The Note is a high-voltage thriller ideal for fans of Harlan Coben or Karin Slaughter. It delivers suspense, emotional complexity, and plenty of surpriss though readers who prefer streamlined narratives might find its interwoven threads a bit tangled.

I give it a 4 star. A bit slow first half but once you get about 40% in, I couldn’t put it down. I thought the story line was good. The slowness was only because of how each character was described, past, etc and it became a little too much but then came the drama!

Premise sounds great but it is too slow and too woke for me. I like other books by Alafair Burke and was looking forward to another thrilling read, but this one doesn’t do it for me.

I liked this but it definitely wasn’t my favorite. The thriller/mystery part I enjoyed and is what kept me hooked. The dramatic canceled entitled woman aspect was too much. I’ve enjoyed other works by Alafair Burke and do look forward to more from this writer.

Thanks to Knopf, the author, and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 I enjoyed the premise of this book, 3 best friends all who have been cancelled at some point in their life find themselves in hot water after pulling a minor prank. Mayhem ensues.

Loved the vibes here, but afraid the story went quite a bit woke! It ended up being pretty extreme, and distracted quite a bit from the story. The ending also lost me, sadly!

This was a new to me authors but after reading this author is going to be added to the tbr list. The suspense in the book kept me in the edge of my seat the whole time

Slow burn popcorn thriller that sneaks up on you. This one dives into cancel culture, touches on racial tension, and keeps secrets simmering just beneath the surface. The pacing is deliberate, with suspense building slowly but surely. Twists drop when you least expect them, and while not all of them land hard, they keep you turning the pages. Think domestic suspense meets media drama. Not mind-blowing, but definitely entertaining. Perfect for fans of layered scandals and slow unravelings.
3.5/5 stars

Alafair Burke has given us the rare whodunnit in which all of the plot twists are earned and the reader is left guessing who the real culprit is until the very end. An absorbing tale of friendship and trust played out in cancel culture.

The plotting of the novel is intricate without being overly complex. Alafair covers all of his bases without confusing the reader or requiring them to reread previous chapters to understand the story. I did find some of the supporting characters to be a little flat, which made some of their actions seem a little extreme based on what we are told about them.

Overall, an excellent read that I highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf for the opportunity to read and provide feedback.

I've been really looking forward to this book. Yes, I'm someone who judges a book by its cover. Not in the sense that it will be good or bad, but it will make me read it or not. And this one had me drawn.

This had potential, but it wasn't great.

The characters were insufferable and at the beginning I was confused by who was who.

The writing style was weird and boring. The pov's switched but didn't say who it was, so you had to guess.

I was curious about the whodunit aspect, but then found myself not really caring as it was so obvious.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

What started as a popcorn thriller took a seriously dark and unexpected turn in the third act. Beyond the whodunit aspect, The Note touches on important themes of racism, consent and privilege. Don't overlook this as a fluff thriller, it makes some important points.

3.5 stars

I absolutely love Alastair Burke’s writing! Although this isnt my favorite book, I did enjoy it.

I love how everything was woven together and mysteriously put into place. But to get to the end was a slow burn with a few hard to get through parts. I did like the multi4 views to help get the different sides of the story.

I can’t wait for Alafair’s next book!

***Thank you Netgalley and Knoff, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for the ARC copy***

An electrifying page-turner, this thriller grips you with a fierce intensity from the very start. The twists are smart and relentless, each one more satisfying than the last. Its atmospheric writing and tightly wound plot create a world you can’t look away from. A brilliant, breathless read that exceeds every expectation.

This book was twisty and secretive, in all of the best ways. It was a wild ride between the lives and secrets of May, Kelsey, and Lauren, three friends who have known each other forever. However, throughout the book, you really start to question how much they ACTUALLY know about each other, considering the secrets they have been keeping from one another (no spoilers!). Who knew that one "girls weekend" in the Hamptons could turn into such a wild ride of death, police investigations, and untold secrets coming to light.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

The book was fun to read but I didn’t connect with the story like I needed to in order to love the book. The author did a great job creating the setting and characters full of secrets but I had a hard time keeping track of the characters. I think if I read this book again I may enjoy it more.

This had potential, but it wasn't great.

The characters were insufferable and at the beginning I was confused by who was who.

The writing style was weird and boring. The pov's switched but didn't say who it was, so you had to guess.

I was curious about the whodunit aspect, but then found myself not really caring as it was so obvious.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I've been really looking forward to this book. Yes, I'm someone who judges a book by its cover. Not in the sense that it will be good or bad, but it will make me read it or not. And this one had me drawn. This was an interesting book. It was a bit slow to start, but still kept my attention. It's my first book by this author and I'd love to read more in the future.

I'll admit I had never heard of Alafair Burke prior to reading this novel, though I regularly enjoy a "popcorn thrillers," particularly those that center around female friend groups. Overall, this was a fun read, and I'd be open to checking out more of her work in the future.

The FMC May has always fit the high-achieving Asian stereotype - rule-follower, Ivy league degrees, now working as an attorney in NYC. Her bff Kelsey, in contrast, is the beautiful blonde rich girl who works for her father's real estate firm in Boston. They are also friends with the older, more accomplished Lauren, who was their counselor at their high school summer camp. The friends drifted apart for a time, but reunited during the pandemic because they all shared the experienced of being "cancelled" for something in their past.

The three friends gather in the Hampton's for a girls' weekend, when a chance encounter with a couple who steal their parking spot, followed by a prank in retaliation, leads the women to become embroiled in a missing person's case. The result is an intriguing slow-burn mystery, but I deducted one star due to guessing who the real villain was in advance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest feedback.

Thanks so much for the copy! This was a book i requested based on the cover and it didn't disappoint! This is a new author to me, and i cannot wait to read what comes next.

This book started off slowly for me, but it got better as it went along. I didn't particularly care for any of the characters and found myself skimming a lot, but there were definitely some entertaining parts. The book had some fairly interesting things to say about cancel culture. It wasn't one of my favorite thrillers, but it's a quick and sort of timely, suspenseful read if you're in the mood for that.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.