The Note by Alafair Burke centers on "good girl" May and her friends she made at music camp in her early teens. The women are now in there late 30s and 40s. Each has recovered from a scandal in their lives and are spending time in the Hamptons together. They pull a prank and get wrapped up in a man's disappearance.
I'm giving this book 2 stars. It didn't really engage me. The characters felt one-dimensional. The mystery was pretty easy to discover and the way they "caught" the killer seemed amateur and unlikely.
Thank you Net Gallery for the read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

To me, this book seemed to be a run-of-the-mill thriller. It was a fun read and was fast-paced, but there wasn’t a point where I was shocked or invested in the characters. In this case, I was able to see the twist coming which definitely impacted my experience while reading. That being said, if you are new to the genre or looking for a good beach read, this would be a great book to pick up!

Really enjoyed getting an advanced copy of this thriller. May is a law professor who had to quiet her job in the DA’s office after going viral for an incident on the subway made her go viral. She decides to reunite with her friends (who also have experiments their own share in internet scandal) at a house in the Hampton for the little girls getaway. After a random traffic incident sends directly in the line of fire in the disappearance of a man years and years of secrets and lies begin to unravel. I really enjoyed reading this book and felt like the story. Definitely picked up the second half of the book.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #KnopfPantheonVintageAndAnchor for the book #TheNote by #AlafairBurke. This book is a non stop suspenseful thriller with an ending I didn’t see coming. May, Lauren and Kelsey have been friends for years. They even worked at the same camp together. During a girls weekend, they practically run into another couple in a parking lot. After a drunken mistake, they are at the center of a missing person case. Will this destroy their friendship?

Alafair Burke is one of my favorite mystery/suspense authors. I liked The Note, but it won't crack my top five Burke novels.

Three friends meet on vacation in the Hamptons, except it's not just your standard girls' trip - they've been texting daily lately, but only Lauren has maintained her relationships with both May and Kelsey over the years (May and Kelsey lost touch before picking back up). All three also have been working to come back from scandal (a different flavor for each of them). Then, while in the Hamptons, a man goes missing - and the cops are interested in how the women might be connected to him.

I think the pacing is what dampened my enjoyment of this one. Still, I wanted to see where the story would go.

I really liked the acknowledgements, especially Burke's explanation of where she got the ideas for The Note.

3.25

This was my first book by Alafair Burke, and I'd heard good things about her thrillers and the premise sounded up my alley, so I was excited to dive in. Unfortunately, I didn't like or connect with any of the characters, and despite the escalating plotlines, I didn't ever feel fully hooked. Maybe because these characters kept making what felt like dumb, weird choices. I'm normally an "unlikable female character" stan, but these felt flat, so I didn't get the usual zing of following along with someone insufferable but fun. 

We're following May, Kelsey, and Lauren, three friends who were close in high school after meeting at summer camp and have now reunited as adults after each has suffered a separate internet scandal that got them canceled. They're on vacation together in the Hamptons, when they play a prank that results in someone going missing. 

The POV changes in this were disorienting, because none of the chapter titles warn you it's going to happen, and all of the women sound basically the same. So I'd often get halfway through a chapter thinking I was in one POV and then suddenly the person I thought was narrating would walk into the room. So that was weird. Overall, not a bad book at all, but not a thrilling thriller for me. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Knopf and Alafair Burke for the advanced copy of The Note.

I enjoyed this twisty thriller about three friends who have reconnected after some issues in their past. It's a really great premise for a mystery to have someone go missing after an anonymous note is placed on their car! It was a propulsive read with just a slight bit of excess background information. I was drawn in and couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

I've read several books by this author in this past and was really looking forward to this book. However, this one just fell flat for me. There was a lot of extra background on the characters that didn't have to do with the main story (and felt unnecessary). I couldn't figure out why the characters were even friends. The twist was not unexpected. Hoping her next book is back to her amazing writing style.

Despite a slow start, this turned out to be a good thriller. Three women who are a tangled, hot mess of entitlement go on vacation to reconnect and end up doing dumb things. The first part of the story was quite slow, but curiosity got the better of me and I kept reading and was rewarded as the pace of the story picked up quickly and went in an unlikely direction. Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

This was the first book I have ready by Alafair Burke. This thriller was a page turner and filled with tension and kept you on the edge of your seat and often yelling at the characters asking them why.. Three friends go on a trip to the Hamptons to catch up on old times and get reacquainted, what is wrong with that? This was filled with love, lies, secrets and deception. This was very enjoyable and won't be the last book I will read by Alafair. Thank you NetGalley, Alafair Burke, and Knopf publishing for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I feel like it has been forever since I’ve read a thriller, and January is the perfect month to dive right back in. The Note follows three longtime friends who reconvene post-COVID for a first time to spend the weekend in the Hamptons. But old secrets, withheld information, and one dumb prank escalate in a wild and twisted ride that ends up being more than anyone bargained for. I really enjoyed this book, but mainly for the intricacies of the old friendship between May, Lauren, and Kelsey and less for the thriller aspects of it. The first twist and all of the plot surrounding it was so clever and really well done! What followed ended up surprising me less and less, so if you like your thrillers to end with a bang, this is not one of those. I do think Alafair seamlessly wove together topics that are front of mind and challenges that we as a society, particularly women, struggle with like the challenges to reentry to life post-pandemic, defining how you see yourself in the work, how old friendships do or do not serve us when we evolve, and the messiness of being a woman. All of this, set into a thriller in a way that made it palatable, relatable, and fun. And you know what? I would still go on a vacation with my old friends in the Hamptons after reading this!

This is the first book I have ever read by Alafair Burke, and I will be going back to read all of her previous books. This was a tremendous thriller that keeps you guessing to the very end. The characters were well developed, and the pacing was perfect. I really enjoyed this book and if you like suspenseful thrillers, I think you will too! Go get this one!

Three friends who have drifted apart over the years plan to renew their friendship with a vacation in the Hamptons. They have each been touched by public scandal and it is a chance to reconnect. When a young couple steals their parking spot they jokingly write a note suggesting that he is a cheater. They had no intention of leaving the note but after a few drinks one of the women slips it under the windshield. When the young man goes missing and is late found murdered the women become prime suspects. May is a former DA and currently a law professor who was caught on video leveling false accusations against a man. Lauren has been having an affair with a married man for a number of years. She is a talented musician and symphony conductor whose career has been threatened by his wife. Kelsey’s husband was murdered. He had been planning a divorce and she became a suspect in the murder even though she had a solid alibi. There is nothing to connect them to the missing man at first. May, however, has always looked for the truth and her questions bring the women to the attention of the police. Their investigation also finds a connection between the victim and the women. He had been dating a camper who drowned at the summer camp where the women were employed so they all knew him.

May was looking forward to the reunion. When she discovers what had been done with the note it is the first crack in their relationship. As lies are discovered and the resentment grows she is forced to leave. As a former DA her legal expertise and pursuit of the truth may be the only thing that saves her friend. Alafair Burke throws constant twists at the reader, keeping you guessing what really happened. When he ties the current murder to the murder of Kelsey’s husband it takes the investigation in a whole new direction. While the ending of the book kept me turning the pages, the beginning sometimes seemed slow, as May continuously refers to her melt down. It is not until later in the story that you actually,y find out what happened. When the women are together May’s character stands out, but also feels like an outsider in the group. Burke’s conclusion finally brings the friendship together in his final surprising revelation, making The Note a story that I would recommend. I would like to thank NetGalley and Knopf Publishing for providing this book.

I gave The Note four ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you Alafair Burke, Alfred A Knopf publishers and Net Galley for the ARC. These are my honest opinions.

I really enjoyed this book! It kept my attention and I was invested in the characters. There were a few spots where I thought it was getting somewhat redundant - like when looking back in time - but, overall, the story moved forward at a good pace.

There was a twist at the end that I had figured out, so I didn’t get to indulge in a shocking turn of events. Until then, though, the storyline was pretty convincing.

Worth the read!

Twists, Turns, and the Cancelled Crew
Spoiler Alert: This review contains plot details that some readers might prefer to discover on their own .

So, I started the year super slow, but now I’m finding my groove—and what better way to kick things off than with a gripping thriller? Thrillers always manage to pull me in, and The Note was no exception.

This mystery surrounds a group of three childhood friends—Kelsey, May, and Lauren—known as the “Cancelled Crew.” Each of them has faced public scandal in their lives, ranging from career-ending controversies to, well, a murder accusation. When they decide to take a trip to the Hamptons to escape it all, the question arises: what could possibly go wrong?

As it turns out, plenty. Their getaway takes a dark turn with yet another murder, pulling May, a former prosecutor, back into the world she thought she’d left behind. This time, she’s trying to help a friend who has found themselves accused of murder—again.
I did not see the ending coming. Burke’s ability to set up the final twist was absolutely brilliant. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, the story took a sharp and satisfying turn that left me floored.

While I did find myself raising an eyebrow at one plot point (having a witness to the crime represent the accused, which isn’t exactly realistic), the suspense and character depth more than made up for it. This book kept me hooked from start to finish.

This was a page-turner in every sense of the word. Burke’s writing is sharp and engaging, and the three women at the heart of this story were so well-drawn and fascinating that I’d love to see them return in a sequel—or even a series.

For me, this was a solid 4-star read. I’m here for more of Alafair Burke’s work and will be eagerly picking up her next book. If you’re in the mood for an easy, addictive thriller with strong characters and plenty of twists, this one is a must-read!

This "mystery" meandered so much that I genuinely forgot by the end of the book that a note that kicked off the entire series of events. The three friends are train wrecks for sure; they don't sound or act mature enough to be much else. That they got as far as they did in the events of the plot is baffling to me, and the major twist in the book was incredibly predictable. I started to get an inkling about it long before it actually happened, which left me feeling more "ick" than anything else.

This novel needed a better title and more fine-tuning of its characters.

The Perfect Escape!!!!

✔️ Alafiar Burke
✔️ Secrets
✔️ Lies
✔️ Fast Paced Thriller

Thank you NetGallary for an early review copy of The Note!

This is The Perfect Escape book by Alafair Burke! I absolutely loved this page Turner!

I was hooked from page one and devoured this book. Phenomenal writing with excellent character development!

I thought I had figured out exactly what happened however I was dead wrong! Once you start this book you won’t stop reading until you find out what really happened!

This book had plenty of secrets and lies with the perfect amount of twists and turns!

I savored every word because I could not stop reading!

This is a must read! A masterpiece that kept me engaged the entire time!

No spoilers with my review!

I gave this book 4 stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️!

Three friends, all hiding a secret, go on a getaway to the Hamptons. While there, one friend decides to play a prank and leave a note on a guy's car, however, it quickly takes a turn when the guy she pranked goes missing. The girls become suspects after it is revealed that they have possibly had ties to this man.
The premise is good, however, the first half of the book is very slow. There is a lot of talk of social issues and a lot of talk of the past, which, in my opinion, didn't add much to the story. The latter half, however, is pretty good. Things start to pick up and eventually start adding up. A solid 3 star read.
Thank you NetGalley, Knopf, and Alafair Burke for this read!

This was my first Altair Burke novel and I liked it.
Three close friend take a trip to the Hamptons and a silly prank goes awry. Lots of long buried secrets. What’s not to love.
My one annoyance was disliking the main character and maybe that was the point, but I found her insufferable most of the time. I will definitely pick up another book by this author in the future.
Thanks too NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for a honest opinion.
3.5⭐️

What a thriller. Some very unexpected twists as everything unravels at the end you get a ton of answers. This is for sure a fast paced and keep you hooked book. Finished in one day. Loved it. I felt a little confused at times with characters but then as it kept going it made more sense. Lots of dynamics and different character journeys.
A good quick thriller. For sure an off forbidden love is all I’ll say.