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Y’all, this book came right at the right time. I read the majority of it after the conclusion of election week and it was just the distraction I needed. ⁣
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What’s more - this book is the perfect Venn diagram of three genres/subgenres I really, really love - thrillers and familial dramas and rich people behaving badly. The Cousins is a YA mystery by Karen McManus who also wrote One of Us is Lying and this is in the same vein - multiple perspectives, fun and easy reading, twisty narrative. ⁣
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The Cousins follows high school-aged first cousins - sassy Millie, brooding and sensitive Jonah, and sweet Aubrey after they are called to the exclusive fancy island where their estranged grandma lives. And then, well, hijinx, family drama, and mysteries of yesterday begin to unspool. ⁣
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I reeeeeeallly enjoyed this, even more than her others. The characters are well developed, the twists are surprising, and again, the family drama mixed with thriller/suspense, mixed with unfettered wealth, is pretty delicious. ⁣
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𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞: One of Us is Lying, Riverdale, Cape Cod⁣
𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡: gin and tonic⁣
𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐧: a boat⁣
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Thank you @netgalley, @delacortepress, and @karenkmc for my eARC. I thought this was a delight! 4⭐️⁣
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It comes out Dec 1 - get you a copy if you need a fun YA thriller with a hefty portion of family secrets! ⁣
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3.5 stars. Deliciously compulsive reading all the way through, as we've come to expect from McManus. You might be irritated that you're enjoying it, but you're enjoying it. Recommended for adults, too.

I've enjoyed all of Karen M. McManus's books, and The Cousins was no exception. It's told from the alternating points of view of three teenage cousins who have been invited by their estranged grandmother to work on her resort island for the summer. The cousins are curious why their parents were cut off without any explanation (so are the parents) and under pressure from their parents to get back into Gran's good graces (and back on the will).

So, off they go to the island. The cousins haven't seen each other since they were small, so they get to know each other as the summer progresses. But their grandmother is elusive and mysterious. There are dozens of secrets in this island resort town, and the cousins start to do some digging to find out what happened to drive a big rift between their parents and their grandmother. They find out a lot more than they bargained for and of course, things escalate into a McManus-worthy ending.

This novel feels more contemporary and less thriller than the author's other books, but there's still a mystery to be solved, clues to collect, and a villain to defeat. It's a fun book and you'll enjoy it if you've liked this author's other novels.

Cousins, Aubrey, Milly, and Jonah are summoned to Gull Cove Island to possibly reunite with the grandmother who disowned their parents twenty years ago. Will they fulfill their parent's aspiration of worming their way into their grandmother's good graces or will the cousins suffer the consequences for what their parents did? Pick it up and find out, the book drops Dec 1.

The Cousins is a nicely written, lightly suspensful, often predictable, but sometimes unpredictable YA suspense novel. I liked the characters, the character development was a bit spotty. I liked the basis for the plot but the storyline did not quite come together for me once I reached the denouement. Still, I really enjoy Karen M. McManus' books, in my opinion, The Cousins was an entertaining diversion from the doldrums of everyday life. It is a book I suspect its target demographic will thoroughly enjoy. 3.85 stars.

Karen M. McManus does it again! This was so fun trying to figure out why the Story children were disinherited by their mother, Mildred Story, and how her grandchildren are going to get through the summer at her resort.

I stayed up till midnight finishing this book. Everyone has secrets and each time one was revealed, you got another piece of the puzzle. Until you get that last big reveal and everything else falls into place.

I enjoyed the backstory of Gull Cove Island. Most of the time I jut skim the backstory, but it played a part in the overall mystery of Mildred Story and how the Story’s got their fortune.

The only true downside for me was the names of the Story children, Adam, Allison, Anders, and Asher. I get the whole naming them all that begins with A, but I kept getting Anders and Asher mixed up. Thankfully at the beginning of the book there is a small family tree. That was quite helpful. But the name thing is why I gave this 4 stars, had to keep going back to the fa,ily tree to get the names right.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Twenty-four years ago, the Story siblings Adam, Anders, Allison and Archer were disinherited by their rich mother with only the explanation of a letter stating “You know what you did”. When cousins Milly, Aubrey and Jonah each receive a letter from the grandmother they’ve never met, inviting them to work at her island resort for the summer, their parents insist they go. The cousins don’t really know each other all that well, but they’re curious not only about what could have made their grandmother reach out now, but also about what exactly happened all those years ago. But when the trio arrive at Gull Cove Island, it’s clear something much larger is afoot, as their grandmother seems to have no idea they were arriving at all. It quickly becomes clear that something isn’t quite right on the island, as long kept family secrets begin to unravel. Each member of the Story family seems to have something to hide, and the cousins are no exception.

The Cousins was easily my favourite of Karen McManus’ books so far. My expectations were quite high after her previous books, but surprisingly, I found that the new setting worked much better for me. I’m starting to find the high school stuff a little boring nowadays to be honest, so this change of pace was just right. Although this was more of a family drama than a high tension thriller, I still enjoyed it a lot. While this story initially appeared to be rather lacking in real mystery, the underlying question was intriguing enough to keep me reading. It maintained a steady pacing throughout with the real action beginning only past the 70% mark. There were a couple of plot reveals that were too early for my taste since it gave a rather large clue, but as it turned out, there was an even bigger and more shocking reveal in store which kind of made up for it.

The story is narrated from four perspectives: Milly, Jonah, Aubrey, and a flashback of the summer that led up to the Story siblings being disinherited as seen by Allison, Milly’s mom. It is through Allison’s POV that we begin to understand that she knows more than she is letting on about the events of that summer and possibly even suspects what might have caused her mother to take this extreme step. The author does a great job with all four POVs, giving us a steady narrative that puts together the puzzle piece by piece. While the focus is definitely on the the trio, we also pick up several hints about their home lives that show the effect being disinherited has had on their parents, and how that in turn has affected their own relationship with their children.

However, this book contained slightly more drama than I’m used to in a mystery novel, and it tended to overshadow the three main characters a lot. They’re pretty good characters actually, and their arcs are quite interesting. Jonah’s POV was actually my favourite of the lot. Though he had his own worries going on, he was the only one sort of removed from the Story family drama and the facts were clearest seen from his perspective. Milly and Aubrey on the other hand took a while to grow on me. Milly struck me as arrogant and spoilt from the very beginning – though that does slowly improve. Aubrey on the other hand, was nearly unmemorable until much later in the story when she begins to learn to stand up for herself. Finally, while this makes for some really entertaining reading, I found it kind of unrealistic. In a real life scenario, it’s unlikely that those who were raised as heirs and heiresses would ever let something like this go without a fight.

Overall, this was a fantastic read and a book that is nearly impossible to put down. The Cousins is arguably Karen McManus’ best work yet and I can’t wait to see what her next novel will be about. This is a perfect mystery to round off the year with and I would highly recommend it!

I hadn't read anything by this author before and now I realize I've been missing out! The story builds up slowly as the scene is set for a twisty, page-turner of a book. The cousins in the title are practically strangers before their grandmother requests they come to work for the summer at the family island resort.
Not so unusual in and of itself except for the fact that their grandmother cut off all communication with the cousins and their parents years ago and banished them all from the island.
The cousins island adventure is just that, full of mystery and intrigue that kept me on the edge of my seat. Very good book!

This was a lot of fun! I somehow managed to figure everything out, which never happens, and I kept getting "We Were Liars" vibes (it is not as beautifully written as We Were Liars, but the plots aren't completely dissimilar), but otherwise it was a really entertaining read. There's some fancy clothing, teen shenanigans on the beach, and glamorous parties. Like I said, I figured out the mystery pretty quickly, and I do wish I didn't. I enjoy a surprise and it's one of the reasons I'll wade into a mystery novel! That said, if you are looking for pandemic brain candy, this will get you there. It's relatively fast paced and you don't have to think too hard.

If you are into watching rich white jerks be rich white jerks on an island, then this book will work for you like it did for me! 3 stars - I liked it. Longer review to come.

Thanks to Delacourte and Netgalley for the eARC, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The Cousins will be available for purchase on 01 December.

I enjoyed the slow reveal of the mysteries in The Cousins by Karen McManus. Several characters you want to dislike you will grow to like, and vice versa as the truth is revealed in dual timelines- the current teens as they travel to their estranged grandmother's private resort, and their parents as teens just before they were banished and disinherited.

Always in for a twisty ride with McManus' books. Such fun thrillers for the YA genre (and us young at heart). Nothing like a beach town, rich kids and tons of family secrets. Karen never fails to disappoint on a good book. ♡

Another great read by Karen McManus! I come from a large family full of cousins, so I loved the cousin's perspective or this book, and the plot twists! How does McManus come up with these plot twists?!?

Another suspenseful story with a great twist. YA readers won’t be disappointed though this story had a slightly different feel from McManus’ others.

A fun story with unexpected twists. It was sometimes difficult to differentiate between the 3 main voices but that could be more due to my eagerness to find out what was going to happen next. I loved the beach town setting. The unexpected romance was nice but I wish Aubrey got a romance too. I'm glad there were a few redeeming characters in the Story family. I will definitely be recommending this one to those looking for a good mystery.

"The Cousins" by Karen M. McManus is a mystery rooted in family secrets, ulterior motives, and murder. It's impossible for readers to predict every twist waiting in this thrilling novel.

Karen McManus has done it again. This skillfully crafted "all in the family" mystery is filled with twists and turns. From the moment the cousins step onto the island where their parents grew up, you can tell something is off. What unfolds is a deeper family drama than anyone could have imagined.

The characters were well developed and I felt like I knew the cousins. It was well paced with small hints and twists being dropped here and there. I loved the ending, very atypical for a well to do family with heirs but appropriate for the history and how the truth finally comes out. Everyone gets a bit of due justice.

Overall, an A+ read.

Karen McManus is one of my automatic read authors. I loved her three previous books. This one is no different. It is full of mystery but I disagree with anyone calling this a thriller. I wouldn't even say it was suspenseful. However, it was definitely entertaining as soon as you get past the beginning. It kind of drags there for a while until the cousins get to the island.

The plot switches between the perspectives of the three cousins Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story. There is also an additional perspective of Milly's mother from before the famous "You know what you did" letter that sent the cousins parents packing. The grandchildren are brought to the island by their estranged grandmother and what they find is a pile of secrets that need unraveling.

I kept trying to guess the ending but as usual I ended up completely off the mark. I didn't figure it out until 89% in and that was basically right before they told me what was up! Some reviews call it predictable but for me it was a page turner to get to the twist as soon as I possibly could because it was driving me bananas!

Thank you Netgalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is a must read!

I will read anything by Karen McManus. She writes smart, engaging YA thrillers with a broad appeal for older readers as well.

'The Cousins' does not disappoint for McManus's fans. I was immediately sucked into the story with the mystery of why Aubrey, Milly, and Jonah have never met their grandmother. What happened to this family to cause such a rift between a mother and her children and grandchildren?

The story unfolds from the perspectives of each of the cousins, as they are mysteriously called back to the family home by their grandmother for the summer. As they get to know each other, they also start to unravel the mystery of what happened so many years ago.

The story moves along at a brisk pace, with enough action and mystery to keep the reader engaged. Each of the main characters is fully developed with their own unique voice and perspective.

I'm looking forward to purchasing this for our library and recommending it to readers.

Karen McManus is always my cure for a reading slump. There’s something about her YA thrillers that immediately pull me in and keep me compulsively turning pages until the end. Though a little different in tone from her previous hits like One of Us Is Lying and Two Can Keep a Secret, The Cousins is no exception to that rule.

Milly, Aubrey and Jonah Story have never met their grandmother, Mildred Story, before. She mysteriously cut off contact from their parents twenty-four years ago, and hasn’t seen any of her children or grandchildren since. So it’s strange that all these years later she’s reached out and invited the three of them to visit her estate on Gull Cove Island now that they’re all nearly grown. Even stranger, they all accept and spend their summer living and working at one of her hotels, each seeking out something different from their elusive grandmother.

As always, McManus uses a roving perspective, moving between the distinct voices of Milly, Aubrey and Jonah with ease. As the cousins get to know each other, they also begin to learn more about the history of the island they’re now living on, and by extension their grandmother. Gull Cove Island is a little-known east coast getaway that features local residents and wealthy vacationers alike. There’s layers of mystery and decades-old unanswered questions for the Story cousins to unravel, especially when they find their own parents at the center of it.

I liked this book, but it felt a good deal slower than McManus’s previous works, especially in the beginning. I’m used to her books hitting the ground running and with The Cousins you have to wait for the story to come to a boil. The ending also felt a little rushed, probably because of the slower pacing in the first part. That said, I’m glad that the author is trying out something different from her last three books, and I hope she feels like she can branch out even more in the future.

Karen McManus also has an upcoming book in 2021, You’ll Be the Death of Me, which is sold as Ferris Bueller’s Day off meets a YA Murder mystery. It sounds amazing and EXACTLY up McManus’s alley, so I’m extremely excited to read that one!

McManus has hit her stride and given readers the perfect YA mystery with twists and turns—a few so guessable as to lull the reader into a fall sense of security before plunging the real knife. The characters are relatable, realistic, and grounded even within the privileged settings. It felt good to read a mystery again and enjoy it, especially in the YA genre.

Librarians, you'll need multiple copies of this book because it will be devoured! It has mystery, drama, romance all wrapped up in the glamourous package of a summer island resort. Three cousins receive a letter from a grandmother who wrote their parents out of the will and wanted nothing to do with them . . . until now. They are tasked with working at the family resort for the summer and finally meet their grandmother. While they might have had other summer plans, the three cousins are pushed into the opportunity but find there is a lot to learn about the past. Relationships are rebuilt over the rocky island foundation, but will the burdens of the past knock them over again? So good!