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.
The book thrums with creative verve, mordant humor and amusing detours into subjects like art, avant-garde fashion and mixology ... Sometimes the book feels like it’s toppling under the weight of its details. Its rules aren’t always coherent ... Whether The Mortons is for you might depend, at least in part, on your tolerance for violence ... Still, the authors have kindly given Jessica at least a fighting chance of redemption (and maybe a hint of a sequel) at the end. I’d like to see what she makes of it.
Intense ... Readers should prepare to be haunted by the family’s cruelty, but they will root for Jessica as she seeks to finally claim compassion and empathy.
