Double Review | The Cousins and Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen McManus

Description Summary | A less morbid murder mystery that is reminscent of Twin Peaks (minus the supernatural) x Pretty Little Liars.

Goodreads Synopsis

Echo Ridge is small-town America. Ellery’s never been there, but she’s heard all about it. Her aunt went missing there at age seventeen. And only five years ago, a homecoming queen put the town on the map when she was killed. Now Ellery has to move there to live with a grandmother she barely knows.

The town is picture-perfect, but it’s hiding secrets. And before school even begins for Ellery, someone’s declared open season on homecoming, promising to make it as dangerous as it was five years ago. Then, almost as if to prove it, another girl goes missing.

Ellery knows all about secrets. Her mother has them; her grandmother does too. And the longer she’s in Echo Ridge, the clearer it becomes that everyone there is hiding something. The thing is, secrets are dangerous–and most people aren’t good at keeping them. Which is why in Echo Ridge, it’s safest to keep your secrets to yourself.

Rating

This was an easy swift read.I found this enjoyable mainly because I allowed myself not to dissect and plan ahead of the book and rather just go with what the MC is thinking. you got small town murder, high school drama, and teens acting as amateur detectives. However it’s not Riverdale messy, it’s the “ooohhh what’s happens next” messy.

Weirdly I kind of like how a lot of Ellery’s criminal theories downright flops. It makes things more believable unlike some shows where the MC miraculously is handed over all of the answers like some form of holy vision.

Do I recommend ? Yes, particularly during fall.

I would to thank PRH Global for provding me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts expressed are my personal opinion.

Description Summary | McManus takes “Appearances are deceiving” to a whole another level with this murder mystery fit with family scandals and malicious secrets.

Goodreads 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.

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

Rating

They were not joking when the publishing company said: “You’ll never feel the same about family again”.

The story was intriguing from the start: you literally have no idea if what is presented to you is real or fake. I kind of knew who would be the villain behind all this but that did not make this story any less enjoyable.

This was in my opinion McManus’s best writing thus far. The writing just flowed and it has that “couldn’t put it downess” that is very much needed in mystery books.

I was worried I wouldn’t like our main characters at all but I was completely wrong. It was so incredible watching them bond together and develop into something so fleshed out and real.

Do I recommend ? Yes especially if love fancy mansions and high class families with dark pasts in your mystery.