The
Sorority Murder : A Novel
Allison
Brennan
On Sale Date: December 28, 2021
9780778311683
Mass Market
$9.99 USD, $12.99 CAD
448 pages
ABOUT
THE BOOK:
New York
Times bestselling author Allison Brennan's suspenseful
new mass market original about a college senior's podcast that delves into an
unsolved campus murder of a sorority girl three years earlier, as individual
callers explode every fact previously thought to be true.
Lucas Vega is obsessed with the death of
Candace Swain, who left a sorority party one night and never came back. Her
body was found two weeks later, and the case has grown cold. Three years later
while interning at the Medical Examiner's, Lucas discovers new information, but
the police are not interested.
Lucas knows he has several credible pieces of
the puzzle, he just isn't sure how they fit together. So he creates a podcast
to revisit Candace's last hours. He asks listeners to crowdsource what they
remember and invites guest lecturer, former US Marshal Regan Merritt, to come
on and share her expertise.
New tips come in that convince Lucas and Regan
they are onto something. Then shockingly one of the podcast callers turns up
dead. Another hints at Candace's secret life...a much darker picture than Lucas
imagined—and one that implicates other sorority sisters. Regan uses her own
resources to bolster their theory and learns that Lucas is hiding his own dark
secret. The pressure is to solve the murder, but first Lucas must come clean
about his real motives in pursuing this podcast – before the killer silences
him forever.
Excerpt:
One
Three Years Ago
Friday, April 10
Candace Swain forced
a smile as she walked out of her dorm room.
Smiling
was the last thing she wanted to do, but Candace had an image to uphold.
She was
going to be late for the Sigma Rho Spring Fling—the last big party before the
end-of-year crunch. Studying for finals, capstones and senior projects, stress
and more stress, and—for some of them—graduation.
The
mild April weather was perfect for an outdoor gathering. Candace had led the
sorority’s social-events committee with setup, and they’d included heat lamps
along the perimeter. The Mountain View dorm—which housed all campus sororities,
each with their own wing—was on the northeast corner of campus, adjacent to the
football field. The Spring Fling was held on the large lawn that framed the
north entrance, where they had the most room. It was open to all students for a
five-dollar admission, and was one of the biggest moneymakers for the sorority,
more than charities. Candace had fought for—and won—giving the profits to a
rescue mission that helped people get back on their feet. She volunteered
weekly for Sunrise Center, and it had changed how she viewed herself and her
future. She now planned to be a nurse in the inner city, working for a clinic
or public hospital, where people deserved quality health care, even if they
were struggling. She even considered specializing in drug and alcohol issues,
which were unfortunately prevalent among the homeless community.
She
used to think of her volunteerism as penance for her failings. She wasn’t
religious but had had enough preaching from her devout grandmother to have
absorbed things like guilt, penance, sacrifice. Now, she looked forward to
Tuesdays when she gave six hours of her time to those who were far worse off
than she. It reminded her to be grateful for what she had, that things could be
worse.
Candace
exited through the north doors and stood at the top of the short flight of
stairs that led to the main lawn. Though still early in the evening, the party
was already hopping. Music played from all corners of the yard, the din of
voices and laughter mingling with a popular song. In the dusk, the towering
mountains to the north were etched in fading light. She breathed deeply. She
loved everything about Flagstaff. The green mountains filled with pine and
juniper. The crisp, fresh air. The sense of community and belonging felt so
natural here, something she’d never had growing up in Colorado Springs. With
graduation on the horizon, she had been feeling a sense of loss, knowing she
was going to miss this special place.
She
wasn’t close to her parents, who divorced right before she started high school
and still fought as much as they did when they were married. She desperately
missed her younger sister, Chrissy, a freshman at the University of South
Carolina. She’d wanted Chrissy to come here for college, but Chrissy was a
champion swimmer and had received a full scholarship to study practically a
world away. Candace had no plans to return to Colorado Springs, but she didn’t
know if she wanted to follow her sister to the East Coast or head down to
Phoenix where they had some of the best job opportunities for what she wanted
to do.
Vicky
Ryan, a first year student who had aspirations of leadership, ran up to her.
“That
weirdo is back,” Vicky said quietly. “Near the west steps. Just loitering
there, freaking people out. Should I call campus police?”
Candace
frowned. The man Vicky was referring to was Joseph, and he wasn’t really a
weirdo. He was an alcoholic, and mostly homeless, who sometimes wandered onto
campus and wouldn’t accept the help he had been repeatedly offered. He wasn’t
violent, just confused, and sometimes got lost in his own head, largely from
how alcohol had messed with his mind and body. But his problems understandably
made her sorority sisters uncomfortable. He’d twice been caught urinating
against the wall outside their dorm; both times, he’d been cited by campus
police. He wasn’t supposed to be on campus at all anymore, and Candace knew
they’d arrest him if he was caught.
“I’ll
take care of it,” Candace said and made her way around the edge of the party.
She
found Joseph on the narrow grassy knoll that separated the football field from
the dorms. A small group of students approached her, but one in their group
turned toward the grass, likely to confront Joseph.
Candace
walked faster, caught up with the student, and smiled brightly. “I got this.”
“It’s
okay,” he said. “I’ll handle him.”
“I said
I will take care of this. I know him. But thank you anyway.”
Mr.
Macho didn’t want to walk away, yet Candace stood firm. She didn’t want anyone
to harass Joseph, and she knew he would listen to her. While he wasn’t violent,
he could be belligerent, and being confronted by a jerk wanting to impress his
girlfriend was a surefire way to trigger Joseph and have him dig in his heels.
It would only lead to an arrest, and that wasn’t going to help him in the long
run.
The
group walked off, grumbling; Candace ignored them. She approached Joseph
cautiously, so as not to startle him. “Joseph, it’s Candace,” she said.
“Remember me? From Sunrise Center?”
He
turned slowly at the sound of her voice. A tall man, nearly six foot four, he
could intimidate people. But he was also skinny and hunched over from years of
walking the streets and looking down, rummaging through garbage, with his
hangdog face, ragged salt-and-pepper beard, and watery blue eyes. He was the
kind of guy her grandmother would have called a bum—dressed in multiple layers
of dirty, mismatched clothes, and smelling of dirt and stale beer. He looked
about sixty, but she knew that he was only in his early forties. She’d heard
he’d been living along Route 66 for the better part of ten years. The people
who ran Sunrise Center didn’t know much about his personal life, only that when
he was sober (which was rare), he would talk about home being east, at the “end
of the line.” But no one knew if that meant Chicago or any of the stops in
between.
Candace
wanted to know more about his story, how he came to be in these circumstances,
why he wouldn’t—or couldn’t—accept help. Many of the homeless who came to
Sunrise for shelter or food would talk to her freely. But not Joseph. When
she’d pried once, he disappeared for a while, so she stopped asking. She would
rather him be safe than riding the rails, which was dangerous.
“Candace,”
he said slowly after several moments.
“You
can’t be here, Joseph. The campus police told you that. Don’t you remember?”
He didn’t
say anything or acknowledge that he understood what she said.
“Would
you like me to take you over to Sunrise Center? You can get a hot meal there,
maybe a cot for the night.”
Again,
silence. He turned away from her but didn’t leave.
She really
didn’t want to call campus police, but if she didn’t do something, someone else
would.
“Is there a reason you are here?”
she asked.
“Leave me alone,” he said.
“I will, but you have to leave.
Otherwise someone is going to call the police.” If they haven’t already.
He abruptly turned toward her,
staggered on the slope of the lawn. His sudden movement startled her; she
stepped back.
“No cops!” he shouted.
“You have to leave, Joseph,” she
said, emphatic. Her heart pounded in her chest, not so much from fear but
uncertainty. “Please go.”
Again, he turned abruptly, this
time staggering down the short slope toward the stadium fence. She held her
breath, watching him. He almost ran into the fence, put his arms out to stop
himself, then just stood there. A minute later, he shuffled along the field
perimeter, shoulders hunched, without looking back.
She breathed easier, relieved that
he was heading off campus. She would talk to the director of Sunrise on
Tuesday, when she went in to volunteer. Joseph couldn’t keep coming here, but
she didn’t really want to call the authorities on him. He needed help, not more
trouble, and definitely not incarceration.
Candace was about to return to the
party when she heard someone call her name. She turned and saw one of her
former tutoring students, Lucas Vega, running toward her. She didn’t want to
talk to Lucas tonight. How many times did she have to tell him to leave her
alone?
She stopped anyway and waited.
“Candace,” he said, catching his
breath. “Thanks.”
“What do you want?” she snapped,
crossing her arms over her chest.
“I’m sorry.”
“Sorry,” she said bluntly.
“I didn’t mean to upset you the
other day. I am sorry about that.”
She blinked. He sounded so sincere.
And truth be told, something he’d said to her a few days earlier made her think
long and hard about herself, her life, and the time she’d spent as a student at
Northern Arizona University.
A lie for a good reason is still
a lie.
Lucas and his wide-eyed,
good-natured innocence, his innocuous questions had her feeling guilty for no
reason. He had picked up on that. And pushed.
No reason? Ha. Plenty of
reasons. All these doubts and worries she’d been having this semester, the
sleepless nights, all came from something she’d done as a freshman that she now
had good reason to regret. But what could she do about it? What would come of
the truth now?
Maybe there was no good reason to
lie.
“All right,” she said. “Thank you.”
It was easier to forgive Lucas than to hold on to this anger. None of what
happened was Lucas’s fault.
“So will you tutor me again, for
finals?”
“No. Afraid not.” She could forgive
him for prying, but she really needed first to forgive herself. And she didn’t
know if she could do that with Lucas around, reminding her of her failures and
mistakes. He didn’t even know what she’d done, but seeing him now was like
reliving the past, and her chest tightened. “I’m sorry, but I have too much
studying of my own, too many tests. And I’m not working at the writing lab
anymore.”
Because of you.
Was that even fair? Was it because
of Lucas…or because of her own guilt?
He was disappointed, but that
wasn’t her problem.
“Okay, I understand,” he said.
“Besides, you’re smart. You’ll be
fine.”
He shrugged. “Thanks.”
“Uh, you want to come to the
party?” She gestured over her shoulder. They could hear the music from where
they stood. “I’ll get you a pass. Won’t even cost you the five bucks.”
He shook his head. “I’m fine. I’m
not really one for parties. But thanks anyway.”
He turned to leave.
“Lucas,” she said. He looked at her
over his shoulder. “I’m really sorry.”
Then she left him there, waiting
for something she couldn’t give him.
It took Candace several minutes before
she could work up the courage to return to the party. An idea she’d been
thinking about for the last few months was now fully developed, as if something
inside clicked after her brief conversation with Lucas. Everything shifted into
place, and she knew what she needed to do; it was the only thing she could do.
No one was going to like her
decision.
When she realized she no longer
cared what anyone thought, a burden lifted from her heart. She was certain then
that she was doing the right thing.
Everyone at the party was asking
for Candace, and Vicky had become worried when her friend and mentor hadn’t
returned after thirty minutes. She sought out Taylor James, the Sigma Rho
president, and told her about the homeless guy. “I don’t know where Candace is,”
she said. “I should have just called campus police.”
“Candace says he’s harmless,”
Taylor said, frowning. “Sometimes she’s so naive. I’ll go look for her.”
“Thanks. The party is great by the
way. Everyone seems to be having fun. How does it compare to previous years?”
This was the first party Vicky had helped put together for the sorority, so she
was eager to know how well she’d done.
“As good or better,” Taylor said
with a wide smile.
Vicky tried not to gloat as she
practically floated over to her friends chatting near one of the heat lamps. It
wasn’t cold, but the warmth of the heat lamp and the glow from the string
lights added terrific ambience to the place.
“Oh my God, Vicky, this is a
blast,” her roommate, Nicole Bergamo, said. Nicole was a half-Black,
half-Italian math major who could have easily been a model she was so tall and
stunning. “Everyone is talking about how great it is.”
Vicky smiled, talked for a bit,
then moved around, being social, doing all the things that she’d seen Sigma Rho
board members do. Hundreds of people were dancing, talking, mingling, eating,
drinking, playing games. Mostly, they were having fun, which was the
whole purpose. When the new Sigma Rho advisor, Rachel Wagner, told her it was
the best Sigma Rho party she’d been to ever, Vicky thought she’d never
come down from cloud nine.
“I agree,” said the gorgeous woman
who was with Rachel. “I’m Kimberly Foster, by the way,” she introduced herself.
“I’m a sorority alum, and I’m so happy I came up this weekend. You’ve done a
fantastic job. Rachel said you’re part of the social-events committee. Isn’t
Candace leading the committee? I haven’t seen her yet.”
“Yes, she’s around,” Vicky said.
“This is all her vision. We just implemented it.”
“I love Candace. Oh! I see her over
there.”
Vicky looked to where Kimberly was
gesturing. Candace was talking in a small group.
“I’m going to catch up with her,”
Kimberly said. “Nice to meet you, Vicky.”
The two women walked away, and
Vicky continued her rounds. She was having a blast as her worries that the
party might flop were replaced with pride and satisfaction over its success.
Hours later it was midnight, and
per city ordinance—because their dorm bordered a public street—they had to cut
off the music. That put a damper on things, but it was fine with Vicky—she was
exhausted after working all day prepping and all night making sure everything
was running smoothly. She was a little miffed that Candace was hardly there:
Vicky had only caught a glimpse of her twice. But whatever, she’d seemed preoccupied,
and that would have been a party downer.
Vicky ran into the dorm to get
extra trash bags—they had to clean up tonight so wild animals wouldn’t get into
the garbage and create a bigger mess in the morning. She came back out and
heard voices arguing near where the DJ had been set up. He’d already packed up
and left. She couldn’t hear exactly what was being said. It seemed like a
quiet, intense exchange between Taylor and Candace though Rachel and her guest
Kimberly were there, too. Everyone, especially Taylor, seemed angry.
About sixty people were still
milling around, mostly Sigma Rho sisters helping with the cleanup. Nicole came
up to Vicky and said, “What are Candace and Taylor fighting about?”
“I don’t know. It’s probably
nothing.”
“It’s not nothing,” Nicole said. “I
heard Taylor call Candace a selfish bitch.”
“Ouch. Well, Rachel is there.
She’ll mediate.”
But Rachel looked angry as well; it
seemed that Candace was on one side, and the other three women were yelling at
her.
“You’re wrong!” Candace screamed,
and Vicky jumped. She glanced at Nicole, who looked perplexed as well. Vicky
handed her a garbage bag, and they both started picking up trash. She didn’t
want anyone to think she was eavesdropping.
But she was. As she inched closer
to the group, she heard Kimberly say, “Let’s talk about this tomorrow, okay?
When everyone has had a good night’s sleep and we can all think more clearly.”
“I am thinking clearly,”
Candace said. “I’m done. Just…done.”
She left, walked right past Vicky
without even seeing her. There were tears in Candace’s eyes, and Vicky didn’t
know if she was angry or upset, but probably both. Vicky thought about going
after her to make sure she was okay, then felt a hand on her shoulder.
She jumped, then laughed nervously
when she saw Rachel. Taylor and Kim had walked away in the other direction.
“Sorry. You startled me.”
“I’m sorry you had to witness
that,” Rachel said.
“I didn’t, really. Just saw that
Taylor and Candace were arguing about something. I didn’t want to intrude.”
“It’s going to be fine. Just a
little disagreement that Candace took personally.”
“About the party?” Vicky asked, her
insecurities rising that she’d messed up something.
“Oh, no, the party was perfect.
Don’t worry about that.”
Relieved, she said, “Maybe I should
go talk to Candace.”
“No, let her be. I’ve known her
since she was a freshman and took my Intro to Bio class. She has a big heart,
and sometimes you can’t help everyone.”
Now Vicky understood, or thought
she did. Taylor had been the most vocal about the creepy homeless guy hanging
around the dorms, and she’d been the one who’d called campus police last time,
after Candace said not to.
“Let me help,” Rachel said and took
a garbage bag from Vicky’s stash.
Rachel chatted with Vicky, who felt
lucky to be able to spend so much one-on-one time with her sorority advisor.
Rachel was so smart, an associate professor at just thirty-two, an alum of the
University of Arizona Sigma Rho chapter. Plus she had such interesting stories
to share. By the time they were done with the cleanup—it didn’t take long with
so many people working together—Vicky had forgotten all about the argument
between Candace and Taylor.
It was the last time anyone saw
Candace alive.
Excerpted from The Sorority
Murder by Allison Brennan, Copyright © 2021 by Allison Brennan. Published by MIRA Books.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
ALLISON BRENNAN is the New York Times and USA Today
bestselling author of over thirty novels. She has been nominated for Best
Paperback Original Thriller by International Thriller Writers and the Daphne du
Maurier Award. A former consultant in the California State Legislature, Allison
lives in Arizona with her husband, five kids and assorted pets. The Sorority Murder is the first of a
new mass market series,
Social
Links:
Author website: https://www.allisonbrennan.com/
Facebook: @AllisonBrennan
Twitter: @Allison_Brennan
Instagram: @abwrites
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/52527.Allison_Brennan
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