Author Maureen Meehan Aplin announces the release of her six-book mystery/thriller series by e-book leading publisher Smashwords.com.   In the latest novel, THE FIVE, which is the sixth book in the author's Mary MacIntosh murder mystery series, a serial killer commenced his murderous rampage before the ripe of age 12, but due to a loophole in the law, is released from juvenile detention at age 21.  Mac hosts a reunion for her four college roommates at her family cabin in the Colorado Rockies.  Within months of his release from jail, the killer shows up at the cabin and captures each of the five with means of force, violence and torture, telling them that “one of their husbands hired him to kill one of them,” and it is up to each to convince him that she was not it.  Each friend struggles with the notion that her husband wants her dead, soul searching the past, present and future of the bonds of marriage and friendship.  The killer’s anger stems from his abusive and tumultuous childhood and with each act of violence committed against THE FIVE, he reveals the depths of his hatred and sorrow.  Mac's search for the truth behind his motive to kill is entangled with the revelation of infidelity, betrayal, and conspiracy.  The grisly killings and complexity of plot make this sixth novel in the series a “Jeffrey Dahmer meets Scott Turow,” as the courtroom drama unfolds.