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One of Us Is Lying

By karen mcmanus.

Book review, full book summary and synopsis for One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus, a murder mystery with a breakfast club twist.

In One of Us Is Lying , five high school students got sent into detention, and four of them come out alive.

Simon is the creator of the school's gossip app, which he populates with everyone's secrets as well. When he dies, there's no shortage of people who could have held a grudge against him, but only four of them were in the room with him when it happened.

The remaining four students -- Bronwyn the "Brain", Cooper the "Jock, Abby the "Princess", and Nate the "Rebel" -- will have to piece together what happened and, of course, which one of them is lying.

(The Full Plot Summary is also available, below)

Full Plot Summary

In Part One , Simon Kelleher, a high school student and loner at Bayview High, dies under suspicious circumstances from allergic reaction in detention. Simon writes a gossip blog, and it's discovered that he was about to post incriminating information about four students in the room (Bronwyn Rojas, Nate Macauley, Cooper Clay and Addy Prentiss). They're also the four other students who were in detention, and they quickly become the prime suspects in Simon's death (known as the Bayview Four).

In Part Two , Simon's unpublished post goes up on an anonymous Tumblr account, revealing its trove of secrets. (Addy cheated on her boyfriend Jake with his best friend, TJ Forester. Cooper, a baseball player, used drugs to improve his fastball. Nate is dealing drugs/painkillers. Bronwyn cheated by stealing tests to get an A in chemistry.) Bronwyn's sister Maeve hacks Simon's blog and starts to research him to get clues.

In Part Three , the four team up to compare notes and sense something is off with a student named Janae, who had been Simon's only friend. They also note that Simon resented them all for various reasons. Soon, however, Nate (the school bad boy) gets arrested for Simon's death since there's indications he runs the anonymous Tumblr account. Finally, Addy confronts Janae, who breaks down and admits the truth that Simon killed himself. He convinced Janae and another guy, Jake (who had once been Simon's childhood friend and Addy's boyfriend who she had cheated on), to help him frame the other four students. Simon was planning on having Janae release a manifesto about it in a year. After a scuffle, Jake and Janae are arrested, though Janae gets a plea bargain.

In the Epilogue (three months later) , the four have become good friends despite all being very different types of people. Bronwyn (good girl) and Nate (bad boy) begin dating.

For more detail, see the full Section-by-Section Summary .

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Book Review

One of Us Is Lying is basically The Breakfast Club, if during that detention, someone got murdered and everyone became a suspect. It’s a YA mystery-thriller, and while I’m not typically a YA reader, I really like mystery and crime novels. Plus, the concept of Breakfast Club + Murder was just too catchy to pass up.

In case you’re not familiar with The Breakfast Club , it’s a John Hughes movie about five high school students who get sent to detention. They each come from a different clique at school — there’s the rebel, the princess, the outcast, the brain, and the jock — but they all manage to see through their differences during their time together.

The resemblance of the premise to this popular 80’s flick is not a coincidence. McManus states that when she got the idea for the book, she “started thinking it would be fun to write an update of that movie, which I loved, but with some sort of a twist. And the phrase ‘The Breakfast Club with murder’ popped into my head, and it just stuck there.”

From The Breakfast Club (1985)

I really enjoyed One of Us Is Lying . The mystery aspect of it was probably the most important for me, and I was pleasantly surprised by it. It comes together nicely and makes sense. You might be able to guess it before the reveal, but it’s still fun when the novel explains how all the other little details come together as well.

As dictated by the premise, the characters, of course, have a somewhat stereotypical aspect to their personalities. However, McManus does a good job of poking and prodding their stereotypical molds into fuller characters than that. They’ve each got their own set of concerns and have discrete character arcs as the story progresses.

The book moves pretty quickly and is a easy read overall. The Breakfast Club-esque aspect of it gives the book a lot of levity and a more positive and hopeful tone than your average mystery-thriller, which I thought was a nice change of pace. I also think the book does a really good job of blending the character arcs with the mystery itself. I was worried that it would fit unnaturally, like two books in one, but instead it comes together and feels like a complete story.

I don’t think this book will blow anyone away. The mystery is solid, but not, like, earth-shattering. The message from the rest of the book is fairly predictable, reminding us to be kind to others, to be empathetic and tolerant, etc. But I liked it enough that I’ll most likely read the sequel, One of Us Is Next , when it comes out in January 2020.

One of Us is Lying Movie / TV Series

There’s an film adaptation of One of Us is Lying in the works! It’s planned as a TV series to be aired on Peacock, NBC’s upcoming streaming service (to be a competitor to Hulu, Netflix, etc.).

For all the details, see Everything We Know About the One of Us Is Lying NBC Series .

I think this has the potential to be pretty good. There’s a mystery underpinning it, but lots of character arcs to explore as well, so I could see this being something like a teen version of Big Little Lies.

Read it or Skip it?

I would recommend this book to people who enjoy mysteries novels, even if you don’t typically read YA. The mystery in this book is not scary nor full of dramatic twists and turns, but it’s a puzzle that comes together piece by piece in a way that’s coherent and satisfying. There’s largely no major lose threads, and everything fits nicely.

The topics that the book explores definitely have a YA slant, but since this book is marketed as YA, that’s to be expected. It’s things like worrying about where you’ll end up at college, fitting in, coming out, etc. It’s not stuff I’m particularly interested in, but I didn’t mind it either. The Breakfast Club-esque aspects of it were sort of charming and endearing for me.

Overall, I got a kick out of reading this book, and thought the mystery wrapped up nicely.

What do you think? Is this something you’d consider reading? See it on Amazon .

P.S. See the summary and review for the sequel, One of Us Is Next (Book #2) !

One of Us Is Lying, Explained!

Spoilers start here, plus I’ll answer a few commonly asked questions! Don’t keep reading unless you’ve read the book!

I don’t have a ton of spoiler-ish thoughts. The only thing that I wish the book had addressed was how exactly Simon got all that information, especially if he’s such an outcast. I can’t imagine if everyone dislikes him that people would keep feeding him information for no reason. I would say that’s the one big thread that didn’t get wrapped up neatly.

Who killed Simon? Who’s the killer in One of Us Is Lying?

Simon is the one who killed Simon. He was depressed and resentful for wanting to be accepted, but was unable to do so. Plus, he’d been sucked into the toxic world of 4chan and sad guys cheering on school shootings, but he wanted to do something more “creative”. As a result, he planned his own suicide around taking out (e.g. framing) people who he had a grudge against.

Scroll down for a full summary of the plot (click “Show/Hide Detailed Summary”)

Where can I find a summary of the full plot of One of Us Is Lying?

Right here! See the full section-by-section summary and synopsis for One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus.

Book Excerpt

Read the first pages of One of Us Is Lying

Movie / TV Show Adaptation

See Everything We Know About the 'One of Us Is Lying' Adaptation

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Whew. Sounds more like The Breakfast Club meets 13 Reasons Why meets The Joker meets Gossip Girl. Can’t wait to read this.

One of Us Is Lying is a fantastic book and certainly one I would recommend for anyone interesting in the mystery genre. I’m 12, and I found the book incredibly fascinating and I loved the classic ‘who done it?’ situation revolving around Simon’s death.

However, the book had you leading up to finding out who the killer was for long, that finding out that it was a suicide took away a bit of the eerie factor. This is not to say that I don’t take suicide and depression seriously and I understand those are very, very serious things. I was just expecting to find out that, say, Browyn had killed Simon because she was tired of him writing gossip about her peers, and, possibly her.

Overall this was a great read and I’m excited to buy the sequel for myself.

Some other awesome books I’d recommend are: Made You Up by Francesca Zappia Eliza and her Monsters by Francesca Zappia The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth The Percy Jackson & Heroes of Olympus Series by Rick Riordan

One of Us is Lying

By karen mcmanus, one of us is lying study guide.

One of Us is Lying is a fictional mystery book published in 2017. The book follows four narrators— Bronwyn Rojas , Nate Macauley , Addy Prentiss, and Cooper Clay —in the two months after their classmates Simon Kelleher ’s death by peanut allergy.

After the four narrators are sentenced to detention, Simon dies, and they are all suspected of murder. Simon, the creator of a social media app About That, was about to reveal their darkest secrets. They all had motives to kill him. As the title of the novel implies, someone is lying, but who was it? The book ultimately reveals that Simon actually committed suicide, and in the tradition of school shooters, hoped to bring his classmates down with him. After his death, his accomplice, Addie's ex-boyfriend Jake Riordan , continued his dark work.

One of Us Is Lying has been a New York Times bestseller, New York Public Library Best Books for Teens selection, and winner of other awards because of its timely, relevant topics. It explores the extremes of what bullying, gossiping, and rumors can do to every party involved. The lives of the four main characters are all hurt by Simon and his app, and when they are under the eyes of the criminal justice system, structural bias and stereotypes risk their wrongful imprisonment. However, the book is also hopeful, showing how four students with different backgrounds can come together to battle injustice.

One of Us is Lying Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for One of Us is Lying is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Addy's former friends laughed openly when they saw that she had

from the text:

I snort. “Yeah, right.” With the possible exception of Ashton, who’s biased, nobody likes my hair. My mother is appalled. My former friends laughed openly when they saw me the next day. Even Keely smirked. She’s moved right on to...

“But I put it in my backpack instead” (McManus 112). Why do you think Bronwyn does this? Explain your thinking with details from the text.

I think they still think these phones could be of use, the same cheap phones that corralled us all in detention last week.

What Character(s) stand up for their beliefs in order to protect others?

Bronwyn Rojas is the character that was labeled as "the brain” by Simon. She is an overachiever with big dreams and a bright future. She is the biracial daughter of an Irish mother and a Colombian, immigrant father who expect her to attend Yale....

Study Guide for One of Us is Lying

One of Us is Lying study guide contains a biography of McManus, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About One of Us is Lying
• One of Us is Lying Summary
• Character List

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One of us is lying: one of us is lying, book 1, common sense media reviewers.

Dirty secrets abound in fun but intense high school mystery.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Information on how police investigations work and

Trust your gut instincts. Don't lie. Treat people

All the teen characters have lied and cheated, but

Graphic description of boy dying of allergic react

Lots of flirting and descriptions of attractivenes

Most of the characters swear, but infrequently, in

Most brands mentioned used for scene or character

Kid has a past as a drug dealer. Teens drink in pa

Parents need to know that Karen M. McManus' One of Us Is Lying is a murder mystery set in a high school. Four teens are suspects in the death of a classmate. They were in detention with the boy when he died, but no one saw anyone do anything to him. The mystery has many twists and turns, plus romance, social…

Educational Value

Information on how police investigations work and suspects' rights. Story shows the media's influence on public opinion in high-profile crime cases. Some classical piano pieces and Walt Whitman's poem "Song of Myself" are mentioned.

Positive Messages

Trust your gut instincts. Don't lie. Treat people how you want to be treated. Don't listen to gossip. Get to know people firsthand before assuming you know everything about them. Own up to your mistakes. Reach out to people in need.

Positive Role Models

All the teen characters have lied and cheated, but most learn from their mistakes and are basically good people. All four main characters have people in their lives who step up and help them when they most need it.

Violence & Scariness

Graphic description of boy dying of allergic reaction. Teen boy punches a wall when arguing with his girlfriend. One girl intentionally trips another and injures her. A girl is knocked down and choked. A lot of social and online bullying, including publishing secrets, name calling, and harassing.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Lots of flirting and descriptions of attractiveness or hotness of characters. Much of the story revolves around romantic relationships. Make-out sessions described in detail. Kids hit on each other at parties. Kissing, groping, and references to having sex.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Most of the characters swear, but infrequently, including "s--t," "a--hole," "f--k" and variations, "God," "hell," "Jesus Christ," "whore," "slut," "ass," "goddamn," "bulls--t," "bitch," "pissed," and "f-g."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Most brands mentioned used for scene or character setting, including iPhone, iPod, Starbucks, Lysol, Red Vines, Victoria's Secret, Seagram's, Jim Beam, Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Netflix, Kindle, US Weekly, People Magazine, Diet Coke, Xbox, Cartoon Network, TMZ, Abercrombie & Fitch.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Kid has a past as a drug dealer. Teens drink in parking lot after school. A few parties with teens drinking, many getting drunk. Drunk girls hit on boys at parties. One kid has parents who abuse drugs and alcohol. One mom shown drinking wine frequently. Kids in background at a party smoking pot. A girl offers a boy what appears to be acid.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Karen M. McManus' One of Us Is Lying is a murder mystery set in a high school. Four teens are suspects in the death of a classmate. They were in detention with the boy when he died, but no one saw anyone do anything to him. The mystery has many twists and turns, plus romance, social drama, and bullying of all types (verbal, physical, and online). Teen make-out sessions are described in detail. Kids drink and get offered drugs at parties, spread rumors, and gossip about one another, and occasionally swear, including "s--t," f--k," and "a--hole." Much of the plot involves kids keeping big secrets from friends and family, which provides good discussion topics. The online bullying in the book raises lots of ethical questions and will give readers much to discuss.

Where to Read

Community reviews.

• Parents say (21)
• Kids say (178)

Based on 21 parent reviews

PERFECT FOR YA READERS

Dysfunctional and inappropriate content, what's the story.

ONE OF US IS LYING opens with four students heading into detention, all thinking they don't deserve to be there. Before long, a fifth student -- Simon, who runs a popular gossip app called About That -- is dead in the classroom, and the four students are murder suspects. Not only were Bronwyn, Nate, Addy, and Cooper the only people in the room with Simon when he died, but they also all have devastating secrets Simon was close to publishing. As the story unfolds, it's possible the students have been framed, but they keep unraveling more of one another's secrets, leaving them all confused as to whom they can trust. They also learn Simon had plenty of enemies on campus, as he had wrecked many lives by posting students' darkest secrets and misdeeds. Romance, bullying, cliques, secret lives, cheating, and family issues entangle the four main characters as they try to figure out which of them did it or who would want to set them up for a murder conviction.

Is It Any Good?

This fun, engrossing murder mystery will keep readers guessing until the end. If The Breakfast Club and Gossip Girl had a baby who was raised by Agatha Christie , the result would be One of Us Is Lying . Author Karen M. McManus starts with character clichés -- the smart overachiever, the pretty and popular airhead, the good ol' boy jock, and the handsome but possibly dangerous drug dealer -- but moves past that to show most people are more than what they seem, for good and for bad. Overall, the book is a page-turner of a whodunnit.

The story is told in alternating first person by the four main characters. This approach allows the reader to see how each character views the others and gives insight into what the character is hiding. The downside is that the character voices are too similar early on in the book, making switching between them confusing at times. Even though most of the book is fun, fast reading, the action bogs down in the middle and the romance storylines get tedious. The character arcs are very good, and the story picks up after the halfway point, with lots of great twists and turns.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the portrayal of high school in One of Us Is Lying. Do you think the social scheming, cliques, and gossip in real high schools are as bad as what's shown in the book? Why do you think books, movies, and TV shows play up this part of high school?

Would you read a blog or use an app that exposed people's deepest secrets? Do you feel talking about a person's private life in an online forum is OK?

Do you ever judge people based on appearances or gossip you've heard about them? Has there been a time when you got to know someone and found out he or she was different from what you first thought?

How honest are you with your family about important things going on in your life? Where do you think the line is between regular privacy and keeping secrets?

Book Details

• Author : Karen M. McManus
• Genre : Mystery
• Topics : Brothers and Sisters , Friendship , High School
• Book type : Fiction
• Publisher : Delacorte Press
• Publication date : May 30, 2017
• Publisher's recommended age(s) : 14 - 18
• Number of pages : 368
• Available on : Paperback, Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
• Last updated : December 7, 2023

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One of Us is Lying

Karen mcmanus, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions, simon kelleher, bronwyn rojas, nate macauley, cooper clay, addy prentiss.

Book Summary: One Of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

(High School Level)

Order on Bookshop.org and support local book stores

Introduction

‘One of Us is Lying’ is a young adult novel written by Karen M. McManus and published in 2017. The book became a New York Times bestseller and was adapted into a television series in 2021. The story follows four high school students who are suspected of murdering their classmate, Simon, during detention. The novel explores themes of trust, betrayal, and the consequences of actions. This review argues that ‘One of Us is Lying’ is a well-written and engaging novel that uses compelling characters and plot twists to keep readers invested until the very end.

The novel centers on five high school students who are in detention: Bronwyn, the brainiac; Nate, the criminal; Cooper, the athlete; Addy, the popular girl; and Simon, the outcast who runs a gossip app that exposes the secrets of his classmates. During detention, Simon collapses and dies from an allergic reaction to peanuts. It is later revealed that his water bottle was laced with peanut oil. The four remaining students become the prime suspects in his murder investigation. As the story unfolds, each character’s secrets and motives are exposed, and the truth about Simon’s death is revealed.

Important themes in the book include the danger of secrets, the power of social media, and the importance of trust and communication in relationships.

One of the strengths of ‘One of Us is Lying’ is the way that McManus creates complex and compelling characters. Each of the four suspects has a unique backstory and motivation for wanting Simon dead. The story is told from the perspective of all four characters, giving readers a deep understanding of their thoughts and emotions. The use of multiple perspectives also adds to the tension of the story, as readers are left wondering who is telling the truth and who is lying.

Another strength of the book is the use of plot twists and turns to keep readers engaged. Just when readers think they have the mystery solved, a new piece of evidence or revelation is introduced that changes everything. The pacing of the story is well-done, with just the right amount of tension and suspense to keep readers hooked.

The book also uses literary devices such as foreshadowing and symbolism to add depth to the story. The use of Simon’s gossip app as a metaphor for the power of social media is particularly effective, highlighting the way that information can be used to manipulate and control others.

In terms of weaknesses, some readers may find the story predictable or formulaic. The use of multiple perspectives and plot twists is a common device in young adult literature, and some readers may feel that ‘One of Us is Lying’ follows this formula too closely. Additionally, some of the characters’ motivations may feel forced or contrived.

However, overall, ‘One of Us is Lying’ is a well-written and engaging novel that explores important themes and uses literary techniques to add depth to the story.

Readers who enjoy young adult mystery novels with compelling characters and plot twists will likely enjoy ‘One of Us is Lying’. The book is a great choice for high school students, particularly those interested in exploring themes of trust, betrayal, and the power of social media.

In terms of comparison to other works in the genre, ‘One of Us is Lying’ is similar to other young adult mystery novels such as ‘Gone Girl’ by Gillian Flynn and ‘Pretty Little Liars’ by Sara Shepard. However, the use of multiple perspectives and the exploration of social media as a tool for manipulation sets ‘One of Us is Lying’ apart from these other works.

Overall, ‘One of Us is Lying’ is a well-crafted and engaging novel that is worth reading.

Possible questions for a high school test:

• Who are the four suspects in Simon’s murder investigation?
• What is the metaphor used in the book for the power of social media?
• What are some important themes explored in the book?
• The four suspects are Bronwyn, Nate, Cooper, and Addy.
• Simon’s gossip app is used as a metaphor for the power of social media.
• Some important themes explored in the book include the danger of secrets, the power of social media, and the importance of trust and communication in relationships.
• Kirkus Reviews. (2017, May 1). One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus. Kirkus Reviews . https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/karen-m-mcmanus/one-of-us-is-lying/
• McManus, K. M. (2017). One of Us Is Lying . Delacorte Press.

Awards and Accolades

‘One of Us is Lying’ has received numerous awards and accolades, including:

• New York Times bestseller
• Goodreads Choice Award for Young Adult Fiction (2017)
• ALA-YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults (2018)
• Edgar Award Nominee for Best Young Adult (2018)
• Bram Stoker Award Nominee for Young Adult Novel (2017)

Book Details

• ISBN: 9781524714680
• Number of pages: 368
• Publisher name: Delacorte Press
• First publish date: May 30, 2017
• Has it been made into a movie, TV, or other streaming format? Yes, the book was adapted into a television series.

Other Reviews

Here are some other reviews of ‘One of Us is Lying’:

• Publishers Weekly: https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-5247-1468-0
• School Library Journal: https://www.slj.com/?reviewDetail=one-of-us-is-lying

Where to Buy the Book

To purchase ‘One of Us is Lying’, visit: https://bookshop.org/a/1289/9781524714680

Is this Book Part of a Series?  ‘One of Us is Lying’ is the first book in a duology. The second book, ‘One of Us is Next’, was published in 2020. To purchase the series, visit: https://bookshop.org/a/1289/9780593178751 

About the Author

Karen M. McManus is a young adult author known for her mystery novels. She was born in Massachusetts and studied English at College of the Holy Cross and later earned a Master’s degree in Journalism from Northeastern University. In addition to ‘One of Us is Lying’, McManus is also the author of ‘Two Can Keep a Secret’ and ‘The Cousins’. She has been nominated for several awards for her writing, including the Edgar Award and the Goodreads Choice Award.

Book Review: One Of Us Is Lying

Five students walk into detention one day, but only four make it out alive.

One of Us is Lying follows the gripping story of Bronwyn, Addy, Nate, and Cooper as suspects in the murder of Simon Kelleher. Each of the high school students have secrets that they would do anything to protect, so how far would they go to make sure they’re kept out of the spotlight?

I liked this book because it delved into the personalities and thoughts of each individual suspect to keep the reader guessing who did it until the very end. Overall, One of Us is Lying is a surprising and engaging book that was hard to put down. I especially liked how each perspective of the characters was described in depth so that the audience was not left out of the storytelling. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves murder mysteries and young adult fiction.

One of Us is Lying is a teenage-take on themes as dark as murder and depression, and although other writers are unsuccessful in developing such deep plots for a younger audience, Karen M. McManus writes with an enjoyable voice that establishes her story very effectively that, additionally, is targeted well toward a young adult audience. So, if you’re wanting to sit down and unravel a complex and grounded mystery, you should check out One of Us is Lying.

Reviewer Grade: 9

Book Review: “One of Us is Lying” by Karen McManus

When you think of a murder mystery novel, what's the first thing that comes to mind? For some, it might be an old Agatha Christie volume -- the kind of paperback you see on your grandmother's bookshelf that's dusty and looks like it hasn't been read for years. Others might recall memories of reading classic Sherlock Holmes tales in high school (and writing the three-page essay that likely followed). Thankfully, Karen McManus has written a story both for people who love a good whodunnit and for those who might not be as familiar with the genre; this story is her debut novel, “One of Us is Lying,” and it is all at once enthralling, exciting and enticing. 

The intrigue begins with a gossip app created by Simon, one of the students at the local high school. Everyone reads it, but nobody particularly likes it -- especially when they are the ones who end up in that week's feature story. When Simon dies suddenly in the middle of detention surrounded by four of the most well-known kids in school, suspicions begin to arise; those four students were the only ones surrounding Simon in his final moments, but none of them will admit to the killing, and each one suspects the other. 

“One of Us is Lying” never has a moment of downtime. Karen McManus leads her readers to suspect first one person and then the next, and the investigation becomes more complex and intriguing as different chapters of the book are narrated by each of the four main characters. She tops off this perfect mix with a romance side-plot that combines readers' intellectual involvement with their emotional involvement. 

Ultimately, McManus’s debut novel is a stunningly intricate story. Readers who love “One of Us is Lying” may also be interested in its sequel, “One of Us is Next,” which was released on Jan. 7. 

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One of Us is Lying

93 pages • 3 hours read

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One of us is lying by Karen M McManus: A Book review

Book Name: One of us is lying

Author: Karen M. McManus

Genre: Fiction – Young Adult , Mystery

Characters: Bronwyn, Nate, Addy, Jake, Cooper, Simon

Setting:  California , The USA

Plot Summary of One of us is lying

The story begins at detention with five students that fit the popular stereotypes – Bronwyn the class nerd, Nate the brooding bad boy, Addy the pretty and popular girl, Cooper the athlete, and Simon the outcast.

Simon holds a knife over everyone else’s head with help of the school’s gossip website and he knows a lot. Things go haywire when Simon dies of an allergic reaction right in front of them at the detention center.

The police suspect foul play and the four teens are brought under spotlight. Did the fact that Simon was going to publish their secrets the next day had anything to do with his death? You will have to read One of us is lying to know more.

Book review of  One of us is lying

As someone who loves reading whodunnit, I sorta guessed the murderer easily. Well, my theory almost worked, though not completely. Karen M. McManus’s writing was fast at some places, especially around the murder, and then lagged in other places. I wish it had a consistent pace but it was not a deal breaker.

Things that worked for me

• It is definitely an easy to read book and I finished reading it in a few hours. And needless to say it was un-put-down-able.
• Kudos to the author for writing such a mostly fast paced story with typical characters and yet, make her mark. 
• I liked Addy’s character growth, from an airhead to sort of empowered(?). It would have been great if there was such a character development for all the other characters as well. 
• Though marketed as a thriller, it has much more of romance and drama from the other side plots, which kept the story moving, all though slowly. 

Things that didn’t work for me

• The multiple POVs for various characters sounded pretty much the same to me. 
• How many red herrings are too many? ‘One of us is lying’ many. Since I kinda already guessed it, I felt the clues were too many apparently misleading. 
• The romance kinda felt forced and the book might have been more crisper without it.
• I think I keep repeating this on all my YA reviews. Where are the adults?  And why is the police so incompetent? 

Bottom line

Despite the cliched characters and events, One of us is lying held my attention for the few hours it took for me to finish it.If you like a YA mystery that is more on the side of YA, you might like One of us is lying. If you are looking for more solid mystery/thriller, there are better options.

Similar Book reviews you may like

• My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
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Let us chat

Have you read One of us is lying by Karen M McManus? How did it fare on your scale? What are the clichés that turn you off the Young Adult genre? Let us talk.

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34 comments.

It sounds like this one was an okay one. It sounds like the pacing could’ve used improving and maybe a bit of a different marketing as it wasn’t quite in the right genre as it was promoted for, but it also sounds like it was a hooking read and you did manage to enjoy it as well! I know my younger sister read this one but I’m not sure if I will or not…

It was too long for my taste but I loved her writing style.

Lovely review adding this book to my tbr

Glad to be of use.

I read this a month ago and I really enjoyed it! Like you, I flew through it. Unlike you, I had no idea who was the killer! Great review!

Well, I will blame the hundreds of mystery novels that I have read for spoiling most books for me.

That cover is kind of freaky – haha!

Yes. The cover kinda makes sense right?

I figured it out, but that didn’t spoil this book for me, because I was fully engrossed and invested in this story.

Sometimes figuring it out makes it enjoy better, right?

Love the review, the book sounds really good, I haven’t read it but if there was so many POV’s I would get confused trying to figure out which one i was reading. I also agree with Jenn your design layout really works.

Thanks for the encouragement on my design. I will try to improve.

I have seen conflicting reviews on this one and I have already bought it. Oops. Brilliant review.

I hope you will enjoy it.

I really enjoyed this one!

Glad you liked it.

I tried this in audio format and I couldn’t do. While they had separate narrators for the cast it became to muddled for me. I plan on reading it but have moved to the bottom of the TBR. (Maybe not the bottom, but pretty close.)

Even while reading the book there were not much difference between the different POVs sadly.

I’ve looked at this book a few times but never gotten around to reading it. Lovely review. I must get it read soon.

Thanks, and this one was quite popular on the Twitter a while ago.

I seem to be conflicted about this one…

I understand, I did the same a while ago.

Hmm, I don’t know

I understand how that is.

I had an ARC of one of Us is Lying and loved it. Can’t wait to read the sequel.

There is a sequel? I never knew that, will check for it.

It’s due out in January 2019. It’s called Two can keep A Secret. I can’t wait!

Yay! Will check out.

I read this last year and thought it was really good.

Yes, it was kinda unputdownable right?

Sounds like a good read. I like the way you explained what worked and what didn’t work for you.

Yay, thanks.

I read this one last year and loved reading it. I agree that some of the POVs sound the same, and the police are scary incompetent. But the story is mysterious and enjoyable. By the way, I love the way your layout for this post!

I have been working out on some design changes for my blog. Hope it works out.

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Gayathri has been reviewing books since 2010. When she is not reading books or creating online content, she works as a writer and a digital marketer. Head over to meet me!

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By Kate Knibbs

How One Author Pushed the Limits of AI Copyright

Last October, I received an email with a hell of an opening line: “I fired a nuke at the US Copyright Office this morning.”

The message was from Elisa Shupe, a 60-year-old retired US Army veteran who had just filed a copyright registration for a novel she’d recently self-published. She’d used OpenAI's ChatGPT extensively while writing the book. Her application was an attempt to compel the US Copyright Office to overturn its policy on work made with AI, which generally requires would-be copyright holders to exclude machine-generated elements.

That initial shot didn’t detonate—a week later, the USCO rejected Shupe’s application—but she ultimately won out. The agency changed course earlier this month after Shupe appealed, granting her copyright registration for AI Machinations: Tangled Webs and Typed Words, a work of autofiction self-published on Amazon under the pen name Ellen Rae.

The novel draws from Shupe’s eventful life , including her advocacy for more inclusive gender recognition. Its registration provides a glimpse of how the USCO is grappling with artificial intelligence , especially as more people incorporate AI tools into creative work. It is among the first creative works to receive a copyright for the arrangement of AI-generated text.

“We’re seeing the Copyright Office struggling with where to draw the line,” intellectual property lawyer Erica Van Loon, a partner at Nixon Peabody, says. Shupe’s case highlights some of the nuances of that struggle—because the approval of her registration comes with a significant caveat.

The USCO’s notice granting Shupe copyright registration of her book does not recognize her as author of the whole text as is conventional for written works. Instead she is considered the author of the “selection, coordination, and arrangement of text generated by artificial intelligence.” This means no one can copy the book without permission, but the actual sentences and paragraphs themselves are not copyrighted and could theoretically be rearranged and republished as a different book.

The agency backdated the copyright registration to October 10, the day that Shupe originally attempted to register her work. It declined to comment on this story. “The Copyright Office does not comment on specific copyright registrations or pending applications for registration,” Nora Scheland, an agency spokesperson says. President Biden’s executive order on AI last fall asked the US Patent and Trademark Office to make recommendations on copyright and AI to the White House in consultation with the Copyright Office, including on the “scope of protection for works produced using AI.”

Although Shupe’s limited copyright registration is notable, she originally asked the USCO to open a more significant path to copyright recognition for AI-generated material. “I seek to copyright the AI-assisted and AI-generated material under an ADA exemption for my many disabilities,” she wrote in her original copyright application. Shupe believes fervently that she was only able to complete her book with the assistance of generative AI tools. She says she has been assessed as 100 percent disabled by the Department of Veterans Affairs and struggles to write due to cognitive impairment related to conditions including bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and a brain stem malformation.

Boone Ashworth

Lauren Goode

Emily Mullin

She is proud of the finished work and sees working with a text generator as a different but no less worthwhile method of expressing thoughts. “You don't just hit ‘generate’ and get something worthy of publishing. That may come in the future, but we're still far from it,” she says, noting that she spent upwards of 14 hours a day working on her draft.

After her initial registration was refused, Shupe connected with Jonathan Askin, founder of the Brooklyn Law Incubator and Policy Clinic at Brooklyn Law School, which takes pro bono cases centered on emerging tech and policy questions. Askin and Brooklyn Law student Sofia Vescovo began working on Shupe’s case and filed an appeal with the USCO in January.

The appeal built on Shupe’s argument about her disabilities, saying she should be granted copyright because she used ChatGPT as an assistive technology to communicate, comparing her use of OpenAI’s chatbot to an amputee using a prosthetic leg. The appeal claimed that the USCO “discriminated against her because of her disability.”

The Brooklyn Law appeal also claimed that Shupe should be granted copyright for compiling the book—that is, doing the work of selecting and organizing the snippets of AI-generated text. It provided an exhaustive log of how Shupe prompted ChatGPT, showing the custom commands she created and the edits she made.

It includes a side-by-side comparison of the unedited machine output and the final version of Shupe’s book. On a sentence level, she adjusted almost every line in some way, from changes in word choice to structure. One example describing a character in the novel: “Mark eyed her, a complex mix of concern and annoyance evident in his gaze” becomes “Mark studied her, his gaze reflecting both worry and irritation.”

The appeal cites another recent AI copyright decision about the graphic novel Zarya and the Dawn , which incorporates AI-generated images created with Midjourney. In February 2023, author Kris Kashtanova was granted copyright to the selection and arrangement of AI-generated images in the text, even though they were denied copyright on the specific images themselves.

When the USCO granted Shupe’s request for copyright, it did not address the disability argument put forth but agreed with the appeal’s other argument. Shupe could be considered the author of “selection, coordination, and arrangement of text generated by artificial intelligence,” the agency wrote, backdating her copyright registration to October 10, 2023, the day that Shupe had originally attempted to register her work. That gives her authorship of the work overall, prohibiting unauthorized wholecloth reproduction of the entire book, but not copyright protection over the actual sentences of the novel.

“Overall, we are extremely satisfied,” says Vescovo. The team felt that copyrighting the book’s compilation would provide peace of mind against out-and-out reproduction of the work. “We really wanted to make sure we could get her this protection right now.” The Brooklyn Law team hope Shupe’s approval can serve as a blueprint for other people experimenting with AI text generation who want some copyright protection.

“I’m going to take this as a win for now,” Shupe says, even though she knows that “in some ways, it’s a compromise.” She maintains that the way she uses ChatGPT more closely resembles a collaboration than an automated output, and that she should be able to copyright the actual text of the book.

Matthew Sag, a professor of law and artificial intelligence at Emory University, calls what the USCO granted Shupe “thin copyright”—protection against full-fledged duplication of materials that doesn’t stop someone from rearranging the paragraphs into a different story. “This is the same kind of copyright you would get in an anthology of poetry that you didn’t write,” Sag says.

Erica Van Loon agrees. “It’s hard to imagine something more narrow,” she says.

Shupe is part of a larger movement to make copyright law friendlier to AI and the people who use it. The Copyright Office, which both administers the copyright registration system and advises Congress, the judiciary system, and other governmental agencies on copyright matters, plays a central role in determining how works that use AI are treated.

Although it continues to define authorship as an exclusively human endeavor , the USCO has demonstrated openness to registering works that incorporate AI elements. The USCO said in February that it has granted registration to over 100 works with AI incorporated; a search by WIRED found over 200 copyright registration applications explicitly disclosing AI elements, including books, songs, and visual artworks.

One such application came from Tyler Partin, who works for a chemical manufacturer. He recently registered a tongue-in-cheek song he created about a coworker, but excluded lyrics that he spun up using ChatGPT from his registration. Partin sees the text generator as a tool, but ultimately doesn’t think he should take credit for its output. Instead, he applied only for the music rather than the accompanying words. “I didn’t do that work,” he says.

But there are others who share Shupe’s perspective and agree with her mission, and believe that AI-generated materials should be registrable. Some high-profile attempts to register AI-generated artworks have resulted in USCO refusals, like artist Jason M. Allen’s effort to get his award-winning artwork Théâtre D’opéra Spatial copyrighted last year. AI researcher Stephen Thaler has been on a mission for years to prove that he should be entitled to copyright protections for a work made by the AI system he developed.

Thaler is currently appealing a ruling in the US last year that rebuffed his attempt to obtain copyright. Ryan Abbott, the lead attorney on the case, founded the Artificial Inventor Project , a group of intellectual property lawyers who file test cases seeking legal protections for AI-generated works.

Abbott is a supporter of Shupe’s mission, although he’s not a member of her legal team. He isn’t happy that the copyright registration excludes the AI-generated work itself. “We all see it as a very big problem,” he says.

Shupe and her legal helpers don’t have plans to push the ADA argument further by contesting the USCO’s decision, but it’s an issue that is far from settled. “The best path is probably to lobby Congress for an addition to the ADA statute,” says Askin. “There's a potential for us to draft some legislation or testimony to try to move Congress in that direction.”

Shupe’s qualified victory is still a significant marker in how the Copyright Office is grappling with what it means to be an author in the age of AI. She hopes going public with her efforts will reduce what she sees as a stigma against using AI as a creative tool. Her metaphorical nuke didn’t go off, but she has nonetheless advanced her cause. “I haven't been this excited since I unboxed a Commodore 64 back in the 1980s and, after a lot of noise, connected to a distant computer,” she says.

Updated 17-4-2024, 4:35 pm EDT: President Biden's executive order on AI last year asked the US Patent and Trademark office to make recommendations on copyright and AI in consultation with the Copyright Office, it did not ask the Copyright Office itself to make the recommendations.

Updated 18-4-2024, 9 am EDT: This piece has been updated to clarify Stephen Thaler's position on AI system copyright.

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You know it when you see it: here are some movies that got sex scenes right.

Linda Holmes

It is a happy coincidence that our "What makes a good sex scene?" episode came out in the same week as Challengers, a film about a romance triangle in the tennis world starring Josh O'Connor, Zendaya and (not pictured) Mike Faist. Niko Tavernise/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures hide caption

It is a happy coincidence that our "What makes a good sex scene?" episode came out in the same week as Challengers, a film about a romance triangle in the tennis world starring Josh O'Connor, Zendaya and (not pictured) Mike Faist.

What makes a good sex scene? It can be easier spot bad sex, but Aisha Harris, Christina Tucker, Ronald Young, Jr. and I tried to focus on the good this week on Pop Culture Happy Hour. You can listen to our full conversation here. (We didn't originally plan for this episode to run the same week as our episode about Challengers , which is out in theaters now, but it's a happy coincidence, since that film has gotten a lot of attention — probably too much, relative to its other merits — for the sex scenes involving its three leads. It's really very good .)

Movie Reviews

Watch a tense romantic triangle play out on the tennis court in 'challengers'.

It's often very obvious when a sex scene is bad, just like when a sex scene in a book is bad. It can get so uncomfortable to watch that you have to leave the room (and not in a way that feels true to the story). One of my personal tells for a bad sex scene is when all I can think about is how hard the actors are trying to persuade me that the characters are having a good time. For example, there has been much good discussion in recent years about Showgirls being a more interesting and competent project than it originally got credit for, but in that one pool scene (if you know it, you know it), all I can see is the effort.

Lauren Bacall And The 'Sex? What Sex?' Kind Of Movie Sex

It's not always as clear which scenes are good . That's partly because they serve so many different functions, all of which look different, and all of which can be effective. Furthermore, you don't want to confuse whether a sex scene is used well in a film with whether it's hot to you personally, despite the fact that there is overlap between those considerations.

In the 'Last Dance,' Magic Mike leaves his thong-and-dance routine behind

Here's what I mean: When Aisha talks about the sequence near the beginning of Magic Mike's Last Dance , it's not irrelevant that the scene is, to her (and to me), hot. But it also makes sense in the context of the film and the franchise, partly because of the way it sets up the power dynamic between Mike (Channing Tatum) and Max (Salma Hayek Pinault). Mike is older now, he knows more, and the way he approaches a lap dance is actually different than in earlier movies.

And not all good sex scenes are hot in the same ways. The one I mentioned in the episode, from the romantic drama Love & Basketball , is sexy, yes. But it's also a scene between young adults (the talented basketball players Monica and Quincy, played by Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps), and as such, it incorporates a tentativeness that's not present in Magic Mike's Last Dance , to say the least. As Ronald pointed out during our discussion, that sex scene is quite different from one that takes place later in Monica and Quincy's relationship, when they're older and know each other better. That certainly feels true to real life, but it's not always reflected in Hollywood films, where I would tentatively estimate that 90% of on-screen sex is more idealized and thus less intimate than real-life sex, in part because it isn't allowed to change over the course of a relationship.

Movie Interviews

'like it or not, we live in oppenheimer's world,' says director christopher nolan.

Even further from the hotness of the lap dance scene is Ronald's pick: the imagination of Kitty Oppenheimer (Emily Blunt) running wild in Oppenheimer. While her husband (Cillian Murphy) is being interrogated, she pictures him having sex with his mistress, Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh). It goes by quickly enough that it might seem like a Christopher Nolan flourish for flourish's sake, but it serves the purpose of letting you feel her pain over her husband's affair. Her relationship with Robert doesn't look especially romantic in the film, let alone sexually charged; she finds herself consumed by the idea that he was having hot sex with this other woman, and she locks eyes with her vision of a naked Tatlock and finds herself tormented. It's not really the intent of the scene to titillate the audience, just to give specificity to the shape of Kitty's preoccupation with the affair.

What makes a good sex scene?

Christina raised another really important point, which is that sex scenes also collide with viewers at very specific moments. Her example from Bound , and the scenes between Violet (Jennifer Tilly) and Corky (Gina Gershon), touches on (among other things) her own history. It's an underappreciated aspect of the sex-in-movies discourse: representation matters in these scenes as much as anywhere else. I always wish I saw more sex scenes in movies that featured a broader variety of body types; it's still really rare to see ones that feature anybody who is even average sized. This is one of the reasons I'm curious about the upcoming season of Bridgerton , which places its focus on the gorgeous and curvaceous Penelope (Nicola Coughlan).

Looking for 'nomance': Study finds teens want less sex in their TV and movies

Good sex scenes are like any other kind of good filmmaking, honestly: it comes down to execution with purpose and care, done relative to whatever the function of the scene might be.

Whether that's spiciness or conflict or relationship growth or (as in the case of Bound ) setting up a steamy neo-noir story that wouldn't be the same if it weren't hot as heck, form follows function, ideally.

This piece also appeared in NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour newsletter. Sign up for the newsletter so you don't miss the next one, plus get weekly recommendations about what's making us happy.

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Colorado officers responding to report of a screaming woman help deliver her triplets

Four Colorado police officers were dispatched to a home early one morning to investigate reports of a woman screaming.

None of them could expect what happened next.

The Greeley Police Department officers arrived at the home about an hour away from Boulder at around 3:30 a.m. on April 18 to find the 24-year-old woman actively in labor after her water broke, according to a news release. Almost immediately after they called emergency medical personnel for assistance, they heard a faint cry.

The first baby, a boy, had been delivered — but was turning blue. It was a cold day, and it was raining and snowing, police said.

“One officer located bread ties to tie off the umbilical cord while another ran to nearby homes and collected towels and blankets to help keep the new family warm,” the Greeley Police Department said. “A third officer, who was still with the new mother, then tied off the umbilical cord and cut it. The fourth officer rushed the baby boy back to his patrol where it was much warmer.”

The baby boy stopped breathing while inside the patrol vehicle, prompting the officer to administer infant CPR. Luckily, medics arrived shortly after to help the newborn.

That’s when the new mother told the officers she was actually expecting two more babies. Needless to say, they called for more medical personnel.

“While the officers were comforting the mother, a second baby boy was delivered, with the assistance of the officers,” the police department said. “Officers wrapped this baby up, tied off the umbilical cord, and cut it. Baby number two was also rushed to the ambulance where medical personnel were still tending to the first baby.”

The mother was brought by ambulance to a local hospital, where she was taken into surgery to deliver the final triplet. Her two other newborns were taken to the same hospital for medical care.

Police said the triplets, who had strong heartbeats, were receiving care at the neonatal intensive care unit. Their current condition isn’t immediately clear.

According to the Greeley Police Department, the 24-year-old woman went into labor while home alone and her phone had died, so she had attempted to go to a neighbor’s home to call 911. She is not being identified out of respect for her privacy.

Police Chief Adam Turk said he was “amazed at the teamwork, ingenuity, and care” of the officers, who were faced with a “lofty expectation.”

“The success of this call is a success in our officers, our training, and our partnerships with other public safety agencies in the area,” Turk said.

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‘Where’s Cricket?’ Don’t Ask. Kristi Noem Defends Killing Her Dog.

In a forthcoming book, the South Dakota governor, seen as a potential vice-presidential pick, tells of shooting her hunting dog. And a goat.

By Anjali Huynh

• April 26, 2024

Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota on Friday defended a story included in her forthcoming biography in which she describes killing a family dog on their farm, to her daughter’s distress — a grisly anecdote that instantly drew criticism from a number of political opponents.

Ms. Noem, a Republican who is widely seen as a contender to be former President Donald J. Trump’s running mate, shared details about shooting the 14-month-old dog, a female wirehaired pointer named Cricket, and an unnamed goat, according to excerpts first reported by The Guardian .

An avid hunter, Ms. Noem wrote that she had hoped to train Cricket to hunt pheasant, but that she proved “untrainable,” “dangerous to anyone she came in contact with” and “less than worthless” as a hunting dog. “I hated that dog,” Ms. Noem wrote, according to The Guardian.

It was after Cricket ruined a hunting trip, killed another family’s chickens and bit the governor that Ms. Noem recalled deciding to kill the dog; she shot Cricket in a gravel pit.

That was not the only blood Ms. Noem drew that day: She also shot a male goat that she called “nasty and mean.” Shot him twice, in fact: The goat jumped as she shot him the first time, according to The Guardian’s recounting of the book, so she fetched another shell and shot him again.

The whole ordeal was reportedly witnessed by a construction crew nearby. Ms. Noem wrote that as the workers returned to their jobs, a school bus came by to drop off her children.

Her daughter, Kennedy, Ms. Noem wrote, “looked around confused” and asked, “Hey, where’s Cricket?”

“I guess if I were a better politician, I wouldn’t tell the story here,” Ms. Noem wrote in the book, set to be published by Center Street on May 7. But she framed the day’s events as reflecting her willingness to do anything “difficult, messy and ugly,” whether that be in farm ownership or in politics.

The story drew condemnation on Friday from a swath of the political world, mainly to Ms. Noem’s left, including some anti-Trump Republicans and a number of Democrats. President Biden’s re-election campaign wrote on X that “Trump VP contender Kristi Noem brags about shooting her 14-month-old puppy to death.” And the Democratic National Committee issued a statement describing the passages as “disturbing and horrifying.”

Ms. Noem seized on The Guardian’s article to underscore her rural-America bona fides, promote her book and mock the news media. “We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm,” she wrote Friday on X , adding that her family recently had to “put down” three horses.

She added that her book would contain “more real, honest, and politically INcorrect stories that’ll have the media gasping.”

Ms. Noem, who appeared with Mr. Trump at an event in Ohio last month, is one of several Republicans regularly mentioned as potential vice-presidential picks . At the Conservative Political Action Conference in February , she tied with Vivek Ramaswamy for first place in a poll of whom attendees wanted to see Mr. Trump select as a running mate.

She has routinely praised the former president and recently took part in an ad promoting her cosmetic dental work that some saw as a move to catch Mr. Trump’s attention , even as it drew legal scrutiny . In recent days, she has refused to say whether she would have certified the 2020 election on Jan. 6, 2021, and dodged questions on whether she supported exceptions to abortion bans in cases of rape or incest.

Anjali Huynh , a member of the 2023-24 Times Fellowship class based in New York, covers national politics, the 2024 presidential campaign and other elections. More about Anjali Huynh

A Closer Look at Man’s Best Friend

Dogs are more than just pets, they’re our companions..

How exactly did dogs take over our world? A writer spent a week in the world of luxury dog “hotels”  to find out.

Small dogs with prominent noses live longer than bigger, flat-faced canines,  a new study suggests.

Longevity drugs for our canine companions are moving closer to reality. Here is what to know .

Can your dog make you sick? While dog lovers cherish their pets’ affection, their licks and nips can potentially spread harmful germs .

How do you handle an aggressive dog? Trainers weighed in on how owners can help pets keep their cool .

DogTV, a pay-TV service designed for dogs who are stuck at home alone, hopes to tap into a huge new audience of pandemic puppies  — plus their owners.

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Trump VP contender Kristi Noem writes of killing dog – and goat – in new book

South Dakota governor includes bloody tale in campaign volume – and admits ‘a better politician … wouldn’t tell the story here’

• Kristi Noem’s story of killing her dog points to class two misdemeanor

In 1952, as a Republican candidate for vice-president, Richard Nixon stirred criticism by admitting receiving a dog, Checkers , as a political gift.

In 2012, as the Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney was pilloried for tying a dog , Seamus, to the roof of the family car for a cross-country trip.

But in 2024 Kristi Noem , a strong contender to be named running mate to Donald Trump , the presumptive Republican nominee, has managed to go one further – by admitting killing a dog of her own.

“Cricket was a wirehair pointer, about 14 months old,” the South Dakota governor writes in a new book, adding that the dog, a female, had an “aggressive personality” and needed to be trained to be used for hunting pheasant.

What unfolds over the next few pages shows how that effort went very wrong indeed – and, remarkably, how Cricket was not the only domestic animal Noem chose to kill one day in hunting season.

Noem’s book – No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward – will be published in the US next month. The Guardian obtained a copy.

Like other aspirants to be Trump’s second vice-president who have ventured into print , Noem offers readers a mixture of autobiography, policy prescriptions and political invective aimed at Democrats and other enemies, all of it raw material for speeches on the campaign stump.

She includes her story about the ill-fated Cricket, she says, to illustrate her willingness, in politics as well as in South Dakota life, to do anything “difficult, messy and ugly” if it simply needs to be done.

By taking Cricket on a pheasant hunt with older dogs, Noem says, she hoped to calm the young dog down and begin to teach her how to behave. Unfortunately, Cricket ruined the hunt, going “out of her mind with excitement, chasing all those birds and having the time of her life”.

Noem describes calling Cricket, then using an electronic collar to attempt to bring her under control. Nothing worked. Then, on the way home after the hunt, as Noem stopped to talk to a local family, Cricket escaped Noem’s truck and attacked the family’s chickens, “grabb[ing] one chicken at a time, crunching it to death with one bite, then dropping it to attack another”.

Cricket the untrainable dog, Noem writes, behaved like “a trained assassin”.

When Noem finally grabbed Cricket, she says, the dog “whipped around to bite me”. Then, as the chickens’ owner wept, Noem repeatedly apologised, wrote the shocked family a check “for the price they asked, and helped them dispose of the carcasses littering the scene of the crime”.

Through it all, Noem says, Cricket was “the picture of pure joy”.

“I hated that dog,” Noem writes, adding that Cricket had proved herself “untrainable”, “dangerous to anyone she came in contact with” and “less than worthless … as a hunting dog”.

“At that moment,” Noem says, “I realised I had to put her down.”

Noem, who also represented her state in Congress for eight years, got her gun, then led Cricket to a gravel pit.

“It was not a pleasant job,” she writes, “but it had to be done. And after it was over, I realised another unpleasant job needed to be done.”

Incredibly, Noem’s tale of slaughter is not finished.

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Her family, she writes, also owned a male goat that was “nasty and mean”, because it had not been castrated. Furthermore, the goat smelled “disgusting, musky, rancid” and “loved to chase” Noem’s children, knocking them down and ruining their clothes.

Noem decided to kill the unnamed goat the same way she had just killed Cricket the dog. But though she “dragged him to a gravel pit”, the goat jumped as she shot and therefore survived the wound. Noem says she went back to her truck, retrieved another shell, then “hurried back to the gravel pit and put him down”.

At that point, Noem writes, she realised a construction crew had watched her kill both animals. The startled workers swiftly got back to work, she writes, only for a school bus to arrive and drop off Noem’s children.

“Kennedy looked around confused,” Noem writes of her daughter, who asked: “Hey, where’s Cricket?”

On Friday, reaction to news of Noem’s description of killing her dog and her goat included satire, the Barack Obama adviser turned podcaster Tommy Vietor calling the governor “Jeffrey Dahmer with veneers”, a reference to a famous serial killer and a recent scandal over Noem’s cosmetic dentistry treatment .

But most responses, particularly from dog lovers and people who hunt with dogs, simply expressed disgust.

Rick Wilson, of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, called Noem “deliberately cruel” and “trash”. Ryan Busse, the Democratic candidate for governor of Montana, said : “Anyone who has ever owned a birddog knows how disgusting, lazy and evil this is. Damn.”

Noem herself posted a screengrab of the Guardian report – and an admission that she recently “put down three horses”.

“We love animals,” she said, “but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm. Sadly, we just had to put down three horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years.”

The governor also said her book contained “more real, honest and politically incorrect stories that’ll have the media gasping”.

In the book, however, she sums up her story about Cricket the dog and the unnamed, un-castrated goat with what may prove a contender for the greatest understatement of election year: “I guess if I were a better politician I wouldn’t tell the story here.”

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