Title: The Reunion
Author: MA Hunter
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: November 20, 2024
My Rating: 3.6 Stars
Pages: 304

Zoe, Lily, Dan and Rob were close friends back in school.
Lily and Zoe recently met up a few years ago at a surprise fortieth birthday party.
Rob is getting married and invited everyone to his large manor that he inherited from his mother. The estate is located on a remote island in Scotland. Rob said the estate isn’t easy to find and suggested they make it a fun a road trip and drive together.
Zoe is nervous about the reunion, but hopes the long drive with Lily will shake off her dread.
However, Lily also agreed to give Dan a lift. Rod is joining them as well as his fiancée Bella.
Zoe had ended things with Dan so is a bit uncomfortable that he will be traveling with them.

This group immediately got a hold on me. I immediately was curious plus was sure there were secrets. There are hints of Saul a ‘fifth’ friend~ it seems Saul was part of the group as he is in one of the group photo.

Although Zoe is married to Ethan a teacher - her life isn’t what she had planned and Ethan is no Dan. Dan isn’t married but in debt trying as best he can to providing health-care for his aging mother.

I was curious - my arm chair detective skills had me suspicious of everyone.
I had to keep on reading – questioning who is guilty – was the whole group hiding things – or just a few Hmmm who should I trust? ~ Ok I do love Dan!

I always enjoy reading the author’s ‘Note’ and/or Acknowledgments.
In this case Author, MA Hunter (which is the pen name of psychological thriller author Stephen Edge.) tells us his inspiration for this story originates from his experience with two people he considers true friends and is comfortable with and can trust with his deepest fears and darkest secrets. He got the idea to write a story featuring four former friends who reunite many years later. They have changed however still hold a secret. But can any of them be trusted with a dark secret?

Want to thank NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for November 20, 2024.

A group of four former school friends reunite for a wedding at the groom’s family estate in Scotland after years of being apart. They agree to travel together, crammed into Lily’s old 4x4, but the journey takes an unexpected turn when Rod’s fiancée, Bella, tags along. The tension is palpable—Zoe and Dan are exes, Lily and Zoe are hiding things from one another, and no one really knows Bella, who is much younger and seems more interested in Rod’s wealth than his less-than-charming personality. The unease only intensifies when they take a break in the countryside for an overnight stop, setting the stage for everything to unravel.
The next morning, things take a wild turn when they wake up with no memory of the night before, and the group quickly descends into chaos. Accusations fly in every direction, as the friends question each other’s loyalty, motives, and hidden alliances. Paranoia runs rampant, not only about the current situation but also about an unresolved tragedy from their past—the mysterious death of another friend years ago. It’s clear that this past event is connected, though when the truth finally comes out, it feels like a frustratingly unnecessary secret to have kept.
While the action really picks up toward the end as long-held secrets come to light, I found myself wishing that momentum had kicked in sooner. Still, it’s an engaging story that serves as a reminder of the messy consequences of keeping secrets, no matter how well-intentioned they may seem.

This book started out as a slow burn, spooky read but then halfway through it just fell off. I was a little bored with the writing that seemed repetitive and dragging. The ending was fairly decent but this plot is overdone.

The Reunion is a slow burn mystery. A group of friends set out on a road trip only to be reminded of the death of another friend years ago.

This book unfortunately wasn’t for me. There were a lot of points throughout the story where the characters actions felt very repetitive and unnecessary. I think the book could’ve been a lot shorter and a good ninety percent of it just felt like filler to stretch the plot out. It didn’t actually add anything relevant to the story either, and left me just wanting it to get to the point already. For a book, with so much going on at once there’s also nothing important or relevant going on until maybe the last ten percent of the book. It might be for you, but unfortunately it wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my review.

This was your standard reunion read with the usual twists. Easy read and easy to get into.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book, this is my honest opinion

This book is definitely perfect for spooky season!!!👻
The plot did get a little lost halfway through the book, but other than that it was very enjoyable!

Thank you NetGalley for this arc!!

This book was spooky, eerie, the perfect Halloween read!

I’ll check out more from this author!

The Reunion made me realize why I don't miss my school days.
M A Hunter has written a cold warning of reuniting with friends from school and remembering the things you've done.
It seemed like a great idea to get back together for a wedding. But time has been patiently waiting for these friends and the truth to come out. It was not what I expected. Brilliant!

It’s fast paced but the ending was a bit flat but that doesn’t take away from how much I enjoyed reading this book, it’s my first time reading anything by this author and if they are as good as this one, then I have a lot to look forward.

It's reminiscent of Lucy Foley`s The Hunting Party but better, in my opinion. Four friends are about to have a little reunion, after not seeing each other in years. Rod is getting married to a woman named Bella, and he invited his best friends from school to join him-- Zoe, Lily and Dan. There is a lot of backstory, secrets, relationship/character-building from the past, and how it is affecting them all now. Three of these four friends were involved in the death of the fifth member of their group, Saul and they made a pact to never tell anyone what happened to their friend the day he was killed in a hit-and-run accident, and that also adds to the tension of this reunion. It followed the cliché formula of old friends with a secret and though the premise was far-fetched, I liked the writing and implementation of the devices of a thriller in this book. There were of course a couple of twists and turns, but unfortunately, nothing that shocked me, I figured out who was who and most of what their motives were long before the ending. I found the prologue grabbed me and pulled me in, it was a fast read, with good timing of tension and anticipation-- but I liked the ending actually, I felt at least satisfied.

Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood books for this ARC. This is my honest review.

📖 My review: 📖 Wow. This one blew me away. I was not expecting that. This is my first book by this author and it will not be my last. This book had me captivated from the start. Once I started it I could not stop until the end. It was like a game of clue all based upon omission of the truth. But did anyone know what really happened ? This thriller was a wild ride until the very end.
I give this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
Publication date is November 20,2024. I highly recommend preordering and adding this to your TBR.

⭐️Synopsis⭐️

Never underestimate how much people can change...

It’s been years since Zoe last saw them – since they graduated, drifted apart, and lost touch.

Years since Zoe ended things with Dan because the memories were too painful to bear.

Years since that night – the night an unexpected death shattered their close-knit group of friends.

Now, Zoe is invited to Scotland for a wedding – a grand affair at a manor house on a remote island. Apprehensive about the reunion, she hopes the long drive with Lily will help ease her nerves.

But things are far from simple. Lily has also agreed to give Dan a lift, and Rod, not wanting to be left out, is joining them as well, along with his fiancée.

And when they come into trouble on a cold, dark, desolated Highland road, it sets off a chain of events which will leave them all shaken to their very core, and questioning everything they thought they knew…

Special thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early and to give my honest opinion. I truly enjoyed this gem and discovered a new author in the process.

#netgalleyreviewer #netgalley #mahunter #boldwoodbooks #advancedreaderscopy #thrillerbooks #bookrecommendations #thrillerbooksaddict #bookstagram #kindlebooks

So I could only give this book 3 stars. I feel like the plot has been done so many times they just change the scenery, characters and the why. I had it almost figured out in the end there was a small detail that I didn’t see but for the most part you can figure it out pretty easily. If you like a murder mystery that is easy to read this is a book you might enjoy.

The Reunion is a book that I found difficult in places, due to the fact that the chapters were coming from various people. An accident years ago binds these friends together and it is only when a wedding invitation for them all from one of the friends they all come together again.

I felt the book lost the plot half way through, but then picked up momentum towards the end. It was obvious that the so called wedding was a hoax and brings home them that are love struck can see no wrong.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

4 friends reunite for the wedding of Rod. Zoe and Dan used to go out back in school. Lily was Zoe’s best friend. All of them have a secret from back then. As they travel to the wedding together it is clear somebody knows their secret from then and also their new secrets.

This wasn’t what I expected. A good read with plenty of suspense in its twists and turns. All the characters seemed flawed. I liked how the secrets were slowly drip fed to us, although I had figured out Lily’s big secret early on. The big reveal when it came was surprising. And it kept me turning the pages until I got there. This is a book that I would recommend.

Four friends are about to have a little reunion, after not seeing each other in years. Rod is getting married to a woman named Bella, and he invited his best friends from school to join him. Zoe and Lily were close, but haven’t seen each other in two years. They are planning to drive from England to Scotland for the wedding, but somehow they end up with Rod, Bella and Dan joining them for the road trip. Dan was Zoe’s boyfriend back in the day, so that’s awkward - even more awkward is that she’s now married and also has a boyfriend on the side. No, not Dan, it’s a man named Evan who she works with, who is becoming unhinged because he (wrongfully) thought Zoe might leave her husband Tim for him.

While Zoe is dealing with Evan’s psychotic messages, she’s stuck in the car with these people she barely knows anymore. Her friend Lily has had some big things happen in her life that Zoe didn’t even know about, Dan is acting morose and reclusive being around the (now married) love of his life, and Rod is his normal obnoxious self. Then there’s Bella, who doesn’t fit in with the group - not just because she seems to have a chip on her shoulder, but because she wasn’t around when these four friends were involved of the death of the fifth member of their group, Saul. They’ve made a pact to never tell anyone what happened to their friend the day he was killed in a hit-and-run accident, and that also adds a layer of awkward to this reunion.

Then they get to Scotland and at a pub, meet a girl who tells them about a party in town. They decide to go, and then the next thing they know, they wake up in their car after all passing out in it. They all have terrible hangovers - even Dan, who was the designated driver and didn’t drink - and soon realize they were drugged. What’s worse, when they get out of the car, there happens to be a dead man stuck in the grille. In their panic, the leave his body on the side of the road and continue on to their destination, again vowing to tell nobody what had happened (not that any of them really know, since they can’t remember the previous night).

Then this story started to go sideways for me. I’ve read two other books by this author and enjoyed both of them, but this one wasn’t it for me. It followed the cliché formula of old friends with a secret getting together and their secret being in jeopardy. Even the author admits, through the characters, that the entire situation is quite petty in the end, and the premise was far-fetched. There were of course a couple of twists and turns, but nothing that really shocked me. If you like slow burn mystery/thrillers, you may enjoy this one, but I found it a bit flat. Three stars.

(Thank you to Boldwood Books, M.A. Hunter and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on November 20, 2024.)

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
A reunion for Rods wedding. Four friends carrying secrets from their past come to the reunion for Rods wedding. Who is the woman he is marrying? Something is odd with her? Years ago a death shattered their friendship so how will this reunion go?

Well MA Hunter does it again! Quickly becoming a go-to author for me. This was fast paced, twisty and had very clever reveals. Characters were perfectly matched with all of their personalities, strengths and weaknesses. Totally enjoyed this one.
Thank you NetGalley, MA Hunter and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Firstly thank you net galley and M A Hunter for the opportunity to read The Reunion.

The story kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I loved this book, it was exceptionally written and executed beautifully.

We have purchased for our library.

3.5/5

When you go to meet up with some old friends from college (or university as they call in the UK) for a wedding in Scotland, but there's lots of past drama, current drama, secrets and a dead body...you know, super casual and normal things...

This book definitely starts out well, bringing you right into the middle of the drama and the heightening the anticipation. You know from the very beginning that there is a lot of stuff going on with this group of friends and there is a lot of questionable history between them. But then once you get into the thick of it, I found that it slowed down quite a bit.

The ending wasn't nearly as satisfying as I wanted it to be. The end of a book (especially in this sort of thriller or mystery category) should be the most exciting and climactic.

But another fun theme of this story is that none of the characters are particularly likable, they're all questionable and unreliable characters. And I find that can make the drama and chaos of a book even more dramatic and chaotic. And that's always a fun little twist for the reader's mind to try to deal with and understand.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.