Everyone told me that college would be the most fun I’d ever have. It was where I’d meet the friends I’d have for the rest of my life. They said it was a magical land of fairies where joy flowed over the rainbows.
Those people were liars.
All I did during college was study, stress, and study some more. Professors were demons, Financial Aid the great Satan, and any friends I did meet, I don’t talk to any more. And I’ve only been out for two months.
But there is an upside to my college experience. At least I know I’ll never look up one of my old college buddies thirty years from now, only to find the person claiming to be them might be a killer.
That was a big jump, but also the plot to a great mystery by Rod Summitt and Richard Edgerton, Reunion with a Killer. Lee Bishop is driving through the small college town of Enderling, hoping to reunite with his roommate Carl A. Kyle. But when he sees the bank president who claims to be the same man, Bishop does not find his old friend. Instead, he finds himself in the middle of a perplexing case, strewn with embezzlement, stolen identity, and murder.
Rod Summitt wrote this piece in the seventies before Richard Edgerton passed away. After revising, lengthening, and polishing, Summitt published Reunion with a Killer. It’s still a short read but a well-written mystery that pulls you in immediately.
It’s not full of the frantic twists and turns of most of today’s mystery novels, where authors try to muddle things up by changing direction every other page. It’s an entertaining but simple piece. In fact, the best part about Reunion with a Killer is this simplicity.
Enderling is a small town, and Summitt doesn’t draw away from that. When Bishop connects with another college buddy, Pete Riley, the Publisher and Managing Editor of the Ederling Weekly, Summitt could have used such an occupation to his advantage. But despite the title, Riley is still a small town guy, writing articles about 4-H meetings and church activities. The two are fairly lost when it comes to solving a possible murder case. And for once it was nice to read something that didn’t star a top notch reporter or feature the best cop on the most difficult case.
So if you’re looking for a quick read, something simple, but a good mystery with well developed characters, pick up Reunion with a Killer. Just don’t go looking up old college buddies later, just in case you might find yourself in a royal mess.
Article comments