One of Us Is Lying
by Karen M. McManus
Five students walk into detention and only four walk out alive, and each has a secret. A twisty high-school mystery. Read the full description
Best for: Teens and adults who like whodunits
One of Us Is Lying is #80 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 53 out of 100.
One of Us Is Lying: reading interest over the past 12 months
Sources: Open Library’s public reading-log and ratings data (dump of 2026-08-31), Wikipedia page views and Wikidata. Monthly counts are exact; they show relative interest among readers of these public sources, not total readership.
Ranked against the other books on this list, One of Us Is Lying’s reading interest has run from #91 to #99 over these 12 months. Interest rank blends shelf adds, Wikipedia page views and rating activity, each compared with the other 99 books that month.
Shelf adds by month
One of Us Is Lying was added to Open Library readers’ shelves 271 times in the past 12 months, peaking in September 2025 with 41 (82% above its monthly average of 23). Over the latest three months (Jun 2026 to Aug 2026) shelf adds were down 22% on the three months before. 89% of the adds were “want to read”, 6% “currently reading” and 5% “already read”.
Want to read Currently reading Already read
Wikipedia page views
Its Wikipedia article was viewed 100,739 times in the past 12 months, peaking in October 2025 with 14,239 views. The latest three months were down 10% on the three before.
Source: Wikimedia monthly page views for the article One of Us Is Lying.
Adaptations
- One of Us Is Lying (television series), 2021
Adaptations are listed from Wikidata; a release date near a rise in the charts above is context, not proof of a cause.
What the data says about One of Us Is Lying
- Moderate swings. Monthly shelf adds averaged 23 with some ups and downs.
- Busiest and quietest months. September 2025 was its busiest month (41 adds), about 3.4 times its quietest, December 2025 (12).
- Attention and shelf adds move together. Months with more Wikipedia views for One of Us Is Lying were also months with more shelf adds (correlation 0.81), which suggests the same events, such as new editions, adaptations or social media, drive both.
- Against its genre. It had 56% fewer shelf adds than the average Young adult book on this list.
- Share of the list. It accounts for 0.3% of all shelf adds recorded for the Top 100 over these 12 months, #96 of 100.
- Its age. First published in 2014 (12 years ago), it is older than 32% of the books on the list.
Each finding is computed from the public data above and shown only when the numbers support it.
One of Us Is Lying on the Top 100: rank history
First charted in September 2026. The chart gains a point with every monthly update, so its peak, climbs and falls will show here as they happen.
| Month | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | #80 | 53 |
Is One of Us Is Lying rising or falling?
Holding steady Its weekly, monthly and yearly ranks are close together, so interest is steady rather than spiking.
On Open Library, One of Us Is Lying ranks #129 this week, #131 this month, and #252 over the past year. A longer bar means a higher position. Comparing the three windows shows whether readers are arriving faster than the book's long-term pace. Readings as of 2026-09-30.
Why One of Us Is Lying made the Top 100
One of Us Is Lying made the list mainly on momentum (+18.7 points) and reader love (+13.3 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+4.2). The BookWard Score blends five public signals, each scored from 0 to 100 and weighted as shown.
The reading-now, rating and rank signals come from Open Library’s public data, not from BookWard’s own readers. The score measures reading interest, not quality or sales. How the score works.
Open Library reader stats for One of Us Is Lying
Source: Open Library public reading logs, as of 2026-09-30. BookWard’s own monthly snapshots are added to the picture, and anonymous BookWard reader data will be layered in as the community grows.
More readers have One of Us Is Lying open right now than 18% of the other books on this list. These counts come from one public source, so they show relative interest rather than total readership.
Where it sits among Young adult books
It is #9 of the 13 Young adult books on this month’s list.
About One of Us Is Lying
Five students walk into detention and only four walk out alive, and each has a secret. A twisty high-school mystery.
Why it’s here: It is a page-turner that hooks mystery readers quickly.
Best for: Teens and adults who like whodunits
At a glance
- First published
- 2017
- Genre
- Young adult
- Also described as
- young adult fiction
- Length
- about 360 pages (the median across its editions)
- Languages
- editions in 8 languages listed on Open Library
- Editions
- 31 on Open Library
- Setting
- School
From Open Library and Wikidata public records. Missing rows mean the records do not list that fact.
Themes
- Secrets
- Teen pressure
- A murder mystery
What reading it is like
Fast, told by several narrators.
At about 360 pages it is a longer read: roughly 7 hours at an average reading pace (about 250 words a minute, 300 words a page). Audiobook and edition lengths vary.
Good to know
First in a series.
The premise
Five students go into detention and only four walk out alive. Each has a secret, and each becomes a suspect as the police investigate.
What you’ll get
- A twisty whodunit
- Alternating narrators
- High-school drama
You might skip it if you dislike teen mysteries.
Pairs well with: A Good Girl's Guide to Murder · And Then There Were None
Keep exploring the chart
Also on the chart at #79 and #81
Questions about One of Us Is Lying
What rank is One of Us Is Lying on the Top 100 books?
One of Us Is Lying is #80 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 53 out of 100.
Is One of Us Is Lying rising or falling?
Holding steady. Its weekly, monthly and yearly ranks are close together, so interest is steady rather than spiking. On Open Library, One of Us Is Lying ranks #129 this week, #131 this month, and #252 over the past year.
Why is One of Us Is Lying on the Top 100?
One of Us Is Lying made the list mainly on momentum (+18.7 points) and reader love (+13.3 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+4.2).
How many people are reading One of Us Is Lying right now?
Open Library's reading logs show 152 readers currently reading One of Us Is Lying, 2,575 who want to read it and 140 who have logged it as read (as of 2026-09-30). These are counts from one public source, not all readers.
How much interest has One of Us Is Lying had over the past year?
271 Open Library shelf adds in the past 12 months (peak September 2025, 41); latest three months down 22% on the prior three; 100,739 Wikipedia views in the past 12 months (down 10% over the latest three months); Adaptations on Wikidata: One of Us Is Lying (2021). Figures come from Open Library and Wikipedia public data.
Who is One of Us Is Lying best for?
Teens and adults who like whodunits.
Ask a question about One of Us Is Lying
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How we know
This page is built from public data: Open Library’s dated reading-log and ratings dumps, Wikipedia page views, Wikidata, and BookWard’s own monthly Top 100 snapshots. The interest rank blends shelf adds (45%), Wikipedia page views (30%), rating activity (10%) and, for months where a snapshot exists, BookWard’s own score (15%), each as a percentile among the Top 100 books. Every month shown is real data; nothing is estimated. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Last updated September 2026. Read the full methodology.
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