One of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus Summary: Unputdownable YA Thriller
TL;DR: The Quick Briefing
Eighteen months after the Bayview Four case, a new anonymous game of Truth or Dare targets students at Bayview High.
The game begins as social humiliation but turns deadly when football player Brandon Weber dies during a dare.
Three students—Maeve Rojas, Knox Myers, and Phoebe Lawton—investigate the source and uncover a revenge plot tied to an old construction accident.
- The game opens with Phoebe Lawton’s secret about her sister Emma’s boyfriend.
- Maeve and Knox’s private moment is leaked, destroying their friendship.
- Brandon Weber’s fatal dare changes the game from prank to murder.
- The real mastermind hides in plain sight as a twelve-year-old gamer.
Characters In This Book
| Character | Role |
|---|---|
| Maeve Rojas | Bronwyn’s sister and a tech-savvy junior who helps track the game’s digital trail. |
| Knox Myers | Theater student and law firm intern who is Maeve’s former boyfriend and investigative partner. |
| Phoebe Lawton | Waitress at Café Contigo whose secret starts the Truth or Dare game. |
| Emma Lawton | Phoebe’s older sister who forms a revenge pact with Jared Jackson. |
| Owen Lawton | The Lawtons’ twelve-year-old brother who secretly takes over the game. |
| Jared Jackson | The person who targets Eli Kleinfelter and Brandon Weber. |
| Brandon Weber | Football player who dies during a dare at the construction site. |
| Luis Santos | Former Bayview athlete who becomes Maeve’s love interest. |
| Sean Murdock | Brandon’s friend who uses the game for popularity. |
| Jules Crandall | Phoebe’s former best friend who participates in dares. |
| Eli Kleinfelter | Defense attorney targeted by Jared Jackson’s bomb plot. |
| The Bayview Four | Bronwyn, Nate, Addy, and Cooper—protagonists from the previous book. |
One of Us Is Next Summary: The Complete Plot Revealed
Spoiler warning: This section details major plot events and the ending.
The story takes place in Bayview, California, eighteen months after the events of One of Us Is Lying. The student body at Bayview High still carries the effects of Simon Kelleher’s gossip blog, and a new anonymous game fills that space.
An unknown number sends a mass text introducing a game of Truth or Dare. Phoebe Lawton is the first target. When she refuses to play, the game reveals that she slept with her older sister Emma’s boyfriend, Derek. The revelation shatters Phoebe’s relationship with Emma and triggers widespread shaming at school.
Maeve Rojas is chosen next. She refuses to participate, so the game leaks a private detail: she supposedly dumped Knox Myers because he “can’t get it up.” This public humiliation destroys their friendship and leads to Knox being mocked with graffiti and Viagra taunts.
The game turns fatal when star athlete Brandon Weber receives a dare to jump from a landing at an abandoned construction site.
The roof collapses, and Brandon dies. His friend Sean Murdock claims he tried to save Knox by punching him to stop him from rushing forward. Knox, concussed, has no memory of the event.
Maeve and Knox reconcile and begin a private investigation with Phoebe and Luis Santos.
Maeve monitors a secret Reddit forum called “Vengeance Is Mine,” where a user named “Darkestmind” brags about outdoing Simon Kelleher. The trail leads to a man named Jared Jackson, whose brother was jailed in a case handled by Eli Kleinfelter.
On the night of Ashton and Eli’s rehearsal dinner, Maeve and Knox follow Jared to the restaurant.
They discover he has planted a homemade bomb under the deck. They retrieve the backpack and throw it into the nearby arboretum just before it explodes. Nate Macauley shields Bronwyn from the blast and is injured, but no one is killed.
Jared Jackson is arrested and confesses to killing Brandon Weber by sabotaging the construction site supports. He claims he was part of a revenge pact with Phoebe Lawton, whom he met on the forum.
However, a final twist reveals that Emma Lawton was the one communicating with Jared. She sought revenge after learning Brandon Weber accidentally caused her father’s death years earlier.
The ultimate reveal comes from a spelling error in the chat logs.
Phoebe and Emma realize that messages sent to Jared after Emma tried to end the game were written by their twelve-year-old brother, Owen Lawton. Owen, a tech-savvy gamer, had taken over the persona to keep the game running.
The book ends with Emma protecting Owen by letting the police believe Jared acted alone or was delusional.
The sisters finally reconcile through their shared understanding of the truth.
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Summary by Chapter: Six Narrative Blocks
Spoiler warning: This section groups the novel’s chapters into six narrative phases.
The Inciting Incident and Setup (Chapters 1–5)
A mass text introduces the Truth or Dare game to Bayview High. Phoebe Lawton becomes the first target, and her betrayal of her sister Emma is broadcast to the entire school.
Maeve struggles with a potential health relapse while Knox begins his internship at Until Proven and witnesses threats sent to Eli Kleinfelter.
Escalation and Public Shaming (Chapters 6–10)
Sean Murdock completes a public dare and gains popularity. Maeve is selected as the next player but refuses to engage, which leads to the public exposure of a private moment with Knox.
Maeve finds a connection between the texting game and a mysterious online revenge forum.
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The Fatal Turn (Chapters 11–15)
Knox is bullied relentlessly and quits the school play. Phoebe deals with harassment from Brandon Weber while navigating her guilt. A dare goes wrong at an abandoned construction site, resulting in Brandon’s death and Knox’s concussion.
Memories and Tailing Targets (Chapters 16–21)
Knox recovers fragments of memory that contradict the official story. Maeve receives a clean bill of health and works with Knox and Phoebe to track a suspicious individual called “Intense Guy.”
They identify him as Jared Jackson and learn his motive is connected to his brother’s legal troubles.
Secrets of the Settlement (Chapters 22–26)
Maeve and Knox uncover a hidden legal document revealing a connection between Brandon Weber and the Lawton family’s tragedy. Emma Lawton spirals into a crisis that leads to her hospitalization and police intervention.
The Final Confrontation (Chapters 27–34)
Jared Jackson attempts to bomb Ashton and Eli’s rehearsal dinner but is thwarted by Maeve and Knox. Emma confesses to her role in the initial pact but denies knowledge of the bomb or Brandon’s death.
A linguistic error in the chat transcripts reveals the final truth about who was behind the phone screen.
Beneath the Surface: What Drives the Story
| Theme | How the book presents it |
|---|---|
| Cyberbullying and anonymous harassment | The Truth or Dare game uses mass texts to expose private secrets and humiliate students. |
| Revenge and eye-for-an-eye justice | Emma and Jared form a pact to punish Brandon Weber for his role in the Lawton family’s loss. |
| Family trauma and grief | The Lawton siblings carry hidden knowledge about their father’s death, which fuels the game’s origin. |
| Gossip and digital footprints | Bayview High’s culture of shaming, rooted in Simon Kelleher’s blog, creates a vacuum for the new game to fill. |
Similar Books to Explore
One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus — The predecessor to this story, set in the same Bayview High.
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson — Follows a teen investigation into small-town secrets and cold cases.
Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus — Another small-town mystery by the same author.
Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson — Blends boarding school settings with historical and modern mysteries.
Sadie by Courtney Summers — A gritty look at trauma, revenge, and a missing girl.
The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas — Examines the dark underbelly of a high school after a series of tragedies.
Karen M. McManus: A Leading Voice in YA Thrillers
Karen M. McManus is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of young adult thrillers.
Her debut novel, One of Us Is Lying, launched the Bayview series and was adapted into a television series.
McManus has also written stand-alone mysteries including Two Can Keep a Secret, The Cousins, and You’ll Be the Death of Me.
Her books have been translated into more than 40 languages worldwide. For more of her work, visit Karen M. McManus book summaries on URSummary.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens at the end of One of Us Is Next?
At the end of One of Us Is Next, Jared Jackson is arrested for Brandon Weber’s death, but a chat log spelling error reveals that twelve-year-old Owen Lawton took over the Truth or Dare game after Emma tried to end it. Emma protects Owen by letting the police believe Jared acted alone.
Who is behind the Truth or Dare game in One of Us Is Next?
Jared Jackson starts the game to target Eli Kleinfelter and Brandon Weber, but the final phase of the game is run by Owen Lawton, who takes over the anonymous persona after Emma attempts to stop it.
Does One of Us Is Next have a cliffhanger ending?
One of Us Is Next resolves the main mystery by revealing the truth about Owen, but it leaves open the question of whether the full truth will ever become public. The story ends with the sisters keeping Owen’s secret.
Who dies in One of Us Is Next?
Brandon Weber dies in One of Us Is Next when he falls from a collapsed landing during a dare at an abandoned construction site. Nate Macauley is injured in the bomb blast but survives.
Do I need to read One of Us Is Lying before One of Us Is Next?
One of Us Is Next works as a standalone mystery, but it references events and characters from One of Us Is Lying. Reading the first book provides context for the Bayview Four and Simon Kelleher’s death.
