Bronwyn Rivers’ debut crime novel The Reunion draws heavily on the traditions of Australian gothic to great effect. Set in a remote Australian valley it would be tempting to label this as ‘rural crime’ but while the setting is definitely rural, this is more of a twisted revenge thriller with almost a horror-inspired edge to it rather than the exploration of a rural community or rural issues.
When the book opens, five old school friends are driving along a lonely road to the property of their old friend Ed Fletcher who died ten years before while the six were on a hiking trip. Ed went missing on the walk while looking for water and died while the other five managed to find their way back to safety. Now, ten years later the five have been invited back to the property by Ed’s mother Martha to mark the anniversary of his death. But it quickly becomes clear that Martha believes that they are in some way to blame and the five find themselves trapped on the property far from civilisation with no water, having to relive that time and forced to confront their darkest secrets.
Rivers establishes a creepy vibe early on with the old woman living in a once-grand crumbling homestead and a group of reluctant guests. She very quickly turns up the pressure and does not let up. And as the plot progresses The Reunion also has elements of survival horror. And in flashing back to the events of the bushwalk and of a party a few weeks before that, drip feeds reveals that deepen the present day story. The revelations when they come do much to contextualise the situation but do not make it any easier.
Australian gothic is a literary tradition that treats the Australian bush as dark, unknowable and dangerous. It is epitomised by themes of isolation, entrapment and fear. While early examples of this genre were focussed on the colonial experience, contemporary Australian gothic has tapped into more general fears. The Reunion plays itself out across two main time lines. Ten years before the six friends embark on a bushwalk but quickly find themselves out of their depth and as a result turning on each other. And in the present day, the five survivors are hemmed in by the same bushland, and forced by their circumstances to re-evaluate that time and their relationships.
The Reunion is an assured debut. The five main characters start as “types” but are quickly given depth and agency. Once they are introduced, Rivers quickly establishes the gothic tone that both drives the tension but also heightens the mystery. And she effectively deploys her cliffhangers and reveals, to keep readers on edge and unbalanced right up to the last pages.

‘They were just having a weekend away to catch up with some old friends – at least that’s what they had each told colleagues and family.’

Ten years ago, at the end of high school, six friends went on a hike in the Australian bush. Only five returned. And now Mary, the mother of Ed, the boy who died, has invited Hugh, Charlotte, Alex, Laura and Jack to join her on her isolated farm for a memorial.
The five are no longer close friends, and each of them is reluctant to attend, but they each agree. But when they travel to Mary’s farm, they find nothing is as it was ten years earlier. The home is rundown, Mary is now widowed and obsessed in finding out more about what went wrong on the hike. Ed was her only child.

And slowly, things go wrong. Each member of the group must face is or her knowledge of what happened, and every single one of them has a secret.

This is an accomplished debut novel by Ms Rivers. Complex, flawed characters in a haunting Australian bushland setting. Ms Rivers introduces twist after twist, making me question what I thought I had understood. And, for me, each of these twists (bar one) was plausible. Each of the five is in danger. And truth? You will need to read for yourself.

Brava, Ms Rivers. I hope this novel is the first of many.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Australia & New Zealand for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

This was great! A very well paced thriller that kept the suspense simmering the whole way through. Quick chapters made it very hard to put down.
10 years ago, 6 teenagers went out into the bush, only 5 came back. Now, they are back together at their lost friend's isolated house, and his mother is hosting a reunion. Things turn sinister when it becomes clear they aren't telling the whole story about how Ed was lost in the bush.
Bronwyn Rivers is a debut author to look out for. She really captured the sense of isolation and frustration and the beautiful but deadly Australian bush. And the thirst, I got so thirsty reading this! I recommend this novel for all the lovers of Outback Noir.

⭐ 5 Stars ⭐

Bush Noir at its finest! Bronwyn Rivers’ debut is an exceptional psychological thriller that had me hooked from start to finish. The story revolves around five old friends – Hugh, Charlotte, Alex, Laura, and Jack – who reluctantly reunite at an isolated bushland homestead for a 10-year memorial of their friend Ed, who died under mysterious circumstances on a group hike.

The characterisation is brilliant; each character is flawed and complex, carrying the weight of the past and secrets they’ve hidden for years. The Australian bushland setting is hauntingly vivid, adding layers of tension and unease as the story unfolds.

Rivers expertly weaves a narrative filled with twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very end. Just when I thought I had the story figured out, she threw in another surprise that left me reeling.

If you love psychological thrillers with flawed characters, dark secrets, and a uniquely Australian edge, The Reunion is a must-read. Bronwyn Rivers has firmly established herself as a talented voice in the genre.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Australia & New Zealand for providing an eARC of The Reunion by Bronwyn Rivers in exchange for my honest review.

📖 Publication Date: 13 February 2025
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Ten years ago six teenagers hiked into the wilderness and five of them came back alive. They were school friends. Ed (whose family farm was their starting off point), Hugh, Charlotte, Laura, Jack and Alex, close, but with the sorts of slightly complicated romantic attachments and fractures that you find in groups of kids of that age. Nobody for a moment thought that this would be a dangerous hike, they were experienced walkers, fit, and Ed knew this area from a childhood growing up here. Only Ed died, and for the ten years since his mother Mary has had plenty of time to think about her beloved only child's death.

Maybe it was triggered by the anniversary, maybe it was too much time on her hands since the inquest into her son's death, then the suicide of her husband, Ed's father, but the house wasn't the same happy place that the five returned to, invited by Mary for an anniversary weekend. The once immaculate place is ramshackle and neglected, and there's something very odd about Mary. The problem is that none of remaining five friends could ever have imagined just how obsessed, how determined to get to the truth she is, until it's almost too late for all of them.

Told in a series of differing POV chapters, the early part of the book will require some concentration on the part of the reader as you're taken back to each person's teenage years, as well as who they are as adults. There's reminiscence and past transgressions to be fleshed out, as well as present life changes including marriages, pregnancy, careers that have taken some in unexpected directions. Importantly, there are the connections between them then and now, events that shaped their interactions and relationships, and the cryptic questions laid out in notes that they start to find around the property, as they search for ways out of the intricate and very specific trap set for them.

Whilst it's a thriller in nature, there's also something surprisingly reflective about THE REUNION. Whether it's the contrasting experiences and pasts of the main characters, including Ed, and the sorts of secrets they have been keeping for a very long time, or their individual responses to pressure, these are adults forced into confronting their pasts and who they were and have become. Making the reader unsure at every step of where this is heading, setting up some really tricky characters as people that you may just end up with some respect for, leading to a resolution that did feel like it might be surprisingly gentle on a lot of very traumatised people. Until a final kick in the tail that readers less rattled may say they could see coming, but put this reader, by then, in the thoroughly rattled camp.

A debut novel, THE REUNION, started out as a bit of a sleeper, ended up as a haunter of nights.

Ten years ago, six teenagers hiked into the Blue Mountains wilderness - and only five came out alive. 10-years later the five survivors attend a memorial of their friend's death back where it all began.

This upcoming release by Bronwyn Rivers was a great way to kick off my 2025 reads. Once I started this book I devoured it in 2 sittings - which is fast for me!

Full of secrets, lies and cover ups this thriller is set on a remote property in the Australian bush and let me tell you - I will never go anywhere without water again. I was stressed for these characters just reading it.

Written with dual timelines with multiple POV’s we get to jump between past and present to watch this story unravel and see the secrets behind revealed all the way to the very end.

After taking a handful of chapters to get my head around who was who - I really enjoyed being able to peek into each characters backstory to see why everyone did what they did (or didn’t) do - it was interesting to have this perspective to then decide if I would have done the same in their situation.

It was one of those books that had me sitting there after it going down rabbit holes thinking about the pressure that might come with being an only child, or attending an expensive private school when you don’t come from wealth. Something I didn’t expect from a thriller.

A great debut and something you’ll enjoy if you’re a fan of The Dry.

The novel starts with friends Huge, Charlotte, Alex, Laura & Jack having a weekend away at their friend’s Mother’s farm for the anniversary of their friend’s death.

Secrets will be forced into the open as the group continue to lie about the events surrounding what happened to their friend.

It was slow for the first half of the book. I wanted more anticipation from the writing.

Overall, I enjoyed the book though. There were a few twists at the end that caught me by surprise

Thank you Hachette Australia and Netgalley for the gifted copy

I do love a good debut, especially when it is by an Aussie author. A new voice in crime fiction to have on the radar is always a good 5pm. I thoroughly enjoyed The Reunion, and devoured it over 2 days.

10 years ago, 6 high school friends went on a camping trip to celebrate the end of school. Only 5 came home. Now they have returned to where it happened for a reunion with their lost friend’s mother. She knows that they are keeping information about what really happened., and wants to know the truth.

This was so wild! A story of friendship, grief, secrets and lies. That day changed them all forever and we see how each of them have been affected. Told in chapters of the past and present, we learn what happened to get to that fateful day.

Thanks so much to Hachette Australia and NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book to read. Look out for it on February 13th, 2025.

I finished this book in two days. It was one I 100% picked due to the title alone. It was a fast paced read with two different timelines being the main storyline.

Laura, Hugh, Charlotte, Alex and Jack have been invited by Martha to honour the 10 year anniversary of her son Ed's death. Ten years ago the friendship group went on a camping expedition but only five of them returned alive. Martha invited them all to the homestead to finally get some much needed answers. But when the guests wake up the next morning things just aren't right. For starters Martha has disappeared and other strange occurrences like the water taps being shut off. Is this all just a coincidence? They are a million miles from civilisation and in this heat it is impossible to leave. Will Martha get the answers from the group she needs?

I will say I absolutely loved this one and once this is released I will grab a physical copy for my bookshelves. I enjoyed the locked room thriller aspect (always a favourite of mine). The chapters flowing from then and now really helped paint the picture of what happened before and during the camping expedition and of course now with everyone's secrets exposed. What a perfect debut novel.

Thank you Hachette Australia and Netgalley for the gifted copy for my honest book review.