Jennie Whitmore wanted to escape White Cross as an 18 year old but when her best friend Hannah didn't arrive for the bus to take them both to London Jennie ended up staying and settling into life there, eventually becoming a police officer. Following a school reunion for White Cross Academy pupils in anticipation of the building being demolished the next day, Jennie gets an early wake up call - a body's been found buried in the foundations of the old building and she can only wonder if the mystery of Hannah's disappearance will now finally be resolved?

With such an intriguing premise and the fast paced introduction to the overall mystery I really wanted to love this book. It's exactly the kind of crime thriller I usually enjoy and whilst it grabbed my attention initially I very quickly tired of the repetition of Jennie having to hide her connection to the body found in the school and having to hide her emotions. It felt unethical and a thin plot device to make sure she could stay investigating the case and it wore thin on me as a reader.

I was fully invested for the first 75-100 pages of the story but then my enjoyment dipped due to my annoyance at Jennie's actions and thought processes and the fact that the middle section felt a lot slower paced with what I felt to be unnecessary elements. But I did enjoy the final quarter and I liked that there were plenty of red herrings and multiple viable suspects revealed and the conclusion overall felt pretty satisfying. I think most readers of small town murder mysteries will likely enjoy this book but unfortunately for me there were several story elements just didn't work for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group | Orion for this digital review copy of "The Reunion" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.