Book Review: The Cousins

The Cousins

by Karen M. McManus

Pub Date: 01 Dec 2020   

Read courtesy of NetGalley.com

I was intrigued. And I first I thought the solution to the mystery was presented too soon, but then additional action at the end restored my faith in the story. But then the ending's end messed me up again. I felt like I had to, um, not think too much but stretch my thinking in order to make the ending work.

SPOILER ALERT: The last paragraph here will list my thoughts regarding the ending, so you've been forewarned not to read the last paragraph if you don't want the Storys to be spoiled. 

The mystery and twists and turns were tight and made for a good tale of conspiracy. I enjoyed the romance, the forming of friendships, the cattiness of the relatives, and the back-stabbing of the family's 'trusted' long-time employees.

The story about the Story family had interesting, well-thought out characters. Unfortunately, their names all started with 'A's, so it made it difficult to keep the family plot lines separated. As other reviewers have noted, "I found myself having to flip back to the beginning of the chapter to see who was narrating at times." I did, however, like the flashback chapters to help create background and set up the mystery.

I couldn't decide between a 3 or 4 star review, but decided on a 4 ☆☆☆☆ star benefit-of-the-doubt review because I was entertained and engaged in the story. 

SPOILER ALERT: Next is the last paragraph where I will list my thoughts regarding the ending, so you've been forewarned not to read this next paragraph if you don't want the Storys to be spoiled. 

Aunt Paula. Jonah North. Anders Story. They aren't related. They didn't know each other until the end of the story. Paula writes a note to Jonah advising him to keep his parents away from Anders, so they don't end up involved in one of Anders' schemes again, and signs the note, "Family first, always." Her family? His family?  I guess maybe it's both. But would Paula really have known about the family's motto, "Family first, always"? She might have since it is written on the patriarch Abraham Story's grave. But would she have known it's significance to the rest of the Story family? And Jonah wasn't even in the graveyard to have seen the marker with that motto on it; he wouldn't necessarily know the significance of Paula's use of the motto. Furthermore, why would Paula feel the need to protect Jonah if he's not related? Does this mean she really only wants to harm the Storys? It seems to me that signing the note "Family first, always" was more of a literary device for the reader to pull the story full circle or reflect the irony of the motto rather than a meaningful, significant sign off to Jonah. So, like I said in the beginning, "I felt like I had to, um, not think too much but stretch my thinking in order to make the ending work."