The Cousins

August 15, 2020
The Story family is full of secrets--and three cousins will unearth them. Once inconsequential Gull Cove Island off the coast of Massachusetts was transformed into a luxurious getaway by Abraham Story. In the late 1990s, his widow, Mildred, suddenly disinherited her four young adult offspring--Adam, Anders, Allison, and, Archer--without explanation except for a mysterious letter, sent by her lawyer to each sibling, that read: "You know what you did." A couple of decades later, the three Story grandchildren--Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah--receive letters from the grandmother they've never met, inviting them to spend the summer working at her island resort. Sensing an opportunity to regain entry into their mother's world, Allison, Adam, and Anders force their respective children to accept her invitation. Upon their arrival at Gull Cove Island, where the Story family is a hot topic of gossip among the locals, it's clear that the family's past is darker than the cousins imagined. Not only is someone trying to get them to leave, but their grandmother was not expecting them. In classic McManus fashion, perspectives shift, providing insights into the three cousins' distinct stories and personal motives while maintaining a steady pace that leaves readers flipping pages. Every twist is gasp-inducing, and the ending will satisfy some and make others yearn for a sequel. The main cast is White except for Milly, who is biracial (White and Japanese). Another McManus novel worth pulling an all-nighter for. (family tree) (Thriller. 14-18)

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August 21, 2020

Gr 9 Up-Wealthy, eccentric Mildred Story disinherited her children via a one-line letter: "You know what you did." Years later, a similarly dispassionate missive invites her three teenage grandchildren to work at her remote, luxurious island resort for the summer so she can get to know them. Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story barely know each other, but their parents all see an opportunity to get back into their mother's good graces-and a share of the fabulous Story fortune. When the cousins arrive at Gull Cove Island, their grandmother doesn't seem at all pleased that they're there and goes out of her way to avoid them. They settle into their jobs and get to know each other better, but everyone they meet seems to have a dark secret connected to the Story family's strange, hidden history. The twists come fast and furious after a relatively slow start to McManus's (One of Us Is Lying) latest. One of the cousins is half Japanese, and the others are all white. VERDICT The ultimate resolution will require a hefty suspension of disbelief, but fans of YA suspense won't mind. Give to readers who enjoyed the author's other works or E. Lockhart's We Were Liars.-Stephanie Klose, Library Journal

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October 26, 2020
McManus (One of Us Is Lying) once again crafts a taut, multilayered mystery, this time focusing on the fallout of family estrangement on the next generation. When Mildred “Milly” Story-Takahashi is summoned to a dinner with her mother, she expects bad news, not a mysterious invitation to work at her wealthy maternal grandmother’s resort on Gull Cove Island. Milly and her cousins Jonah and Aubrey will be the first Storys to be welcomed back after a 24-year estrangement that their abruptly disinherited parents claim not to understand—one that began with a lawyer’s note stating “You know what you did.” Forced to spend the summer on Gull Cove Island, the cousins are startled to find both that they were not, after all, expected and that at least one party wants them gone. As the three piece together what happened to their family, they begin to reveal their own secrets as well. Narrating her thriller through multiple perspectives that encompass both generations of Storys, McManus weaves past and present to take readers on a well-paced, twisty ride that will hold readers rapt till the last page. Ages 14–up. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio.

November 1, 2020
Grades 9-12 Before Milly Takahashi-Story, Aubrey Story, and Jonah Story were born, their obscenely wealthy grandmother Mildred disinherited their parents, for reasons none of them will discuss. The three cousins have never met their grandmother, and they barely know one another. When the three teenagers are invited to work at her Martha's Vineyard-esque island resort for the summer, their parents are thrilled, but Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah are more suspicious, especially when Mildred seems completely shocked by their arrival. The three cousins, who have secrets and motivations of their own, are determined to discover what caused their parents to fall from grace, even if the truth is darker than they ever suspected. A slow-burn, uneasy beginning ultimately makes way for a frantically paced end peppered with twists that genre fans will happily take in stride. The narration is mostly split between half Japanese, half white Milly and white Aubrey and Jonah, although occasional chapters flash back to their parents' past. Fans of McManus' previous offerings and of mysteries steeped in family dramatics will be eager for this. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Her debut (One of Us Is Lying, 2017) hit #1 on the New York Times best-seller list and has been optioned for a pilot, and the clamor for her subsequent YA thrillers has proven that McManus knows how to keep us on the hook. No chance that this one will be any different.

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