Cealie is a well-to-do widow, still searching to find herself after her husband's death. It's the reason she has put off Gil Thurman, a handsome restaurant owner who proposed to her. She has a mantra, "I am woman, able to make my own way - alone," and is determined to find out who she is without a man by her side. So, she jumps at the chance to go on an Alaskan cruise with classmates. "I needed to go and find my other classmates to renew friendships more and see what I could discover."
What Cealie suspects could be much worse than she intended to discover. When a man dies the day the cruise starts, she suspects her aunt. She suspects that two of her classmates came on the cruise to see each other, instead of their spouses. And, she even suspects that Gil came on the cruise to follow her, when he had other reasons to be on the ship. Cealie's poking and prodding may make her unpopular with her classmates. And, when a second death occurs, she may find herself in trouble.
I had a problem with Cealie Gunther. She seemed to be judgmental and pushy, determined to have her own way with everything from her relationship with Gil to her son's family. And, then I looked at Cealie in another way. This is a lonely widow, unsure of her old friends, even unsure of her relationship with her aunt. In the long run, she's really unsure of herself. That's why she's determined to live by that mantra, "I am woman, able to make my own way - alone."
That view of Cealie put a whole new slant on Deadly Reunion. What if you went to a class reunion, on a ship, and discovered you didn't know those classmates anymore? Who do you turn to when everything seems to go wrong? Cealie's suspicions and investigations now seem very appropriate, and necessary. So, set sail with Cealie Gunther in Deadly Reunion. And, ask yourself, how well do you know your classmates from thirty-five or forty years ago? Are you still the same person you were then? And, who is now capable of murder?
June Shaw's website is http://www.juneshaw.com
Deadly Reunion by June Shaw. Gale Cengage Learning. ©2011. ISBN 9781432824983 (hardcover), 256p.
*****
FTC Full Disclosure - The author sent me a copy of the book, hoping I would review it.
8 comments:
Haven't done reunions in years but recently met up with a high school friend. Now see reunions as a yardstick for how much we've changed and, more importantly, how much we've grown. Deadly Reunion seems to spotlight the flaws we manage to hide from ourselves and others.
What a great comment, Liz! That's a wonderful way of putting it, spotlighting the flaws we manage to hide from ourselves and others. Very good. Thank you for that.
Liz, great point about reunions! thanks for sharing it with us.
Lesa, thanks so much for the sweet review.
June, thank you, again, for taking time for the guest post yesterday.
High school and classmates were not a highlight of my life and I have not kept in touch with anyone.
I enjoyed the review and had already added Deadly Reunion to my TBR list.
Hi June, don't like thinking back to high school ... too scary. Love the looks of your book though!
Funny how many of us had those same feelings about high school, and don't really think it was the good years people think it should be.
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