Three old friend decide to take a long weekend in the Hamptons. The friends know each other from summer camp. They were also counselors after college for a summer and there was a drowning while they were there. While they are in the Hamptons there is a death. Are they connected to the dead man? Secrets start to come out.

Is one of the friends a murderer? This book had me guessing if any of them was capable of murder until the end. Could someone else have murdered the man or is it one of them? A book that keeps you guessing is a great read. This book is also a quick read. Your will not want to put it down because you will want to know what will be revealed next.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #AlafairBurke and #Knopf for a copy of this book.
#TheNote

I’m not a voracious thriller/suspense reader, but I do enjoy them somewhat regularly. That is why I’m surprised that I’ve never read anything by Alafair Burke. I will surely be looking into her backlist. This one had three women as the main characters. They all come from very different backgrounds, but were drawn together mainly through a musical summer camp. As adults they spend a weekend together in the Hamptons that will change all their lives. The catalyst is a note that should never have been written let alone put on somebody’s car. Murders, past and present, play an important role as the story moves along. There are a few suspects including each of the women. It had me guessing until the end. Well done and very enjoyable read.

It took me probably 1/4 of the book to become interested in the story line. Then one simple act set a lot of things in motion in the book. The story line was pretty good. I will say I was able to guess a few things before the story revealed them. But still a pretty good book.

📚 THE NOTE by Alafair Burke [e-ARC] 📚

Genre: Thriller
Length: 304 pages
Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025!
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Net Galley, Knopf, Pantheon, and Vintage Books for the e-ARC of The Note. The opinions stated are solely my own.

Synopsis:
May, Kelsey, and Lauren had grown up close going to Wildwood summer music camp. Years later, all three women's paths had taken them in drastically different places: law professor, socialite, and symphonic music director. Each of the friends had also been carrying separate traumas that separated them.

Desperately wanting to get the trio back together, Kelsey books them a long weekend holiday in The Hamptons to rekindle their friendship. After a night of drinking and fun, a simple note written on a cocktail napkin and placed as a prank takes a very terrible turn. Now, a man has been murdered, and the police only have eyes for the women who wrote 'the note'...

Opinion:
I enjoyed this thriller! There were many layers to the story, as each woman had different backgrounds and secrets that made them all somewhat suspicious of the crime. This book was about women and friendships, but also about how society looked at each of them differently, causing unease with each other. The character of May was my favorite and I loved how she was able to use her law experience to solve this crime, even as the author often had me wonder her own guilt. Great book and it was a quick and engaging read!

The Note by Alafair Burke is a gripping psychological thriller that delves deep into the complex friendship between three women—May, Lauren, and Kelsey. May, known for her rule-following nature, finds herself at the center of a police investigation after a drunken prank goes horribly wrong. As the investigation unfolds, May begins to suspect that Lauren and Kelsey might be hiding more than she initially thought. The novel explores themes of loyalty, trust, and the complexities of long-term friendships, all while building up to a suspenseful and surprising reveal of the true killer. Burke masterfully explores their intricate relationships, each character bringing their own secrets and past scandals to the table. The dynamic between these three women is both compelling and realistic, making their interactions a highlight of the novel.

The buildup to the reveal of the true killer is exceptionally well-done. Burke keeps readers on the edge of their seats with red herrings and unexpected twists, ensuring that the suspense never wanes. The final revelation is both surprising and satisfying, tying together the various threads of the story in a way that feels earned.

Overall, The Note is a page-turner that will keep you guessing until the very end. Highly recommended for fans of suspenseful thrillers and stories about the complexities of female friendships. #netgalley #thenote

I received a free copy of, The Note, by Alafair Burke, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book may start off a bit slow but the pace did pick up. Once it picked up, I found it hard to put down! There were twists that I wasn't expecting.

A vacation in the Hamptons goes horribly wrong for 3 friends. What started as a harmless prank, ties them together in a crime. These 3 started out as childhood friends, but their friendship turned very toxic as they became adults. Story felt a little rushed at the end, after a slow burn, but brought it together in a satisfying way.

Thank You NetGalley and Knopf for the free e-galley.
Publication Date: Jan 7, 2025

First, thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.

I've never read anything by this author, and I usually don't go for thrillers, but the premise sounded interesting. And it was, until it wasn't.

I had most of the twist figured out by about 42% in, which is why I don't go for thrillers. There were a couple of twisty details, but overall it was fairly predictable.

The idea that all of these women had some sort of high profile news presence was just too much for me to believe.

Overall, this was a twisty super fast (in two sittings over the course of a day off) read and one I'd tell friends to read, but it was just OK for me.

The Note by Alafair Burke
Release Date: 1/7/25
Format: audio/ebook hybrid
Rating: ⭐️⭐️✨

I love a thriller that is based on past mysteries and current day deception. With a girls trip thrown in for good measure?! Hell yeah! So this book had a lot of ingredients I usually dig, but for some reason it just didn’t connect for me at all.

There was a lot of nothing in this book. I really didn’t feel invested to the plot or the characters at any point. There was a lot of things going on, but most of it didn’t feel like it carried much weight. Throw in a mess of one dimensional characters and one too many plot lines, and I just don’t think this book was entertaining or engaging unfortunately.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion, I’m sorry it’s a somewhat salty one!

The Note by Alafair Burke is about three old friends who schedule a girls' trip to The Hamptons. Kelsey, Lauren, and May have a history fraught with parental issues, high expectations for success, and a few mysterious deaths. While out to dinner a couple in a small car steals the parking space the ladies are waiting for. At dinner, after many drinks, Kelsey suggests they write a note to the parking space stealers - just for fun. Unbeknownst to the other two she puts the note on the car. This starts a series of events they never would have expected. Their hurts from the past come out in an ugly way. I appreciate NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Ancho for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This review will be posted on BookwormishMe.com & goodreads.com today.


Everyone is a suspect. Every single person in this book seems to have secrets that could make them the murder suspect. It will leave you guessing until the very end.

May is the good girl. As the first born child of a Chinese immigrant and an American father, she is expected to always succeed and do the right thing. When her father disappears, her mother raises her alone. An accomplished pianist and lawyer, May has always been somewhat judgmental and uptight.

Lauren and Kelsey are May’s best friends. Well, at one time they were. Kelsey and May had a falling out years ago. Lauren has mostly been the glue that kept the threesome together. So when Kelsey invites May and Lauren to spend a weekend with her at a private home in the Hamptons, it’s an opportunity for the women to renew their friendship.

Until a man goes missing and the women realize they saw him the night before, stealing their parking space. A harmless prank turns the women into suspects and tests their friendship.

I will say this one definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. While May is clearly the lead protagonist, Lauren and Kelsey are well thought out characters. It’s an odd threesome, but their friendship does make sense. Sometimes you’ll get a notion of who is the culprit, but this one really had me stumped. I couldn’t wait to finish it to find out who was the guilty one.

Growing up, May Hanover was a good girl, always. Well-behaved, top of her class, a compulsive rule-follower. Raised by a first-generation Chinese single mother with high expectations, May didn’t have room to slip up, let alone fail. Her friends didn’t call her the Little Sheriff for nothing.

But even good girls have secrets. And regrets. When it comes to her friendship with Lauren and Kelsey, she's had her fair share of both. Their bond—forged when May was just twelve years old—has withstood a tragic accident, individual scandals, heartbreak and loss. Now the three friends have reunited for the first time in years for a few days of sun and fun in the Hamptons. But a chance encounter with a pair of strangers leads to a drunken prank that goes horribly awry.

Oh boy. I was pulled into this story from the beginning. I don't like ANY of the main characters, but that didn't make me put the book down. In fact, I think it kept me more engaged. The plotline kept me turning pages, though, and I couldn't look away. There are a lot of things in this book that make you think about stereotypes and social media, but those thoughts come after you've finished this gripping thriller. 3.5⭐

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

3 1/2 stars rounded up
Friends since childhood, three women get together for a weekend in the Hamptons. After a few too many drinks, one of the women puts “The Note” on a car that stole their parking spot. They think it’s a hilarious drunken prank but one of the car’s occupants goes missing and they soon find themselves in the middle of an investigation.
This ARC was provided by the Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"It was meant to be a harmless prank."
"What had they gone and done?"
Three friends decide to take a vacation in the Hamptons....but talk about keeping your enemies closer...Some toxic traits and scandalous secrets between them, could not possibly be a vacation. This trip was more of a consolation game with no winners. As children, they made bad decisions that ended in heartbreak, so you learn from them. As adults, they played a prank by leaving a note on a couple's car after they took their parking space. It becomes a police investigation after the couple ends up missing.
I'm not sure any of them should have been friends. When they're together, they can do some damage. They all live with secrets and regrets. May was once top of their class and raised by a single parent with morals. She always tried to make the best decisions until she met Lauren and Kelsey. She begins to see through the friendship and loyalty. It becomes a police investigation testing their ties to each other.
This was an enjoyable book if you like mysteries because it keeps you guessing and throws some twists in it to keep it interesting. It was aggravating to watch their lack of wisdom together.
Thank you Knopf and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my review.

In the beginning, it is hinted at that each woman in the story has a secret or something big that happened to them that "ruined" their lives. As we get further into the book we find out these events and how they play a factor in the story.

I think the storyline is a little confusing and hops around so much that you don't know if you are in the past or present. I wish the chapters were labeled by character because we get a lot of everyone's point of view in this one along with a little past and present in the timeline. It really felt slow at times which made it hard to get through. I feel one character and storyline could have been taken out completely.

The ending has a good twist but just happens too late.

This is not my first read by the legendary Burke, and it won't be my last. All of her books have been solid 4 or 5 stars, but I do think that this one is a solid 3.5, though I'm rounding to 4.


3 friends are on a vacation and decide to play a "harmless" prank, which impacts them beyond anyone's wildest imagination. What was supposed to be a fun trip has turned into a missing person's case, cops showing up at everyones' doors, and long-held secrets coming to light in some twists and turns that will leave you dizzy.

Overall, I LOVED the premise, and the eventual conclusion. There were also multiple narrators and time jumps. I really enjoy these aspects in books.

However, I couldn't bring myself to like ANY of the characters. MCs will always do dumb things, or there's no story, and I understand that. But I couldn't relate to or care about any of the three friends or their life choices. I felt the same way about all of the side characters as well. So, while I felt the need to stay up into the wee hours of the morning to finish it, I also hoped in a small way that no one had a happy ending, because I wasn't rooting for anyone that was in the book. I would have been perfectly happy to see everyone end up in jail or dead.

It WILL keep you captivated, you WILL gasp, you SHOULD read this book, just be prepared to not like anyone.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

This book was fantastic. It really kept me on my toes and guessing throughout. This was my first book that book I've read by this author and I would definitely read again.

This was a fun page-turner with a fabulous Hamptons location. I don't really remember how it ended but the journey was enjoyable! Read this in a couple of days.

I enjoyed this book. There were a few times when it felt a little slow, but overall it held my interest. I thought it was pretty much on par with other books of its genre.

One thing that's become common in the last three years of literature is books that make reference to and/or take place in a COVID-19 world. I don't have a problem with this when it's done in moderation and the whole plot of the book isn't centered on it. That's why I actually really enjoyed this book, which seamlessly weaves the pandemic into the story in ways that move the plot along. It really helped provide background for the main characters here and what their motivations were.

I really enjoyed The Note, particularly the pacing, which was fast and kept the story going. I also liked the cast of characters and how the twists turned out. The setting-The Hamptons- was very atmospheric and lent itself well to the plot.

Overall, this was a solid thriller!