I was really excited about this book. So many of my students have loved McManus' previous books, and I wanted to get in on the hype!

This story has a strong premise. I loved the set up. I even appreciated a lot of the unfolding mystery. However, the big reveal was too unbelievable for me. Maybe it won't be for its intended audience.

I also wanted to like the characters more. Aubrey was most relatable and likable. Jonah and Milly? Not so much. I did root for them as a team, but individually, not really.

This is a plot-driven story, though, and if you're interested in a twisting and turning mystery, this will keep you turning pages.

First line: I’m late for dinner again, but this time it’s not my fault.

Summary: On a resort island lives the Story family. They have lived there for generations. But one day the Story children are disinherited by their mother. The only clue is a note that reads…You know what you did. For over twenty years the four siblings had no contact with their mother or even returned to the island.

Then one day a letter arrives for the next generation of Storys. It is inviting them to the island for a job at the family owned resort and to get to know their grandmother. Everyone is shocked by this change of events but each grandchild is willing to see if they can get a chance to earn back their grandmother’s approval.

My Thoughts: Once again McManus writes a fun and twisty mystery. There are mysterious people, family secrets and ominous warnings. Everything you could want from a good story. Each of the characters if very different. We even get a peak into what happened on the island before the Story kids were disinherited.

I liked the characters. I loved the drama. I was constantly trying to think of what the big reveal would be. And I have to say that it was not what I thought it would be. Maybe my thoughts were a little too wild but sometimes authors do those things. This book, especially near the end, gave me all the Rebecca vibes. Hopefully that doesn’t give too much away! I like that YA authors are writing books for teens that are just as good as the ones for adults.

FYI: Perfect for fans of Megan Miranda and Sara Shepard.

I want to begin this review by saying that I absolutely loved this book! The Cousins by Karin McManus was one of the best books I read this year. Usually when reading a mystery/suspense novel, you kind of see where things are going. With The Cousins, I was frequently caught off guard and surprised by the various plot twists.This novel has it all...family drama, suspense, mystery, flashbacks, and even some romance.
The story begins with three cousins being forced to spend the summer working for their wealthy grandmother, who had disinherited their parents before they were born. The cousins haven’t seen each other since they were kids, and are forced together under these unusual circumstances. The story is told from each cousin’s point of view, plus flashbacks from their parents’ time on the island. Through these various narratives, the reader must figure out what has happened to this disjointed family, along with all of the new drama unfolding on the island.
I would highly recommend this book to my students looking for a good thriller/mystery. I found this book hard to put down, and I know that they will too!

I received this bookfrom NetGalley in exchange of an honest review. Thank you, Random House Children's and Delacorte press, for the chance to read and review it.

Milly, Aubrey and Jonah Story are cousins, but they don't know each other well and they have never meet their rich and peculiar grandmother. So when thet each get a letter, inviting them to work at her island resort, they are curious. This could be the chance to get back into the woman's good grace, since she disinherited their parents. But the woman has other plans for them and their family's past is soon revelead to be mysterious and dark.

Written by the author of the amazing and thrilling One of Us Is Lying, The cousins is a captivating and interesting story, with wonderfully crafted plot, well rounded and well written characters and lots of plot twists. I loved reading this book! The author's writing style is really intriguing and I couldn't stop reading, because I needed to know more about the Story's family and secrets.

Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah are all puzzled when they receive invitations to join their grandmother at her resort on an exclusive island. Their parents and grandmother have been estranged since before the cousins were born. They all meet on the ferry on their way to the island and Mille and Aubrey bond quickly, with quirky Jonah struggling to keep up with them. It becomes clear to them when they reach the resort and see their grandmother for the first time that they were unexpected and she had no idea that they were coming. What follows is a twisting tale in which the cousins try to figure out what exactly happened back in the 1980’s when their parents got kicked off the island and talked to their mother for the last time.
Told by all three cousins, as well as flashbacks from the parents, McManus takes readers on a whirlwind ride to find out what actually happened that summer.

2.25 / 5 stars

*Thank you Delacorte Press at Random House Children’s for the eARC from Netgalley.

There has always been a mystery surrounding the Story family. Long ago, Mildred Story cut ties with all of her children and never told them why. The only response the children were left with was a note that simply stated that they knew what they had done. Years later, the Story children are now all grown up with children of their own. In this book the reader will explore the grandchildren of Mildred Story. Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah who are all cousins who have never truly known one another. When they all suddenly receive a letter from the grandmother whom they have never known, they are suddenly banded together to try and uncover the mystery that lingers in their family.

I know some readers do not really like the title of The Cousins, but I found it pretty intriguing from the start. I love the plot idea of a disconnected family suddenly being forced back with one another as they work to solve a family mystery. I expected twists and turns as the cousins snooped together and revealed secrets. I like how this opportunity is supported as each cousin is focused on with POV shifts as they tell more about themselves.

However, we just didn't quite get there. I will say that this book had a couple of good/okay twists incorporated to help make things more suspenseful. However, this plot was just very slow for most of the book. I feel like a lot of things were repetitive and a bit mundane for a thriller. I did not really like how we would get a bigger twist of sorts and then just slow all the way down again. I also feel like some things were a bit too convenient for the characters, and they did not really think things out and be active in the plot.

One element I really loved was getting the unexpected POV of Milly’s mother. I really enjoyed being transported back with her chapters. Her chapters definitely helped keep my interest and enjoyment.

Honestly, I was not a big fan of how the ending played out. I feel like the ending is a bit random compared to the mood and tone the author sets up. I can see how we got there, but it still kind of seemed a little too far reached compared to the set up throughout the novel.

Overall, I just did not end up enjoying this one much. I kept waiting for more to happen, but ultimately ended up disappointed for the most part. I can definitely see students enjoying this one more, but I know that most prefer a little more action and less repetition as well.

Karen McManus is in top form with The Cousins! Told in alternating viewpoints between the three titular cousins, this thriller is a page turner from beginning to end. The three main characters are mysteriously summoned to an island off the coast of Massachusetts for the summer, at the behest of their grandmother, whom none have ever met and who no one in their families has even seen since she disinherited all their parents over twenty years prior. Secrets will be revealed, but not before at least one person loses their life.

I very much enjoyed this book. Definitely a YA book, but I enjoy them and there was enough to keep the interest of an adult. I really liked the setting and there were some nice twists and mild suspense, ratcheting up to some good tension towards the end. The dialog and relationships all rang true. Looking forward to reading this author's other books! Many thanks to NetGalley and PRH for an advance e-copy of this book.

I think this is McManus's best book so far-so intriguing with a twist I never saw coming!

The mystery of this book really is the driving force of this novel-why did the cousins' grandmother invite them to her island after decades of silence, only to ignore and avoid them the entire summer? I had several theories about the ending, but I was so happy that all of them were wrong.

I do wish the familial aspects of the book had been explored more. A lot of this book is dedicated to the romance, and I thought a lot of that time definitely could have been better spent getting to know the Storys more and expanding the mystery.

I also am confused by the cover of the book...the cousins are never in any real danger throughout the book, so why are their faces all crossed out in the pictures?

Overall, I enjoyed this book! Many thanks to the publisher for providing my copy via Netgalley for review.

This was not my favorite by this author. I thought the characters were a little flat, however, I still liked the premise and the mystery around the family and will be recommending to my customers!

This book was definitely a whirl wind with lots of plot twists! Never once was I bored and the story kept me engaged the entire time. There was actually a few times where I would laugh out loud or find myself smiling. I enjoyed the writing with the multiple perspectives for each of the cousins and found it a great way to have more insight into the characters. I loved each of the main characters and related to all of them in their own ways. There's Jonah who's smart, sarcastic and sometimes standoffish. Aubrey the sweet and kind peace maker. And finally we have Milly, named after her grandmother, is sharp, cunning and gutsy. I have to say I never saw any of the plot twists coming in this book and let me tell you they were big! Huge and ground-breaking big! The romance in this book was also very cute and I was rooting for it the whole time. The island setting was an interesting concept but I would've liked to see more aspects of the jobs that the characters had, and maybe look into more people on the island. I also wished that the book was a little bit longer with more filler in between plot twists which would allow me to get to know the characters more. The family drama element was a lot of fun to read about and made for an even more entertaining read. Who doesn't love a good family drama? I know I will definitely be recommending this book to anyone looking for a good mystery. I'm excited to read the rest of Karen M. McManus' books very soon!

Was this a brilliant read? A hundred times yes! The Cousins held so many unexpected twists and turns in its pages, I was completely hooked! I loved the author’s debut novel One of Us Is Lying, and I enjoyed the second one, Two Can Keep a Secret but it wasn’t as surprising as her debut so I guess that’s all I have as a poor excuse for not having read her third novel. However, I had a new chance to read a (free) copy of book nr. 4 The Cousins and the blurb really sold it to me. We all know I’m a sucker for secrets so yes of course I grabbed the chance with both hands to read it and she’s completely won me over again!

The Cousins is about Mildred’s four children (Adam, Anders, Allison and Archer) and her three Story grandchildren (Aubrey, Jonah, Milly) and while I was a little worried about so many characters (there was a family tree drawn up in the prologue which seemed a lot to have to remember), it was not even once confusing to keep them apart. McManus didn’t just drop all the characters at once but introduced the first person (Milly), then her mother (Allison), then in the next chapter Aubrey, and soon enough I had a good idea how they were all tied together. I liked all three grandchildren so it’s difficult to pick a favorite but I’d say I loved Milly most because Milly is the fiercest and she’s the most eagle-eyed of all three which is exactly who you need in a story like this. Aubrey is definitely the character who develops the most throughout the story though, going from a sweet girl who would never dream of standing up to one of her parents to someone who dares to say what she feels, a complete turn around from when she was introduced. It didn’t feel convuled at all but rather a natural development and I couldn’t be happier that she turned out to be the Story grandchild who plays a big part in the end when it gets really dangerous (that’s right dangerous!), and that it wasn’t Milly who would be the more evident choice.

The plotline is the work of a very skilled author and was full of surprises released with perfect timing and pacing. The whole Story history was quite cleverly constructed and I didn’t want to put it down before I knew what would happen next. My only small niggle was that I couldn’t quite understand why nobody tried to reach out and contact their mother more in the past. Were they really all culpable of whatever they were supposed to have done? Now of course there was this big question about the reason for their (grand)mother severing all ties which was in the back of my mind at all times, but I was not focused on it and I was really just as invested in what went on beside of that, getting to know the cousins more and what happened there between them and their estranged grandmother who isn’t so keen to get to know them really, even if she invited them herself. Time to make amends? Perhaps or perhaps not 😊.

Overall, an addictive and gripping novel that I can highly recommend and makes me not want to miss her next novel anymore!

I really enjoyed this book. There were many twists and turns without going to the absurd. The characters were all well developed with their own unique personality and speech. The dynamics between parents and children was complex and believable.
This is a book that’s hard to put down. The story was unique and I didn’t figure out the ending..
Enjoy!

I've read McManus' other books, and for me this worked better than the universe of One of Us Is Lying/Next and Two Can Keep a Secret. It may be because the setting--a small island off the New England coast--provides a more interesting background for the twists and turns that McManus implements, or it might have to do with the intense decades-long family drama she creates. As a result of several well-placed flashbacks, the pacing is also a bit slower than her other books, but I felt like I was more invested in the story as a result.

Sure, the title could be better, but overall I enjoyed this YA thriller more than some others I've read recently.

I almost put the book down in the first chapter where we learned about Milly who had a trick for getting drinks. (Didn't think I'd want to handsell this to our teens). SO glad I didn't put it down! The book was well written and McManus got me involved in the teens lives and mystery behind their Grandmother cutting her children out of her life. I didn't see the ending coming.

The Cousins is a decent YA mystery novel that I can see some teens enjoying. I found that I could not connect with the characters so it wanted the book to be over, but I kept reading regardless. The plot is interesting, 3 cousins get invited to their estranged grandmother's island to work for a summer and soon discover the reason for the estrangement.

There's some good twists in the story, but it comes so close to the end, that in my opinion, doesn't render this book an additional star. I really wanted to like this, but again I could not connect to the characters. I did receive an ARC of this on NetGalley so it may have changed a bit when published.

This was super fun and soapy. I am generally not a huge fan of “rich people problem” books, but this one had enough of a twist to make it interesting (for the whole ride!). Each of the cousins had a really distinct voice and personality, which made the rotating POV really enjoyable. Although I had some suspicions along the way, I ended up surprised by the ending.

It was my first McManus book, but it will absolutely not be my last!

At this point I don’t care what the synopsis is, if it has McManus’ name on it, I will read it. After this one, it wasn’t hard to make that decision. In signature McManus style it was twisty, turny, and so good.


Three different cousins have been contacted by their estranged grandmother after she cut their parents off and never contacted them before. All the parents decide to send the cousins to get back in their mother’s good graces. But once they got there, they realize their grandmother had nothing to do with them coming. As they try to figure out who brought them there and why, they find out more about each other and the rest of their family than they ever thought they would.


The plot in this one was what stood out to me. I wasn’t a huge fan of it to be honest. But only because it was of how the clues were dropped. I’ve never been a fan of a clue here and a clue there and we never get the whole picture until the very end. It’s easier for me to tell which way it’s going to end up when it’s written like that. And that’s exactly what happened. I would much rather them introduce the clues and all the people it could be throughout the story.


However, I did like the characters. They were all interesting and they all had something hella weird going on with them. Definitely things I approved of. I do wish we had gotten a better look at Gran, but I can understand what happened there. And I also like the fact that it was told from their 3 POVs. We got to be in everyone’s heads and that seems so valuable to me in mysteries. It helps to basically force the author to try to convince us it’s not them. Even when it just might be.


I also liked her writing style or I guess her way with words. She was just telling a story, but as always she sucked me in and I didn’t wanna stop reading. I remember reading it and I kept saying “WTF is going on?!” It was so weird but a really good weird.


This book was different than her others, but I still loved it. I don’t see myself not liking a McManus book ever to be honest lol She can’t write a bad thriller. She’s proven that time and again. I can’t wait to see what she has coming out next.

Truthfully, I'm not sure what to say about this book. It wasn't a bad story, and I did enjoy it, but it feels like it was missing something. It's difficult thing to put my finger on, but while reading The Cousins I felt as though a particular mystery depth was missing that I had anticipated from Karen M. McManus.

Now, for context, I've been a long time fan of this author. I read her debut the Summer after it was released, and I've preordered her other novels since then (you can find my reviews for Two Can Keep a Secret here). When I heard about The Cousins I was beyond excited. The premise sounded spooky, unique, and instantly grabbed my attention.

However, it did feel like there was something just a little bit off. I got attached to the characters easily (more on this later), but struggled to find attachment to the plot and mystery. I wasn't hooked on the plot and found myself predicting the outcome without intending to. The mystery aspect of the book lacked the intricacy that I think would've made it incredible. It felt like a surface level mystery that could've been more interesting had it gone deeper, maybe with more red herrings to confuse the characters and reader (or something along those lines, I'm not a mystery writer for a reason). So, while reading, The Cousins didn't quite achieve the potential it could have had the mystery had been more intricate.

That being said, I still found aspects of the book that I enjoyed! The writing was lovely, as per usual with this author. The island where the story is set is atmospheric and the writing is loaded with beautiful imagery! I was also fond of the characters. I quickly grew attached to Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah. It was hard not to empathize and cheer for them. There were so many points where I just wish I could've reached in and given them a hug. Upon reflection, they were probably my absolute favorite part of the entire book.

While this book wasn't everything I had been anticipating, it was still enjoyable. It felt lackluster in the mystery plot but redeemed itself with enjoyable characters and beautiful writing. I look forward to seeing what Karen M. McManus will write in the future considering how much I enjoyed her earlier novels!

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with an E-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are all my own.

Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah may be cousins, but they hardly know each other. They have never met their grandmother, who disinherited her four children before the three cousins were born. When they receive a letter from their grandmother, inviting them to work on her resort for the summer, they’re curious. Their parents make one thing clear—going is the only option. It’s a chance to get on their grandmother’s good side. When they arrive, the cousins quickly learn that their entire family has dark secrets.

These characters were so great. Milly was fierce, Aubrey was sweet, and Jonah was a surprise. I really enjoyed getting the story from all three perspectives, as well as a glimpse into the past! This was truly unputdownable and the plot had me HOOKED. I actually read half of the book in one day, that’s how great it was. The mystery in this was fantastic and kept me guessing most of the time! My only complaint is that a few of the twists were just a *tad* predictable. But, I’m pretty sure I’ll read anything by Karen M. McManus from now on!

Rating: 4*