I had read another book by Nancy Werlin & really enjoyed it. The Killer's Cousin though is a whole different animal than Impossible. This suspense novel leaves you just enough in the dark about what's taken place prior to the beginning of the book that you're just a bit confused. You know that something terrible has taken place & that the main character David is escaping persecution based on a murder charge, but you don't get the whole story until the end of the book. As you watch David interacting with his estranged family & the students at his new school, you begin to understand just how isolated and different he really is from everyone else.All is not well in his aunt & uncle's home as evidenced by their silent treatment of one another and the strained familial bonds are taxed even further when the subject turns to their surviving daughter, 11 year old Lily. She seems a bit peculiar at first, but quickly becoming menacing. Before you know it, the book seems to turn into a horror film where the parents are oblivious to the destruction going on around them. As David sorts through his emotions & experiences over the last year, he's also trying to figure out what's really going on in this family and why he gets the feeling that it has something to do with the way his older cousin Kathy died.Despite its age, this is a pretty good suspense novel. There are definitely some things that cause it to be dated (VHS tapes, the novelty of "the Net", the X-Files as a popular tv show) if you skip past that background noise and focus on the main story, it's really quite timeless. We spend a great deal of time with David and his thoughts which gives us a very specific vantage point to view the series of events he sees unfolding. I really enjoyed watching him piece things together while still struggling with his identity and self-esteem.
Keri McLucas Mystery David Yaffe is seventeen years old and trying to rebuild his life after being acquitted of murder. David’s parents arranged for him to stay with his Uncle Vic, Aunt Julia and cousin, Lily while he finished high school. He struggles to learn how to live with the truth of knowing that he killed someone he loved. Although the death was an accident, simply knowing that he was capable of murder consumed him. At eleven years old, Lily has also experienced the death of a loved one, her sister Kathy. Kathy‘s ghost haunts David, desperately coaxing him to help Lily out of her rage and hatred; however, he wants no part of Lily’s life. Lily confessed to David that she killed her own sister; he wants noting to do with Lily. Through a turn of events, Lily and David are thrown together into a relationship that will help both of them learn to handle their own secret past. David and Lily share secrets and tremendous guilt in Nancy Werlin’s award winning work. David’s move helps him to finish school without brutal publicity of his crime. His apartment is eerie and dark; haunting. Lily incessantly questions David about his actions and the murder he committed, making him uncomfortable and angry. Both will learn that trying to forget such horrible secrets will hurt more than help. Secret gloom and a gothic style feeling make this mystery capture the reader until the last page!
The Killer’s Cousin (Playaway)By Nancy Werlin Read by Nick PodehlThe Killer’s Cousin is actually quite a surprising story. From the title I had an image of gore and creepy killers but I was quite wrong. David has to repeat his last year of high school living with his aunt, uncle, and younger cousin Lily because of what happened last year. He lives in the attic where his older cousin (who mysteriously died) used to live, suffers through Lily’s awful tricks, and begins to unbury the secrets that have embedded themselves into the core of the family. The beginning had me asking all kinds of questions about what is going on and why these things were happening. Then, as the story unfolded, old questions were answered and new one’s emerged. Listening to the Playaway version helped me to “read” the book at a faster pace and not have to concentrate on the words individually but instead the story as a whole. I would definitely recommend the book to anyone interested in a mystery with many twists along the way!
—Sarah
A tight, intense psychological thriller involving family secrets, family dysfunction, murder, and redemption. The title can refer to at least three characters in the book, and their lives intersect and intertwine. First person narrative keeps the tension going, as does the slow reveal of what really happened. Everyone except the artist renter is going through PTSD, and how they manage it is part of the story.The characters are complex and readers can have some good discussions about motive, truth, families, power, healing, and atonement. The ultimate question: Can one really atone for a horrific act?
—Cornmaven
3.5 of 5 starsAfter being acquitted of killing his girlfriend, David moves to Boston for a fresh start. From the moment he arrives at his passive uncle's house he feels unwelcome by his angry aunt and creepy eleven-year-old cousin Lily. David soon learns that his older cousin committed suicide in the bathroom of his attic room, meanwhile Lily's obvious hatred for David continues to grow.I read KILLER'S COUSIN in one sitting which means it was good enough to hold my interest, but not good enough to make me want to stretch out the joy of reading the book. Despite a lot of passive verbs and telling rather than showing, I liked David's voice in his narration. I got a real feel for his discomfort and remorse, but wished he was less closed off. I felt that he could have been more fully fleshed out. The other characters were basically flat, though Lily's complexity became more dimensional in the last parts of the book. Although this book was first published in 1998, it doesn't feel dated.KILLER'S COUSIN is a good, not a great book. Perfect for a snowy Saturday afternoon. I would definitely consider reading Nancy Werlin again.
—Amy
