By Karen M. McManus

“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.” (Goodreads).

Karen M. McManus is even more prolific than I thought – Two Can Keep a Secret was a surprise library find that definitely delivered. Despite her usual cookie-cutter plot, hte mystery blended elements of past and present that gave it a lot of dimension and fun twists.

The mystery plot and clue-finding process was well put together and had plenty of twists. The ending and major events along the way were never entirely unexpected, but entertaining nonetheless. I was never bored and I never felt as though the plot slowed down or anything. The stakes – physical and emotional – remained high from the beginning to the end.

I’ve been a sucker recently for present day issues being dealt with through the lens of past events. I loved the way McManus showed how the town’s history still had a huge effect on present day families and attitudes. The mystery mainly unfolded through the current collection of clues and trying to unfold what has happened in the past, while simultaneously bringing growth and healing to many different relationships.

I also really appreciate how the mystery is not the main motivation of the characters – they each have their own personal reasons for wanting to solve it and it’s not consuming their whole lives as they investigate. Their personalities were not defined by the events in their life either. Each character has hopes and dreams outside of current events and it was more visible in this book than other McManus books I’ve read.

I loved the characters so much, especially the main two. They had a really strong personal investment in the mystery, and their burgeoning relationship with each other felt realistic even as they were faced with danger. My one complaint was Ellery’s relationship with her twin brother – they didn’t seem very close at all even though circumstances would’ve seemed to have pushed them together.

Other than that, (like I said previously) I though the characters seemed strong and realistic and their development wasn’t overcome by the main plot.

Another entertaining small town high-school family mystery from McManus. I would recommend for fans of One of Us Is Lying or A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.