Karen M. McManus

The Storys are the envy of their neighbours: owners of the largest property on their East Coast island, they are rich, beautiful, and close. Until it all falls apart. The four children are suddenly dropped by their mother with a single sentence: You know what you did. They never hear from her again. Years later, when 18-year-old cousins Aubrey, Milly and Jonah Story receive a mysterious invitation to spend the summer at their grandmother's resort, they have no choice but to follow their curiosity and meet the woman who's been such an enigma their entire lives. This entire family is built on secrets, right? It's the Story legacy. This summer, the teenagers are determined to discover the truth at the heart of their family. But some secrets are better left alone. THE BRILLIANT NEW THRILLER FROM INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF ONE OF US IS LYING KAREN M MCMANUS

The Cousins

Jafe

If I were even a little bit musically inclined, I’d start a band called ‘Cusp of Mediocrity’ in honor of my mums favourite warning.

“We don’t live in the world of ‘could have been,’ though, do we? We live in this world."

She didn't have the luxury of falling apart.

“In other words, he thinks the sun rises and sets on him, and surrounds himself with people who agree?”

I could punch myself in the face for being so stupidly focused on the game I was playing that I missed she one she was playing. 

because . . . confrontation. Not my thing.

because I'm the Girl Least Likely to Cause a Scene About Anything, Ever.

The Storys are the envy of their neighbours: owners of the largest property on their East Coast island, they are rich, beautiful, and close. Until it all falls apart. The four children are suddenly dropped by their mother with a single sentence: You know what you did. They never hear from her again. Years later, when 18-year-old cousins Aubrey, Milly and Jonah Story receive a mysterious invitation to spend the summer at their grandmother's resort, they have no choice but to follow their curiosity and meet the woman who's been such an enigma their entire lives. This entire family is built on secrets, right? It's the Story legacy. This summer, the teenagers are determined to discover the truth at the heart of their family. But some secrets are better left alone.

Sophia

Milly leans toward the screen, her baby trepidation entirely gone. "I'm gonna start calling you 

And that Mildred Story wasn't a villian after all, but a woman who got taken from her children without having a chance to say good-bye.

The answer comes soon enough. I turn to see Donald Camden gaping at us, a red-faced Aubrey by his side. The curtain we slipped behind has been pulled aside, the French door leading to the balcony is open, ans every single person behind Donald - and there are 

I love this quote. Aubrey is so beautiful and it's time she sees it herself💕

I still hate my reflection, but the more I look at it, the more it seems like I'm looking into a fun house mirror - a distoned image that doesn't reflect reality. I don't know how to see beyond it, yet, but I want to try.

I'm gonna be soooo mad if I find out that Theresa and Donald kept the siblings away and not their mother🙂🔪

"I'm trying to keep things short, but I'm not sure how soon I can pry her away. She has an almost - morbid curiosity, I suppose."

I've never seen Milly look this rattled before, and I've been with her through two fake-identity reveals, including my own.

[...] Her eyes, still round and glassy with shock, meet mine. "About Dr. Bexter. He died this morning. Drowned in a creek in the woods behind his house."

"Hey, Uncle Archer," I say. My mother's youngest brother's eyes widen in alarm as I add, "Are you the one who brought us here?"

And now I ship them haha I have a problem

I'm halfway there when something warm and soft materializes in my hand, and I turn to see Jonah North in a T-Shirt, shoving his flannel at me.

"For the walk home," he says, before disappearing back into the shadows.

I KNEW IT!!! I suspect the real jonah can't eat seafood or something like that because Milly looked weird when he ate shrimps... but idk haha

Milly waves my driver's license again, looking at me from under those mile-long lashes. "Gladly. Just as soon as you tell me who the hell you are, Jonah North, and why you're pretending to be my cousin."

Then I draw back and strike fast. The balls explode against each other with such a loud crack that Aubrey gasps beside me.

Striped balls start dropping into the pockets one after the other, while the solid balls spin harmlessly against the sides of the table. When the balls stop moving, only two stripes remain along with all but one of the solids.

[Milly's] hair is pulled into a high ponytail, her lashes thick with dark mascara. Or maybe she just has a naturally intense eyelash situation happening at all times.

She had absolutely no idea that we were coming.

I know that it's not what I think but my mind instantly thought that Jonah isn't Jonah and the real one is somewhere else/at home haha

 a little bit sus (Why does he want to avoid Milly - and probably Aubrey, as well - so badly?)

Mine buzzes in my pocket , and I dig it out to a text from a contact I saved as JT.

I just gonna ignore it and push past🙃 cousins......

Crap. I can't believe I was just checking her out. I don't think she minded, either. Akward.

"Yeah. Well, sort of. I'm Jonah." I hold out my hand. Her eyes widen, and she doesn't take it. "Jonah Story."

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 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.

Cousins

Ellie 

"The truth was like a cancer inside me by that point, and I'd shoved it down so far that it wouldn't come out. It just... festered, and made me angry."

"There's nothing to be gained from reopening old wounds, and a lot to lose."

I mean I wasn’t expecting a masterpiece from the reviews which was a shame because ‘One of Us is lying’ by McManus was quite good.

This book maybe had potential, and by that I mean that the storyline maybe had the potential to actually be really good if it were better and didnt have that kinda crappy plot twist. It just suddenly became really far fetched and as soon as a character basically was like “Guys! I think I know what’s going on! It’s _____________________ because __________!”  and they were right first try about it?? What? 

Even though I didn’t like this book much I kinda read it really fast because it was easy to pick up, in a mean kind of ‘there are other books I would rather be reading right now’ way.

Not your best work McManus but well done for trying!

I mean I wasn’t expecting a masterpiece from the reviews which was a shame because ‘One of Us is lying’ by McManus was quite good.

This book maybe had potential, and by that I mean that the storyline maybe had the potential to actually be really good if it were better and didnt have that kinda crappy plot twist. It just suddenly became really far fetched and as soon as a character basically was like “Guys! I think I know what’s going on! It’s _____________________ because __________!”  and they were right first try about it?? What? 

Even though I didn’t like this book much I kinda read it really fast because it was easy to pick up, in a mean kind of ‘there are other books I would rather be reading right now’ way.

Not your best work McManus but well done for trying!

Thanks for reading my review 🫵❤️

While this wasn’t bad it was great either. Nothing truly happened in this book until the last maybe 15% of it. And at that point I was kind of checked out. All it did was make sense of how things were the way they were but there just weren’t any factors that truly captivated me throughout to keep my attention and have me love the book. 

Priscilla Stanfield

2.75/5⭐️

While this wasn’t bad it was great either. Nothing truly happened in this book until the last maybe 15% of it. And at that point I was kind of checked out. All it did was make sense of how things were the way they were but there just weren’t any factors that truly captivated me throughout to keep my attention and have me love the book. 

Bria

Where was the thrill? The twists were so uneventful and barely did anything for the story except (view spoiler)[the grandma thing (hide spoiler)] but that was predictable. Where was the shock?

Paula Plaza Ponte 

This was just okay. I did finish the book because I did want to know the secrets of the Story family but the writing was just so meh and too heavy handed. Anyway, I can still see myself recommending this to students who love mystery.

Kaylee Ray

it took a while for this book to get to it, but the twist was a lot better than i was expecting! i ended up really enjoying it overall

it was pretty good however i feel like i could've done without the jonah-milly romance because it felt forced and just weird

t. edwards

Danielle Annika

uhhh so why didn’t more people rate this book 5 stars????? i loved everything about this book. the setting is amazing and is so well written, the characters are nuanced and well developed, the plot was intriguing, and the ending was perfect (in my opinion). to be honest though, the first third of the book was *kinda* annoying because it felt like they were reeling you in but not giving anything? like they were saying “hey theres this super big secret” and you’re like “sweet! what is it?” and they go “it’s a secret!” and then they do that over and over again. but you know what? in the grand scheme of things, it worked. this book had a chokehold on me. i have an activity due tomorrow and yet i chose to finish this book because i desperately needed answers. i was sooo lose to looking up who did what, but thank goodness i didn’t because that ending was worth it for me.

final thoughts:
favorite character has got to be archer. milly was who i was all about initially, but aubrey’s character and story (haha no pun intended) was just more interesting to go along with so she’s second best for me. jonah is okay… i don’t wanna say much because spoilers but if you know, you know (or maybe not idk).

esme villanueva

** spoiler alert **
           it’s was very predictable but i did enjoy the grandma plot twist (•:

trixie

it’s so rare that i find a book where i actually never know wtf is gonna happen next so shout out to karen for consistently delivering

nina 

3.25 stars

I definitely think the plot was more compelling in this one compared to "One of Us is Lying"

fatru tamzil

FINALLY. 

A book that I feel a satisfaction reading BECAUSE I DONT KNOWW THE TWIST.

esperanza 

taryn

Lamia Hajani

I'll start by saying that I've read all of McManus' prior books voraciously and enjoyed them. This one felt like something was missing (although I still read it quite quickly). The characters feel underdeveloped and it doesn't have the same thriller-y feeling as One of Us Is Lying or Two Can Keep a Secret. I think this might be a side effect of her churning out a book a year and perhaps not having the time to draw out her characters more deeply. Nonetheless, I remain a Karen M. McManus fan and look forward to her future books (looking at you, You'll Be the Death of Me!).

Toni Scola

Sofia Y

** spoiler alert **
           3.5 stars

i don’t even know what to think, i enjoyed the book but i do see the flaws but my GOD i was invested. i hated matt so much, i was honestly rooting for something horrible to happen to him (not that i thought it would be death?!?!) i think the anders + adam + matt murder thing was a bit out of character, i just don’t feel like they would have gone that far?! (beat him up sure, ruin his relationships yeah, but murder?!) the other thing that got me was the ending. The Story’s were left without the money and prestige their name gave them which is essentially the whole moral subplot. Still i felt unsatisfied with their lack of reward, it seemed to just be very downhill the entire time. this could just be me prioritising money and prestige over everything (just how the media has taught us) but it’s just my opinion.

Nessa Luna

Hmm I think this is my least favourite of Karen M. McManus' books so far.. I really liked the characters we followed int his book, but the plot just wasn't really something I loved. It kind of reminded me a bit of We Were Liars, which I also didn't like that much.

I do have to say that the reveals towards the end did actually surprise me (view spoiler)[even if I did predict that at least one of the siblings had murdered Matt (hide spoiler)] so kudos for that!

Victoria

Finished this and it’s once again another amazing book. I am loving my binge of Karen M. McManus. This is a story about 3 cousins being invited to their estranged grandmothers for reasons they don’t even know. Things that happened in the past are resurfacing and people are not who they seem. Neither are the deaths. I gave this a 5 star read because it kept me reading. The only reason it took me so long to finish this was because I was sick with a cold, but once I got better I dove right back in and couldn’t stop!

Kaitlyn Grooms

Alexa M

This one felt so insaneeeee compared to the other books from this author. It was super fun! Was not expecting where that went at all and I read it in a day bc I really needed to know where the story was going! I really do love multi perspective in mystery books so these are always so perfect and I love all the characters! 

Need KMM to hurry up and write another book already bc that’s the backlog finished and I need m o r e !

fizzy

karen m. mcmanus never fails to surprise me

so another unpopular opinion but this was my favorite of this author. basically because it's about family drama and because it's too dramatic. loved it.

Oh my god, in what universe was that a mystery/ thriller novel? easy. it wasn't.

The Cousins

Reviews

Highlights