A solid teen mystery. I’m glad we’re getting more books in this genre. I can’t say it was totally unpredictable since I knew about halfway through who the villains were going to be but I still thoroughly enjoyed the plot twists. Good characters. Fantastic setting. The ending felt a little rushed after the slow burn of the rest of the story. I wanted to love the epilogue but I found the surprise more confusing than thrilling.

What I love about a McManus book is that, as you read it, you think you start to figure things out. And you might but only just a little bit because of all the twists and turns she throws at you. This book does not disappoint! It is the perfect summer read.

Thank you Get Underlined and Penguin Random House for providing me with an early copy!

So McManus is an amazing author. I love her mysteries and her twists and her characters. The thing I love most I would say is her last-liners. The last line of this book is just as good as the one in Two Can Keep a Secret (my fav of her books). I love the idea of a whole island being the setting of a mystery thriller, because no one can stay hidden for long. Absolutely loved this book and I’m anxious to see what McManus will come up with next!

Please note that I have shared on my IG stories that I loved this book, but do not have a way to do a post as I don’t have a way to do digital ARC photos. Still super loved this book!

Millie, Aubrey, and Jonah Story are cousins who have never met. Before they were born, their wealthy grandmother disinherited their parents with the cryptic message “you know what you did”. But now, Grandmother has extended an invitation to her grandchildren to visit her for the summer at her private island resort. The cousins aren’t sure they want to go but they end up at the ferry together where things get off to a rocky and mysterious start. Why would their grandmother invite them and then suddenly leave the island? Who really knows the truth about what their parents did? Why do Millie and Jonah have an undeniable connection? Can Aubrey be brave enough to save them all from the truth of what really happened years ago? If you are a fan of One of Us is Lying, this story will leave you just as twisted! Kudos to McManus for another original suspense thriller!

This was such a fun read! It’s not a surprise that a Karen McManus book would have interesting characters and a compelling mystery. It’s just really nice when a favorite author gets better and better with each book. This book had me staying up waaaay past my bedtime and struggling not to peek at the last few chapters. I just wanted to know what would happen. I’d definitely recommend this to all my middle and HS teacher and librarian friends to stock in catherine libraries. Kids will love reading this book!

Shared this title with my 13 year old daughter and she gives it a thumbs up. She found it a little hard to follow at first but once she settled into the plot twists she was fully on board. Would highly recommend.

I'm just going to say first off - another wild ride from Karen M. McManus.  She has become my go to for mystery thrillers without being scary/horror, which I just can't do.

Three cousins, Milly, Audrey, and Jonah, have been sent letters by their grandmother, stating that she wants to meet them and have them work at her island resort for the summer.  Their parents were all disowned by their grandmother over 20 years ago, and the cousins barely know each other.  All accept the offer, as they really had little choice from their parents, and head to the island to work and meet their grandmother.  However, things aren't really as they seem when they arrive.  Everyone on the island seems to be keeping secrets, including the cousins.  As they continue to live on the small island resort, the cousins learn how very mysterious their grandmother and family really are, and secrets start to come out into the open.

I enjoyed this book.  I have come to really appreciate Karen M. McManus' style of writing that keeps me engaged and tangled in the web she weaves - I'm intrigued, I'm curious and want to read more, and in this book I was uneasy to the point where I had to put it down for two days to get over a particular part of the book.  (I don't do well with cringe situations, especially in books... that's just a me thing though.)

Overall, this is another winner.  You are kept guessing until the end, and once you get there you realize all the clues you missed throughout the book.  A solid read.

McManus’s writing style is perhaps one of my favorite in YA. The way she weaves past and present together and the multiple POVs always keeps you guessing and on your toes right down to the very last twist on the very last page. My favorite thing about her specifically is not only her final twists, but all the little ones in between that you never see coming. I absolutely loved this, and even found myself rooting for characters that I hated in the beginning. The three cousins each had great and intriguing backstories and their family history was so interesting that I couldn’t get enough. I loved each of their voices and the setting and the sheer mystery. The only reason I couldn’t give it five stars was because it was a tad slow in places, and there’s just something about YA thrillers that misses the mark for me every time no matter what, but I could definitely be generous and round this to a 4.5. This is by far my favorite of her books, and encourage everyone to pick up a copy when this comes out in December.

This book is as good as I thought it would be. Set in a great New England island setting there is family intrigue, lies, drama and secrets. Lots of secrets! Karen McManus gives just enough away to allow you to contemplate what the ending will look like but then throws you off and surprises you in the end. Three grandchildren of the great Story family are called to the island with the hope of mending their broken family relationship but they get much more than they bargained for and wind up gaining insight that allows them to solve a mystery that happened more before they were born. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Cousins are- Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah, and they barely know each other. Their parents were cut off from their eccentric grandmother who refuses to see either her children or her grandchildren. So, when an "invitation" arrives for each of the cousins to spend the summer working at her New England island resort, they cannot refuse. The cousins parents are determined to get back into their mother's good graces, and to try to recover some of the money they were disinherited from. And honestly, all three of them would like to get to the bottom of what happened to make the four Story children so unwelcome to their childhood home.
Secrets quickly begin to unravel. The novel's narrative changes form each of the three cousins, as well as the only Story daughter in 1996 when everything went wrong.
The twist comes out of nowhere and I really enjoyed the fourth novel from this author.

The Story family is complicated. After their parents are abruptly disinherited twenty four years prior, the three Story cousins- Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah- reconnect when their estranged grandmother invites them to work on her island for the summer. No one is sure why, but one thing is for sure - not going is NOT an option.

I'm a big fan of McManus' writing and so I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Cousins. It was fast paced and each of the characters were entertaining in their own way. I really liked how there were small reveals along the way that changed the course of the story without being too confusing or overwhelming. There were a few moments of predictability, but the plot twist in the last quarter of the book definitely got me! Everything wrapped up nicely in the end, but I feel like the mystery of the disinheritance left me somewhat unsatisfied, as did the events that followed with the Story siblings.

Soapy family murder mystery? Sign me up! I’ve devoured all of Karen McManus’ books and was estactic to review this ARC. The family drama and mystery made it unbelievably hard to put this book down. Present and past storylines slowly unravel the twists to this rich family steeped in secrets. The Cousins follows Milly, Jonah and Aubrey on their unexpected summer to meet the mysterious grandmother and town they’ve never know besides the stories their parents have told them. It’s a fast paced and twisty read!

I have this authors other books so I was excited to read this one because I enjoyed her other ones and again she did not disappoint. This book totally different from her other but in sines ways the same. It had a little mystery to it .had some twist to. So if you are looking for good little mystery this one was good

Karen McManus never fails to disappoint. With The Cousins, she weaves a mystery with several twists, eventually resulting in a crazy climax that leaves room for more. If you liked, especially, Two Can Keep a Secret, then you'll LOVE The Cousins.

Another absolute win from Karen McManus! I did not see the end twist coming, and I love when a book can surprise me. The family relationship in this book was interesting; I enjoyed the peer into this elite, complicated family. When this comes out in December, readers will long for the lazy summer described at the resort. McManus has become a must-read author for me, and many of my teens feel the same!

I don't think you can go wrong with a Karen McManus book and The Cousins is no exception. I could not stop reading! It was filled with twists and turns that readers will love. The multi-voice narrative was effective in giving insight into each of the character's background. I certainly wasn't expecting the ending, which is exactly what I expect from this author. Thank you to #Netgalley and the Random House for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was expecting a murder mystery based on her previous books, but enjoyed the slightly lighter mystery in this book. It is a great summer read because of the setting and I really liked the characters.

This is the fourth book I've read by Karen McManus, and once again, it did not disappoint.

The book follows three cousins, Jonah, Milly, and Audrey, whose parents on all estranged from their mother. Twenty years prior, their mother collectively disinherited and excommunicated all the siblings. Out of the blue, all three cousins receive a letter from their grandmother, inviting them to work at her fancy island resort. The three agree and set off to meet the grandmother they never met. Once they arrive though, something is off. Their grandmother almost seems surprised to see them, as if she never invited them. As the summer progresses, all three discover secrets about their family that their parents never shared, and try to figure out why their grandmother has been elusive for all these years.

This book, which is told from alternating perspectives of the three cousins, is compelling, twisty, and a book that I couldn't put down. McManus has so many twists and turns in this beach thriller. A lot of these twists surprise me, especially as we got closer to the conclusion. Each of the cousins had a very distinct voice, and it was interesting following them through the summer. I highly recommend this thrilling read.

The Cousins
by Karen M. McManus
Pub Date: 01 Dec 2020
Read courtesy of NetGalley.com

I was intrigued. And I first I thought the solution to the mystery was presented too soon, but then additional action at the end restored my faith in the story. But then the ending's end messed me up again. I felt like I had to, um, not think too much but stretch my thinking in order to make the ending work.

SPOILER ALERT: The last paragraph here will list my thoughts regarding the ending, so you've been forewarned not to read the last paragraph if you don't want the Storys to be spoiled.

The mystery and twists and turns were tight and made for a good tale of conspiracy. I enjoyed the romance, the forming of friendships, the cattiness of the relatives, and the back-stabbing of the family's 'trusted' long-time employees.

The story about the Story family had interesting, well-thought out characters. Unfortunately, their names all started with 'A's, so it made it difficult to keep the family plot lines separated. As other reviewers have noted, "I found myself having to flip back to the beginning of the chapter to see who was narrating at times." I did, however, like the flashback chapters to help create background and set up the mystery.

I couldn't decide between a 3 or 4 star review, but decided on a 4 ☆☆☆☆ star benefit-of-the-doubt review because I was entertained and engaged in the story.

SPOILER ALERT: Next is the last paragraph where I will list my thoughts regarding the ending, so you've been forewarned not to read this next paragraph if you don't want the Storys to be spoiled.

Aunt Paula. Jonah North. Anders Story. They aren't related. They didn't know each other until the end of the story. Paula writes a note to Jonah advising him to keep his parents away from Anders, so they don't end up involved in one of Anders' schemes again, and signs the note, "Family first, always." Her family? His family? I guess maybe it's both. But would Paula really have known about the family's motto, "Family first, always"? She might have since it is written on the patriarch Abraham Story's grave. But would she have known it's significance to the rest of the Story family? And Jonah wasn't even in the graveyard to have seen the marker with that motto on it; he wouldn't necessarily know the significance of Paula's use of the motto. Furthermore, why would Paula feel the need to protect Jonah if he's not related? Does this mean she really only wants to harm the Storys? It seems to me that signing the note "Family first, always" was more of a literary device for the reader to pull the story full circle or reflect the irony of the motto rather than a meaningful, significant sign off to Jonah. So, like I said in the beginning, "I felt like I had to, um, not think too much but stretch my thinking in order to make the ending work."

Overall, an interesting mystery: Three cousins who barely know each other are invited to visit their grandmother on an elite resort island that she owns. They know there's a story to figure out because their parents were disowned 24 years ago. When they get there, grandmother makes herself scarce... who knows maybe they'll still be able to salvage the relationships regardless? Little did they know...