Hello my lovely readers. I’m so excited to be part of another #UltimateBlogTour for the one and only THE COUSINS by Karen M. McManus! Massive thanks to Dave and TheWriteReads who organises epic blog tours these days.
I’m really excited to share my review not only am I trying to experiment with a review style, well I think it’s new, probably shorter and not much else. But I’m going to try CAWPILE created by Book Roast, (I’ll link the video here for you) for a new rating system. I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to use this. I ask myself the same question when I rate so many book 4 or 5 star and I think there is a huge difference in why it’s a 4 star book! So I hope this will bring clarity and help me review books a lot more.
So let start shall we, but first here is a little bit more about the book.
The Cousins by Karen M. McManus Published by Penguin on December 3, 2020
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Amazon | Book Depository | Waterstones
Goodreads
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
CAWPILE – 8.00
My Review
The story follows three very socially distanced (get it, ha) cousins, Milly, Aubrey and Jonah Story all because of their parents and what they did twenty-four years ago! Each of the cousins receives a strange invitation from their reclusive grandmother, who mysteriously disinherited all of their parents. Every since then, their parents have have been haunted with the last note – “You know what you did.” The cousins are invited to work at the Story’s island resort during the summer and to get to know grandmother. But something smells off and Aubrey, Jonah and Milly want to find what really happened all those years ago!
Well let’s just say that as soon as I opened the book, there is this instant familiarity that I’ve missed with Karen’s writing. It brings a smile to my face knowing I’m going to immerse myself in a cracking mystery novel. It certainly what I needed after struggling with reading for so long. As soon as you open the book there is a family tree page. I love these but honestly this is extremely useful too. There is A LOT Story’s in the book which can be slightly overwhelming to see who is related to which of parent. It was a life saver and it added that extra contextual mystery to the books, like you’re finding the clues yourself.
What I really loved what the change of scenery and change of setting. Over Karen’s previous books we have been in the town and high school of Echo Ridge. This book is set within an island resort which gave a sense of intrigue and more suspense, when as a reader of Karen’s you totally out of your depth. The mystery of the Story’s was an absolute whirlwind, I thought I had it figured, but nuh huh, I didn’t see it coming. I find predictability the worst thing in YA mysteries, and The Cousins is full of twist and turns.
I’ve love every single one of her books and I feel she is the one author that got me into YA Mysteries. She lead by example and especially influenced authors such as Holly Jackson and Amanda K. Morgan.
Thank you so much to Dave at TheWriteReads and Penguin for sending me a copy for an honest review.
Great review Emma! So glad you loved the book! 🙂