What a heart pounding physiological thriller that takes you on the ride of a lifetime. Friendships, betrayal, lovers, and killers, this starts off and continues till the end fast paced and entertaining. I loved how the plot moved with the location changes still keeping you on the edge of your seat. The ending was a clean wrap-up, which will have me thinking about this for a long time.

Four estranged friends are invited to a wedding in the Scottish Highlands and decide to drive there together. There is an unexpected fifth, the new fiancee of one of the group. The former high school friends are still haunted by the death years ago of a classmate, Saul, and have had a longstanding pact to remain silent about what they know.

The past comes back during the long and hazardous drive in October to the Highlands, however. Zoe has to deal with seeing her old boyfriend Dan; the group have to get along with Rod's fiancee, Bella; and seeing Lily again leaves Zoe feeling ambivalent. When they fall asleep somehow on the road, and then wake up with a different person in the driver's seat, there are unanswered questions about what happened.

Group dynamics, former lovers, and unexpected coincidences lead the plot on. The ending gave suprises, with people's pasts being connected in more ways.

The ending finally unravels the knot and mystery, with too many coincidences to be truly believable. On the whole, an average psych thriller. I gave this 3-4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #ASerialKillersGuideToMarriage #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Friends forever, right? Can a secret pact keep a friendship thriving or will it leave it in ruins? When a group of friends gather for one’s wedding all sorts of secrets and lies are laid bare. Who will come out unscathed is to be determined.
I really enjoyed this book! I think it had just the right amount of angst to keep me guessing. It was an easy read and I was craving more each chapter. Towards the end, there were some moments that I thought to be a bit outlandish or could’ve used a bit more time to cook. Overall, I rated this book a 4. I enjoyed the twist as well. I thought we were heading in one direction but ended up in a different area. I’d recommend this to the thriller lover!

The Reunion is a psychological thriller that deals with a group of 40 something friends who are still dealing with the after effects of a tragic night as teenagers. It was suppose to be a happy reunion to celebrate the wedding of Rod, at a his family’s remote Scottish manor. However , nothing is what it appears to be and once again they are dealing with another horrific event that casts suspicion and instils fear in all.
Although a tad long, repetitive and obvious,, it did pique my interest to finish the book. However, I found the ending a bit rushed and unsatisfying, but it was still readable.

Read this if you like;
-multiple POVs (Zoe and Dan)
-locked room whodunnits
-isolated manors and eerie dark remote roads in Scotland
-past actions leading to present troubles
-reunions with childhood friends
-secrets and lies

My rating 2.75 out of 5

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this eARC that will be published November 20 2024.

2⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an advanced copy of The Reunion.

Friends Zoe, Lily, Dan, and Rod are reuniting for Rod’s marriage to Bella. It has been a while since they have all been together and it seems there is some tension between the group as they travel together to the impending wedding. The past is something they all want to forget but being together again brings up memories of the death of their friend Saul over twenty years ago. It seems some in the group know more about Saul’s death than they have let on and it seems that history is repeating itself when they wake up in the vehicle with no memory of the night before.

This book was setting up for this epic reveal and it was a huge letdown. The book drug on too long in my opinion and then I felt the ending was rushed. I was not a fan of the book it felt a little juvenile in my opinion.

My gosh I love a locked door whodunnit and why mystery that has atmospheric setting, unraveling backstory, and great twists. This had it all. What a great one, and I cannot wait for the audiobook to do it all over again!

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a brilliant psychological thriller that kept me hooked from page one. Four friends who haven’t actually seen each other for years end up travelling to the island of Jura together to attend the wedding of one of them. However they are hiding a secret about an event that happened 20 years earlier. The journey is very eventful especially when there is an incident on an isolated Highland road. I kept changing my mind on what I thought of each character and couldn’t predict which way this gripping and pacy read that has plenty of twists was going. Thank you to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a DNF for me, unfortunately I couldn’t connect with the writing style and the main character annoyed me from the get go. I tried several times over a few weeks to get into it and it just didn’t happen for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity

When a group of friends get together after many years and they are holding a secret you are guaranteed a great read. This book is full of surprises and I enjoyed the multiple POV.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time! I read it in two sittings because I just couldn’t put it down.

The story follows a group of former friends on a car trip to attend a wedding. Things happens, the past resurfaces, everyone has a secret.

I am usually not a fan of thrillers, but the setting was so eerie and the premises just too good, that the overall result was just great. This book is real page turner.

What I didn’t like, tho, was how repetitive some train of thoughts were. The two main characters were so self absorbed and quickly turned against each other.
I even started to dislike one of them, but I appreciated instead how that character grew and changed (for the better) during the story.

Moreover, I would have liked bigger plot twists, as I had an idea of how the story was going since early on. But it didn’t take away from how enjoyable this reading was.

The first book I have read from this author. A solid four star read. Great premise. Well written. Good characters. Page turner. Plenty of suspense to keep me guessing. I wouldI definitely would read the next novel. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

First off, thank you, Netgalley, and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book early.

So, I have conflicting feelings about this book. I think the story has promise but it just fell flat for me. Most of the story we follow, Dan and Zoe, who are both two of the most annoying characters. They reunite with their high school besties for a wedding. And from there, chaos ensues. They get blackmailed for a past indiscretion. And instead of just doing the right thing, everything snowballs into a mess.

Right off the bat, I don't relate to either character. They've made poor decisions, and instead of begging better throughout the book, they just become more insufferable. And then there's a couple of plot holes that never quite connected the dots for me. The twist was also predictable.

The writing was not awful but also not the best I've ever read. This book read as a popcorn thriller for me. It was quick and easy but didn't provide a lot of mental stimulation. I wasn't on the edge of my seat the whole time, but I was curious about how it would end.

All in all, it's not a bad book if you're looking for something easy and fun. The story isn't super original, but definitely better than some other revenge plot books

Gripping and entertaining novel about friends who come together for a wedding celebration 20 years after a death that heavily impacted their lives. The characters were so well crafted and textured as to be realistic and reminiscent of people I’ve known. The storyline is strong and fast paced and the twists, which kept on coming, had me turning pages into the night. Great book that I recommend to everyone who loves a twisty tale. Thank you to Boldwood Books for providing this advance copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book had a past/ present plot. Not something I'm overly keen on, but seems to be present in many books at the moment. It focused on the friend who died years before and the secrets kept by the others. I had an inkling of who the man on the road was, but wasn't completely sure who was doing what and why until it got close to the end. There were plenty of twists to keep me guessing , and just as I decided I knew who it was, things changed and I had to keep reading!!

The Reunion by M.A. Hunter is a fast paced thriller filled with suspense and hidden secrets. Set in the Scottish Highlands, the story reunites four old friends, Zoe, Lily, Dan, and Rod, who are invited to Rod's wedding. But their reunion stirs up old memories and guilt from a tragic incident years ago, kept secret by a pact they made as teenagers. The narrative alternates between Zoe and Dan's perspectives, with excerpts from their late friend Saul’s diary. As the reunion and wedding weekend progresses, their concealed past gradually surfaces, leading to revelations and twists that impact their relationships.

The novel’s pacing strikes a balance between a slow buildup and a suspenseful climax. This was a quick read for me that I finished in a day thanks to a long train ride! The Reunion is an absorbing and enjoyable read. Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

The Reunion by M. A. Hunter is a twisty and taut psychological thriller with themes of choices and consequences, guilt, regret, (mis)trust and friendship.

Something devastating happened twenty four years ago that a group of friends wanted to put behind them. As teens, they had made a pact to keep it secret. When they are invited by one of the group to his wedding in the Scottish Highlands, they have mixed feelings and tensions run high. Deceptions and guilt have slowly nagged away at each one in the intervening years as they re-live the past over and over as though it were yesterday. The drive to the accommodations is draining and the friends are on tenterhooks. But nothing could prepare them for them for the unthinkable that dark night. Emotional shuffles ensue as they regard one another with suspicion and secrets rise to the surface.

The cat and mouse chase was well written and I enjoyed the pacing. The tension felt electric and anxiety inducing. However, the excessive adult language is unnecessary and the actions often juvenile. Though the characters are unlikeable, that's just what one is sometimes in the mood for. Do be sure to read the author's insightful notes for his inspiration.

My sincere thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this engrossing novel.

Four friends come together for a wedding in Scotland. They have not been all together in 20 years. The secrets of their past threaten to destroy the lives they created. A tragic accident in school took the life of one friend, a secret pact was formed. History repeats itself when another innocent life is lost.

Alternating storylines told by Zoe & Dan, they have a romantic history. We see a few excerpts from Saul’s diary, the friend who perished. As the story unfolds we learn of all the secrets being kept and the distrust among friends. The story has many twists and suspenseful narrative.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First, thanks to Netgalley for this ARC copy!

We do follow 4 friends as they gather for the wedding of one of them with his fiancée, Bella. But from the start, it is obvious that there is tension within the group, caused by something that had happened when they all had been teenagers, and the secrets and lies developing because of it. Then an accident happens, and it quickly becomes clear that there is something sinister going on....

Oh my, I flew through the pages! I've had some ideas about what might be going on, but sadly none of them was right! The story is told from the perspective of Dan and Zoe, two of the friends, who had a lot of shared history, yet do not seem to be able to trust each other anymore. Which is not surprising, seeing all the secrets they two of them - and everyone else in the group - seems to be hiding...

This is my second book by MA Hunter after One Wrong Turn, but it will surely not by my last!

It’s been twenty years since the four of them got together before university started, now Rob is getting married to Bella and invites his high school friends to the wedding which is taken place in a large manor he inherited from his mother.
Lilly borrowed his old dad’s car and as the four friends plus Bella head to the remote island in Scotland, they all start to reminisce the past.
They end up in a pub that is about to close when the bartender suggests they attend a party nearby.
Suddenly they woke up in the car. Something happened that they cannot remember as they find a dead body by the car's bumper. Dan is in the driving seat and Cloë has the car keys in her jean’s pocket.
They decide to keep what happened a secret, not the first secret they bound to keep, as history repeats itself, they find themselves in the same position twenty years later. But who is responsible? Who is the victim? What was in those drinks? Who was driving the car?
I love a suspense novel with secrets, twists and specially the author's narration from the points of view of Zoë, Lilly and Dan allowing the reader to perceive the feelings of the main protagonist.

I enjoyed this psychological thriller, and the ending was a surprise to me. I didn't find the characters particularly likeable and couldn't engage with any of them.


thanks boldwood books and netgalley. all thoughts are my own.