Late Nights and Twists: My All Your Twisted Secrets Review

I've gotten into YA thrillers semi-recently, and one of my favorites from last year was the blockbuster One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus. I've also been a fan of classic Agatha Christie mysteries since I was very young. So when I heard about a YA thriller pitched as One of Us Is Lying meets Agatha Christie, I knew I had to give it a go!


Book Title: All Your Twisted Secrets
Author: Diana Urban
Publisher/Year: Harper Teen, 2020
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Number of Pages (According to Goodreads): 400
My Rating: 5 out of 5

Book description (from Goodreads):

This thrilling debut, reminiscent of new fan favorites like One of Us Is Lying and the beloved classics by Agatha Christie, will leave readers guessing until the explosive ending.

Welcome to dinner, and again, congratulations on being selected. Now you must do the selecting.

What do the queen bee, star athlete, valedictorian, stoner, loner, and music geek all have in common? They were all invited to a scholarship dinner, only to discover it’s a trap. Someone has locked them into a room with a bomb, a syringe filled with poison, and a note saying they have an hour to pick someone to kill … or else everyone dies.

Amber Prescott is determined to get her classmates and herself out of the room alive, but that might be easier said than done. No one knows how they’re all connected or who would want them dead. As they retrace the events over the past year that might have triggered their captor’s ultimatum, it becomes clear that everyone is hiding something. And with the clock ticking down, confusion turns into fear, and fear morphs into panic as they race to answer the biggest question: Who will they choose to die?

 

Is This Book Really Like One of Us Is Lying? Or Agatha Christie?

All Your Twisted Secrets is told mainly in alternating chapters between the present day, where our heroes are trapped in a room with a bomb and a syringe, and scenes from the past few months leading up to that moment. The Breakfast Club-esque cast of characters definitely gave me One of Us Is Lying vibes, so I think that comparison is pretty apt.

I'd say the Agatha Christie angle is a little more of a stretch, but getting locked in a fancy hotel dining room and being forced to kill each other does bring And Then There Were None to mind a little bit, so I suppose I'll buy it.

This Book Made Me Lose Sleep

One of the reasons I knew One of Us Is Lying was a winner for me was that I stayed up till 1 a.m. to finish reading it. Well, the exact same thing happened with this book! The plot just keeps gaining momentum as it goes, turning into a crazy rollercoaster ride that I absolutely adored every second of.

I especially liked the character of Sasha, who seemed to get more and more unhinged as the book went on. She's my favorite kind of antagonist character -- utterly unlikeable, but you can understand her perspective and can't wait to see what she'll do next!

That Ending, Though

I'm not going to spoil anything about the ending, but I will say that it involves a surprise that I think could be a little hit-or-miss. I chewed it over for a bit before deciding I liked it, but I could see other readers being turned off by it.

Still, I think even if you don't totally buy the ending, the rest of the book is so tightly-plotted that you'll likely enjoy it nonetheless!

Trigger Warnings for All Your Twisted Secrets

This book might not be for you if you're sensitive to depictions and discussions of suicide, domestic violence, bullying, needles, violence involving blood, post-traumatic stress disorder, and drug abuse.

Final Thoughts

I know most YA thrillers these days get compared to One of Us Is Lying, but I think this book is the most accurate comparison I've seen yet. If you're looking for an awesome read that will take you on a rollercoaster ride with Breakfast Club vibes and a dash of classic mystery, All Your Twisted Secrets is for you!

If you're interested in swiping a copy of All Your Twisted Secrets for yourself, check out the links below!

Barnes and Noble | Bookshop.org | Amazon | Goodreads

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