A really fun and interesting read. I had an enjoyable time reading this and it held my attention the entire way through that I finished it within the day!

After reading One of Us is Lying and One of Us is Next, I was super excited for the next book from Karen McManus and she definitely delivers with The Cousins. This book hooked me right from the start and kept me guessing to the very end. Characters are likable and I like the growth they exhibit from start to the end of the book. Story has many twists and surprises and is a super quick and easy read. Once I got started, I could not put it down.

I must confess I am a huge Karen McManus fan. I found Cousins to be a cross between One of Us is Lying and Two Can Keep a Secret with the multiple points of view from the former book and dark family secrets from the past in the latter. It is both a family drama and mystery about revenge and greed, with unexpected twists. The title of the book is a little lackluster but I can understand why the author didn’t want to put a number in the title (even though there were conveniently three cousins) and be locked into numerical titles forever. Although I like the multiple POV format and the way it fleshes out characters and their thoughts, I found myself having to flip back to the beginning of the chapter to see who was narrating at times. Throwing in untitled chapters from a character in the past was an effective way to give a first hand glimpse of what had happened a couple of decades earlier. It was interesting how the actions from one generation impacted the next. Aside from the first scene in the book, which in my opinion added nothing to the story and made me strongly dislike one character from the start, I found the book fast-paced. I did end up liking that character later, and the newly formed bonds between cousins is one of the things I liked most about the book. I liked how clues came from various places including old photos, microfiched newspapers, and first hand accounts like in old whodunits. These clues led to an exciting scene with a dramatic rescue where all was revealed. There was some sweet romance in the story as well, and it wasn’t overdone. McManus likes to save the last twist for the very end, and here it was both unexpected and chilling. Students at my school will race to gobble this book up.

Sorry, not very interesting. It’s too bad because I really enjoyed One of Us is Lying by this author. But nothing really made me care for the characters. I got more than half way through the book, there wasn’t anything happening in the main arc of the story.

Okay, how do I love this more than the authors last series? Creepy and compelling. A definite 5-star read

This is my first time reading a title by McManus. I like The Cousins, I was not blown away by it. It is told from several points of view. including some flashbacks and I just couldn't keep up with who was speaking at a given time and how they relate to the story. For me, it took too long for the "action" of the book to begin and once it did I was hooked. It just took a long time for me to reach this point.

I'm going to admit I hadn't read anything by Karen McManus before reading The Cousins. I know all her books are wildly popular and now I understand why! This is an enthralling thriller that kept me guessing until the end - and my guess was completely wrong!

Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story are cousins who barely know each another. When they each receive a letter inviting them to work at their wealthy grandmother's island resort for the summer, they are shocked - because they've never even met her! She disinherited their parents years ago and has shown no interested in getting to know them at all. 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, they realize things aren't as they seemed.. The entire Story family has secrets, even the cousins. Whatever pulled them apart years ago isn't over--and this summer, the cousins will learn everything.

This was a mystery filled with twists and surprises throughout, and thoroughly likeable main characters. It did not disappoint!

The book keeps your attention from beginning to end and when you think you have everything figured out, you are surprised yet again.

I love Karen McManus novels. As a tenth grade ELA teacher and a strong advocate for independent reading simply for pleasure, I keep my classroom library shelves stocked with books by this author, and my students love them!

In “The Cousins” Karen McManus weaves a clever mystery set on a posh resort island. Gull Cove island is home to the mysterious Mildred Story who disowns her children without explanation many years ago. As a result, Mildred does not know any of her grandchildren. When the grandkids all receive an invitation to come meet their grandmother and spend the summer working on the island at her resort, who can refuse?

The grandchildren are well developed characters, as are their parents. McManus has a gift for easy, believable dialogue and in creating characters my teenage students love to read about. As an adult reading a YA novel, I am always engaged and interested in the outcome and Karen McManus always manages to surprise me.

Loved this book and am looking forward to her next!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Every family has secrets and this is a family that will suck you in! A fast summer read that made me want to head to an island resort to read! The characters had depth and the ending surprised and satisfied me!

The Cousins is a story about three cousins who receive a letter from their wealthy grandmother to work on her estate for the summer. The three cousins have never met their grandmother because when their parents were younger, she disowned them all for a mysterious reason,

This story wasn’t as interesting as Karen McManus’ other titles. It entertained me enough and kept me curious about what the real story was, but by the end I was disappointed with the big reveal. Every one of the cousins’ characters weren’t likable or interesting enough for me to care about them. The entire story was just a letdown for me.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Three cousins are about to meet their grandmother -- the one who disowned their parents under mysterious circumstances -- for the first time. Though they barely know each other, they have no choice but to work together to find out why they were brought to this point, why their parents were rejected by their grandmother, and what is going on on this island. This entry from Karen McManus is definitely a different feel than her other books, but the mystery is still intense, and the outcome unexpected. A definite purchase for my library.

The Cousins
by Karen M. McManus
Read an Excerpt
Random House Children's
You Are Auto-Approved
Delacorte Press
Mystery & Thrillers | Teens & YA
Pub Date 01 Dec 2020 | Archive Date 01 Jan 2021

This book disappointed me. It was a slow read for me. I couldn't get into it. And all A's for names... Hard to tell the characters apart.
For me this was just an ok read.

3 star

The Cousins is true "slow burn". To me, it felt so unlike anything else that Karen M. McManus has written. The first 60% or so was almost rather boring, it wasn't a page turner, and I kept putting it down. There's a big overarching mystery here for "The Cousins" to find out why there grandmother disinherited there parents 24 years ago, but there's no current murder/slasher whodunnit happening in the present day for the most part of this book. Its more of just a contemporary family drama, unraveling lies and secrets and deception. Did I enjoy it? Yes. It had a wild ending. But it's not the book I've come to expect with "by Karen M. Mcmanus" on the cover. It really was too slow and you had to suspend your disbelief would these children really have went 24 years without ever attempting to contact / see their mother just because of a letter they receive. Despite some of ther plot decisions, Karen's writing style however is so good, she creates wonderful realistic teen characters and creates such unique personalities for them. That's always my favorite aspect of her books.

I still really liked the end but there was way too much buildup. I hope McManus's next book is more of a whodunnit. This book she seemed more to focus on the "why did they do it."

Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.

This was bad. The plot was slow moving and not very original. My biggest gripe though was all the brothers names were so similar I had no idea who was who. And the ending sucked and usually McManus hits her endings out of the park. I’m disappointed.

A classic mystery thriller from the eyes of several teenagers, you’ll wish this was a summer you had. The twists (and there are several) that come out of this are not ones expected which makes it a great and enticing must read.

I will post this review and my star rating to Goodreads on November 17, and to booksellers at publication.

Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah--three cousins that have never met, but all have the same question: why was my parent cut out of the family fortune?

If you're read "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart, you're in for a treat! McManus's "The Cousins" has a similar feel and features a private island off the coast of Massachusetts where the Story family lives in luxury and secrecy. Everyone wants to know the meaning behind the words, "you know what you did." Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah, although reluctant, set out to unravel the mystery and walk through a set of twists and turns that are now standard for the McManus empire.

I liked this story, but if you're a newbie to McManus, definitely start with One of Us is Lying!

3.75 stars - couldn’t quite give it a 4. This one was slow to get going & I was never “all in”, although there was a great climax. There were so many characters to keep track of, including a handful of siblings all with “A” names. The title and cover are not the greatest and kind of fit my overall feelings...it was okay, but not great.

I will read anything Karen M. McManus writes, and The Cousins is no exception. Even when I thought I had everything figured out, she still managed to shock me with a plot twist at the end, as always. I finished this book in a single weekend and found all the teen drama to be so refreshing with everything else happening in the world right now. The only thing that I wasn't a particular fan of was the romance: it felt too forced and unnecessary for me. I still enjoyed the book immensely, though, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good mystery.

Karen McManus has done it again! The Cousins is another mystery that will have readers guessing until the very end. In this story, three cousins are brought to work on a resort island off the coast of Massachusetts for their estranged and very wealthy grandmother. As the three cousins become friends, you get the back stories of their parents and try to solve what happened to make their mother disown them twenty years ago. The three cousins start to unravel the mystery of past mistakes, deceit, and betrayal as they navigate their families dysfunctions and grow to see that what tears them apart can also bring them together.