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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.

I’ve been a fan of Karen M McManus for a long time, but I do prefer her standalone work to One of Us is Lying. Up until now Two Can Keep a Secret has been my favourite book by her, but it might just about be beaten by The Cousins. She is definitely an auto-buy author for me and I’m so glad I finally picked this one up! It feels like it’s been a while since I read a YA thriller and this one was such a quick read and so entertaining.

I enjoyed the dynamic between the 3 cousins who had never met before, and the setting of Gull Cove Island was so much fun and felt like the perfect environment for the family murder-mystery we had going on. I just wish I’d read this one in summer!

You gotta shoot your shot when it comes…

At first, I was a little worried that I wouldn’t like one of the cousins, and since this is a multiple point of view story I thought that I may not enjoy all of the perspectives. However, as the story went on I did sympathise with all of the main characters and feel like having several POV worked well. The way the author uncovered secrets about the family kept me on the edge of my seat and I wanted to read on to find out what was going to happen.

The writing was so addictive and easy to read and I sped through this despite not having much time to read. Once I picked this book up, I couldn’t put it down and just wanted to keep reading. The only negative is that I expected more murder! Having read books by McManus before, I did go into this expecting more graphic content. However, the focus on more of a family drama was still fun to read about and was written really well. The fact the 3 main characters didn’t know each other before the story began gave an extra layer of secrets and lies that were super interesting to uncover.

Who knows if you’ll get another chance?

Karen M McManus is definitely going to still be an auto-buy author for me and I’m glad I picked this one up as it was so entertaining to read!

★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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