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.
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,
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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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