The Cousins is utterly brilliant. Karen McManus has done it again. It's a story filled to the brim with mystery, secrets and family. It shows that sometimes some questions are best left unanswered. A story that once you pick up you won't be able to put down as you will be drawn in to the Story's lives and uncovering all the secrets they as a family have.

Another fantastically written mystery from Karen! This was intensely gripping, intriguing and had twist after twist that I never saw coming! The sinister ending makes me hope we might be seeing the Story's again in the future!

Unfortunately I totally did NOT get on with this book, I was lucky enough to be on a book tour for it but I found it boring and unimaginative and just overall not great. I didn't enjoy this at all, the premise was really interesting but I just found the overall story and the style of writing really blocking? like it felt it just was not for me... everything after the first chapter started falling apart and I couldn't read much more.. I got to around 45% before I put it down.

The Cousins is a YA Thriller with more twists than a bowl of spaghetti. Written from multiple POVs present and past, the characters solve a decades-old mystery when their estranged grandmother summons them to work at her elite East Coast resort, Cull Cove Island. The writing is punchy and smart, with enough to depth to make this a truly satisfying read.

The relationships between the three cousins – Milly, Aubrey and Jonah, and their parents – form the emotional heart of this story and the author develops these bonds with real care. The multiple first-person POVs allow us to really get inside the characters’ heads and see the world from their perspective as they try to make sense of what’s happening on the island. It’s a hard technique to pull off so all credit to Karen M.McManus for making this look effortless. I especially liked Aubrey and Milly’s voices and found their development convincing.

To add to the complexity, there are occasional flashbacks to show how the cousins’ parents interacted on the island as young adults. These insights offer clues to the many mysteries that exist on Gull Cove Island as well as revealing new facets of the parents’ personalities, which again combine to add extra layers to the narrative.

In true thriller-style, the setting plays an important role in The Cousins with its hidden corners, closed community and isolation from the outside world. I loved the idea of this being an elite resort, and it provided a great backdrop for the story.

I have to admit that at certain points I was reminded of one of my favourite YA books, We Were Liars, which shares certain similarities with The Cousins, but McManus’ plot is completely different and very much rooted in contemporary society. Milly, Aubrey and Jonah are working on the island so they live in dorms rather than luxury beach houses; they hang out with staff members rather than the leaders of the community. This serves to further accentuate the gulf between them and their grandmother.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of The Cousins is the amount of surprise tacks that happen throughout the book. The chapters unfold through a concertina of ever-changing scenarios. One minute you think you have a grip on the situation and the next, your understanding changes completely. Although this is a very readable book, expect to exercise more than a few mental gymnastics before you reach the end.

And speaking of endings, I was generally sated by the wrap up at the close of The Cousins. Without giving anything away, it hit a nice balance between tying up loose ends and leaving a few to fly in the wind. If I’m truthful, I would have liked a few more clever revelations, but maybe I’m just being greedy!

I now understand why Karen M. McManus’s novels are so popular. Her writing is incisive, accessible and totally addictive. If you’re struggling with a lockdown reading slump, this could be the key to opening those pages again.

I’ve had Karen M. McManus books recommended to me more times than I can count, and I just never quite got around to reading them. So when I saw she had a new book coming out, I knew I had to jump on the fandom train! Because you can only skip out on a good thing so many times before you start kicking yourself for it, am I right?

The Cousins plays with the old trope of estranged families with money at stake to weave a compelling mystery filled with secrets, lies, and betrayals. Oh what a web McManus weaves … and no one’s safe from its sticky clutches.

So okay, I know what the hype is about now, and yeah, I’m definitely gonna have to go back and read her other books. Parts of this were a little predictable, including the big reveal, but honestly, that didn’t dim my enjoyment in the least bit. I enjoyed every step of this journey!

My Thoughts:

- This book was full of plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing! As far as thrillers go, if you’re looking for delicious family secrets with the potential to destroy everyone in the vicinity … yes, this book has it. Check that off the list. McManus takes family secrets to a whole new level, because there are two generations in this book, and neither of them have the full story or know what’s going on, which makes the secrets all the more appealing! I love mystery/thrillers with an atmosphere that balances dark and light, and this book hits that sweet middle spot, where there are definitely darker things that happen, but overall, the characters are teenagers. They laugh. They have fun. They snark about their ridiculous parents. It’s really the best of all worlds when it comes to YA thriller mysteries.

- McManus touches on a lot of critical social issues in this book, all wrapped in the mystery, which really added a lot of depth to the plot. I love a good book that feels lived in, and since this is set in the real world, that feels all the more important to me. Real world issues are definitely a thing still. One of the main characters is biracial, and that comes into play a bit. There’s also some really heavy issues like cheating, miscarriage, classism, emotional abuse, alcoholism, and a few other things, I’m sure. Look, this family isn’t exactly rainbows and sunshine, and that really shows. This really brings the characters and the situation to life, though! The name of the game is secrets, right? Well, secrets tend to be ugly, by their very nature, and McManus doesn’t shy away from the darker side of life, which I appreciate in mystery thrillers! Yes, bring on all the nitty-gritty things characters wish had been left in the past. I want it aaaall!

- The story takes place between two timelines, two generations, each unraveling the past little by little. I’m sometimes on the fence about multiple points of view and multiple timelines, especially when they’re combined like in this book. However, McManus did a wonderful job of separating the two, making them distinct, but also giving each one a purpose. They’re working towards the same endpoint, and that’s obvious from the very first timeline split. Plus, oh my gosh is it ever more effective getting to see the messed-up, emotionally damaged, emotionally distant adults as kids! It really adds to the characters, in general. Overall, I’m just a fan of how this book unravels! It’s like a puzzle that’s pieced together slowly, and sometimes pieces go together the way you imagine they will and sometimes you’re stuck there trying to force them and wondering why it isn’t working when McManus just straight up hands you another piece and makes you feel silly that you didn’t even realize you had the wrong piece in the first place!

- The characters in this are just irresistible and impossible not to fall in love with … you know, except the ones that are utterly unbearable. McManus strikes a really nice balance between the characters. I mean, they’re not all relatable and full of banter and entertainment. There’s a really nice contrast between the cousins, who are currently teens, and their pretty crappy adult counterparts. Where things get even more muddled, though, is that in the past, when the adults were teens, they were just as relatable and adorable. The development is done so well that I really don’t want to say too much about it lest I ruin something, so all I’ll say is there is definitely a disconnect between the parents you meet in the beginning of the book and the teens you meet towards the middle, before they've been through some things.

I loved being able to follow the three cousins because they don’t really know any more about being Storys than the reader does, which makes our introduction to the family so much more effective, because everyone’s basically seeing it for the first time. Plus, even though the plot is a little larger than life in terms of rich relatives and hidden secrets, the teenagers are just so relatable that it hurt. Oof, reminders of my teen years. Yikes.

I have to say that I wouldn’t normally read a lot of thrillers or mysteries that aren’t normally my things. As much as I love to watch Sherlock Holmes, Morse and so many other mystery programs, I always found that the genre never translated for me into literary form. But I must say that this one I really enjoyed.

I took me a long time to read, mostly because of what I had going on in my personal life recently, which I shall go into another time, but partly because there were a lot of in between moments, moments that were in between the big discoveries and a lot to get through. The in between moments turned out to be pretty important, but they were nothing like the big discoveries to keep me going.

In terms of characters, I think I loved all of the main cast. I’d be really hard to pick a favourite, particularly between Aubrey, Millie and Jonah. These cousins, this little team work so perfectly well together.

The slow progression of thro story was just what I needed at the moment, but normally I think it may be a little on the slow side for me. Despite that I highly recommend this book. It is covered in deep dark mystery that I enjoyed peeling back layer by layer.

This book was the first Karen Mc Manus book I have ever read, and if all her books are like this, then I will be picking them up soon.

Thank you, Dave, at The Write Reads for organizing and inviting me to be part of this blog tour! Thank you to the publisher (Penguin), the author, and Net Galley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story receive a letter from their mysterious grandmother, who cut off all ties with her family decades ago, they’re curious about what it could all mean. Next thing they know, the cousins who barely know each other are meeting on a ferry with plans to spend the summer working at their grandmother’s resort. As the summer goes by, secrets are revealed, and mysteries unfold as the Story cousins start to piece together why their parents were disinherited through a mysterious letter years ago.

I’ve heard a lot of great things about Karen M. McManus, but this is the first book of hers that I’ve read, and it certainly will not be the last. The Cousins is a twisty tale, full of family secrets, hidden scandals, and a series of events that become more mysterious as the book goes on. If you like books that keep you on the edge of your seat, this is one to check out.

My favourite thing about this book is all of the secrets and lies. I love a good family drama, and this is one of the better ones that I’ve read. I loved that the three main characters barely knew each other before arriving on the island, and I thought that added an extra layer of mystery to the story. I also love that this book took place in a small, close-knit community because it provides a wealth of information to the main characters, even if they don’t always know what to do with that information. Obviously, I can’t go into much detail about all of the secrets and lies, but I can say that they layer together beautifully and that I was impressed when everything was unravelling and falling into place.

I liked the characters in this book. I liked that they each had their own personality and that I got to see them grow throughout the story and become more independent. I liked that they arrived on the island with their own Story baggage that they were working through, and I thought it added another layer to the mystery.

One thing more thing that I want to mention before I wrap up this review is that there is one super cringy scene. I won’t go into any details about it, but when you get to it, you’ll know what I’m talking about, and you will cringe too.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I loved all of the twists and turns, the family drama, and the mystery that was unfolding. I’m looking forward to reading more books by this author, and I hope I enjoy them as much as I enjoyed this one!

I adore Karen M. McManus’ novels so there was no doubt in my mind that The Cousins would become a new favourite of mine. McManus writes short, concise but thrilling mystery novels that always leave me guessing! The Cousins has a slightly different theme to her previous novels, it’s very family centred and based around the mystery of what events conspired when the main characters parents still lived on the island. This novel is a definite page turner and with only three hundred pages I devoured half the book in just one sitting!

I am a huge fan of dual timelines and multiple perspectives within a book and Karen M. McManus has delivered on both counts! The novel would occasionally dip into the past to tease us with scenes from the years when the parents still lived on the island. The multiple points of view allowed the reader to gain more insight and depth into every character, I really enjoyed each character’s thoughts and opinions.

The Cousins is steeped in family drama and tension, I could not put this book down! If you’re in the mood for an entertaining mystery novel that packs plenty of surprising twists within just three hundred pages, I would highly recommend all of Karen M. McManus’ novels including her brilliant new novel The Cousins.

Loved this, perfect in McManus' work, I loved the setting and the main characters. Thank you for allowing me to take part in the blog tour!

I read this for a blog tour.

This was a very clever YA thriller, something this author does very well. Her series, beginning with One Of Us Is Lying, is set in a small town and so in a way, is The Cousins.

Small towns, and islands, are hot beds of rumour and gossip. Long time residents know everyone and think they know everything. And so it is here. The island, where the Story family have lived for several generations, is populated by people who either know a lot about them or claim to.

But yet no one can tell the titular cousins, Milly, Aubrey and Jonah, what their parents did that was so bad they were disinherited and banished from the island. And their grandmother won't even talk to them, even though she invited them there, right?

The three have more questions than answers and mysteries to unravel that seem far from straightforward, also they don't really know each other, so who can they truly trust?

Families are tricky, and none more so than the Storys, the older generation have never been more distant, so the cousins resolve to find out what happened twenty four years ago and why some people seem very keen on them staying away from the family home, Catmint House.

This was smart, funny, twisted and highly enjoyable. The three cousins were interesting and multilayered, different in ways that made each of them right for the various things they needed to learn, Milly is good at reading people, Jonah is good at research and Aubrey is smarter than people think.

The Cousins is told from the perspectives of three cousins who haven’t seen each other for many year. Out of the blue, they receive an invitation from their grandma who had cut of contact with her children as teens. As Jonah, Milly and Aubrey all arrive on the island and things don’t seem to be adding up. Can they solve the family mystery from all that time ago and are they in more danger than they realise?
This book is quick paced and an easy read but still full of deceit and revenge at every turn. As we learn more about each cousin, or island inhabitant, it becomes difficult to know who to trust. I loved how no character was completely reliable or trustworthy and had great fun guessing (or trying to) the twists along the way. It’s hard to know who is genuine and who isn’t. I love a book where I’m suspicious of everyone and despite finding it frustrating as I constantly changed my mind – it was so entertaining and fun.
There are several mysteries in play and they all weave together beautifully through a dual timeline narrative. Each time we jumped to a different narrative, I was desperate to get back to the other one to find out what was happening next.
This novel was a great summery read and lots of fun to play along with but enough mystery, twists and turns to keep me hooked from page one. Interesting and varied characters and some exciting reveals made this an engaging read reminiscent of teen movies I used to love.

My thoughts




Narrative and Plot


The Cousins as indicated by the title, is told mostly by the three first cousins – Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah. Even if there are other narrators, these are the characters who become the eyes and ears of the reader. Let me warn you in advance, this is a slow burn mystery thriller. I read it in my Kindle and by the time I hit 50%, most of my questions remained unanswered. But the wait is worth it for the unraveling.

The plot is simple, to say the least. It gives you enough to hook you but doesn’t reveal too much. Somehow, the plot has that old school feeling where things are twisted but not too much that it feels unreal. At times, mystery thrillers tend to go there in order to achieve an unpredictable twist. But here the story and narration lend itself to remain unpredictable for the most part.




Characters and Conflicts




The Cousins are our main characters and each one of them has a distinct personality. Milly is an instantly likeable character as far as the reader is concerned. Her thoughts are witty, charming and honest for the most part. Jonah and Aubrey grow on you as the story progresses.

The Gull Cove Island in itself stands as a towering character throughout the story. I read a thriller recently, which, again took the same premise of misfits getting together on an island. Sadly, the book went onto to become a bit predictable for me.

Here though, the air of mystery feels more genuine and the characters’ interests seems believable. The island and its inhabitants have this air of darkness throughout. It feels chaotic but there is an order to every chaos. The story takes its sweet time to reveal itself but the characters are intriguing enough to keep going. Every single character is placed in a calculated way throughout the story.

There are a few trigger warnings in the book. So please make sure you’re aware of it before going into this. The climax however, focused mostly on one cousin and sidelined the others which is kind of a let down after the journey they all had. Still, it doesn’t take away much from the overall plot.



Conclusion





The Cousins is a straightforward old fashioned compelling mystery thriller that gives a poetic justice to the Story. I would definitely recommend it if you love a good mystery thriller set on a remote location.

This book was fast-paced and thrilling, just like McManus’s other books. I enjoyed the way she moved back and forth between the viewpoints of the three main characters. I think that technique works really well for this kind of novel. With each additional chapter, you discover another piece of the puzzle. There was also a flashback point of view at several intervals, which I thought was a nice touch.

The characters were likable and relatable, and I was immediately invested in finding out what was going to happen to them. There were lots of twists – some I knew were coming, but there were a few I did not see coming. This is always impressive to me, since it is not often that I don’t see the twists coming beforehand.

If you’ve enjoyed McManus’s other books, you’ll enjoy this one too! It will also appeal to fans of Kara Thomas’s books, the Pretty Little Liars series, the Truly Devious series, and A Good’s Girl’s Guide to Murder. Basically, if you like dramatic teen thrillers, you’ll like this.

I adore this author and so was so happy to get this book and what a book it was, strong characters with thrilling, exciting with many unpredictable plot twits! And the cliffhangers! What a book

There are many aspects which I enjoyed about this book. The author has quite a few twists and turns for starters and takes the story in unexpected directions. There are false identities, incorrect autopsies, incestual relationships, miscarriages, and murders! Like Hazel, Mr. Baxter, and Donald, many of the island residents appear suspicious, and you don’t know who to trust. Even the main characters have some secrets up their sleeves that would shock you.

Aubrey was my favorite character because of how she reacted to the various situations she came across. Milly was too hot-headed for my taste, and Jonah grew on me later once we find out his secrets. Some of the memorable moments are when everyone catches two of the characters in a compromising situation and when they learn of Jonah’s secret. The author wrote the climax very nicely and once that I did not expect. On a side note, I adored Archer too and wanted more of him in the story. Allison’s storyline is also intriguing.

Moreover, the author wrote the story in a gripping manner makes it laid back yet thrilling at the same time. The resort also gives the plot a nice mysterious touch. However, I did not give it a 5-star rating because it initially took time to set up the characters’ connections. The story is a tad slow initially but picks up nicely once the trio reaches the island.

Apart from that, “The Cousins” was a fun read and made me want to pick up the author’s previous novels to see if they are equally good.

Karen M McManus does it again! Another gripping and twisty thriller with strong characters and a compelling mystery at its core, some aspects really stretch credulity, but who cares?. Sure to be lapped up by the authors many fans, it's perfect escapism.

This is the first book of Karen's that I have read, and it did not disappoint. The Cousins is packed full of fantastic twists and turns, and has you guessing about the characters and events during each chapter - and let me tell you, my guesses were never right!

Milly, Aubrey and Jonah are written so well, that even the horrible parts of their personalities I enjoyed. The whole aspect of Gull Cove is fascinating and it's one of those settings that I would LOVE to visit, because of the pure mystery that surrounds it.

This book has everything a perfect mystery needs. Secrets, revelations and disasters - all wrapped in a messy bow that is the Story family. I really enjoyed the flash backs of the parents time growing up, I think it brought that extra background to the story and made me understand them as extra main characters.

𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: 5/5 STARS ⁣
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𝗙𝗔𝗩𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦: Aubrey, Jonah and Milly⁣
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𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗙𝗔𝗩𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦: Adam, Anders and Matt ⁣
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𝗙𝗔𝗩𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗘 𝗔𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗦: Karen McManus is fantastic at writing mind-twisting murder mystery novels. I adored One of Us is Lying so when @thewritereads gave me the opportunity to read this book. ⁣
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The Cousins is completely mind-blowing. The plot is deeply intricate and filled with twists and turns that keep you up at night (which is exactly what happened to me).⁣
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I absolutely loved the friendships between Aubrey, Milly and Jonah. Each of them had such well-thought out character arcs that followed well with the plot. I liked each of them individually and was rooting for them the entire time. ⁣
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𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣𝗦: I do have a ship but I can’t say who it is because it spoils such a major plot line. ⁣
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𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗 𝗙𝗢𝗥: readers looking for a twisted murder mystery ⁣

3.5*

Before I begin this review I would like you to know

The content warnings for the book are gonna be mentioned at the end of the review, right above my rating. They will be kinda spoilery so beware but there are content/trigger warnings in this book so be sure to check them out before you read the book.

I really adored the writing style, Karen McManus was able to absorb me into the story very easily and I was held there because the intrigue and the stake in the story were really high and I loved that.

Staring with the plot, it was a damn interesting one. I really liked following of the 3 cousins perspective and seeing the situation unfold from each of their perspective, you see from their eyes and their diverse upbringing.

The Cousins are kept in the dark at the start of the story and we figure out everything with them which was a very fun experience.

The plot twists in the story are well paced and kinda shocking each time you thing things are getting kinda slow you can expect a plot twist to hit you right in the face.

We also get a few chapters from Allison’s perspective, following the summer before everything went to hell for her and he siblings which was a great addition to the story, it added an extra layer of suspense to the story.

The ending was great but a certain event may have left this book open for a sequel, which would great.

The reason why this doesn’t have a higher rating is because I found the plot to be kinda predictable and not memorable enough and the characters weren’t as flushed out to their full potential.

Speaking of the characters

Milly, she was my favorite. Super intelligent and sassy with a whole lot of wit and I loved her perspectives, she is the one who is questioning almost everything and the one who pushes a lot more in the start to understand what exactly happened with her parents and the secrets of the Story empire

Aubrey, she was also an interesting character to follow, she is dealing with a lot of problems of her own and is pretty docile at the beginning of the story, It was great seeing her stand up for herself and come into her own as the story progressed and I adore her courage

Jonah, he is a character I don’t think I can talk a lot about because of reasons which you will find out when you read the book but I will say this, I lovehis sarcasm and his personality.

Overall this was a enjoyable story to read, with a lot of plot twists and an addictive plot which will hook you in from the first few pages.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fast paced, YA thriller with a family angle.

Content Warnings: Miscarriage, death of a parent, death of a child, death of a spouse, talks and portrayal of addiction.

The Cousins is an exciting read with excellent characters, a great plot and captivating writing. Karen McManus has given us a wonderful read.