Jeff Bennington

This was my first time reading anything by Jeff Bennington. I'll definitely be reading more in the future. Was it perfect? No. Did I enjoy reading it? YES! It takes a lot to scare me and Reunion succeeded at that where many others have failed. Parents may find the school shooting scene at the beginning difficult to read so consider yourself warned.

Federal Underground (Penn Mitchell's Ancient Alien Saga #1) by Jeff Bennington is a kindle scout book I won and I am glad I did! A wonderful sci-fi thriller that keeps you trapped to each page and is very thought provoking. Great plot, lots of twists/surprises, and great characters. I will be looking for book 2!

Reunion – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat

‘Breathing heavy from carrying the tote across the parking lot, David barged into the cafeteria, shot one round into the ceiling and shouted, “Attention everyone! Attention! My name’s David Ray, and some of you…are gonna die!” For a moment, the crowd sat quiet and still. David made a mental note of their blank faces. They probably think it’s a firecracker or a joke, he thought. I’ll show ‘em it isn’t a show more joke. Mr. Gardner strutted toward David, exuding his authority, but David pulled the trigger and shot a couple of the students nearby. Mr. Gardner threw his arms over his head, ducked down and crawled toward the wounded students to help. David squinted hard, looked into the crowd with dead eyes, and began shooting. Bodies scattered as the cafeteria erupted with screams, falling bullet shells, the squeaking of sliding sneakers and the turning over of chairs. He watched their scared bodies hide and tremble in fear and listened to their voices question who and why. Their fear gave him strength, feeding his adrenalin, pressing him deeper into the crowd. He knew exactly where to go. His tormentors’ locations were too predictable. The cliques always sat in the same places. David stepped forward and located his prey. He shot another round and heard another scream. He repeated the process, over, and over.’

The school massacre took place 20 years ago ending with eight students dead, several wounded physically but many more wounded mentally. Maria Vasquez lost her beloved Darrin, and to cope with her memories became a counselor working with PTSD patients. As the 20th anniversary of the killings as well as the 20th reunion of her graduating class approached, Maria decided that there were probably others from her class that might benefit from a reunion as a way of facing their memories and fears.

Of those Maria was able to contact, only five responded and agreed to the reunion. Up until the day of the massacre, senior student Bryan Jacobs had planned to become a doctor. His plans changed and he became a policeman in hopes of helping to prevent the event from reoccurring. He would attend the reunion. Kate Schmidt Tooley still lived in the town of Crescent Falls and was married to Nick. Nick’s twin brother Randy was killed when David Ray mistakenly shot him instead of Nick. Nick deals with his memories by drowning them and seeing “ghosts” of David who he feels is trapped within the school Kate will be attending but probably without Nick. Lana Jones became a writer who, along with her daughter Zoe, travels around the country talking to students about the David Rays in the world. She will attend. Tanner Khan deals with his memories by creating challenges. He climbs mountains, crosses rivers and sails oceans. But when the invitation came to return to Crescent Falls for the reunion, he saw this as his biggest challenge and accepts.

These are the five who accepted the invitation to create a reunion. When it is decided to hold the actual event at the school itself, Bryan starts to have second thoughts. As part of his duty as a policeman he checks on the now deserted school. He has heard sounds and seen things at the old school that are out of the norm. But he also feels, like the others, that this may be the best place to start healing.

As I read Reunion I felt like I had stepped into a movie. As I followed each character’s story and their method of coping with their own tragedy I felt as if I knew them personally. This book is so well written that if it isn’t picked up to be made into a movie then the industry is missing out. The characters, story and events are so believable that you can’t help but picture each as something you’ve just read in the paper or seen on a news strip. For those of you who enjoy a great paranormal mystery, Reunion is a must read!

2011
334 Pages
Nexgate Press
ISBN# 9780615450865

Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com Stir, Laugh, Repeat show less

Let me begin by saying that I can’t do this book justice in the short amount of space that is THE REVIEW. The concepts presented here were too breath-taking, the characters too realistic, and the supernatural elements just the right touch of creepy, heart-pounding, other-worldly thrill ride. BUT I can tell you a bit about my experience that was my reading of REUNION.

David Ray and the school shooting – David Ray, the school shooter, is one of those characters I had a really hard time show more putting my feelings together for. I would despise him one moment and then the story would reveal something more about him and I’d feel really sorry for him. It went back and forth like that for the whole entire book. I don’t know why I think this is a good thing, but I do. Probably something to do with complex characters that make you think outside my comfort zone. As for the school shooting – it was so disturbing! I know any book about a school shooting would make me feel this way. But it’s more than just the idea here, it’s the writing too. It felt really cold and really calculated. I’m not sure how to describe what I was feeling here, except that if you’ve seen the movie Elephant, it was kind of like that. Succinct and to the point. Then on top of that you have all these XXX’s in handwritten font every time there is a break in the writing and there were chills running down my spine.

The other characters – First of all, they were all just so darn likeable. Of course, each of them have their flaws, but I just wanted to love them all the same. I felt like I could really connect with each and every one of the characters. They all had something fresh and interesting to say. They all experienced the same thing as kids in the school shooting, but of course, all in different ways. And each of them had to deal with that experience in their own way too. I think this is what I really got out of the book as a whole. The life of a school shooting victim 20 years later would likely all depend not just on how close they were to those who died or where they were in relation to the shooter, but also on what was going on in their life at the time of the shooting. What were their dreams and hopes? Who did they love? What was their attitude on life and relationships in general? And I think this is why it was so easy for me to relate to all of them. Because it’s not necessarily about the characters themselves, but the experience. And I think it’s quite easy to relate to that breaking point in your life where something happens that just changes everything. At least, that’s what I thought.

The supernatural thrill – No doubt about it, this book was thrilling! I loved the supernatural elements to the story. It kept me guessing, wondering if everything happening was REALLY happening or if maybe this was all just PTSD rearing it’s ugly head. And if it was all REAL, then wow, I NEEDED to know how it was all going to turn out. I was going to say it was “on the edge of your seat” material, but seriously, I kept ending up on the floor reading BESIDE my couch. The couch was too much of a distraction, whispering in my ear to “just relax” when all I wanted to do was to read as fast as I possibly could.

In short: If you’re remotely interested in thrillers, if you’re remotely interested in supernatural stories, if you’d love to see more stories about how victims cope with issues in the long term. If anything I said above interests you at all, I highly recommend this book to you! show less