A review by anna_hepworth
The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This book started slow, and even the shifting between the viewpoints of the three cousins didn't really help with that. It did do good things for filling in a range of background, as well as setting up a number of details that didn't become relevant until much later. 

It wasn't until the first major twist, at something like a quarter or a third through, where I started getting invested. I have some spoilery thoughts about the twists and turns of this story, so I've put that below. 

For all that I found this slow paced, according to the reading app it too me an hour (across multiple commutes) to finish, which seems much shorter than I would have assumed. 

I loved that most of the twists  had to do with identity. And that the various people all had such interesting ways of interlacing their two selves. There are definitely some parallels that can be drawn between being a Story (or pretending not to be) and pretending to be a Story. 

I was frustrated by the inevitable confrontation followed by risk to life and limb, but eh, I accept that that is a trope of the genre. It is just one of the things that make me not love the murder mystery genre.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings