Kyle

A woman, Julie, appears after having been missing for a year, and, despite obvious trauma, can't recall what happened during the missing time.  Her best friends, who had scattered across the country in the mean time, come together at a multi-themed hotel in order to reunite and catch up.  While Julie is clearly Julie, her behaviors and personality have changed so much that the friends begin to wonder who, or what, Julie really is.

This book is a standard metaphor for loss and letting go told by the standard body snatcher type horror beats.  Uninspired, but otherwise competent, The Return is enjoyable, but nothing amazing.  Rating:  **

A teenager is killed during a family vacation, and years later, her sister has a chance encounter with the prime suspect.  This book claims itself a mystery, but the whodunit is just there as a way to encounter these many characters and perspectives, and see the lives they live both before the tragedy, and the years after.  While the actual plot points are a bit cliched, they are written and explored well, though the middle of the book becomes a bit too slow.  Still, an overall enjoyable read.