The Mortons - by Justine Larbalestier & Scott Westerfeld (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Meet the Mortons: In this family, murder is currency--and business is booming.

The Mortons are a modern-day, old-money dynasty with impeccable taste, from their exquisitely crafted cocktails to their expertly tailored vintage garments. They are also stone-cold killers. For the Mortons, homicide is heritage.

They, along with the other crime families, send their progeny to Helshire College, where legacy students learn to exercise control over their wealthy peers. Jessica Morton has always excelled at Helshire, secure in the knowledge that she is the prodigy of her generation. Now, having committed her first kill, it should be Jessica's moment, her honor. But that kill will cut more ways than one, unknotting a series of revelations spanning the Mortons' country estate, the New York City art world, and Helshire itself.

Sharp and hypnotic, The Mortons is an epic novel of alliances and power, loyalty and kinship, and the consequences of ruthless ambition.

Review Quotes

"Slippery, sinister, and so much fun."
--Charlotte McConaghy, New York Times bestselling author of Wild Dark Shore

"Stunningly original and fiendishly good. The Mortons left me reeling. A masterclass in moral ambiguity and shocking twists."
--Sarah Pekkanen, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Locked Ward

"The Mortons is a tour de force: witty, thrilling, and deliciously cruel. Enjoy it with a stiff cocktail."
--Lev Grossman, New York Times bestselling author of The Magicians trilogy

"The Mortons are the most spectacularly unhinged crime family ever imagined. Their story hurtled along so fast and surprised me so often I was shocked to realize I'd been contemplating and recalibrating my moral compass as I read. An absolute delight."
--E. Lockhart, #1 New York Times bestselling author of We Were Liars

"Lush and darkly funny, The Mortons is a moreish, enveloping crime epic."
--Flynn Berry, New York Times bestselling author of Trust Her

"Diabolical and delicious, the world of the Mortons--a murderous family dynasty--is as real and tangible as the one we inhabit. So much so that I'm not entirely sure they aren't out there, scheming, culling and blooding their brood, one at a time. Watch your back. Utterly delightful and disturbing."
--Julie Clark, New York Times bestselling author of The Ghostwriter

"The Mortons is twisty and twisted fun. Truly original!"
--Tracy Sierra, author of Nightwatching

"This diabolical novel reads like a mashup of Succession and The Umbrella Academy, except set within an old-money family of assassins. With its knife-sharp writing, rocket fuel pacing, and air of mystery, The Mortons is easy to get lost in, all the way up to the brutal end."
--Ashley Winstead, national bestselling author of This Book Will Bury Me

"Dark academia has never been so dark, nor family legacy so beguilingly treacherous! Sinister, shocking, and tantalizingly possible, The Secret History meets Succession in this epic and utterly chilling family saga. What makes us who we are, and how can our moral codes be twisted to into cold and ruthless alliance? Identity, loyalty, and the power of personal decision all teeter on the precipice in this tour de force of storytelling--and I held my breath through the entire book. Call your book club and settle in--you will never be the same after you meet the Mortons."
--Hank Phillippi Ryan, national bestselling author of All This Could Be Yours

About the Author

Justine Larbalestier is the author of Liar, My Sister Rosa, and six other young adult novels. Her books have been named ALA, Kirkus, and Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year. She is also a vintage fashion obsessive and (very) part-time model.