Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia (Trade Paperback – 21 July 2026)
Series: Standalone
Length: 454 pages
My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars
Get ready for one of the more unique crime fiction reads of 2026, as the superstar writing team of Justine Larbalestier and Scott Westerfeld present The Mortons, a complex and addictive read about a very messed up family.
Plot Synopsis:
A darkly funny, action-packed gothic thriller following a modern-day, old-money crime family with murderous intent. It’s The Secret History meets The Sopranos, with a dash of Saltburn!
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.
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 her knowledge that she is the prodigy of her generation. Now, having committed her first kill, it should be Jessica’s moment, her honour.
But that kill will cut more ways than one – and it will set in motion a series of consequences from which there is no turning back.
Sharp and hypnotic, The Mortons is an epic novel of alliances and power, loyalty and kinship, and the consequences of ruthless ambition.
The Mortons was an exceptional and highly addictive crime fiction thriller that provides a dark look at humanity through the eyes of a born and raised killer. The first adult fiction collaboration between Australian young adult fiction author Justine Larbalestier and her husband Scott Westerfeld, also an established young adult author, The Mortons was a brilliantly twisted and complex read that I honestly couldn’t put down as I moved between shocking moments.
The plot of The Mortons is centred around protagonist and sole point-of-view character Jessica Morton, a murderous prodigy hiding in plain sight at the elite Helshire College. A member of the Morton family, an extended clan of killers who manipulate, threaten and assassinate others for power and influence, Jessica is the rising star of the family, determined to do the rest of the Mortons proud. However, after she is ordered to perform her first kill and murder an underperforming cousin, Jessica’s carefully planned life begins to change as she balances new feelings with her family duty and expectations.
The authors do an excellent job setting up much of The Mortons’ key story elements in the first half of the book, and I really appreciated the effective introduction to the protagonist, the titular Morton family, and the wider hidden world of family-controlled violence and manipulation. There is some good early character work, especially as the protagonists deals with her apparent guilt, while also finding out some secrets around her family and Helshire. Things become even more complicated when Jessica is sent on an important mission for the family. This part of the book provides some of the more intriguing looks at Jessica’s personality, and the authors play up new uncertainty about her role and her family. It also leads up to one of the book’s main, shocking moments halfway through, which changes the protagonist’s entire trajectory.
After this big moment, the second half of The Mortons is just one intense and highly addictive thrill ride, which I honestly got through in one extended sitting. Faced with several traumatic events, Jessica’s storyline goes in a very interesting direction as she struggles with who she truly is. I really enjoyed the additional emotional uncertainty of the plot in this part of the book, while additional revealed motivations from several supporting characters add to the general chaos of the plot, until a big moment changes everything once again. I was very impressed with Larbalestier and Westerfeld for the big twist towards the end of the book, as it changed everything you thought you knew about the plot and altered everyone’s motivations. The authors follow this twist up with some very dark moments guaranteed to leave you shocked, before leading up to the complex and thought-provoking conclusion. The ending itself is a little low-key, but there is an intense beauty to it which fits The Mortons’ various character arcs extremely well. It also leaves the story open to allow potential sequels from the authors, although The Mortons works quite well as a standalone story and adding more might remove the overall impact of this excellent book.
Larbalestier and Westerfeld crafted together a slick and emotionally charged novel here with The Mortons. Blending a deeply personal character driven story from a damaged protagonist into a larger tale of family expectations and criminality resulted in a great read, and I loved the intense amount of drama and intrigue that the authors loaded into this book. The underlying setting of the hidden crime families secretly influencing the world and training together alongside normal wealthy students a Helshire was very clever, and I loved the extended look at the sinister Mortons. The authors do a wonderful job of initially showing the Mortons as a cool, if dangerous, family to be a part of, although the full depth of their evil becomes more apparent as the book continues. This slow reveal of the titular family ties in nicely with the overarching themes of self-determination, nature vs nurture, and generational trauma, all placed in the context of a cultish criminal dynasty. I did think at times that The Mortons had a young adult feel to it, especially the sequences examining first love and Helshire. While this is to be expected considering the authors’ young adult fiction background, it might not appeal to some more mainstream thriller fans. Still, I really enjoyed the easy style of The Mortons, and its complex characters and clever twists makes it a fantastic read for all crime fiction readers.
A key highlight of The Mortons is the distinctive characters contained within, especially the various murderous members of the Morton family proper. The compelling collection of family-orientated killers and the people they associate with, was an impressive part of the book, and the authors do an amazing job of showing how dangerous and manipulative they can be, while also examining other parts of their personality. As the book’s primary protagonist, much of The Mortons’ focus is on Jessica Morton, who goes through a particularly intense journey in this novel. Initially shown to be a diligent Morton, Jessica finds herself drawn between family loyalty and other connections after her first kill. The authors do an amazing job of initially introducing Jessica and her cold personality, before bombarding her with new experiences and thoughts. This includes her first flourishes of romantic love, as well as other personal connections, all of which play against her family’s beliefs. Jessica’s internal struggle is a big part of the book’s plot, especially once you understand how it’s being manipulated by others, and I really appreciated how effectively the authors dove into this protagonist.
Other key characters I have to highlight include Jessica’s roommate, Faraday, a party girl who finds herself drawn towards the mystique of the Mortons without fully understanding the dangers, and Jessica’s adopted cousin, Sebastian, who provides an interesting human perspective on the dark family. These characters, and more, are all extremely well written, and their take on love, death, and the trauma of being or knowing the Mortons becomes integral to the plot in some many excellent ways. I was so damn impressed with all these complex character moments, all of whom add to the powerful emotional depth of The Mortons.
Thanks to its captivating story, intense characters, and killer charm, The Mortons stands tall as one of the more intriguing and distinctive crime fiction reads of 2026. Justine Larbalestier and Scott Westerfeld prove to be an incredible writing team, and there is so much depth and complexity in this brilliant joint adult thriller debut. The Mortons comes highly recommended as a result, and readers are guaranteed to have an incredible time with this book, although you likely won’t be prepared for all its devilish twists.
Finally, I managed to also read the epic fantasy novel, The Deep and the Drowned by Ian Green, this week. An exciting and powerful fantasy novel set on the high seas, this was a great novel and one you can really get lost in.
