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Can a mystery writer and her agent solve a real-life cold case murder?
The murder of Cat Summers’s classmate, quarterback Charlie Stiles, sent shockwaves through the coastal town of Wave City, California in November, 2001. Interest in the crime spread across the country as Cat’s classmates were repeatedly questioned and let go, with not a single arrest. Twenty-five years later, the cold case murder remains a hot topic among documentary makers and true crime podcasters.
Cat, now a mystery writer, knows more about the night Charlie died than she’s ever let on. Shortly after graduation, she moved 250 miles away and changed her name, determined to distance herself from the crime as well as the guilt and the grief she’s carried ever since.
When Cat’s literary agent, Whitney Mowse, learns that the class of 2002 is holding its 25-year reunion in a few days, she’s insistent that she and her client go. Naively believing that the two can solve the murder, Whitney thinks Cat can then write a sure-to-be-bestselling first-hand account. Cat flatly declines the proposal, fully intending to keep her secrets close. But when a former friend pops up on social media accusing her of lying about her whereabouts on the night of the murder, she reluctantly decides to attend the reunion to suss out what he thinks he knows. Her decision will put at risk old friendships, her new identity, and even her life.
CONTENT WARNINGS:
Suicide, thoughts of suicide, murder, thoughts of murder, inappropriate relationships between teachers and students, underage drinking, underage sex, swearing, bullying, mental health issues, implied anorexia, body shaming, fighting, guns, implied emotional abuse, references to 9/11, references to drug use, blackmail
REVIEWS:
In Rejection is Murder, Carol E. Ayer has crafted an intriguing mystery around a cold case and a journey through guilt, friendship, memories, and the effects of the characters’ teen years…There are plenty of plot twists, suspects, and surprises along the way, and it will keep you reading all the way through. – Readers’ Favorite
CAROL AYER 