The Killer’s Cousin
by Nancy Werlin
by Nancy Werlin
Dial Books, NY 1998
David missed his senior year in high school and needs to go to stay with his aunt, uncle and cousin in Cambridge, Massachusetts in order to complete it. He gets to stay in their attic apartment and basically come and go as he pleases. Sounds like a pretty great senior year, right? Well, not really. David missed his senior year because he was going through a nationally publicized trial in which he was accused of murdering his girlfriend. He was acquitted, but his picture appeared on television and newspapers across the country and now his face is easily recognized. Circumstances in Cambridge present more barriers to his “fresh start.” First of all, his aunt and uncle don’t talk to one another, they communicate through David’s eleven-year-old cousin, Lily. Second, David may not be the only occupant of the attic apartment. There is a strange humming sound that occasionally accompanies the appearance of the ghost of Lily’s deceased older sister Kathy. Third, Lily appears to be somewhat of a sociopath. All David wants is a fresh start, but to get one he may need to confront major family secrets and his own past. It seems so clear at the beginning, but as the story unfolds the reader begins to wonder who the “killer’s cousin” really is.
David missed his senior year in high school and needs to go to stay with his aunt, uncle and cousin in Cambridge, Massachusetts in order to complete it. He gets to stay in their attic apartment and basically come and go as he pleases. Sounds like a pretty great senior year, right? Well, not really. David missed his senior year because he was going through a nationally publicized trial in which he was accused of murdering his girlfriend. He was acquitted, but his picture appeared on television and newspapers across the country and now his face is easily recognized. Circumstances in Cambridge present more barriers to his “fresh start.” First of all, his aunt and uncle don’t talk to one another, they communicate through David’s eleven-year-old cousin, Lily. Second, David may not be the only occupant of the attic apartment. There is a strange humming sound that occasionally accompanies the appearance of the ghost of Lily’s deceased older sister Kathy. Third, Lily appears to be somewhat of a sociopath. All David wants is a fresh start, but to get one he may need to confront major family secrets and his own past. It seems so clear at the beginning, but as the story unfolds the reader begins to wonder who the “killer’s cousin” really is.
The Prologue, hinting at David’s past, hooked me from the very start. His story from the beginning seemed a familiar one; one that we’ve seen played out in newspapers and Today Show interviews of the accused and acquitted. Lily is excellently portrayed as an aggressively meddlesome character - the little sister from hell. I am a big fan of ghost stories and while I wished that there were some more supernatural elements to the story it has a nice creepiness level as it is. As an avid mystery reader I was impressed at how Werlin kept the reader guessing until the end.
Bottom Line:
You won't know the truth until the end; set in Cambridge; great mystery
Bottom Line:
You won't know the truth until the end; set in Cambridge; great mystery
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