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The Mortons

The unputdownable new dark academia novel for fans of If We Were Villains and Ninth House

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The Mortons

By: Scott Westerfeld, Justine Larbalestier
Narrated by: Adina Verson, Justine Larbalestier, Scott Westerfeld
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

Murder is money, and business is booming.

The Mortons are a modern day, old money dynasty with impeccable taste, from exquisite cocktails and expertly tailored vintage garments to stone cold murder.

Jessica is their golden child, a perfectly crafted apprentice to the Morton legacy. She has always excelled, and now, having committed her first kill whilst at elite college Helshire, she can finally stake her claim as a fully blooded Morton. This is her moment, her honour.

She has trained for this since birth, but in a family built on the bones of their secrets, where failure means erasure, can loyalty always come above care?

'A TOUR DE FORCE: WITTY, THRILLING AND DELICIOUSLY CRUEL' Lev Grossman

© Justine Larbalestier 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

 Crime Thrillers Fantasy Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Suspense Thriller & Suspense Exciting Witty Crime Murder

Critic Reviews

A tour-de-force: witty, thrilling and deliciously cruel
Slippery, sinister and so much fun
Knife-sharp writing, rocket fuel packing and an air of mystery, this diabolical novel reads like a mash-up of Succession and The Umbrella Academy
Dark academia has never been so dark, nor family legacy so beguilingly treacherous! The Secret History meets Succession in this epic and utterly chilling family saga
The Secret History meets Succession. Contemporary dark academia at its best
An absolute delight. The Mortons are the most spectacularly unhinged crime family ever imagined. They have the cutest pets, throw the most glamorous funerals, enact the most shockingly lethal rituals, drink the bitterest cocktails and drive the most expensive automobiles
Diabolical and delicious. Watch your back!
Twisty and twisted fun. Truly original!
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