The Mortons by Justine Larbalestier and Scott Westerfeld.jpg
The Mortons by Justine Larbalestier and Scott Westerfeld.jpg

The Mortons by Justine Larbalestier and Scott Westerfeld

from $12.80
Hardcover:

“A fresh, fun, and sneakily hilarious dark academia romp.” —People

“Slippery, sinister, and so much fun.” —Charlotte McConaghy, New York Times bestselling author of Wild Dark Shore

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.

“A fresh, fun, and sneakily hilarious dark academia romp.” —People

“Slippery, sinister, and so much fun.” —Charlotte McConaghy, New York Times bestselling author of Wild Dark Shore

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.

  • Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books

    Title: The Mortons

    Author: Justine Larbalestier and Scott Westerfeld

    On Sale Date: July 21, 2026

    ISBN 13: 9798217059492

    Format: Hardcover

    Retail Price: $32.00

    BISAC: Crime Fiction

    Page Count: 464

    Dimensions: 6 in x 9 in

  • Justine Larbalestier is the Australian American author of Liar, My Sister Rosa, and several other novels published in twelve countries, and the winner of the Andre Norton Award and the Carl Brandon Kindred Award. Scott Westerfeld is the author of nearly forty books for young readers, including the bestselling Uglies and Leviathan series. Married since 2001, the two divide their time between Sydney and New York City. The Mortons is their first novel together.

  • Readers are calling it sinister, stylish, and addictive:

    • "A boarding-school thriller with real teeth — glamorous, twisted, and impossible to put down."

    • "The Mortons are horrifying and I loved every one of them."

    • "Dark academia with an assassin’s edge — exactly the combination I didn’t know I needed."

    • "Deliciously wicked. I want to visit Helshire College and never leave."

This book is for you if

  • You want a boarding-school thriller where the cardigans are cashmere and the body count is real.

  • You’re drawn to old-money crime dynasties who plan a murder with the same precision as a dinner party.

  • You loved the simmering rivalries of dark academia fiction and want a sharper, bloodier edge.

  • You enjoy ensemble family sagas where loyalty and betrayal are served at the same table.

  • You’re ready for a prodigy’s coming-of-age story where the family business happens to be homicide.

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