#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying comes your next obsession. You’ll never feel the same about family again.Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story are cousins, but they barely know each another, and they’ve never even met their grandmother. Rich and reclusive, she disinherited their parents before they were born. So when they each receive a letter inviting … So when they each receive a letter inviting them to work at her island resort for the summer, they’re surprised . . . and curious.
Their parents are all clear on one point–not going is not an option. This could be the opportunity to get back into Grandmother’s good graces. But when the cousins arrive on the island, it’s immediately clear that she has different plans for them. And the longer they stay, the more they realize how mysterious–and dark–their family’s past is.
The entire Story family has secrets. Whatever pulled them apart years ago isn’t over–and this summer, the cousins will learn everything.
Fans of the hit thriller that started it all can watch the secrets of the Bayview Four be revealed in the One of Us is Lying TV series now streaming on NBC’s Peacock!
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Well, this was my first book by this author, which I’d been hearing a lot of good things about. And I have to say that it totally lived up to all the hype I’d heard. I was sucked in right away and there were a lot of twists and turns throughout the book that even as I was guessing what might be going on, I kept changing my thoughts, and I still didn’t get it right! The characters were all very well developed, and the background was also one that was fully detailed and intricate finding my way through as I read. I liked that not only did we get each of the three main characters’ points of view, but we got flashes back to their parents through a few chapters interspersed at just the right times in the story to keep my guesses going and evolving throughout the book.
The story seemed to deal mostly with what was happening to the characters and what they were discovering, instead of a ton of time just spent in day to day events. I liked that. It kept me intrigued and not having to skim through overly descriptive passages. The little bits of detail were there to try to give the reader hints and clues to what the characters themselves should be paying attention to, without just giving the whole story away. A great story, one I can’t wait to add to my school library and recommend to my students. Now to read more from this author in the future, and if I have time, I’ll be sure to go back and check out her previous titles as well!
I saw a lot of the reveals coming but not the biggest one! What the heck?!?! The characters are all very imperfect, and the story is engaging. I really like the friendship the cousins gained with each other. I also loved that in the end, it was not about the money. This one was not as scary as some of her other books, but it was good!
Excellent! McManus has done it again!!
This was my first book by Karen M McManus, and I really enjoyed it! I thought it had a lot of twists and turns to keep my attention and had me wondering what would happen next. I guessed part of the ending, but not all of it! I am looking forward to reading more from Karen!
Imposter syndrome is a real problem unless you have enough money
This was a really good book! I enjoyed it! There were a few twists I didn’t see coming! I would definitely recommend this book!
Okay soo I started this book around April but I found it boring, it’s the first book I read by this author and I heard great things but it wasn’t working for me. But I re-started to see if I liked it or not, spoiler it didn’t work.
Main characters
Milly, Milly, Milly, I don’t know what to think of her, that is, sometimes I like her but sometimes I hate her, personally annoying people who don’t know privacy bothers me and Milly is one of those characters. On the other hand, Jonah is as obnoxious as Milly but has an air of mystery. Aubrey is a bland character, I honestly couldn’t care less what happens to her.
Plot
Well, basically what happened is that a group of brothers was disinherited by their mother and it happened that years later she sent an invitation to her 3 grandchildren to go to work on the island where she lives and get to know her.
The beginning is very slow and the first 10 chapters are more family drama than thriller/mystery, from chapter 13 things start to take off but everything is very dramatic and predictable that it is not even funny, for example, Why does the attraction between Milly and Jonah feel so forced, I can’t bear it, it appeared out of nowhere and the only thing that interests me is that they discover the damn secret if I wanted a romance I would read a romance book with characters that really have chemistry, the end. Aubrey seems to be the only one interested in looking for answers, too bad she doesn’t have the confidence or self-esteem to do so
At the end things got a bit dramatic but was I surprised? Not really, I mean, I didn’t see it coming but it doesn’t sound far-fetched either. In conclusion, a dramatic and anticlimactic ending, which could have been better, no Story paid the consequences of their actions, it could definitely be better, I didn’t like the ending at all.
Side characters
I also don’t like the Story brothers very much, aka the cousins’ parents. They are very important to the story, but they don’t make me feel anything. I feel that their appearances are very abrupt and predictable. The rest of the characters that appear are not memorable and honestly, they aren’t important, their contribution to the story is so useless.
Final thoughts
So that’s the end, like, I didn’t like the book, won’t read it again, and definitely don’t recommend it.
Do I recommend it? No
TW: murder, abortion, insanity.
Violence/dark scenes: 4110
Plot: 6/10
Type: standalone
Cover: 6/10
Milly, Aubrey, Jonah are cousins, the grandchildren of Mildred Story. The Story children: Allison, Adam, Anders, and Archer, were all disinherited and cut off from their mother in the late 90s after receiving a letter stating “You know what you did.”
Now, more than 20 years later, for some unknown reason, the three cousins who barely know each other have been invited to work for the summer at their grandmother’s resort. The mystery of why they’ve been invited and what happened many years ago intertwines and unravels as the cousins get to know each other and learn more about their family history.
I enjoyed trying to figure out who’s good and who’s not and possible motives for mysterious behavior. The dual timeline kept things interesting, slowly revealing pieces to the puzzle. The characters were relatable and the multiple POV of the three cousins really kept the story moving. This was a fun YA mystery and a quick enjoyable read.
Family first, always.
No one can twist a storyline like Karen McManus and The Cousins was no different. Great characters, decades old secrets, and a smidgen of romance! The story will keep you guessing right up to the very end. A fun, entertaining read that I highly recommend.
I wasn’t sure what I expected when I started this book. What I got was a twisty mystery with an unexpected villain. Original mystery with interesting characters.
This was a fun mystery! So many secrets, some I could predict but some were a surprise. I really enjoyed the book. I’m hoping for a sequel. I think we were left with a big secret not answered and my curiosity is killing me. This is a definite recommend.
The Cousins by Karen M. McManus is a twisty mystery with unexpected turns at every corner.
Every family has their secrets but it seems like the Story family have more than their fair share. The grandkids are invited to spend the summer working at their grandmother’s resort, the catch is they have never met her and there is some hidden mystery as to why. The kids take it upon themselves to try to uncover the mystery and find out why their grandmother disowned their parents and cut them off.
What looks to be a simple cut and dry mystery soon turns into something much more complicated and noone will come out the same.
There were a lot of twist and turns I didn’t see coming. I also didn’t try guessing. Went along for the ride and what a ride it sure was. Great mystery!
Little weird, lotta fun! I actually did not expect the ending at all. Karen McManus has this way of writing that convinces you that you know the big plot reveal before it’s revealed, and then she surprises you!
This book was pretty good and if I liked reading mysteries more I would’ve given it another star but for some reason I don’t so that’s my rating. I kind of wondered if this or that had something to do with this or that but I wasn’t able to figure it out or anything so that’s good. My heart just went out to these kids, and they were so brave and really worked through all the things. I wrote down one sentence in my Keepers journal: “We’d just lived through the wildest, weirdest month imaginable, and it was hard to tell whether the intense relationships we’d formed with one another would last in regular life.” I was like, “Exactly,” and, “But I wish that wasn’t even a thing we had to wonder. Why can’t we keep that, every time, for regular life?!”
Oh, and I liked a lot of the names and the names of places in this book. I actually get to help my son come up with names for his scripts so I notice names a lot lately.
Three cousins are invited to the family’s resort with their grandmother whom they have never met. They have hopes of seeking answers and redemption for their parents, all with ties cut from the grandmother. The story becomes fast paced as the cousins try to piece together the events from 24 years ago.
A great fast paced and most interesting and intriguing read.
Talk about dysfunctional families! This one is a that and then some.
A break from my usual Psychological thrillers at that this one is considered a Young Adult thriller. but all in all a good read. My first by this Author and won’t be my last.
Even though I didn’t feel used to the longer chapters. I got used to the characters, and boy did they grow on me. Great work.
In true McManus fashion, this book is filled with twists and turns, along with a mystery that will keep you guessing. The mystery in this book was great too. I loved it and could not believe I didn’t even come close to guessing the whodunnit person! I will say I did have trouble keeping up with all the family members, often having to go back and read the family tree multiple times. Once I was more than halfway through, I ended up getting the hang of the family tree. I think it would have been nice to have maybe a mini tree put in front of each chapter so I could keep up because I felt there were so many to keep up with!
Overall, I recommend The Cousins by Karen M. McManus because the mystery was that great. I read this book in a day and a half. I even reread it to see if I could guess the mystery twist, and still, I was stumped! Have you read it?
The Cousins is an entertaining page turner that follows the secrets of the Story family. Not only is the plot filled with twists, but the characters are interesting and well-writen. Once again Karen McManus has knocked it out of the part with her new ya thriller.