Ali Karim was a Board Member of Bouchercon [The World Crime & Mystery Convention] and co-chaired programming for Bouchercon Raleigh, North Carolina in 2015. He is Assistant Editor of Shots eZine, British correspondent for The Rap Sheet and writes and reviews for many US magazines & Ezines.
This twisty thriller details the machinations between three middle-aged girlfriends on a weekend retreat in the Hamptons. What begins as a prank on someone who stole their parking slot, soon escalates into curious revelations of their past lives, until trust between them dissolves and murders come into focus.
Enter the three ‘cancelled girls’: young women who have to manage their online profiles due to perceived infamy or notoriety from their real lives. Their friendships will become tested to breaking point while vacationing in Sag Harbor -
[a] May Hannover an Asian American lawyer and former District Attorney, recovering from the trauma of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and an altercation on a subway that went viral.
[b] Kelsey Ellis a blue-eyed blonde dripping with WASP white privilege, living with the trauma of a murdered husband in what was a bungled robbery or is there something in the whispers that it was a ‘hit’ organised by Kelsey’s wealthy [and powerful] Father – a real estate magnate?
[c] The older Lauren – a mysterious African American woman who may or may not be their watcher, and who had an affair which played out in public due to her profile in the Art world.
The trio meet up on the eve of May’s wedding to Josh – a clean-cut but slightly dull beau [as May’s friends refer to him, when she’s out of earshot]. The trio try and avoid mentioning what cemented their friendship, a Camp America vacation when May and Kelsey were in high-school, and where Lauren was a camp counsellor. The reason why they try and avoid referring to that time was the tragic death of one of their class-mates, Marnie Mann who drowned after going missing in the night.
The wealthy Kelsey decided to enter the family real estate business rather than continue her studies in law following the murder of her husband, and so is funding this holiday in the Hamptons.
Though May is only staying for the weekend, while Kelsey and Lauren are continuing the vacation, with the company of Kelsey’s step brother Nathan [‘Nate’]. May is relieved that she will miss seeing Nate as she and Kelsey’s stepbrother had a relationship in the past – and now she’s looking forward to spending her life with Josh as a married couple.
The holiday starts as a drunken interlude in their hectic lives until the prank that gives this novel its title ignites a fuse that triggers cracks in their friendship that reveals hidden truths that will make them question much about their lives and possible deaths.
Written initially in a playful and relaxed style, soon becomes an ominous and claustrophobic narrative that makes one question how much we really know about our friends from childhood and their families.
Alafair Burke’s thriller marries menace to friendship with flair that keeps you turning the pages with increasing dread. It’s great to see this writer still writing top notch thrillers after her debut in the UK many years ago.
Highly Recommended.
