The Reunion

During an elaborate vacation, a family’s secrets bring down the mood—and result in a murder—in this dynamic drama by Frick (Very Bad People). Over Christmas, 16-year-old Addison Acker-Mayweather and the rest of her extended family travel to Cancún to celebrate her mother’s engagement. She resolves to use the vacation to make up with her twin brother Mason, who’s been distant ever since she left him behind to attend a swanky private boarding school. But Mason is hiding something, and the siblings’ cousin Natalia is more interested in chatting with her online boyfriend than participating in forced family fun. Meanwhile, the twins’ soon-to-be stepbrother Theo, who is bisexual, hopes to bond with his future siblings, but the disappearance of two high schoolers from the resort and familial confrontation throw a wrench in his plans. The four teens’ alternating perspectives are interspersed with hotel memos, news articles, and police interrogations; ample red herrings and eye-popping twists further cultivate this compulsive read. Through nuanced character relationships that heighten the tension, Frick handily explores themes surrounding gender roles, loyalty, sexuality, and toxic masculinity in this cleverly layered mystery. Most characters read as white; Natalia is of Puerto Rican heritage. Ages 14–up. (Aug.)