The Reunion

By Sue Walker

Book Overview

In 1977, Innes Haldane was one of seven extremely dysfunctional teenagers incarcerated in the Unit, an avant-garde psychiatric hospital on the outskirts of Edinburgh. There, she and her fellow inmates were forced into each other's lives, exposed to each other's pasts, and now share a collective memory. Since then, they have spent their adult lives trying to forget the unspeakable acts that sent them there and the terrible secret that occurred behind its walls . . . until a message on Innes's answering machine with a voice from the past interrupts the quiet life she has tried so hard to make for herself. There is a murderer stalking the former inmates, and the only way for them to save themselves is by reuniting -- no matter what the emotional cost. If the killer doesn't shatter their new lives, the memories being brought back to light just might. Now Innes must contact the others before someone else finds them first. . . .

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060832657
• ISBN13: 9780060832650
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Intense!

Innes Haldane listens to her answering machine and is horrified to hear a desperate message from Isabella "Abby" Velasco. Back in 1977, when Innes was only fifteen-years-old, she resided in an adolescent psychiatric unit in Edinburgh, known only as "The Unit". The Unit dealt with the most troubled of teens. Some of the teens were there for mental problems, others for violence. It was a dark time and place that Innes had forced herself to forget. Innes never returned Abby's call and later learns that Abby died, apparently a suicide. Then others Innes knew from The Unit turns up dead or worse. Innes feels compelled to look into Abby's death and see if something more sinister is going on ... and if she could be next on someone's hit list. ***** Sue Walker pens a dark and twisted psychological thriller that will keep you reading as quickly as you possibly can. I stayed up very late, promising myself that I would only read a few more pages, only to glance up at the clock to see another hour has past. Very intense! ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

An engrossing and ultimately disturbing novel

The focus of this novel is a group of disturbed young teenagers, who, in the late 70s, shared some months together in a progressive adolescent psychiatric center known as "The Unit." There is Simon, an awkward young man tormented by a horrible mother; Danny, a surprisingly charming teenaged rapist; Carrie, a hardened beauty with a sexual abuse history; Alex, a highly disturbed, androgynous young woman with violent tendencies; Lydia, a grossy overweight teen with a history of arson; Isabella, seemingly normal but with a completely dysfunctional family; and finally, Innes, the newest patient admitted to the dynamic. Twenty-seven years later, an out-of-the-blue phone message from Isabella to Innes sets off a chain reaction to uncover horrifying untold details about the shared past of this ecclectic group. First time author Sue Walker has created an engrossing mystery surrounding The Unit, allluding to a horror at which the reader can only begin to guess. However, her frequent shifts in both narrative voice and time--e.g., switching between the 1970s and present-day--are somewhat choppy and a bit disorienting at times. In addition, it is not clear why she chose to concentrate on certain characters while others, like Carrie (a major player in The Unit's disasterous events), fade quickly into the background. Finally, as other reviwers have mentioned, Walker fails to provide sufficient insight into the psychiatic disturbances of her young characters to fully explain both their conduct as both children and adults. Still, this is an original, interesting story that is worth reading.

A page turner

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel, it was a real page turner (had a few unintentionally long lunches at work as I was too engrossed to stop reading).It is a dark tale v. well told. I think this is a great debut novel and look forward to the next.

deep psychological suspense

The Adolescent Psychiatric Unit in Edinburgh, known just as the Unit, was a place where the most troubled teens would receive the mot innovative treatment for mental disorders. The class of 1977 contained youths with a wide variety of problems such as sexual deviancy, violent tendencies, and worse. When they were released, society hoped they would lead normal productive lives. As a whole the group did not stay in touch with one another, but a few formed a cell that gets in touch with each other every November 8th. Innes Haldane was a Unit patient, but never heard from her peers until out of nowhere Isabella Velasco called her; Innes never returned the call. A few weeks alter, Isabella was dead, ruled a suicide. Innes learns that another graduate Danny also apparently killed himself just before Isabella did. A hird Unit member almost died in the inferno that left her spouse and children dead; she might as well have been dead because her mind broke in the fire. Innes thinks this is too much coincidence as all these deaths are related, but how? Unbeknownst to Innes is that a heinous act during a camping trip as Unit members led to the present spate of killings and injuries. Sue Walker is a marvelous storyteller who masterly uses flashbacks as a key plot device that ironically enables the reader to know what Innes does not comprehend. THE REUNION is very atmospheric, dark and foreboding in a gothic Jane Eyre like way, but is clearly a psychological suspense that tantalizes the audience with what is really happening inside the minds of the key characters. Ms. Walker should receive Edgar consideration for this highly recommended book. Harriet Klausner

Wonderful Fast-Paced Mystery/Thriller

Innes Haldane was a mere fifteen-years-old when she was admitted to The Unit, a home for teens coping with dysfunctional behavior problems, while highly intelligent at the same time. The Unit, was an experimental home located in the outskirts of Edinburgh, and it was home for exactly one year for Innes, for she met four other teenagers who changed her life during her stay there, as well. Alex Baxendale, an aggressive teen; Isabella Velasco, a beautiful teen; Danny Rintoul, a child rapist; and Simon Calder, who was as studious as he was shy. Sure, they all went their own ways after a year, but that year has created some serious problems for the five of them. For now, more than twenty-years later, a killer is after the five of them, stalking and striking them one at a time. Now, the remaining survivors are forced to come together to confront the terrible secret that has been kept between them for these twenty some-odd years, in the hopes that it will save them, as opposed to destroy them. Sue Walker has done an amazing job with THE REUNION. The dialogue is fast-paced, and extremely quick-moving, while at the same time easy to understand and follow. The characters are intelligent, and thought-provoking, as is their witty commentary. Fans of psychological thrillers will be taken on an exciting thrill-ride that will have them gripping the edge of their seat, while fiercely turning the pages to find out what could possibly happen next. With riveting twists and turns on every page, this is an absolute must-have. Erika Sorocco Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper