Three friends on a vacation, what could go wrong???? Friends since they were young, May, Lauren and Kelsey have had a close bond which has seen heartbreak, loss, individual issues, and a tragedy. Over the years, their relationships changed from close to toxic. They planned their time in the Hamptons for some fun in the sun. They never thought that a prank and a night out drinking would end the way it did!

This book is full of tension between the individual characters and between them and others. May, Lauren, and Kelsey all have their secrets and when a police investigation ensues, they will see their loyalty tested.

I had high hopes for this book and thought I would love The Note. I loved the synopsis of three friends with secrets, going away together and something happening. But I found that none of the characters were sympathetic or likeable. I didn’t feel for any of them. While the mystery was intriguing, I felt all the issues brought up muddled down the plot. I don't mind a few issues being thrown in as it makes the story feel more relevant and timelier but for some reason, in this book it felt too much.

What I did enjoy was the tension between the characters and their secrets. The toxicity of their friendship was well done as well.

The Note was a practical joke and it really wasn't all of that serious of a joke. But, there were a lot of coincidences that made it so. A lot of people die around these women and they all have terrible luck keeping themselves off of the interwebs. It was chaotic and unbelievable. But it was quick and fun to read. I didn't like any of the characters. You don't need to.

If you can suspend your disbelief and just watch it all happen, you can enjoy it, though.

A good thriller with some suspenseful moments. But it felt somewhat rushed, and the ending seemed like something was missing.. But overall, a great read!!!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader’s copy!

I am a huge fan of Alafair Burke and was so excited to receive an ARC of her latest book, “The Note.” When it started with old friends getting together in the Hamptons, I thought it was going to be the typical vacation thriller. Instead I was pleasantly surprised as the plot moves quickly and every time I thought I had it figured out, there would be a new twist. Overall it was a quick and entertaining read. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the digital ARC of ”The Note” in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book drew me in but once I started reading it, I just couldn’t get into it at all.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

This is my first by Burke, and I was not disappointed.
What started as a prank, turned into more than expected for three long time friends on vacation.

If you love a good suspense with a twist, this is one to add to your list. Friendships shattered, relationships gone awry, murder, mystery. What’s not to love?
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book would be perfect for fans of Frieda McFadden and John Marrs. It's a very easy to read popcorn thriller. There was not a whole lot of depth to the story, but it was still fun.

This book is about 3 friends who go on a vacation together who all have "secrets." The secrets are pretty bland at best. But anyway, the girls are going out for dinner and waiting for a parking spot, and then the spot gets stolen by a rich guy and his girlfriend. And that really gets their goat. So they're stewing over dinner about it, and one of the girls writes a note that says, "He's cheating on you, he always does." And it gets left on his windshield. The next day, this guy ends up missing with posters of him all over town.

The characters in this story aren't particularly likable, if I'm being honest. There wasn't much character development. In one instance, one of the girls May was adamant about one of her friends being involved in a crime, but 5 seconds later, she rapidly changed her mind. There's was no inside look at why she changed her mind other than, "You're right, she did look too upset to have done this herself." I just don't think real people change their mind that quickly.

The positives of this book, though, are that it was a fast, easy read. The chapters are short and easy to comprehend, and the plot of the book was good. It started off with a cliffhanger that really made me want to see what happens in this book. The ending was a bit predicable, but it was satisfying. All the loose ends were tied up neatly, and I wasn't left with any nagging questions.

Thank you, Netgalley, and the publishers for lending me this book.

Thank you @netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of The Note by Alifair Burke. Three women became friends at music camp, and are reuniting after all three have experienced traumatic situations. They meet up in the Hamptons, and have a situation where a couple snags a coveted parking spot from them, they jokingly write nasty notes to the couple at dinner, and one of the friends leaves a note on their car-without letting the other friends know. Then things get bad when the man from the couple is missing and then found dead. How are the women involved? One is a lawyer turned law professor, she comes out of retirement when one of her friends is accused of the murder. There are details from their days at camp that come out, and lots of secrets are revealed. I enjoyed this story, I liked the friendships and the mystery was good as well. #thenote #alifairburke #netgalley #advancedreadercopy #lovetoread #mystery #femalefriendships #bookstagram

I’m irritated I wasted my time reading this 🙃

My first book by this author & I hope this isn’t indicative of her writing. I can’t think of anything positive to say about this book. First of all the storyline is ridiculous. The pandemic references were too much. I’ve read plenty of post Covid/pandemic books, it’s almost 2025 it was bad enough living it much less reading about in every book...just stop. The writing to me seemed awfully adolescent/amateur. I couldn’t relate to any of the characters so that made it impossible for me to really root for anyone or get invested in what happened to any of them. Each of their individual stories from the past were so over the top, every time May’s subway incident was mentioned I found myself rolling my eyes. The only thing it had going for it was my curiosity of ‘who dunnit’. I didn’t expect the ending & who the villain turned out to be but even that was kind of ruined for me because after such a slow burn of a book the ending was basically jammed into the last chapter.

I appreciate the arc! Thank you to both NetGalley & the publisher
Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor.

A lost parking space and a note written in anger plunge three friends into an investigation they want no part of. May, Kelsey and Lauren have been best friends on and off since they were young. Now they are trying to reignite their friendship on a long weekend in the Hamptons - a weekend that will involve alcohol, deception and possibly murder.

The Note, a mystery/thriller, has it all. There’s a dark history between the women, dating back to their days at camp. There have been lies and deception, rekindled friendships, boyfriends who come and go. Alafair Burke makes these characters so sympathetic that you don’t want them to be guilty of anything. The plot moves steadily, with twists and turns, toward a surprising conclusion. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and Alafair Burke for this ARC.

This book swallowed me whole from page one. I loved every page, every detail. I will most definitely be recommending this book to others.

This one was just very meh in the end. There were some twists that I enjoyed, but the ending was just far fetched, rushed, and ultimately poorly executed. I thought the character development was a bit lackluster (and can I take just a moment to mention how much I despised the character of Josh...and not in a love to hate way - his character was dreadful in a way that did not advance the plot). I never felt the connections among the characters, and I never overly grew to enjoy any of them.....I did not really care what was going to happen to any of them by the end.

I love Alafair Burke's writing style. This book had a super original plot that kept my interest throughout the story. A few moments I didn't see coming and a few I guessed. Overall a well done book.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. I did guess the twist early on but that didn’t ruin the book for me. The ending felt a bit rushed. I would’ve liked May and Josh’s relationship ending to have more details. I also didn’t love how the ending line is just a single line about the twins. I liked that we got background on each of the girls. Background on Nate would’ve been good to have as well. I wouldn’t mind a sequel with May as a lawyer again.

Editing comments there were at least two chapters that started with a quote from one if the characters but was missing a quotation mark.

I was immediately drawn in by the premise of this book--three longtime friends reconnecting on vacation, each with a questionable past. I'm a big fan of vacation/girls trip thrillers, and I couldn't wait to see what secrets these characters were hiding.

The author lost me somewhat partway through, though. A stupid lie to the cops over something totally innocuous is always a quick way to lost my belief in the story (although the lie was somewhat explained later on). From there, the characters just kept doing things I didn't think a rational person would ever do.

There are some interesting reveals throughout the story, but I wasn't in the right headspace to suspend belief enough to play along. The way things came together didn't ring true to me.

A Hampton vacation goes wrong with three old friends. A note left as a prank drags the girls into a police investigation. What actual happened? Is one of her friends behind it?

Lauren and Kelsey were forgettable in comparison to May. The story seemed to drag a bit for my liking. The twists were unexpected.

Thank you to Alafair Burke, Knopf, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In this contemporary mystery/thriller, May, Kelsey, and Lauren, friends with a long history who have each also been the focus of a viral scandal, meet up in the Hamptons for a girls trip. A drunken prank is the possible reason a person goes missing, which leads these three friends on a journey that makes them question their futures and recall tragic memories from their shared past. This book was a little bit of a slow, comically angry burn for me, because immediately we are made aware of May's viral scandal, but it takes FOREVER for it to be revealed, which drove me crazy, lol!! I wanted to speed through the book to finally be made aware of what it was! The slow burn is due to learning the background and nuances of the friendships between the three women, but once that's established the plot exponentially speeds up to reveal hidden secrets (a LOT of them) and then twists and turns to the truly shocking ending of the book; my jaw dropped to the floor! I'd be surprised if anyone would be able to figure out "whodunnit." Once past the slow beginning, the book really picks up steam and is an enjoyable ride as you try to suss out who is behind the dark deeds revealed.

This book contains both moments of genius storytelling and tedious, cringey decisions made by the main characters. Personally, while reading this book, there were times when I didn't want to put it down and times when I was rolling my eyes. I found this book wildly inconsistent, and I guessed the outcome too early, which slowed my reading momentum. Still, it was entertaining and worth a read if it sounds good to you. I'm only one person and a lot of people are writing 5 star reviews for this one.

Thanks to NetGalley for early access.

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage & Anchor for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. “The Note” by Alastair Burke is scheduled for publication on January 7, 2025.
I will say it up front, I was not impressed with this book. It felt like Burke was trying to write two different stories or merge several plot ideas into one. For me, it didn’t work. Let me explain.
The story focuses on three women – May, Lauren and Kelsey – who have been friends since they met more than a decade ago at a youth arts camp in New Hampshire. They’ve planned a reunion weekend in the Hamptons on Long Island, and at first it seems their relationships pick up right where they left off.
Then a prank goes horribly wrong. A car driven by a young man and woman swipes a prized parking space from the three women. Kelsey – without telling the others – leaves a note (written by Lauren) on the car’s windshield. That sets off a chain of events embroiling the three women in a murder investigation when the man who was driving the car disappears.
One problem I had with the book was how long it took – nearly one-third of the way through – to get to the point of the note being left on the car’s windshield. Until then, the narrative reads like a chick flick with seemingly pointless banter between the three friends.
The next third, as the investigation begins to unfold, picks up some steam and gained more of my interest – despite the plot being a bit of a stretch.
But the last third of the book is much too convoluted. Almost everyone – from an over-protective father to his estranged stepson to the women themselves – becomes a suspect when the man who disappeared is found dead. The bouncing back and forth between present events and backstory that attempts to explain why characters are behaving and interacting as they are made my head spin. And it becomes clear that these three friends who profess to be as close as sisters have been lying to each other for years.
The ending was incredibly hokey, totally tilting the believability scale to the negative side. I won’t give anything away, but it seemed like Burke just needed a neat and clean way to end the story, regardless of its lack of plausibility.
So, from slow moving beginning to rapid fire mid-section, to unrealistic ending, “The Note” just didn’t do much for me. Two stars. There’s just not enough here to make the story Note-worthy.
And check out all of my reviews at my Raised on Reading (www.raisedonreading.com) book blog.

"He's cheating. He always does."

Out on a week long trip, three adult friends come together for vacation and get irritated by a couple that takes their parking space. As they drink and have dinner, they bemoan how rude the couple was and laugh as one of them writes a note - "He's cheating, He always does." They laugh, they think they toss the note.

Little do they know, the man in the couple will go missing. What is going on?

I really liked that we got multiple POV. It was good to know what was happening and what Lauren thought along with May. I did figure out some of the twists but after a bit of a slow start, I did feel the tension of the story and want to know what would happen next. It was interesting, I liked it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.