Joshua Thornton, now starring in the second mystery in his series, is the prosecuting attorney for the small town of Chester, West Virginia. His 20-year high-school reunion, right there in Chester, looms. Like many of us, he decides to blow it off.

When he does finally attend the reunion, each of his former schoolmates is either bald, ugly, fat, crass, divorced, unemployed, or a crushing combination of these unfortunate traits. Only Joshua is still a handsome devil with his full head of auburn hair. Plus, he has that "military man" mystique, having served as a Lieutenant Commander with the Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps.

But Joshua has bigger things to worry about than his reunion. Grace, a pretty cheerleader from a strict family, has been murdered at the high school that three of his five children attend. Joshua, a widower, must keep an even closer watch on his kids. Saddened, he remembers the similar murder 20 years ago of Tricia, a cheerleader whom he loved from afar. That murder was never solved.

Joshua wants to solve Grace's murder – but that's not his job. He must wait for the sheriff's new hire, Lieutenant Cavanaugh to arrest a suspect whom he can then prosecute. But Cavanaugh, who takes an instant dislike to Joshua, is incompetent and possibly crooked.

So Joshua begins to conduct his own investigation on the side with the help of his cousin Tad, the county medical examiner. The first disturbing fact they uncover is that sweet little Grace apparently led a double-life: during her autopsy, they find a huge eagle tattooed on a part of her body that her parents would be certain never to see.

Other investigations are afoot. Famous journalist Gail Reynolds returns to Chester, determined to write a book about the 20 year-old murder of Tricia. Gail used to be the editor of the school paper. Her arrival horrifies local reporter Jan Martin who always toiled in Gail's shadow during their school days. To complicate matters, poor Jan is tormented by unrequited love for Joshua, a fact of which he is very much aware.

When Jan laments Gail's victorious return to Chester, Joshua responds (on page 48), "Come on! Gail is everything you've always wanted to be! She's a respected writer. She's traveled all over the world! The only thing she doesn't have is a husband and kids!" Of course Jan doesn't have a family either. Then Joshua adds, "Why can't you grow up?"

It gets even more complicated. Twenty years ago, Gail slept with young Joshua once when he was trying to make his girlfriend jealous. Now, she's throwing herself at him again! She even gets drunk and tries to seduce him, and when she turns up murdered as well, Joshua is the prime suspect.

He's in big trouble now. The whole town thinks he is a womanizer, especially since slinky defense attorney Tori (a former bad-girl from their high school days) has been seen trying to seduce him.

Good thing Joshua has his own lawyer Hank coming to Chester to rescue him. I did a double-take when I read Hank's initial email to him: "Did you miss me?" But Hank turns out to be an attractive female ex-Navy buddy from the JAG Corps. With her tousled red hair and athletic beauty, she is finally his type.

But where should she stay while in Chester? Surely not at his house since his reputation is in question. Perhaps a hotel? But, no. Joshua thinks and comes up with the perfect solution on page 201: "I have a good friend who would love to put you up … I've known Jan my whole life. She'd do anything for me." Unfortunately, he then takes Hank to the reunion as his date, and poor Jan misses out on yet another dance.

Well, it is a working date. Joshua and Hank have their work cut out for them as they confront a roomful of suspects at the high school reunion. By now, both murders have been formally opened for investigation: Grace's in the present, and Tricia's from 20 years ago.

Joshua intuits that the villain must be the town millionaire: Margo with her face slathered in cosmetics and her figure stuffed into a jewel-encrusted gown. Her daughter Heather also looks suspicious. But how can he prove any of this?

A Reunion to Die For is a complicated and fast-paced mystery with many twists and turns, and even more shady characters. My only problem centered on Joshua whom I found hard to like due to his callous treatment of Jan. He seems impatient and insensitive. But his cousin Tad does point out that Joshua doesn't know how to act around women.

By contrast, I liked Hank, and I really liked Tad the doctor with his quirky sense of humor, his troubled past, and his attraction to danger. A Reunion to Die For is available from Amazon through this link: A Reunion to Die For (Five Star Mystery Series) (Five Star Mystery Series) (Five Star Mystery Series)