Blog tour: The Cousins by Karen M. Mcmanus

Synopsis: 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.

Review: As a newcomer to Karen M. McManus’s writing I wasn’t sure what to expect from her new novel “The Cousins”. The rich and distant grandmother of 3 cousins sends them a letter decades after disinheriting her children inviting them to her Island home for the summer. The 3 cousins realise there’s more mystery surrounding them then could have imagined and soon begin to unravel the tightly wound web of family secrets.

From the first few chapters I was attempting to guess the reason for the disinheritance and I did predict one the of the plot points but never would have guessed of the major plot secret!
I really enjoyed the story from the 4 main characters point of view and I feel that this gave us access to different facets of the puzzle that wouldn’t have been possible from a single POV. It was also really fun to see the characters relationships evolve and grow as their time together progressed.
The pacing of the book was very fast, personally I LOVE a slow burn, but this is much better suited to its young target audience! Well worth reading if you enjoy fast paced jaw dropping mysteries with a sprinkling of romance. Thank you to the Write reads and Penguin Platform for providing me with a review copy of this book.

About the Author: Karen M. McManus is the #1 New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying, Two Can Keep a Secret, and One of Us Is Next. Her fourth novel, The Cousins, will publish in December 2020. Her work has been translated into more than 40 languages worldwide.