The Reunion

“The Reunion” by Samantha Hayes was an enjoyable & memorable read. The characters were very real & most of them were remarkable people. The plot was fast-moving & suspensful with an incredible twist at the conclusion.Decades of time were skillfully grafted & woven into the threads of the story.I thought Claire’s husband Callim was a horrible person. He was an arrogant example of human garbage! He went around making sure everyone knew he was a neurosurgeon. He felt that he was a demi-god & worthy of great praise. Both Claire & Callum worked, Claire as a real estate agent. They had 2 children: Marcus was 18 & lived at home; Amy was 6 years old & a smart, delightful child. When Claire came home at the end of a work day, her work at home was just beginning. On the way home, she picked up Amy from daycare; she grocery shopped. When she finally got home, she prepared dinner & did the washing up. When needed, she did the laundry. Before Amy’s bedtime, Claire gave her a bath & dried her off. She helped Amy into her pajamas & read her a story. It was only after all these chores that Claire was ready to relax for the evening for a couple of hours. And what was Callum doing? After work he came home & sat on his backside, either watching TV or reading while Claire did all the household chores. If he had any sense of decency, he’d help his wife with the chores. But he didn’t have any decency, as the reader would eventually discover.Claire’s father Patrick was recently diagnosed with Alzheimers. Claire decides to host a reunion to help Patrick recall his & his family’s shared past. She invites her old childhood friends & their family members, & Claire’s family members she lost touch with. In the middle of all this, the reader learns of Claire’s missing sister Eleanor (called Lenni at the time) who disappeared when Eleanor was 13 years old & Claire was 18. She had been missing for 21 years when the novel opens.I recommend this novel highly for those readers who enjoy suspense, psychological & family dramas. Terrific novel!

From my blogI haven't read a book by Samantha Hayes in a few years and I wanted my next read to be from a favourite author, it didn't disappoint. I enjoy the authors style, the complexity of a suspense, mystery but in a simplistic way, no manipulating just good writing but the reader doesn't want to miss the little clues she gives you.Claire is the glue of the family, loyal and honest to family and friends. She lives with her husband and kids next to her childhood family farm house where her mom and dad still live. Her mom would like to sell, she feels it is time, to large for them now and her dad has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimers and doesn't want to sell. Claire comes up with the idea to have a reunion including siblings and best friends. She thought it would help to bring good memories back for her dad before it was to late and to help make the decision about selling. The mystery of the loss of her sister still is a black cloud over the family and everyone hasn't been together since that tragic day.Everyone starts to arrive for the anticipated reunion, fun times going down memory lane. An addition comes along, Claire's best friends daughter, Rain. Well she was a character that pulled at your emotional strings, anger, sadness, dismissive, empathy and sympathy but overall she is in teenager hell mode and it was hard to like and believe her. And then history repeats itself and Rain has gone missing also.This was a great book on family dynamics and friendships. Who do you believe, what secrets does each person have and how does this affect the tragedies? I did figure out who was responsible but I still consider it jaw dropping and how it all came together was executed to perfection. I even knew who would put it all together but the appalling part of the story that occurred to both victims, was shocking to me. A really great read, you will not figure it all out and will enjoy the complexity of the story and what all the characters bring to the story.My favourite by Sam Hayes is Tell Tale.

I'm 100% obsessed with this book!!!! It was so so so good!!!!! I read it in 24 hours. Truly couldn't put it down. I read A LOT - at least two books per week - it's incredibly rare to find a book that lingers in your head for days after - this book did that for me. I want to read it all over again! It was so well written and it was so captivating - the character development, the settings, everything. The way the author was able to create so many different characters and make them feel completely real - just amazing. And it wasn't confusing! When there are multiple characters with detailed personality traits/issues, the story can get lost or confusing. This was not one of those books. And the story plot - so different and original. It was incredibly twisted, but not to the point where it was overkill. It was just twisted enough to throw you off balance and really make you think. Some authors go for the nasty, shock value to create a "real thriller"...this book didn't need that. You don't need gore to have a true psychological thriller. This was a very smart, creative thriller that makes you question everything and everyone. Truly a fantastic book - can't wait to read all of her books!!!!

Enjoyed the plot line, but the characters were written with a heavy hand. Every individual is so extreme and dramatic— so much cliché. I could barely handle Claire. She is exhausting.Spoiler alert: While the villain comes as a surprise, it’s also unbelievable/unconvincing.

Well written, lots of suspense

This book was an easy read, I thought the author did a fabulous job building the cHaracters and keeping the reader turning the pages!! Brought this book camping and couldn't put it down, great read

Gripping, haunting story

2,5 StarsI’m a bit disappointed. I was almost immediately drawn into the story. But somehow it failed to deliver. This book is a slow burner. The suspense dried out while the story went on. It also turned out that the two people I mistrusted the most were the baddies. The book is told in alternating chapters from today and the remembering of someone who is held captive. I did not like these chapters. They don’t seem necessary.Although I found this story to be a little dragging I wanted to finish it to see if I was right to mistrust those particular characters. As I said, I was right. It is not a bad book but also not a very good one. I did not like the writing and for my taste it was too slow

Its an awesome read, cudnt let go, every page kept getting more and more interesting. A wonderful book and an amazing author.