In 1994, Jennie Whitmore was meant to runaway to London with Hannah, her best friend. Jennie’s life hasn’t been a very happy one. After her father’s death, Jennie’s mother turned to drink.

That fateful night, Jennie waited for Hannah, but she never turned up. No one has seen her since.

2024. Jennie, now a DI for Major Crime Unit in White Cross, attends a school reunion. She doesn’t really want to go, but she’s hoping that maybe someone has heard from Hannah. She drinks far too much but ends up talking to some of her old friends, where they discuss the upcoming demolition of their old school, the White Cross Academy.

The next morning, Jennie receives a phone call that remains have been discovered on the demolition site. Is it Hannah?

I really enjoyed this tense thriller.

It took Jennie to a quite uncomfortable place, as she had to interview people she considered her friends. However, she soon discovered that all of them were lying.

Jennie was adamant that she had to get justice for Hannah, and I really admired that quality in her. She was determined to get to the truth.

I definitely recommend this book.

Many thanks to Orion for approving my NetGalley request to read and review this title.

After a school reunion party, an old building of Jennie’s old school is set to be demolished the next day when a teenage girl’s remains are found on the grounds. Jennie is certain it’s the body of her best friend who vanished 30 years ago but can she solve the murder before she’s taken off the case? Or before a mysterious stalker tries to silence Jennie for good?

I really liked the characters and getting to know more about them, although I do wish that there was more information shared about Naomi and Steve because a lot of the time, I actually forgot that they were even a part of the investigation. I loved how the multiple POVs were interwoven into the story as it didn’t feel overwhelming despite hearing from numerous characters and each character felt like they had their own distinctive voice, so it was easy to distinguish between them all.

The plot was really interesting and I loved how the details were revealed as the book progressed. It did a great job at setting the scene and the atmosphere, especially with the flashbacks in time periods. Normally I’m not a fan of these but I really loved how they were done here.

I was obsessed with the writing and truly did not want to put the book down. I love how M J Arlidge is doing these collaboration books as it is putting new to me authors on my radar, that I definitely want to read more books from. I also love how there was a playlist at the back of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orion for the opportunity to read this book early, in exchange for an honest review.

⚠️ CWs: alcohol use, drug use, grief, murder, derogatory language, cursing, physical assault, blood, child abuse, sexual assault, car accident, character is outed for being gay, harassment, stalking, mentions vomit, suicide attempt, cheating, child porn, paedophilia, minor intercourse, student/teacher relationship, acid attack, sexism, misogyny, terminal illness, medical negligence, body injury, medical content, bullying, fatshaming, death of parent, war, bombing, overdose ⚠️

MJ Arlidge and Steph Broadribb, you two are my people.

I love you, I love your style, please keep writing together.

Sorry folks, I just fan-girled out for a second. I can't help it, this book was absolutely amazing and I need more, like.... yesterday.

What happened to Hannah, all those years ago?

This is one dark and twisted book!! The secrets, lies and deceit, ever present. Jennie is determined to find out what happened to her friend and will stop at nothing to figure it out, even if it puts her own life on the line.

Some secrets are better left alone...

So, in conclusion, do not take my word for it, check this banger out yourself, it's also free on kindle unlimited and I mean, that's a steal .

The Reunion

Check out this teaser :

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 one of a series of books in the Orion Publishing Group's new writers' room project led by M. J. Arlidge, working in collaboration with five different authors. As with the other standalone novels in the series, the idea for The Reunion was conceived by M.J. Arlidge but in this case, Steph Broadribb was responsible for bringing his ideas to life.
Having read a number of Steph Broadribb's earlier books, I know she excels at writing strong, believable female characters and so my only disappointment with Jennie Whitmore, the main protagonist in The Reunion, is that this is a standalone novel because I would love to see more of her. The development of her character is impressive, beginning with the prologue which finds her planning to run away from her troubled home life. However, when her best friend, Hannah fails to show, the teenage Jennie feels abandoned and ends up making very different choices.
Thirty years on and with the old White Cross Academy due for demolition, she attends a reunion party, despite having lost touch with her old friends since the end of their A-Levels. The awkwardness she feels here is almost palpable as she comes face-to-face with the girls who bullied her and with the other members of the darkroom crew, the mismatched group who found sanctuary together beneath the school. It was Hannah who introduced Jennie to their group but after her disappearance, Jennie eventually drifted away from the others and rather than becoming a photographer, joined the police. She is now a DI, running a team in the Major Crime Unit in White Cross, which puts her in a challenging position when a body is discovered on the grounds of the old school.
Although readers know this is Hannah, the tension felt by Jennie, who is called out to the scene of the crime and has her worst fears realised, is powerfully expressed. Her grief, anger and determination to discover what happened to her friend are immediately evident but there's a touching sense of guilt too as she recognises she was never abandoned, as she'd been led to believe. Hannah has been lying under the pipes where she was buried in 1994 and even though Jennie knows that her close ties to the case means she should step away from the case, she makes the decision to conceal just how close she was, both to the victim and to the people who become some of the main suspects.
I did have to suspend my belief a little here, especially as it would seem likely that any court case could result in her being accused of compromising the investigation. However, it's clear why she would take such a risk and her fear of being exposed adds a further layer of suspense to the storyline. There are a number of moments which find her nervously trying to alter the course of the conversation or forced to take drastic steps to hold onto the case, and the inevitable impact it has on her relationship with her colleagues is never overlooked.
Jennie's memories of the past are intertwined with the events taking place in the present throughout the book and it gives readers a real insight into exactly what Hannah meant to her. It also means her reluctance to consider her former friends as suspects is understandable. The twists and turns of the investigation are relentless – almost everyone called in for an interview either blatantly lies or withholds something about what really happened back then. Meanwhile, Jennie also becomes aware that somebody is stalking her, with malevolent intent. Are they trying to stop her from uncovering the truth about Hannah or is she being targeted for another reason?
The plot is fast-paced and compelling throughout, with the eventual resolution to both mysteries coming as a surprise. As Jennie untangles the web of lies, the gripping climax is particularly tense. It is also a deeply emotional moment; the grim tragedy of Hannah's death and what it meant to all involved is heartbreaking. The Reunion is an intriguing, exciting and moving police procedural. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Such a fun read! Highly recommend.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book had a great plot with intriguing characters. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.

Jennie reluctantly attends her high school reunion 30 years after finishing high school. Now a DI, Jennie wonders what happened to her best friend Hannah after she vanished back in 1994. When the high school is set to be demolished soon after the reunion, human remains are found in the school. They appear to be those of Hannah. Jennie is on the case trying to piece together what happened to Hannah.

This book was full of drama. There were lots of twists and turns, as well as a sense of foreboding through most of the novel. The suspense and tension buildup is great! I was engrossed in this one and so anxious to know what happened to Hannah. This fast paced thriller ha me on the edge of my seat the entire time, and the ending did not disappoint!

Thank you NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The reunion has an intriguing concept and the set up where the main character, Jennie Whitmore, now in the police has to solve the mystery of a cold case which turns out to be a school friend is a good one. There are some well-paced dramatic moments that I could imagine working well on TV and I liked Jennie's character. However, it fell a little short for me and I found the ending wrapped up too neatly and easily.

That said, I've read books by Steph Broadribb set in Florida and also the books she writes under the name Stephanie Marland and enjoyed them very much and as such would happily read more by this author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.

This was my first read by these two authors. It was a good crime story. I liked the main character Jennie. But unfortunately I thought it was a bit too slow paced for me. Absolutely a good story and I would recommend it to readers who are into slower paced books, police investigational stories and cold cases.

I am a huge fan of M.J. Arlidge books, and this one holds up. The school is set to be demolished and a body is found. Now the detective is a former student and she must find out who the killer of this former student is. This book was a quick and fun read, I thought that the characters were well developed and the storyline was great.

As always a blinder from M J Arlidge, strange to see a collaboration but I have to say that I am impressed.

The plot was good, the story flowed. It had nail biting drama and lots of intrigue.

Twists and turns a plenty and great characters.

Highly recommended, 5 stars from me.

Jennie reluctantly attends her high school reunion 30 years after finishing high school. Now a DI, Jennie wonders what happened to her best friend Hannah after she vanished back in 1994. When the high school is set to be demolished soon after the reunion, human remains are found in the school. They appear to be those of Hannah. Jennie is on the case trying to piece together what happened to Hannah.

This book was full of drama. There were lots of twists and turns, as well as a sense of foreboding through most of the novel. The suspense and tension buildup is great! I was engrossed in this one and so anxious to know what happened to Hannah. This fast paced thriller ha me on the edge of my seat the entire time, and the ending did not disappoint!

Thank you NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I'm so used to reading this author's series of books (the Helen Grace series is fab!), so it was different to read a standalone book. (I do think though that DI Jennie Whitmore would make a great series!). This book is co-written with Stephanie Broadribb and is a fast paced police procedural thriller, following the investigation into the discovery of Hannah, a missing teenage girl's body, hidden for years under a disused school.

I loved this book and was immediately drawn into DI Jennie Whitmore's first major murder investigation. She is a great character, really likeable and a strong lead of her team. The story does give us a glimpse into Jennie's teenage years before bringing us back into the present day, and the flashbacks set the scene for what happened to Hannah all those years before. Jennie had a really difficult job with Hannah being her teenage friend, and she has to try to hard to keep her position as the investigation's lead officer.

The storyline is fantastic and grabs you from the first page. There are plenty of suspects to choose from and I loved following the investigation, trying to decide who I thought it was! There were lots of twists and turns throughout and just when you think you've worked it out, everything changes! There is a great group of supporting characters who all added their own little something to the storyline, and whilst I know it is a standalone book I really wish it there was more!

This was a really easy read, no big complicated storylines and everything flowed really well! It's a fairly short book and once I'd started it, I couldn't put it down. It's not a gory murder, but it is a very cleverly written police procedural thriller that's full of suspense at every page turn. This was an exciting and dramatic read which I would definitely recommend!

Jennie attends a school reunion she didn’t really want to go and as she gets nearer to the party she wonders why she has gone .
Her best friend from school Hannah isn’t at the reunion she went missing thirty years ago , what hurts Jennie the most is they were going to go to London together and she didn’t turn up .
She realises attending the reunion was a mistake .
Jennie is now a police officer and the morning after the school reunion she gets a call that a body has been found at her old secondary school , which is due for demolition.
Jennie fears that the body is her best friend Hannah , and unfortunately her worst fears are confirmed .
The investigation that follows is full of twists and turns plus the calibre of writing makes this thriller an intriguing and compelling read .
An excellent mystery !
Highly recommended!
Thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group.

Jennie Whitmore decides to attend a reunion at her old school, White Cross Academy and meet up with her old friends before the building is finally demolished, except one friend won't be there. Hannah Jennings was Jennie's best friend and they were planning to run away to London but Hannah never showed up at the bus stop and was never seen again and it's haunted Jennie ever since. Now thirty years later Jennie is a detective and when she gets a call from the demolition team saying they've found the remains of a body, she's praying that it's not her best friend. When tests reveal it is, Jennie and her team are determined to find out what really happened all those years earlier and get justice for Hannah, but the investigation reveals secrets that will shock her to her core.

The Reunion is set in the present day with flashbacks to 1994 where we meet a group of friends just starting sixth form. Told across eight days we hear the story of the disappearance of a young eighteen year old whose future stretches out before her but then is so cruelly snatched away and the investigation headed up by her once best friend Jennie. This was a fast paced read with some very dubious characters and I really felt for Jennie, knowing how close she was to Hannah, how heartbreaking it must have been to be determined to catch her killer while grieving for her friend at the same time and making sure she wasn't kicked off the case due to a conflict of interest. I've read all of MJ Arlidge's previous books and loved them all, so when I saw he was doing this collaboration with Steph Broadribb, I was intrigued as to how it would pan out, it was so seamlessly created that you wouldn't believe this was written by two authors. A fabulous read with some great twists that kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end.

I'd like to thank Orion and Netgalley for the auto approval, I will post my review on Amazon and Goodreads.

This mystery had me hooked from the beginning and had my mind whirring trying to figure out the mystery alongside Jennie. We first meet Jennie Whitmore who is now a detective going back to her high school reunion, facing old friends that she hasn't seen for almost 30 years. Shortly after this reunion, Jennie is sucked into a police investigation to find out who murdered her best friend 3 decades earlier which puts Jennie on a path of justice after she has spent these 30 years thinking her best friend disappeared on her without telling her.

The mystery is so fun to follow! I loved how Jennie questioned all her old classmates and tried to connect dots that didn’t seem to add up. It keeps you guessing, and just when you think you've figured it out, something throws you off. But beyond just the murder, what really hit me was Jennie's emotional turmoil as she learns more about her old friends and potentially what she missed out on in high school. Her struggle with that realization felt so real and added so much emotion to the story. It’s one thing to solve a crime, but another to face personal betrayals.

The Reunion is packed with suspense, but it’s also a heartfelt story about facing your past and finding out the truth, no matter how much it hurts. Seriously, if you like slow-burn thrillers with a great mystery, you’ll love this one!

Thank you to Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for an eARC of this book!

First of all thank you for approving my request!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The authors writing style had me hooked throughout this book.

I didn't want it to end, a book I really couldn't put down.

Thank you for the advanced electronic copy of this book- out now!
I love a police procedural and a historical murder, and this was that, plus throw in teenage angst and unravelling characters.
This was over all a pretty dark read, with some tough themes, but all made sense to the story. I was not a big fan of Jennie, the main character, for the vast majority of the book, due to her personal approach to the investigation.

Thanks for the opportunity of reading this collaboration. I have read all M J Arlidge’s Helen Grace books and wasn’t sure how a collaboration would work, but it definitely did. I thoroughly enjoyed reading all about Jennie revisiting her old life and searching for justice for Hannah. Perhaps it proves none of us know our friends as well as we think we do. An excellent read.

I am a fan of M.J. Arlidge and had read a number of his books over the years and have enjoyed them all; I have not read anything by Steph Broadribb before so she is a new author to me but it seemed a no-brainer to read something that they have both collaborated on and I wasn't disappointed.

I read this book in a day - I was on holiday so didn't have the usual daily grind so was able to sit in the sun and lose myself in this riveting book.

With great characters, an intriguing plot, fast pace and twists and turns, this is a book that I literally couldn't put down and I was gripped from start to finish and I have no hesitation in recommending this to others.

Thanks to the authors, Orion Publishing and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this intriguing murder mystery.