Title: The Heirs
Author: Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication date: June 2, 2026
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Summary
Using his “Button Method,” Leontes Button adopted and trained five children to be his heirs and prodigies. They don’t have a choice but to be brilliant in their father’s eyes. But when Leontes Button is mysteriously murdered at his annual Prodigy Ball, secrets start to come out. And it turns out that the Button family has a lot of them.
Review: The Heirs
Thanks to Feiwel & Friends and NetGalley for an advanced copy of The Heirs by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé to review! I’ve been a fan of Àbíké-Íyímídé since reading Ace of Spades, so I was excited to jump into this new mystery. It definitely reminded me of a mix of Umbrella Academy and The Inheritance Games. If you’re into either of those things, chances are you’ll enjoy this one!
We do get a lot of points of view in this book, which I think helps to add to the mystery of it all. With different narrators, and even some flashbacks, Àbíké-Íyímídé builds this intricate, almost impossible mystery. Someone at that ball had killed Leontes Button. But how? And why now?
The overall structure of the story felt a little like a Knives Out movie. It unfolded in a way that kept you guessing, especially as you learned all of the secrets the kids had been hiding. For the most part, I think the variety of points of views worked in the story’s favor. However, there were a couple of times that made it difficult to figure out which point of view we were following. This took me slightly out of the story, at times, but not enough to totally ruin the book.
All in all, if you’re a fan of twisty mysteries, definitely check this one out when it comes out in June!
4/5 stars