"Lady Justice and the Class Reunion" by Robert Thornhill
In Robert Thornhill’s “Lady Justice and the Class Reunion,” Kansas City cop Walt Williams is facing his 50th high school reunion with dread, while his new wife, Maggie, is eager to meet the friends who shaped his teen-age years - especially the old flames. This is book #12 in the Lady Justice Series - a collection that I have read from the beginning and am enjoying very much. I often find myself laughing out loud - although the subject matter is usually very serious. Thornhill seems to use each of his books to explore a current social issue - this time it’s the drug-running cartel from Mexico.
Walt and his partner Ox are trailing a drug lord who is using young girls to transport drugs. These girls are enticed by the money they will receive for smuggling the drugs in breast implants - but the girls somehow never seem to make it through alive. The Kansas City police are stymied until Walt gets a clue from an unlikely source - one of his reunion classmates. Thornhill uses his own high school days as a template for the story and the book contains photos from that time.
In a parallel storyline are three old friends who are facing terminal illnesses and want to do something useful before they die. They decide to help bring down the drug cartel and become entangled with the police investigation. And of course, Walt’s friends from Whispering Hills Retirement Village provide the comic relief, helping Walt work on the decorations for his class reunion.
Although this book stands alone as a novel, I recommend starting with the first book to get acquainted with the characters.