the more I think about this one, the angrier I get at the time I wasted on this one 😩 alafair burke is usually an auto buy author for me, so I was very upset when their latest missed the mark for me!

surrounding three women, whose personalities seem like they’re still in high school let’s be honest, and a prank they pulled during their weekend getaway, the mystery seemed a bit immature from the start. and there’s nothing that bothers me than when people keep stupid secrets, especially from the authorities, and it blows up into something larger than it should have been 🫠

the flashbacks also seemed a bit disjointed, and it wasn’t very clear in what time period events were taking place… and as much as I enjoy a dual timeline mystery, this one didn’t seem to work as well for me…

each of the main three women were unlikable and straight up idiotic - from straight shooter may who literally doesn’t know when to keep her mouth shut, to secret keeping queen bee kelsey who is incapable of doing something morally correct, to lauren who is simultaneously trying to keep her friends together and looking out for her best interests only…

and while I appreciated the main plot twist at the end, it was a little too late to make me care about the characters 🫢 a big thank you still to netgalley and knopf for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! 

rating: 2 stars
wine pairing: sonoma coast rosé