Blended families are nothing new. Neither is family drama... or family trauma. Distance and careful wording can keep most issues at bay. But what happens when a fractured family is brought together for the first time in years, with the specific intent of building bridges? In the case of the Mayweathers, the answer appears to be murder.

The Reunion brings together eleven members of this growing extended family: the children and grandchildren of a wealthy man, himself not present for the occasion. We see this Cancún getaway through the eyes of four teens: the Acker-Mayweather twins, Mason and Addison; their cousin Natalia; and Theo, whose father Austin is engaged to Mason and Addison's mother Elizabeth. That's the occasion: an engagement part. And the hope is that this time will help Theo and Austin blend more with the Mayweather family.

But things are already awry. Mason, Addison, and Natalia were all players in an "Incident" three years prior, and this is their first time in one place since then. Natalia, in between check-ins with her long-distance boyfriend Seth, just wants to smooth things over. But Addison is paranoid, guarding a cigar box of secrets that could rock the Mayweather boat even more than the Incident. And Mason and Theo are on shaky ground themselves—Mason distrusts Theo's father, but Theo also knows one of Mason's dark secrets... and may be uncovering another.

And then, amidst the narrative, we discover that one of the family members ends up dead on the night of the engagement party. Oddly cheery hotel PR, police transcripts, and newspaper clippings slide in between the chapters, slowly spinning out loose details of what's to come. By the end of the story, we know all the details... but we share that secret with a very small number of characters.

The format of The Reunion is a unique, and surprisingly effective, one. Two strains of suspense are spun out side-by-side. Through the narrative, we get peeks at the many skeletons in the Mayweathers' various closets: the Incident, the teens' many secrets and the web they weave, and the multiple deceptions perpetrated across three generations. In the interspersed material, a murder mystery unfolds... first with an unnamed victim, then with an identity, leaving us to continue to read the soon-to-be-dead co-narrator's experiences and knowing that their narrative could be snuffed out at any moment.

Besides being an effective thriller, it's also a heartbreakingly accurate look at generational trauma. The Mayweather family tree and its many branches is initially depicted as a big, quirky group of troublemakers who are lovable once you get to know them. But, as is the case with many families who self-describe in such a way, stripping away the layers reveals dark secrets.

The ending is sad, but masterfully handled: a quiet and all too real coda to the events of the story... one that plays out far too often in real families all around the world.

As a fairly new reader of YA fiction, I've noticed that the bulk of the review copies I get trade narrators from chapter to chapter. This can be highly effective, especially when it comes to stories like this. However, they're at their most effective when each narrative voice is distinct in more than just feelings and observations. If there is a flaw in The Reunion—which is by and large a fantastic book—it's that there is minimal variance in character voice. It's not a deal-breaking flaw, as the changing viewpoint is largely a tool to progress the story. However, it would have been nice to see the characters' voices evolved a little further.

That aside, The Reunion is a true summer page-turned for young adult and adult readers alike. As one mystery is solved, another surfaces. In the end, it's less the story of a crime and more the story of a damaged family spackling over the many cracks in their foundation, leaving them for the next generation (and the next, and the next) to handle.

The Reunion goes on sale August 29.