Blog Tour: The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

---

Secrets. Lies. Inheritence.

Family first – always. Right?

If there’s one author who’s books I will pick up with absolutely no encouragement needed, it’s Karen McManus. I devoured her other three books that are, very rightfully, being praised left, right and centre and was beside myself when I heard rumours of a fourth – and I was not disappointed! This book is a perfect read (or even Christmas present!) for any fans of mysteries that are perfectly crafted and will keep you guessing until the last page.

As always, big thanks go to The Write Reads for organising this brilliant tour and the wonderful Karen McManus and team at Penguin for providing a free copy of this book!

---

Synopsis:

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.

---

Review:

Milly, Aubrey and Jonah – the youngest generation in the Story family. A family full of secrets and intrigue, secrets that led to their parents being dramatically disinherited from the family fortune for seemingly no reason. But after years of no contact, the family matriarch, Mildred, invites her three grandchildren to her island resort for the summer. Could this be the olive branch they’ve always wanted? A chance to finally know the grandmother they’ve never met? If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

It probably comes as no surprise by this point that I loved this book! From the characters to the plot, I was hooked really early on. The three main characters are all different personalities which I enjoyed as it keeps things interesting. They all had different ways of figuring things out as well as their own secrets and motives which all worked brilliantly to advance the plot and throw in some curve balls in regards to guessing the twists! The plot flowed well with new information being given at the right times to keep me invested in the story. There are some flashbacks interspersed with the present day chapters which I think worked really well in giving us some context and also some subtle hints about why Mildred had disinherited her children and why they had decided not to keep in touch with each other since.

One of my favourite things about this book (and the others by this author) was all of the twists and turns. They’re thrown at us every few chapters and, although some may find it confusing, I love it. When I’m reading a mystery, I like to be kept guessing, constantly analysing everything that happens and the reveals to try and figure out the ending and this book certainly did that for me. Not all of the reveals make sense immediately and there are definitely some I didn’t see coming but I really enjoyed figuring out what they all meant. It’s clear that the author planned it all out beforehand which I find makes for a more coherent and well told story.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone who has read and loved this author’s other books or is a fan of mysteries that will keep you guessing. Karen McManus is a master and hits it out of the park every time!

Rating: 4/5

---

You can check out the thoughts of some other wonderful book bloggers on this book throughout the rest of The Cousins blog tour by following along over on social media!

#TheWriteReads #UltimateBlogTour #TheCousins

Are you looking forward to reading this book? I’d love to know your thoughts on it! You can always find me over on Instagram and Twitter if you’re looking for a book chat! 😌