Murder at the High School Reunion (Maya and Sandra Mystery, #5), by Lee Hollis

 

Publication July 1, 2025

 If you've ever attended a high school reunion gathering you'll be able to relate to the reluctance with which Maya and Sandra go to their 25th reunion. But, hey, it involves a paid case and, well, Maya always needs money. As they feared, a once and seemingly always mean girl and her cronies don't seem to have changed. In fact, one has a nasty surprise planned for her cheating husband that will rely on evidence she's hired them to find. On the plus side, former wallflower, shy girl Alyssa Turner will be there, too, and has contacted them. Alyssa is now an Oscar nominated actress. Unfortunately, murder steals the spotlight.

While I won't detail the plot, let's just say you're likely not to have much more sympathy for the victim than I did. Still, no one deserves to die. At their high school reunion, no less. Maya and Sandra are drawn into the investigation when it turns out Alyssa was heard having a confrontation with the victim not long before their death. Alyssa, far from being a snooty movie star turned out to be quite likeable and even helped them out with their case via her acting skills. Good preparation for her upcoming role as a private eye, I'd say.

Despite the crowd at the reunion, the focus characters in this book besides those mentioned, are Max and Lucas. Turns out Maya still loves her recently released from prison husband Max, an ex-cop, no less.  Let's just say he has a mandatory meeting with his probation officer at the end. As for Lucas, well, he's madly in love with Sandra but she thinks he's too young for her. I think I missed the last book because I didn't realize how far this had progressed, so catching up on Sandra, formerly married to a prominent senator, was fun. As always, she's puts her life on the line for a case, so Lucas may have gray hair soon, however. Bottom line, a fun mystery with memorable characters good and bad, and interesting backstories to keep us intrigued. Thanks #KensingtonPublishing - #KensingtonCozies for this early peek at what is going on in Maya and Sandra's busy world. I'm looking forward to seeing how Max will fit into the equation as they seem to be firmly on the reunification trail. Let's hope he avoids any more unplanned probation conferences.