Milly's, Aubrey's, and Jonah's parents were disinherited from their wealthy and aloof mother almost twenty years ago; now, she wants to get to know her grandchildren. Spending the summer working on their grandmother's island resort wasn't any of their ideal summer vacations, but the three of them soon start to unravel the intricate mysteries that have been surrounding their family for decades.

Fast-paced and full of twists and turns, this novel definitely relied too much on suspension of disbelief for this jaded old gal, but I will have no reservations about recommending it to teens and other fans of mystery thrillers.

Another great mystery from Karen McManus! LIke her other books, this one is full of plot twists that you think you have figured out all leading to an ending you didn't see coming. Fast-paced with great characters, this book is a little different than her others in that you aren't quite sure what the full scope of the mystery is in the beginning. It's definitely a great read, and I'll have no reservations recommending it to mystery lovers.

I loved this book. I have read all of McManus’ books and I would rank this one close to “One of us is Lying”. This book hooked me from the very beginning. The main characters were likable and I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, I was thrown a curveball. I couldn’t wait to get to the end but then I was disappointed I had finished. Great story.

This is a family drama with lots of family secrets. This book is more for older teens, more like 15-16 and up, because there is talk of sex and alcohol abuse in this story. The book does have a lot of twists and turns and has a surprising ending.

This was everything I love about a Karen McManus mystery! Every time I read one of her books, it becomes my new favorite. I loved the setting of this one--eerie, isolated island locale, full of wealthy and mysterious people. Each of the "cousins" had such distinct voices and personalities, and I ended up caring a lot about each one and enjoying the way they bonded with one another. I really didn't see the twist/ending coming until it was revealed, which I love in a mystery. Overall, another fun, fast-paced, twisty read from one of my favorite authors. Looking forward to what's next from her!

This is my third book by Karen McManus, and her books definitely have a particular flavor to them. Her teen characters are so fun to read - they always have secrets, histories, and insecurities that drive the plot forward, which I think really makes for satisfying mysteries. She's very good at dropping pieces of information as the story moves while saving a big reveal for the climax, and even when you can guess some of it, you'll still second-guess yourself throughout.

While I liked this book and it's a solid mystery, I think I was hoping for a bit... more. Just something beyond my expectations. (Which, admittedly, were high.) I don't know how to explain this. I just hoped for something magic, 5-star worthy, and it wasn't here.

Many thanks to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the advanced review copy!

From beginning to end, I loved everything about this book! I was pulled into the story of Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah and couldn't wait to see how this story unfolded.

Milly, Jonah and Aubrey are 17 year old cousins who have been been out of touch since they were young kids. They all receive a letter from their rich grandmother, who invites them to spend the summer with her on Gull Cove Island. Their grandmother has disinherited the entire family and has had nothing to do with any of them in 24 years. Although the cousins are surprised and hesitant, their parents all force them to go, in hopes of getting back into the grandmother's good graces.

This book has a fun setting, excellent characters, and such a great plot, with lots of twists and turns! I loved that there was a different narrator each chapter, and several flashback chapters. And the ending....fantastic!! This is my first Karen McManus book, but definitely not my last! I can't wait to read another!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Cousins is a different style of mystery compared to Karen McManus' previous titles, and it's not what I was expecting or wanting. I liked the three cousins, especially Aubrey, but I had a very hard time caring at all about the Story family mystery. The story goes back and forth between present day and the last summer before their parents were disinherited as the cousins try to figure out what happened and reconnect with their grandmother.

The actual mystery of what happened to cause their grandmother to disinherit their parents with such abruptness was incredibly weak, and none of the plot twists throughout the book were actually surprising. This felt more like a rich family drama than a solid mystery, which many people may actually really enjoy if they know that going in. Aubrey and Jonas had a good development arc throughout the story, but I hated that Milly's budding alcoholism wasn't ever addressed.

Fans of We Were Liars and similar books will likely enjoy The Cousins, but it wasn't for me.

I've read Karen McManus' work before and was a big fan of it, so I already had high expectations coming into the book. I ended up finishing the entire novel in a day! The characters were flawed, but even so, you ended up rooting for them through the end. The ending is one where it leaves it open for the possibility of a sequel, but still ties up enough loose strings where it feels solid as a stand alone.

The Cousins by Karen M. McManus is the authors fourth book and maybe my favorite of hers.
***
“This entire family is built on secrets right? It’s the Story legacy.”
Cousins Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah are offered the chance to go to their grandmother’s resort for the summer, work and finally meet her. The grandmother who disinherited all four of her children one day with no explanation other than a note that said “You know what you did”, and denied them the ability to ever see her again. The cousins parents take this as an opportunity to try and get back into their mother’s good graces, and possibly (preferably) the family fortune.
Unfortunately things aren’t what they seem and the Story family has lots and lots of secrets. Secrets that are starting to unravel and Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah are in for more than they anticipated.
***
I’ve read lots and lots of mysteries over the years and while I had some idea of where the story might be going and the who of it I was still taken slightly by surprise, and enjoyed the story quite a bit. The three cousins were fun characters and I found the story very hard to put down.
***
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book!! I instantly got swept up in the atmosphere of the island the the creepiness of Teresa. I just knew something was up there. I’ve read all of Karen M. McManus’ earlier books so I wanted to read THE COUSINS because I loved her stories and the complexity of the characters. She does a fabulous job shifting narrations and really flushing out the main characters as well as keeping the story suspenseful while giving lots of clues, making it a bit realistic. Overall, a very enjoyable and entertaining read!

I will be posting this review on my goodreads

This was very dull and not at all thrilling, as McManus's previous books were. It was a soap opera, basically, full of teen drama tropes and flat (and very annoying) characters.

Why would your grandmother suddenly disinherit her four children, cutting them off with a brief, one line note and never speaking to them again? And just as suddenly offer a summer job to her grandchildren, one she doesn't seem to remember offering? Of course there are deep dark secrets that the cousins uncover about their parents and their grandmother, and at the end, All Will Be Revealed. The cousins and their parents are all stereotypes, sadly, and the Big Reveal is a little hinted at all along. However, teens will find this a fun read and that's really all that matters.

eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.

I live and breathe for Karen McManus’ books. Everything she’s written has been an absolute goldmine in my opinion! This was sheer perfection, and ugh I’m dying for more

It begins with a most unexpected letter. Teen cousins Aubrey, Milly and Jonah are invited to spend the summer on Gull Island, the resort home of their wealthy WASP grandmother, Mildred Story, the woman who, decades before, cut off all contact with her children, enigmatically telling them, “You know what you did.” Except the three brothers and their sister have always denied knowing what their mother meant. Now the adult siblings, encouraged by this gesture, bribe, threaten and cajole the cousins to accept the offer, for a variety of personal reasons, including, but not necessarily limited to, possible access to the immense Story fortune. Sweet Aubrey, bearing a traditional Story family name; sophisticated Milly, named after her grandmother, and extremely disgruntled Jonah meet up on the ferry ride to the island, pondering what the summer will hold. None of them envisions the events that will unfold. But when one of the first people they meet on the island tells them “you shouldn’t have come back” the cousins become reluctant allies to uncover lost family history, and to learn exactly what happened all those years ago. McManus presents another tour de force with her fourth Young Adult mystery. Delightfully, she has tweaked her style, presenting a character driven plot with the feel of a classic Agatha Christie. Breathtaking suspense takes a back seat as Aubrey, Milly and Jonah, burdened with parental legacies, expectations and disappointments, cautiously open up to each other, shedding secrets and personas molded by family legacy. Plot twists keep the reader guessing until the tempestuous climax (complete with a Christie-worthy reveal), but the journey is the true star in this book. THOUGHTS: McManus just keeps getting better. A first purchase for all middle school and high school collections, and multiple copies will be needed.

I can't wait to add this one to my classroom library!

Karen McManus' books have never disappointed me with their twists and turns, and The Cousins was no exception. I loved the unreliable narrators and realistic interactions between the cousins themselves, and I especially love when I can't predict the end of a mystery before I get there. Definite must-buy for my classroom library!

This thriller has a lots of twists and turns but ultimately, it wasn't for me. There were too many narrators and I didn't connect to the teenage characters. This is a familial drama with mystery surrounding the rich grandmother and why is she estranged from her four children?
The three grandchildren of rich Mrs. Story are invited to her elite hotel to WORK for the summer. None of them have ever met their grandmother because she cut off her children years ago stating "You know what you did." The children of Mrs. Story fully expect their own children to be delighted at the prospect of spending the summer working for their grandmother. They decide to go to the lavish resort for the summer, not exactly willingly.
Told in many perspective that ended up being a few too many for me, this is the story of the family and the secrets that divide them.
The author does a good job creating flawed characters that may seem likeable to you. I wasn't invested in them personally and for me this is a three star read.
Thanks to netgalley for providing the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I am disappointed in yet another book by McManus. The Cousins is pitched as a mystery and thriller, but it falls in neither of these categories. It is a novel featuring loads of family drama and a hint of no chemistry romance.

The cousins are unmemorable. Aubrey has an unaffectionate and narcissistic father along with a boyfriend of five years who doesn’t like her. She is a swimmer. Jonah is good looking, snarky, and secretive. Milly is a beautiful but arrogant and discourteous alcoholic.

The first two chapters could have been excluded since they featured Aubrey and Milly before they arrive at the island. The chapters held no weight to the story since Milly’s introduction featured her dolled up in makeup and revealing clothing and sitting at a bar while she flirted with an older man so he would buy her alcohol. She revealed this was a game her and her friends regularly played and then proceeded to complain about older men hitting on her 17-year-old self. Well, maybe if she wasn’t hanging out at a bar then these things would not happen.

Aubrey’s introduction is rather dull. The reader learns there is an issue going on between her father, mother, and her swim coach. She purposely loses her swim match to strike revenge against her coach and then leaves early to hitch a ride home with her not really boyfriend.

Jonah’s introduction is his Uber ride to Hyannis where there is lots of Cape traffic and he has to run to make the ferry.

Once the cousins make it to the island not a lot happens. Aubrey wishes to gain the approval of the grandmother. Jonah is secretive and sarcastic and regularly butts heads with Milly. Milly is her typical rude drunk self. She treated Aubrey and Jonah very poorly throughout the novel and would become furious at them for no reason. That grew old pretty quickly.

The little reveals weren’t impactful and the big reveal was ludicrous. The story dragged on as the cousins were swept up in the lavish lifestyle of their grandmother and the little mystery present wasn’t intriguing. This could have been written much better with stronger characters that all don’t have names beginning with A. It was a tad confusing separating them from each other.

I couldn’t put this book down. Like Karen McManus’ other books, I read it all at once. The characters were nuanced in ways that I found pleasantly surprising. I was genuinely surprised by the ending. My students will love this book.

Karen McManus is the queen of YA family thrillers, and her latest is a soapy, melodramatic, wonderful nugget in the genre. Full of intrigue, The Cousins tells the parallel stories of the Story family - four siblings who, in 1996, did something to cause their unilateral estrangement from their wealthy mother, and three cousins in the present day, who are called back to the family home to (perhaps?) repair the relationship. Nothing is straightforward in a McManus volume, though, and I had a delightful time coming along with cousins Aubrey, Milly, and Jonah as they untwist their familial past. The book is full of twists, some more obvious than others, but all ends up settled in a supremely satisfying way.