn’t have A N Y chemistry! After reading her debut I was extremely underwhelmed by their relationship. I could see it working out but the way it was written was chunky and didn’t build well. The pacing was way off for this entire subplot.

Onto the good, this mystery was written fantastically. Karen M McManus has a true talent for plotting out stories like this in novels. She perfectly created a small town vibe full of intrigue and unique dynamics that made this story so much better. I had to physically set aside the book when all the ties started coming together because it was so flipping good.

All in all this book wasn’t bad, but I would lower your expectations a little bit if you’re still riding a book high from her debut One of Us is Lying (which I ADORED). Practically every problem I had from this book stemmed from the characters.  They weren’t well developed and did a lot of weird things, such as not seeming phased by a death threat to the entire homecoming court which one of the characters was on?? It bothered me a lot the entire book. Big sigh.