The Killer's Cousin
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4.6 • 10 Ratings
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
Winner of the Edgar award for best mystery.
Recently acquitted of murder, seventeen-year-old David has moved to Massachusetts to complete his senior year of high school. His aunt and uncle have offered him shelter—escape from the media's questions and from the uncertain glances of his neighbors and ex-friends.
His attic apartment doesn't feel much like a shelter, though. He sees ghostly shadows at night, his aunt is strangely cold, and his eleven-year-old cousin, Lily, is downright hostile. And as Lily's behavior becomes more and more threatening, David can't help wondering why. What ugly secrets lurk within the walls of Lily's home?
There's one thing David knows with certainty. The more he learns about his cousin Lily, the harder it is to avoid thinking about his own past.
•Winner of the 1999 Edgar award for best young adult mystery
•An American Library Association "Best of the Best: Best 100 YA books of the Past 10 Years) selection, 2005.
•Starred reviews in Booklist, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Voya, and Kliatt
•An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
•An ALA Quick Pick—Top 10
•An ALA Teens' Top 10 Best Book Pick
•IRA Young Adult Choice
•A Booklist Editor's Choice
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Many secrets bubble just beneath the surface of this skillful thriller narrated by a high-school senior who has been accused--and acquitted--of murdering his girlfriend. David Yaffe moves from Baltimore to Cambridge to avoid publicity, but instead of finding refuge with Uncle Vic, Aunt Julia and cousin Lily, he is shown to their attic apartment and expected to fend for himself. His relatives appear to be conducting a cold war. Still blaming each other for their daughter Kathy's suicide four years ago, Julia and Vic have stopped speaking to each other. The one who suffers the most from their silence is 11-year-old Lily, who shows signs of being emotionally disturbed. Suspense rises to a feverish pitch as pieces of a complex puzzle fall into place, involving Kathy's death and Julia and Vic's estrangement from each other and from David's parents. Even Kathy's ghost seems to make an appearance, imploring David to "help Lily." Meanwhile, Lily is doing everything she can to turn her parents against him. David's attempts to pull the family together fail miserably until, in the aftermath of a chilling climax, he confronts his own demons as he attempts to help Lily dispel hers. The novel's gothic flavor, compelling minor characters (David's skinhead friend, Frank, and Raina, a college student and artist) and subtle exploration of guilt and complicity add texture to this tense psychological drama. Werlin (Are You Alone on Purpose?) leaves enough unanswered questions to make readers want to keep lights burning a little longer than usual. Ages 14-up.
