The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐✩

The Cousins by Karen M. McManus - 325 pages

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.

The entire Story family has secrets. Whatever pulled them apart years ago isn't over--and this summer, the cousins will learn everything.

This book was ok, it was a bit hard to get into but wasn't a bad read.  It was well written and the ending was a nice surprise.

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

 One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus, 362 pages

Five teens share a detention, but their breakfast club goes awry when one of them suddenly dies. Each of the four has a motive: a terrible secret that their dead classmate was going to reveal the next day. Suspicion mounts, even among the Bayview Four themselves, until only one thing is certain: one of them is a killer. 

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

One of Us is Lying
by Karen M. McManus
368 pages










The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars. One of Us Is Lying is the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide.

Pay close attention, and you might solve this.

On Monday afternoon five students at Bayview High walk into detention.

Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.

Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.

Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.

Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.

And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High's notorious gossip app.

Only Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention, Simon's dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn't an accident. On Monday he died. But on Tuesday he'd planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who's still on the loose?

Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.

I enjoyed listening to the audio of this book which has a cast of narrators instead of just one. This gives each character their own distinctive voice.