#BlogTour-‘The Reunion’ by Guillaume Musso

About the book…

‘The Reunion’ by Guillaume Musso is released on 11th July in hardback,audiobook and ebook formats by Orion imprint,Weidenfeld  & Nicolson.My thanks to the team there for my gifted paperback copy of the book and Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers for my blogtour invite!

FRENCH RIVIERA, WINTER 1992

On a freezing night, as her high school campus is engulfed by a snowstorm, 19-year-old Vinca Rockwell runs away with Alexis, her philosophy teacher.

No one will ever see them again.

FRENCH RIVIERA, SPRING 2017

Formerly inseparable, Thomas, Maxime and Fanny – Vinca’s best friends – have not spoken in twenty-five years. But when they receive an invitation to their school reunion, they know they must go back one final time.

Because there is a body buried in that school…

…and they’re the ones who put it there.

For fans of Joel Dicker’s ‘The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair’, Harlan Coben’s ‘Tell No One’ and Gillian Flynn’s ‘Gone Girl’ With the atmosphere of Donna Tartt’s ‘The Secret History’ and David Lynch’s ‘Twin Peaks’

When I was a child, the tv programme ‘Columbo’ baffled me as you knew whodunnit right from the very start. As each investigation progressed, you, along with the titular detective unpacked the means and the motivation for events viewed right at the very beginning and witnessed the tightening of the noose around the neck of the person you knew dunnit, it was like watching a spider trapping a fly.

In ‘Reunion’, Guillame Musso pulls off a similar trick-you know there is a body hidden in the wall of what was the new gym. You know the anniversary celebrations/construction of a new building will uncover the body. You know that it involves the disappearance of a young girl, Vinca, and Alexis her philosophy teacher but you don’t know why.

”These days,everything is about truth,about transparency,but truth is rarely what it seems,and in this specific case,it would bring no comfort,no closure,no real justice.Truth would trail in its wake only calamity,a manhunt and slander.”

A tran-Atlantic newspaper article, an-ex student whose tracher parents were retired in disgrace and a frantic phonecall bring novelist Thomas Degalis back to the scene of the crime…but there is more than one body and one truth to uncover before the ground is broken on the newest addition to Lycee International Saint-Exupery.

”Shared experiences and memories are a reminder of where we came from and are crucial to deciding where we are heading.”

More than just a reunion of past students to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the school, it is a meeting of culprits with the truth of what they have done. They are reuniting themselves with the actions and consequences of their younger selves.

The short, snappy chapters keep the tension and sense of pacing taut and lean. The translation by Frank Wynne maintains a great air of suspense, authenticity and places it firmly as a translated work, across 2 timeframes, that is keenly felt by the reader.As the bodies and lies accumulate, the noose of truth draws tighter but around whose neck? And how does one’s perception of innocence and guilt change from when you are ,essentially, a child, to that of an adult? Or was that elemental character flaw there all along and the arrogance of youth the factor which set it free?

This was a really interesting character study and story which will appeal to mystery fans, suspense fans and lovers of translated works. I can see why it has been compared to ‘The Secret History‘, but in this reader’s humble opinion, the only correlation between them is murder and the mention of snow. Otherwise, in terms of execution and plot, they are entirely different beasts.It more closely resembles ‘Harry Quebert’ in the respect of time between events(decades) and the relationship between teacher and pupil but again, the two books are very, very different.’The Reunion’ is very much its’ own thing and will appeal,in my humble opinion, to the afore mentioned book lovers.

About the author…

Guillaume Musso was the number one bestselling author in France in 2011 and 2012. Born in 1974 on the Cote d’Azur, he knew from an early age that he wanted to write novels and to touch the largest possible number of people.

In 2004, ‘AFTERWARDS’ was published in France by XO Editions and was an immediate bestseller and established a loyal following for his unique brand of storytelling which blends romance, adventure, suspense and the supernatural. It was later made into a film starring John Malkovich, Evangeline Lily and Romain Duris.

Since then, with every one of the six novels which have followed, his loyal readership has grown significantly, making him the most widely-read author writing in French today.His stories have universal central themes: missed opportunities, second chances,the passage of time, lost love and redemption.

Cop drama ‘Where Would I Be Without You’ and romantic thriller ‘The Girl On Paper’ is now available for the first time in English published by ‘Gallic Books’.

Links-https://www.guillaumemusso.com/en

Twitter @Guillaume_Musso         

@OrionBooks

@gigicroft

@Tr4cyF3nt0n