"Scott Westerfeld and Justine Larbalestier have now teamed up for the first time to write THE MORTONS - a supremely accomplished novel of psychological suspense that feels destined to be a contemporary literary classic. 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, with a history and legacy dating back to ancient times (think Succession byway of The Sopranos). For the Mortons, homicide is heritage. They, along with the other legacy crime families, send their college-aged progeny to Helshire College - a Brideshead-esque setting where the legacy kids strategically intermingle with the ordinaries from wealthy families, taking classes like Disruptive Anatomy and Forensic Accounting and practicing the long-game seduction of ordinaries as clients. Jessica Morton has always excelled at Helshire, secure in her knowledge that she is the prodigy of her generation of Mortons - and now she is finally able to stake her claim as a full blooded Morton, having committed her first kill at her matriarch's behest. This is her moment, her honor. But that kill will cut more ways than one - unknotting deep secrets that propel a series of revelations - spanning the Mortons' country estate, the New York City art world, and Helshire itself. Revelations more shocking than the bodies piling up. What happens to the prodigal daughter caught in the embrace of her ancient, gracious, wounded, exquisite, cruel, everlasting family, when all of her dearly-held certainties about power, loyalty, and love face the axe"-- Provided by publisher.