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Jack Marston Mystery #2
Reunion
When ordinary folks gather for a high school class reunion, they don’t expect to become murder targets. In early spring, Jack Marston and his companion Lori Jacobs are still finding their way into their relationship, while Jack is learning more of the idiosyncrasies of his position at City College. A letter arrives with a fateful invitation. Classmates in the town of Riverview are organizing a major reunion of Lori’s high school graduating class. Lori persuades Jack to accompany her on this summer journey into her past. The first evening is well under way when one of Lori’s classmates, is discovered brutally murdered in a field behind the very restaurant where the opening night festivities are going on. In the ensuing investigation, Marston and Lori discover that the small community is not as placid as it appears. They become targets of a vicious group of insiders who will apparently stop at nothing to remain concealed. And meanwhile, who is killing the graduates?
- GenresMystery
268 pages, Paperback
Published August 31, 2011
13 people want to read
About the author
Carl Brookins
26 books79 followersBefore I became a mystery writer and reviewer, I was a television program producer, a counselor and faculty member at Metropolitan State University in Saint Paul and a mystery fiction reviewer for the Saint Paul Pioneer Press and Mystery Scene Magazine. I'm an avid recreational sailor (hence my sailing series and a member of Sisters in Crime, and Private Eye Writers of America, as well as MWA. You can frequently find me touring bookstores and libraries with my companions-in-crime, The Minnesota Crime Wave. You can also catch me on tv! Just check out the Minnesota Crime Wave website, www.MinnesotaCrimeWave.org.
I live with my wife Jean, a retired publisher and editor, in Roseville, Minnesota.
I live with my wife Jean, a retired publisher and editor, in Roseville, Minnesota.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 16, 2012
Reunion: Carl Brookins
Reunions are supposed to bring people together who have not communicated or have seen each other for many years. Twenty year High School reunions should bring back pleasant memories, interesting times and definitely create curiosity as to how people look, where life has taken them and what the future still holds. But, the last thing you would ever think you would encounter would be murder. Some reunions bring you more than you bargain for as one alumni if found dead by the sheriff and the pasts of many of the people living in the town of Riverview will definitely bring to light things no one wants to remember. Jack Marston joins his companion Lori Jacobs for this weekend reunion and never expects to come face to face with the corpse of Elroy Guteman one of the graduates. Leaving the party and finding him impaled on a some old rusty pieces of farming equipment called tines the man was dead, he felt sick at the sight and hoped he could keep what he saw from Lori. Recounting how they came to be invited, discussing some of the people that they might meet along the way, as they traveled to the reunion each pondering their own thoughts.
Talking about the town, the people and then walking along to remember it, absorb the atmosphere Lori would share with Jack the many different sites, the people and her feelings about them as the author before we get into the murders allows the reader to get to know the people living in this small town and those that might attend the reunion. As you meet Elroy Guteman, Marge McMenny and Terry Worckowki you begin to realize that this is not exactly a friendly town, the people are strange in their behaviors and the feeling you get even though Lori know them all they all seem to ignore her. Some did not even glance in their direction when they came into the dining room at Georgina’s 40-Mile Club that was the site of the reunion. But, the reunion would prove more than interesting as we meet more of the people in this town. As they are driving the stop and look at her old swimming hole that is now part of the city park. What else they see would definitely surprise the reader, as two figures embracing in the black water would definitely provide fodder for gossip if anyone else saw them or they could be identified.
Jack Marston seems to create interest of the women of the town and the fact that he is living with Lori and they are not married definitely raised some eyebrows. When the murder is brought out in the open and the people at the reunion questioned Lori’s little dalliance with another graduate is brought out.
But, the gossip in this town was widespread and although there was a murder there had to be an underlying cause as Lori reveals an incident that she witnessed that caused a young boy his life when dared to jump into a creek. Kids often dare others when they are weaker and need to prove themselves. But, when a young boy named Tony attempts to do something and others try to save him the current of the water envelops him and the rest would haunt many memories forever.
The reunion continues and the next event is a barbeque and once again the situation proves volatile for many. More gossip is revealed, relationships spoken about and another body is found this time of Edith Kronk. Just how are the two murders related and why was Jack asked to investigate remains to be seen? A criminal investigator in the Navy the sheriff feels that he would be an asset to the investigation and since resources are at a minimum help is always welcome. Lori is apprehensive at first but finds herself knee deep in trying to help solve the murders and works closely with Jack to question some of the people at the reunion. Pasts come back to haunt many of the residents of Riverview as Lori questions Marge McMenny and is reminded of a loan owed her by her family.
Someone seems to have a grudge against the graduates of this class of 89 and before all is said and done more bodies will be uncovered and more skeletons will come out of many closets. Jack was once a Navy NCIS investigator and is now a director of student services at City College in Minneapolis. Using his skills as a former detective he helps to uncover the tangled web of the many different sides of Riverview and its residents but not before he and his psychologist girlfriend, Lori Jacobs encounter many dead bodies, realize the idyllic town that she lived in 20 years ago was not longer that same farming community. Within this community we learn before all is unraveled that there are secrets that lie beneath the hidden fields, gossip that will unravel many lives and a reunion that no one will ever forget. Murders outside
Elroy’s murder was just the tip of the iceberg and although Sheriff Arnason is looking into the crime Jack has his own mixed feelings about him and the rest of the graduates continue with the festivities as if nothing happened. Most, seem unnerved and not disturbed by the death of this man and others to follow. With Jack as a second pair of eyes to aid in the investigation answers are short in coming, Lori has some that can fill in the blanks, revealing her own guilt related to Tony’s death and coming face to face with her past in the present.
A town riddled in secrets leading to the front door of Georgina’s 40 Mile Club where when Jack and Lori investigate further learn the truth behind how she came to own the club, the rationale behind the purchase and the silent or hidden partners that she deal with and why. However, there is much more as Lori and Jack return to their hotel and find their room burglarized but nothing major taken. Notes that they compiled might have been the target or something else. Obstacles in their way, resentment by those living there many feel that they are intruding on their lives and do not want them around. Innuendos, falsehoods and an enlightenment for the reader of what really might go in small rural and close- knit community like Riverview. Carl Brookins opens the eyes of city dwellers to another kind of life in his graphic and vividly depicted descriptions of the people and their lives. Murder, burglary, gun shots as they left the house of Terry and Ada and possible corruption all comprise this reunion of the class of 89.
When all of the pieces finally come to light a murder of a man that took place many years ago, a bank deal that was crooked, attempted murder of Lori and Jack and a huge cover-up that lies within the town. Murder, deceit, betrayals, characters that are believable and an ending that will make you wonder whether you would ever want to live in a place like Riverview. Lori is kidnapped, several women reveal what they have kept hidden and the clock is about to run out. Added to the murders he adds an extra touch of discussing the mortgage and loan business and the swindling that went on from the old banker to the purchase of the 40 Mile Club.
When the past becomes the present just how close to the truth about something will it reveal. Kidnappings, attempted murders and a killer who was out for revenge and a town that covered up more than one murder. Just who killed the graduates you won’t believe. Just how all this ties together I cannot reveal. Read this murder/thriller and find out just how some reunions are better not attended. The class of 89: You might want to miss the next reunion. Some reunions are better missed.
Fran Lewis: reviewer
Reunions are supposed to bring people together who have not communicated or have seen each other for many years. Twenty year High School reunions should bring back pleasant memories, interesting times and definitely create curiosity as to how people look, where life has taken them and what the future still holds. But, the last thing you would ever think you would encounter would be murder. Some reunions bring you more than you bargain for as one alumni if found dead by the sheriff and the pasts of many of the people living in the town of Riverview will definitely bring to light things no one wants to remember. Jack Marston joins his companion Lori Jacobs for this weekend reunion and never expects to come face to face with the corpse of Elroy Guteman one of the graduates. Leaving the party and finding him impaled on a some old rusty pieces of farming equipment called tines the man was dead, he felt sick at the sight and hoped he could keep what he saw from Lori. Recounting how they came to be invited, discussing some of the people that they might meet along the way, as they traveled to the reunion each pondering their own thoughts.
Talking about the town, the people and then walking along to remember it, absorb the atmosphere Lori would share with Jack the many different sites, the people and her feelings about them as the author before we get into the murders allows the reader to get to know the people living in this small town and those that might attend the reunion. As you meet Elroy Guteman, Marge McMenny and Terry Worckowki you begin to realize that this is not exactly a friendly town, the people are strange in their behaviors and the feeling you get even though Lori know them all they all seem to ignore her. Some did not even glance in their direction when they came into the dining room at Georgina’s 40-Mile Club that was the site of the reunion. But, the reunion would prove more than interesting as we meet more of the people in this town. As they are driving the stop and look at her old swimming hole that is now part of the city park. What else they see would definitely surprise the reader, as two figures embracing in the black water would definitely provide fodder for gossip if anyone else saw them or they could be identified.
Jack Marston seems to create interest of the women of the town and the fact that he is living with Lori and they are not married definitely raised some eyebrows. When the murder is brought out in the open and the people at the reunion questioned Lori’s little dalliance with another graduate is brought out.
But, the gossip in this town was widespread and although there was a murder there had to be an underlying cause as Lori reveals an incident that she witnessed that caused a young boy his life when dared to jump into a creek. Kids often dare others when they are weaker and need to prove themselves. But, when a young boy named Tony attempts to do something and others try to save him the current of the water envelops him and the rest would haunt many memories forever.
The reunion continues and the next event is a barbeque and once again the situation proves volatile for many. More gossip is revealed, relationships spoken about and another body is found this time of Edith Kronk. Just how are the two murders related and why was Jack asked to investigate remains to be seen? A criminal investigator in the Navy the sheriff feels that he would be an asset to the investigation and since resources are at a minimum help is always welcome. Lori is apprehensive at first but finds herself knee deep in trying to help solve the murders and works closely with Jack to question some of the people at the reunion. Pasts come back to haunt many of the residents of Riverview as Lori questions Marge McMenny and is reminded of a loan owed her by her family.
Someone seems to have a grudge against the graduates of this class of 89 and before all is said and done more bodies will be uncovered and more skeletons will come out of many closets. Jack was once a Navy NCIS investigator and is now a director of student services at City College in Minneapolis. Using his skills as a former detective he helps to uncover the tangled web of the many different sides of Riverview and its residents but not before he and his psychologist girlfriend, Lori Jacobs encounter many dead bodies, realize the idyllic town that she lived in 20 years ago was not longer that same farming community. Within this community we learn before all is unraveled that there are secrets that lie beneath the hidden fields, gossip that will unravel many lives and a reunion that no one will ever forget. Murders outside
Elroy’s murder was just the tip of the iceberg and although Sheriff Arnason is looking into the crime Jack has his own mixed feelings about him and the rest of the graduates continue with the festivities as if nothing happened. Most, seem unnerved and not disturbed by the death of this man and others to follow. With Jack as a second pair of eyes to aid in the investigation answers are short in coming, Lori has some that can fill in the blanks, revealing her own guilt related to Tony’s death and coming face to face with her past in the present.
A town riddled in secrets leading to the front door of Georgina’s 40 Mile Club where when Jack and Lori investigate further learn the truth behind how she came to own the club, the rationale behind the purchase and the silent or hidden partners that she deal with and why. However, there is much more as Lori and Jack return to their hotel and find their room burglarized but nothing major taken. Notes that they compiled might have been the target or something else. Obstacles in their way, resentment by those living there many feel that they are intruding on their lives and do not want them around. Innuendos, falsehoods and an enlightenment for the reader of what really might go in small rural and close- knit community like Riverview. Carl Brookins opens the eyes of city dwellers to another kind of life in his graphic and vividly depicted descriptions of the people and their lives. Murder, burglary, gun shots as they left the house of Terry and Ada and possible corruption all comprise this reunion of the class of 89.
When all of the pieces finally come to light a murder of a man that took place many years ago, a bank deal that was crooked, attempted murder of Lori and Jack and a huge cover-up that lies within the town. Murder, deceit, betrayals, characters that are believable and an ending that will make you wonder whether you would ever want to live in a place like Riverview. Lori is kidnapped, several women reveal what they have kept hidden and the clock is about to run out. Added to the murders he adds an extra touch of discussing the mortgage and loan business and the swindling that went on from the old banker to the purchase of the 40 Mile Club.
When the past becomes the present just how close to the truth about something will it reveal. Kidnappings, attempted murders and a killer who was out for revenge and a town that covered up more than one murder. Just who killed the graduates you won’t believe. Just how all this ties together I cannot reveal. Read this murder/thriller and find out just how some reunions are better not attended. The class of 89: You might want to miss the next reunion. Some reunions are better missed.
Fran Lewis: reviewer
June 15, 2017
Small town, lots of secrets, one reunion, and murder...
When Jack Marston persuades his girlfriend, Lori, to attend her highschool reunion, he is unprepared to be taken along to the event. He is even less prepared to face the murder of one of Lori's classmates. And that's when it all begins...
The plot was a fun, generally cozy mystery that bumped along at a reasonable pace and harked back to the RL Stine type high-school dramas (only with adult protagonists) combined with a hardcore read on small-town corruption and distrust. The writing felt a little too like that developed in a writing class, often stunted by over-description and unrealistic dialogue. But a fun read nonetheless.
*Thank you to the author for the free review copy via their publicist.
When Jack Marston persuades his girlfriend, Lori, to attend her highschool reunion, he is unprepared to be taken along to the event. He is even less prepared to face the murder of one of Lori's classmates. And that's when it all begins...
The plot was a fun, generally cozy mystery that bumped along at a reasonable pace and harked back to the RL Stine type high-school dramas (only with adult protagonists) combined with a hardcore read on small-town corruption and distrust. The writing felt a little too like that developed in a writing class, often stunted by over-description and unrealistic dialogue. But a fun read nonetheless.
*Thank you to the author for the free review copy via their publicist.
May 21, 2017
The past is always with us and sometimes it comes back, or so Jack Marston finds out when he and his girlfriend, Lori Jacobs attend her class reunion in the small town of Riverview—a town with secrets galore. He’s anxious to learn more about her past. But he never realizes that delving into it could be deadly. Although Jack is retired from his former job as an investigator for the U.S. Navy, he gets pulled into the inquiries about several murders when Lori insists on finding answers to why her former classmates are being killed.
The classmates and spouses who were introduced to Jack once he and Lori were at the reunion were little difficult to remember and keep track of, especially if I had to leave the book and come back to it at another time. However, I must admit that as the story progressed, it got a bit easier when the suspects were narrowed down. The interesting thing about this novel is that there are two separate murder mysteries.
Solid personalities, believable dialog, and an interesting storyline kept me turning the pages.
The classmates and spouses who were introduced to Jack once he and Lori were at the reunion were little difficult to remember and keep track of, especially if I had to leave the book and come back to it at another time. However, I must admit that as the story progressed, it got a bit easier when the suspects were narrowed down. The interesting thing about this novel is that there are two separate murder mysteries.
Solid personalities, believable dialog, and an interesting storyline kept me turning the pages.
July 19, 2013
Jack Marston's past includes a stint in the Navy as a NCIS investigator. Now living a more sedate life as the director of student services at City College in Minneapolis, Jack has no idea his former occupation will prove useful when he accompanies the woman he loves to her twentieth-year high school reunion in the Minnesota farming community of Riverview. But he soon learns that psychologist Lori Jacobs' hometown in no way resembles the idyllic rural locale he imagined. Deeply held secrets dominate life in this pastoral setting of white-painted farmhouses and lush fields of wheat. Backbiting gossip, sly innuendo, and downright hostility mark the opening festivities of the class of '89's reunion. Unsettling as they may be for Jack, these activities pale in comparison to the gruesome murder of one of Lori's classmates outside Georgiana's 40-Mile Club.
Elroy Guteman's death puts a damper on, but doesn't stop, the weekend celebration. While Sheriff Arnason investigates the crime, the remaining members of Lori's class continue their scheduled activities in and around town. Then another former graduate winds up dead, and Arnason enlists Jack as a second pair of eyes and ears within the reunion group. What Jack observes is often confusing to him, but having grown up in Riverview, Lori is able to supply answers for most of his questions. Some of those answers exact a toll on Lori; resurrecting old memories requires her to face long denied demons from her early life.
Working as a team, the pair gradually pieces together a stunning puzzle that links underhanded deals and long forgotten deaths not only with people from Lori's past, but also with present residents of Riverview. But obtaining final justice isn't easy for Jack and Lori. Death and danger dog their every footstep as they pursue truth in a town dedicated to preserving easy lies.
Carl Brookins presents readers with a complicated but logically constructed story in REUNION. Jack and Lori are fabulous characters with strong personalities that mesh nicely even under stress. Other characters are equally believable and well described, as is the rural setting of Riverview. The author displays a keen awareness of life in small communities, where relationships between neighbors are generally close, and gossip and secrecy often distort the truth of a situation. This awareness is complimented by Brookins' understanding of rural economic conditions where farmers are held hostage to both the weather and the whims of the futures market. By introducing a third complication into this mix -- namely the mortgage-and-loan business -- Brookins successfully engages readers in not one, but two distinct mysteries within a single story. The plot moves along at a nice pace and is complimented by dialogue that is natural and flows smoothly. I greatly enjoyed this book.
Elroy Guteman's death puts a damper on, but doesn't stop, the weekend celebration. While Sheriff Arnason investigates the crime, the remaining members of Lori's class continue their scheduled activities in and around town. Then another former graduate winds up dead, and Arnason enlists Jack as a second pair of eyes and ears within the reunion group. What Jack observes is often confusing to him, but having grown up in Riverview, Lori is able to supply answers for most of his questions. Some of those answers exact a toll on Lori; resurrecting old memories requires her to face long denied demons from her early life.
Working as a team, the pair gradually pieces together a stunning puzzle that links underhanded deals and long forgotten deaths not only with people from Lori's past, but also with present residents of Riverview. But obtaining final justice isn't easy for Jack and Lori. Death and danger dog their every footstep as they pursue truth in a town dedicated to preserving easy lies.
Carl Brookins presents readers with a complicated but logically constructed story in REUNION. Jack and Lori are fabulous characters with strong personalities that mesh nicely even under stress. Other characters are equally believable and well described, as is the rural setting of Riverview. The author displays a keen awareness of life in small communities, where relationships between neighbors are generally close, and gossip and secrecy often distort the truth of a situation. This awareness is complimented by Brookins' understanding of rural economic conditions where farmers are held hostage to both the weather and the whims of the futures market. By introducing a third complication into this mix -- namely the mortgage-and-loan business -- Brookins successfully engages readers in not one, but two distinct mysteries within a single story. The plot moves along at a nice pace and is complimented by dialogue that is natural and flows smoothly. I greatly enjoyed this book.
September 20, 2012
Jack Marston, a former investigator for the Navy, is now a student service director at City College in Minneapolis. Jack is living with Lori Jacobs and Lori has just received an invitation to the reunion of the Class of 1989 in the town of Riverview. Lori isn't too excited about going but Jack encourages her to accept the invitation. Lori accepts but wants Jack to attend the reunion functions with her.
The couple travel to Riverview to attend. There are some interesting sounding events set up for the attendees at the reunion. Jack takes a walk outside on the first night and finds a dead body and this won't be the first murder to happen during the reunion.
Lori didn't expect things to remain the same in Riverview but it isn't the town that she remembers. It seems that there are a lot of shady dealings going on and certain people will go to any length to keep their secrets hidden. Jack is using his investigator skills to attempt to figure out what is actually going on in this crooked town and Lori is helping with her knowledge of the people.
The couple's investigations lead them to a discovery that puts their lives on the line. Can Jack possibly figure out a way to save them both before they become the next victims.
Reunion is a book that I didn't want to end and I was surprised when the complicated plot and the actual murderer was finally revealed.
Carl Brookins is a retired professor, author and reviewer. I would recommend Reunion as well as The Case of the Greedy Lawyers, another Brookins novel.
The couple travel to Riverview to attend. There are some interesting sounding events set up for the attendees at the reunion. Jack takes a walk outside on the first night and finds a dead body and this won't be the first murder to happen during the reunion.
Lori didn't expect things to remain the same in Riverview but it isn't the town that she remembers. It seems that there are a lot of shady dealings going on and certain people will go to any length to keep their secrets hidden. Jack is using his investigator skills to attempt to figure out what is actually going on in this crooked town and Lori is helping with her knowledge of the people.
The couple's investigations lead them to a discovery that puts their lives on the line. Can Jack possibly figure out a way to save them both before they become the next victims.
Reunion is a book that I didn't want to end and I was surprised when the complicated plot and the actual murderer was finally revealed.
Carl Brookins is a retired professor, author and reviewer. I would recommend Reunion as well as The Case of the Greedy Lawyers, another Brookins novel.
November 15, 2011
Just about to finish this one. So far it is a good story. A bit light on the mystery, but I am enjoying the relationship between Jack Marston and Lori. The tangle of underhanded business dealings from the past that affect a current murder adds to the drama and suspense, and the reader is led down a few blind alleys until the final outcome. I will say Brookins has kept me guessing. I still have about a quarter of the book to read and although I suspect some of what is going on, it is still a mystery as to who is killing people at Lori's class reunion.
Finished the book yesterday and the tension did pick up toward the end, which came as a bit of a surprise. All in all, Carl Brookins does weave a good mystery.
Finished the book yesterday and the tension did pick up toward the end, which came as a bit of a surprise. All in all, Carl Brookins does weave a good mystery.
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February 14, 2012I like it, it addresses the experience anyone might have attending the high school reunion of a lover, a spouse, a husband or a wife. Most of us have driven to or through a small placid-appearing town in America and wondered if there were any hidden secrets. Well, imagine Riverview and the not-so-nice underbelly of the town.
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