Review written for ClubReading.com by Sally
Peyton MacGruder is a newspaper columnist for the Tampa Times. She is a good writer, and she knows it–and her boss knows it. She researches thoroughly, writes clearly and concisely and always meets her deadlines. That is why she is totally taken back when she is called on the carpet and given three weeks to increase her readership or go back to the newsroom reporter pool. Peyton is told that she is a good writer, but she lacks “passion.”
As fate would have it, the very next day a tragedy occurs in Tampa. A commercial airliner explodes and crashes into the bay. There are no survivors. One of the crash victims quickly scratched out a note to one of his children and sealed it in a plastic baggie just before the plane blew up.
One of Peyton’s readers found the note and passed it on to her saying, “I know you will know what to do with this.” The note reads:
T–
I love you. All is forgiven.
–Dad
Savvy newspaperwoman that she is, Peyton recognizes immediately that she has just been handed a once-in-a-lifetime story. This was her opportunity to turn her column around and save her position—maybe even advance her career.
Peyton is determined to deliver the Dad’s last message to the right person. What follows is a fast-paced investigation, an attempted sabotage of the story by a cable news reporter, a delightful love story, and a heartwarming portrait of forgiveness.
The Note is an outstanding book. I highly recommend it.