A skull looks up at Jennie from the trench, but it's not the chalk-white bone and grimacing teeth that send her reeling. It's the heart-shaped gold pendant, its delicate chain snapped in two. The necklace Hannah never took off. It can't be Hannah. But it is.
When Jennie Whitmore arrives at her school reunion, she immediately regrets her decision. Why would she choose to surround herself with people who were never nice to her? Who still aren't, even now she's a police officer? The only person who truly looked out for her all those years ago was charming, beautiful Hannah. Until the day she disappeared.
Jennie is ready to finally put White Cross Academy behind her, the old school building demolished the morning after the party. But with the demolition comes a call: a teenage girl's remains have been found on the grounds.
The instant drop in Jennie's gut tells her that the remains might be Hannah's, but when she's called in to examine them, the truth becomes undeniable. Hannah didn't run away and abandon Jennie thirty years ago; in fact, she never left White Cross at all.
Suddenly, Jennie has a murder to solve. The murder of her best friend. But can she do so before her colleagues discover just how closely connected she is to the victim? Before a mystery stalker makes good on his threats to silence her for good?
The Reunion is a gripping mystery perfect for fans of THE SANATORIUM, Lucy Foley, and Ruth Kelly.
I love both M.J. Arlidge's and Steph Broadribb's books so it's a booklover's dream to see these two authors collaborate to create a bone-chilling thriller. As if the thought of a school reunion isn't horrifying enough, the partygoers are about to sober up pretty quickly when a body is found buried within the school.
Jennie is hoping her old friend Hannah will turn up to the school reunion so she can finally understand why Hannah didn't turn up the night they planned to run away to London. The explanation is hiding beneath her feet and it's the worst one that Jennie could have imagined: Hannah was murdered on that fateful night.
This murder is personal so Jennie is determined to lead the case despite her conflict of interest, which she hides from her boss. As she plays down her relationship with Hannah and starts investigating Hannah's last known movements, she starts to wonder whether they were even friends at all.
The writing is seamless and if there weren't two names on the cover, you would never guess that it had two authors. The plot twists and turns like a slithering snake and just when you think you have it all worked out, the truth slithers out of your grasp again.
Gripping, chilling and twisty, The Reunion is a brilliant thriller that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat from start to finish. I would definitely recommend it but be prepared to be unable to put it down once you pick it up.
I received a digital ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
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About the authors:
M.J. Arlidge has worked in television for the last twenty years, specialising in high-end drama production, including prime-time crime serials Silent Witness, Torn, The Little House and, most recently, the hit ITV show Innocent. In 2015 his audiobook exclusive Six Degrees of Assassination was a number-one bestseller. His debut thriller, Eeny Meeny, was the UK's bestselling crime debut of 2014 and has been followed by ten more DI Helen Grace thrillers - all Sunday Times bestsellers.
Steph Broadribb was born in Birmingham and grew up in Buckinghamshire. Most of her working life has been spent between the UK and USA. As her alter ego - Crime Thriller Girl - she indulges her love of all things crime fiction by blogging at www.crimethrillergirl.com
Steph is an alumnus of the MA in Creative Writing (Crime Fiction) at City University London, and she trained as a bounty hunter in California.
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