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38th out of 168 books
—
19 voters
The Killer's Cousin
by
Nancy Werlin (Goodreads Author)
After being accused and acquitted in the death of his girlfriend, seventeen-year-old David is sent to live with his aunt, uncle, and young cousin to avoid the media frenzy. But all is not well at his relatives? house. His aunt and uncle are not speaking, and twelve-year-old Lily seems intent on making David?s life a torment. And then there?s the issue of his older cousin K...more
Paperback, 240 pages
Published
February 19th 2009
by Speak
(first published October 13th 1998)
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okay, this book is not four-stars like proust is four-stars. this earns its rating because after reading a series of "ho-hum" and "meh-meh" teen books - this one was actually pretty good.
except for the epilogue, which made me a little embarrassed. ungood.
it's kind of a ghost story, it's kind of a mystery, it's kind of a story about a creepy little kid, it's kind of a coming-of-age story.
but it works.
it may be just that i read it in about an hour and a half, so my reading didn't get interrupted...more
After reading The Rules of Survivaland Impossible, I have become quite a fan of Nancy Werlin, and I found The Killer's Cousin to be another interesting book from this author. The main character's struggle with his past and his strange and difficult present lead to an interesting story with strong character development. Although some readers will predict part of the ending, the final scenes do offer some surprises and a satisfying and hopeful conclusion to a fairly sad story.
Well this is one of those mood whiplash books. And it does it perfectly. (view spoiler)...more
The Killer’s Cousin (Playaway)
By Nancy Werlin
Read by Nick Podehl
The 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 h...more
By Nancy Werlin
Read by Nick Podehl
The 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 h...more
I am currently reading The Killer's Cousin by Nancy Werlin. This book is very well written. Nancy werlin does a very good job of making you scared of Lily this hostile threatning child. The way she writes actually makes it scary to turn the page and find out what Lily will do next. At the same time though the reader is curious about why David, the main character, had to even move into his cousins house. The title gives some hints but at the same time its hard to believe David could kill anyone;...more
Katie Young
Mystery
David was a high school senior who, acquitted of his girlfriend’s death, decided to finish high school in a different town. He moved in with Uncle Vic, Aunt Julia and little cousin Lily. The family was in turmoil because Kathy, Lily’s older sister had died. David tried to express his psychological concerns about Lily to his Aunt and Uncle but they did not agree. They accused David of being crazy and kicked him out of their house. From the time David arrived in Cambridge, he beg...more
Mystery
David was a high school senior who, acquitted of his girlfriend’s death, decided to finish high school in a different town. He moved in with Uncle Vic, Aunt Julia and little cousin Lily. The family was in turmoil because Kathy, Lily’s older sister had died. David tried to express his psychological concerns about Lily to his Aunt and Uncle but they did not agree. They accused David of being crazy and kicked him out of their house. From the time David arrived in Cambridge, he beg...more
One of the fascinating things about "The Killer's Cousin" is that it's a story covering multiple dimensions, even considering the tough subject matter that it takes on. Nancy Werlin creates a sympathetic story for 17-year-old David, recently acquitted for the crime of murdering his girlfriend. Yet while the charges are dismissed against David, he does not absolve himself from wrongdoing because, in his mind, he's still a murderer - and he's no longer the same person following that experience.
Wh...more
Wh...more
After being acquitted for an accidental murder, David leaves his parent's house to go live with his Uncle Vic and Aunt Julia and 11-year-old cousin Lily as a way to avoid the tabloids and ex-friends. However, it is obvious that Julia and Lily do not want him around. But something weird is going on--he sees shadows in the night and hears weird humming noises and determines it might have something to do with Lily's older sister Kathy who died when she was about 18. As he talks more with Lily and s...more
Sometimes students are looking for a good mystery, and Nancy Werlin is good for that. This book was published back in 1998, so I wish the cover looked a bit more modern, but at least it's still in print!
David is seventeen and was recently on trial for the murder of his girlfriend. Therein is one mystery--how did she die? Why was he tried? Why does he have to move away from his hometown? The book opens with David moving into an apartment of his aunt and uncle's in Cambridge. He's repeating his se...more
David is seventeen and was recently on trial for the murder of his girlfriend. Therein is one mystery--how did she die? Why was he tried? Why does he have to move away from his hometown? The book opens with David moving into an apartment of his aunt and uncle's in Cambridge. He's repeating his se...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This was an interesting book, although not nearly as good (I thought) as Werlin's _Impossible_ (which I also read recently). In this story, David Yaffe, a high school senior, has just been acquitted of the murder of his girlfriend, Emily. Still, since the trial is still fresh in the minds of his community members, his parents send him to Cambridge, to live with his aunt and uncle for the duration of his senior year. His aunt Julia and uncle Vic are having their own problems, which stem from the...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
The book "The Killer's Cousin" by Nancy Werlin is good because this story is exactly what teens go through like trying to fit in. What his little cousin did to the main character David got my emotions flowing throughout the whole book. I rated this book three stars because in some situations the book did not make since. Like with swapping store cards, the defensive parents and unusual behavior. Another reason I rated it three stars is because its simply just a short story. This book had a lot to...more
So I am a bit torn on how many stars to rate this book. More than half of the book was surprisingly good. Very good. Thought I was going to have to put this on my "recommend to friends" list of books. Then is went down hill FAST. There was two major things that happened in the book that made it go from a 5 star book to a 1 star book... I am being generous and giving it 3 instead of the 2. If you don't want to read about it then stop now because i'm not hiding anything under a cut.
1. The main ch...more
1. The main ch...more
The cousin’s killer
David one of our main characters is the guy to figure out more about the cousins Kathy murder. When he asks his auntie and mom about what happened they don’t want to tell him what exactly happened so he just decided to look into it by himself. He finds out it someone who has been looking into her past and decided to see what she did who related to her. David never meets Kathy he decides to see what truly happened. It all happened because he was moved to live with his auntie Ju...more
David one of our main characters is the guy to figure out more about the cousins Kathy murder. When he asks his auntie and mom about what happened they don’t want to tell him what exactly happened so he just decided to look into it by himself. He finds out it someone who has been looking into her past and decided to see what she did who related to her. David never meets Kathy he decides to see what truly happened. It all happened because he was moved to live with his auntie Ju...more
I've never read anything by Nancy Werlin - boy was I missing out! I listened to "The Killer's Cousin" on audio tape. It is a taut, psychological thriller that I found myself taking the long way as I drove so that I could listen longer. At the end, I sat in the school parking lot before work crying as I listened to the last several minutes of the book. Terrific last line that reminds us of the magic, or spirituality, or kismet, or whatever you want to call it, in all of our lives. Fantastic1
Prior...more
Prior...more
I have yet to read a book by Nancy Werlin that I didn't like. Her books always explore the darker side of people, and it often a side that we would prefer to ignore. Ms. Werlin always does a superb job helping us to understand what is going on in the minds of her characters and there is always something a bit creepy going on in those minds.
David is currently living with his aunt, uncle and cousin Lily, as he tries to complete high school. David has been sent there to avoid the notoriety that ca...more
David is currently living with his aunt, uncle and cousin Lily, as he tries to complete high school. David has been sent there to avoid the notoriety that ca...more
I love Nancy Werlin. Her ability to write different genres always amazes me. The Rules of Survival severed my heartstrings, Double Helix was a decent science-fiction novel, and Killer's Cousin was thrilling and suspenseful.
Seventeen-year-old David Yaffe feels guilty for the death of his girlfriend, Emily - despite the jury acquitting him and proving his innocence. He decides to move in with his aunt and uncle in Massachusetts, where he resides in their attic apartment. Strange things are lurking...more
Seventeen-year-old David Yaffe feels guilty for the death of his girlfriend, Emily - despite the jury acquitting him and proving his innocence. He decides to move in with his aunt and uncle in Massachusetts, where he resides in their attic apartment. Strange things are lurking...more
Feb 03, 2012
Michelle (Pink Polka Dot Book Blog)
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
quarterly-challenge-4
After being aquitted of his girlfriends murder, David is moving to Cambridge to live with his estranged Aunt, Uncle, and 10 yr old cousin Lily. How did his girlfriend die? He acts pretty guilty...
He moves into the 3rd floor apartment where his other cousin, Kathy, died and he realizes that all is not well in this family. Julia and Vic don't speak to each other and when they do they use Lily as a pawn. And then there's Lily... odd, odd Lily. David can tell there's something really wrong with her,...more
He moves into the 3rd floor apartment where his other cousin, Kathy, died and he realizes that all is not well in this family. Julia and Vic don't speak to each other and when they do they use Lily as a pawn. And then there's Lily... odd, odd Lily. David can tell there's something really wrong with her,...more
I downloaded this one while awaiting a book on my hold list. It turned out to be very good, and quite different than I expected. David Jaffe is moving into the attic apartment of his Aunt and Uncle in Boston to attend a private school and repeat his senior year of high school. His first year was interrupted as he was on trial for murdering his girlfriend (he was acquitted). He seems to have gone from the frying pan into the fire. His older cousin died in that same attic apartment about 7 years a...more
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,...more
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,...more
David is making a big change in his life: after being acquitted for the murder of his girlfriend, he is repeating his senior year, moving to Boston to stay with his Uncle Vic, Aunt Julia, and cousin Lily. Unfortunately, not only does he have to deal with his own ghost, but the ghost of Kathy, his dead cousin lingers in his new attic apartment, where she once lived and died.
I found this story riveting right from the beginning, as David navigated his way through familiar Boston streets, and as he...more
I found this story riveting right from the beginning, as David navigated his way through familiar Boston streets, and as he...more
This is more of a 4.5 star book than a 5 star read. Who knows, as time goes on, I may even bump it up to a five star book.
Werlin crafts and intense psychological thriller in The Killer's Cousin. The novel is narrated by David Yaffe, a young man who is acquitted of killing his girlfriend. When I started the novel, I didn't want to like him. I didn't want to believe. However, as the novel unfolds, I found myself feeling sympathy for David and the emotional aftermath of his girlfriend's death and t...more
Werlin crafts and intense psychological thriller in The Killer's Cousin. The novel is narrated by David Yaffe, a young man who is acquitted of killing his girlfriend. When I started the novel, I didn't want to like him. I didn't want to believe. However, as the novel unfolds, I found myself feeling sympathy for David and the emotional aftermath of his girlfriend's death and t...more
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I read Double Helix and was so impressed that I began telling everyone about Nancy Werlin and her fantastic book. The Killer's Cousin, in comparison, was a real disappointment. I'm not sure if was because I was so young when I read Double Helix, that I just didn't realize a lot of the flaws it had or what. The Killer's Cousin was a great idea, but not very well-written. For a book that was labeled as a "psychological thriller", I expected a lot more suspenseful moments to be scattered throughout...more
This is a finely woven story. The chronological events are well placed and the writer makes sure that we are hungry for more.
I liked that sub-plot of the slowly degrading relationship between David (protagonist) and his relatives.
What makes the book especially interesting is the relationships between the people. His aunt's unwelcoming and cold traits, his uncle's uncomfortable but amicable personality and his viciously hostile younger cousin Lily, who we're dying to know. It seems the whole fami...more
I liked that sub-plot of the slowly degrading relationship between David (protagonist) and his relatives.
What makes the book especially interesting is the relationships between the people. His aunt's unwelcoming and cold traits, his uncle's uncomfortable but amicable personality and his viciously hostile younger cousin Lily, who we're dying to know. It seems the whole fami...more
All right, if you have been reading my blogs lately you could say that a lot of the books I have been reading have a dark side to them. The Killer's Cousin is about a boy named David. He is sent to live with his aunt and uncle after being acquitted of murder. He is given the attic room that had belonged to his cousin, who is now dead. The longer he stays there the more he tries to convince his aunt and uncle that there is something seriously wrong with his younger cousin Lily. Whenever he makes...more
This was a very interesting book. The details were fed out little by little encouraging the reader on to learn them all. 17 year-old David, who just escaped being convicted for murder, is sent to Cambridge to live with an aunt and uncle who don't really want him and dislike his parents and their way of life (nothing wrong with it except that they're Jewish and successful). David quickly learns that the family is full of tension and wonders if it stems from the death of his beautiful cousin 4 yea...more
Interesting premise, a little slow at first but the characters are well written. This is a story about David, a boy accused of and exhonerated for killing his girlfriend who moves to another town to live with his cousin's family in order to finish his senior year of high school. Just a few years earlier, his cousin Kathy had apparently committed suicide and her then 7 year old sister, Lilly, discovered her. This is the family David comes to live with, a family estranged from his own family and u...more
Killer’s cousin is a novel about coping with homicide consequences. The protagonist, David, moves into the house, where his uncle, aunt and 11 year old cousin Lily reside. He’s groping with fears that haunt him after the trial for his GF murder. But the new place of residence poses another threat to him, namely the unspoken taboo of not mentioning anything of his older cousin Kathy demise and the hard time that the younger cousin Lily gives him by literally driving him mad with a rage. And he’s...more
On the one hand, this reads quickly and easily and I loved the suspense. But it wasn't anything earth shattering for me, and the ending wasn't as chilling as I'd hoped--the way THE RULES OF SURVIVAL was. I liked this better than DOUBLE HELIX and IMPOSSIBLE but still... lacking somehow. I couldn't relate with the characters in the end but a nice idea for the protagonist and his antagonist to bond. I thought it was pretty unimaginative for both protagonists in DOUBLE HELIX and this to be eighteen...more
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Nancy Werlin writes young adult fiction: New York Times–bestselling fantasy, Edgar-award winning suspense, and National Book Award-honored realistic novels.
Nancy's fantasy, UNTHINKABLE, the sequel to IMPOSSIBLE, is out on Sept 12, 2013. Visit www.nancywerlin.com and click on CONTACT to find out how to get an early copy of UNTHINKABLE to read!
More about Nancy Werlin...
Nancy's fantasy, UNTHINKABLE, the sequel to IMPOSSIBLE, is out on Sept 12, 2013. Visit www.nancywerlin.com and click on CONTACT to find out how to get an early copy of UNTHINKABLE to read!
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Wait, he? What's with the vagina? Is this a pre-op tranny wombat?
Apr 30, 2012 09:36pm
rough weekend.
Apr 30, 2012 09:45pm