THAT LAST WEEKEND

Returning to the scene of a past crime, five friends don’t know whom to trust because they fear one of them may be a murderer.

Though her personal life is at a bit of a dead end, Laurel Muir, who’s doing well professionally, is happy to celebrate her recent appointment as a judge with friends and family. Her gala is overshadowed, however, by an envelope at her door inviting her to a reunion with a group of college friends at their former vacation home away from home, the Chateau du Cygne Noir. In short order, Dawn Infanti, Ellie Ordahl, and Geneva Frost, Laurel’s friends and classmates, receive the same invitation and have similar reactions of resignation and dread because this is no ordinary reunion. Apparently the once-close group of friends met annually at the beautiful castle until tragedy struck some 10 years ago when the fifth member of their group, the beautiful but manipulative Evangeline Paul, was pushed from one of the house’s open balconies. Though DiSilverio doesn’t make this immediately clear, Evangeline survived her fall only to be left paralyzed and wheelchair-bound. No charges were ever filed, but each of the friends had a plausible motive for hurting Evangeline. When the friends reunite at her invitation, they begin to reform tentative bonds that are promptly broken when one of the group is murdered. Using her background as a lawyer, Laurel resolves to find the culprit even if it means dredging up the past in order to connect it to the present.

DiSilverio’s signature easy-to-follow plotting draws readers in without relying on a specific theme, as proven by recent forays into science fiction (Incubation, 2016, etc.) and political thrillers (Close Call, 2016, etc.).