Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel.

It was a good mystery but not more for me. It fell a bit flat for me.

Alafair knows how to write great stories! The ability to web secrets and lies into a suspenseful story is a gift and a gift that she takes in strides.

Three friends with a deep history go on vacation but, then someone is murdered and a tiny little note links it back to the friends. One of these friends is no stranger to people being murdered around her so, how does it all fit? Is she keeping secrets or is it just coincidence?

I’ll admit this story really started slow for me, which is not what I’m used to with Alafair’s previous books. However – the history of the girls was needed and therefore, the slowness was merited. I did not see the end coming, It was such a teeth clencher experience! I really enjoyed this newest addition to Alafair Burke’s collection – a definite must read! 4️⃣⭐️❗️

It’s interesting to read Alafair Burke’s latest novel The Note in the age of cancel culture, where it feels like the Internet mob is just waiting to find the next person who needs judgment and cancellation.

May, Kelsie, and Lauren all share membership in a small group of people who the Internet has judged and found wanting. Friends before their various “sins” surfaced online, the trio drifted apart for a bit but is getting back together for a weekend in the Hamptons to catch up and unwind. Everything is going well until a car “steals” the parking spot they were waiting for, and they speculate what it would be like to leave a note on the perpetrator’s windshield, expressing their dissatisfaction and outrage at this (perceived) slight. But when one of the trio decides to make the what-if a reality and the driver goes missing, suddenly the spotlight is thrust back onto the trio and their potential involvement.

And that’s when things start to get interesting as Burke digs a bit deeper, reveals a bit more about her characters, and shows up that maybe the note wasn’t such a coincidence after all. To delve into greater detail would be to ruin some of the surprises of The Note‘s second half. Burke’s characters are on point and the layers of this particular onion are peeled back with devilish delight. Turns out each of these three friends has secrets from each other, many of which impact the case and their potential to be suspects.

Add in that each of the characters achieved a level of internet celebrity for perceived sins and you’ve got some great tension driving this story.

Like any good mystery, this one kept me guessing, but in all the right ways. However, while the central mystery of where the car spot stealer has gone and what his ultimate fate is, the real strength of this one is the characters. Each one is completely sympathetic one minute, completely unlikable the next, often shifting as one truth after another comes to light.

An early front-runner for one of my favorite books of the year. Highly recommended.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley.

Three lifelong friends head to the Hamptons for a weekend catchup. Everyone has their own baggage, literally and figuratively. Things change drastically when on night 1 one too many drinks were had, and a prank goes too far. That is when their vacation turns into a police investigation.

I had a hard time with this one. The characters were just okay. Nobody stood out to me and with that it was easy to get everyone mixed up. I have a hard time with books where characters are hard to connect with or simply like/enjoy.
The storyline of the main story seemed to get lost in the dramatic details of the individuals' social matters.
I found myself overall rather bored and had a hard time sticking with it.


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

3.5 stars, rounded to 4.

I was very thankful to NetGalley and excited to read the newest book from Alafair Burke, The Note.

The synopsis really grabbed me as it is a story of 3 best friends who head to the Hamptons for a little beach vacation. May, who is an attorney turned professor, Lauren, and Kelsey who has a wealthy dad. All very different backgrounds. They met at camp many years ago as kids. One of their fellow campers died and they stayed bonded but then lost touch over the years.
They reignited their friendship through one of The NY Times games and started texting. Now as adults, all have their own trials and tribulations, May went viral for something that happened when she was on a subway, Kelsey husband was murdered and she was accused but never charged and Lauren has a bit of a years long scandal still following her.

They decide to get together for this vacation, May for just a weekend. They go to dinner and this couple steals their parking spot so to get back at them they are goofing around and throw a note on his car.

This note unravels a chain of events because the guy who got the note disappears.

I did enjoy the book, It sort of ebbed and flowed for me. There were times it seemed a little boring and then it would pick back up and I had to find out what happened. The thing I wasn’t as excited as while reading this one was the reason May was sort of an outcast with what happened on the subway.

The finale and the way the book ended was great. It was completely unexpected.

I have long been a fan of Alafair Burke and could not wait to get my hands on this one. Three semi-estranged friends with a complicated history go on a vacation in the Hamptons. Lots of alcohol is consumed, and then a note is left on a car. What could go wrong? As it turns out, everything.

This was a fun, wild ride and I would absolutely recommend it.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This author took a well-used trope and gave it her own unique twist. Three women with secrets and sordid pasts reconnect for a weekend trip, ending in a prank gone wrong and a missing person. This was written well and fast-paced. While predictable in some ways, the unpredictable was shocking. Unlikable characters and questionable choices were what made this one hard to put down. Overall, I enjoyed this one for a quick weekend read. Three and a half stars.

Thank you, Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for this ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley, Alafair Burke, and Knopf Publishing for this ARC in exchange for and honest review.

Three professional young women, who have a history of scandals and being publicly cancelled, meet up after years apart for a girls weekend in the Hamptons. They have a woven history, filled with secrets and trauma. A simple prank in the form of a note goes horribly wrong while in town, and everything changes.

I really liked this book initially! The character development at was interesting and engaging, but then the novel becomes convoluted. The only character I could keep up with was Kelsey.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have always enjoyed Burke's books and this one was good, but it wasn't my favorite of the ones I have read so far. A few friends who have lost touch over the years (for spoiler reasons) reunite and take a trip to the Hamptons for a weekend. One friend's actions, leaving a note on someone's car, lead to a tragic disaster that pins a murder on the friends. This book really examines how fraught female friendships can be for myriad reasons. The main character has to really do some soul searching to find who she is and make the right choices for her life, despite who might get hurt in the process.

I liked the mystery and suspense in this book, but the characters were unlikeable and at times, while I understand it was a plot point, it was just frustrating to see the choices that they made.

The Note was a pretty good story of a girls weekend in the hamptons and a note left on a car. Secrets are everywhere. Three childihood friends seem to have dead bodies following them. They all have secrets but who’s the murderer. A quick read with some awesome plot twists. I totally get why she wrote with Mary Higgins Clark whk happens to be a favorite of mine.

US pub date: 1/7/25
Genre: suspense/thriller
Quick summary: Three friends meet up in the Hamptons, and after a chance encounter with some jerks, they leave a note as a prank. But that note quickly spirals into a police investigation...

Ah, books about unlikeable friends who go on vacation and find themselves in trouble. Is this my favorite thriller trope? I think it just may be. I've enjoyed Alafair Burke's previous books, and I'm impressed with how much she packed into just 304 pages. I ended up staying up late to finish this one, and I enjoyed it, but I was expecting one last twist to really satisfy me at the end. Still a fun read, and I'd recommend that readers also check out Burke's THE WIFE.

Thank you to Knopf for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Knopf for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it now in your local and online bookstores and libraries.

I love the twisty/suspenseful writing of Alafair Burke. She is a favorite writer since Mary HIggins Clark passed and they often co-wrote book together. This book does not disappoint either. The book centers around 3 women each involved in a scandal. It is crazy to think one of them is a killer and the killer could be someone who is a prosector. I like how the reveals are slow (and not predctable). I enjoyed that I cared about all 3 of them women in this book. The ending? OMG!!

Highly recommended and I will keep reading more from Alafair Burke in the future. I think i am going to purchase a kindle copy of this too because it was so good.

Thanks to Netgalley, Alafair Burke and publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Already available.

THE NOTE by Alafair Burke is a dark, suspenseful mystery which merited a LibraryReads selection for January 2025. Three friends, May, Kelsey, and Lauren are at the center of the story. Each has been previously involved in a scandal. Half-Chinese, half-white lawyer May became known as "Asian DA Karen" after a viral video. Kelsey (white, wealthy, and spoiled) is infamous as a murder suspect due to the shooting death of her husband. And Lauren, a gifted Black musician, has struggled for professional recognition after her long-standing affair with a married donor was made public. Suddenly there is another disappearance during their Hamptons vacation reunion, and they are increasingly under suspicion by the local police. Their friendship comes under strain while Burke supplies numerous twists that keep the pace hopping and readers guessing about more than one murder.

This was so good! It was written exceptionally well and didn't over share details to where it was a drag to read. I loved the relatable characters and the secrets in this dynamic friendship group! The tension in this thriller is what kept me engaged the whole time. I didn't want to put it down!

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

Reading a book set in the aftermath of COVID-19 shutdowns, as the world navigated its “new normal,” was a deeply emotional experience—at times, it felt almost too relatable. The story spent too much time building up and delving into each character's background, making it difficult to connect with or care about them until around the 40% mark which usually would lead me to DNF.

The story explores themes of cancel culture and social tension, with the main character’s "canceled moment" sparking mixed feelings for me. I loved the humor and solidarity of the "canceled crew" group chat, and some of the girl-group drama hit close to home, making the tension on the page feel visceral.

I predicted the "who," but not the "why," behind the mystery, and I found the ultimate reveal to be an interesting twist. However, the dramatic final act felt a bit over the top for my taste- it tipped from domestic thriller to action thriller. Additionally, I struggled with the believability of the main character’s decisions once they were being interviewed by police—her naivety and actions felt unrealistic given her background as a district attorney.

The story kept me engaged, but I don’t feel like the main character grew or learned much from her experiences, which was a letdown. Overall, this was an intriguing read which evokes many emotions, but it fell short of its full potential.

“The Note” by Alafair Burke was, unfortunately, not my cup of tea. I was immediately hooked by the beginning, interested to know what had went down. However, as the context/background started to form, it was hard for me to get fully invested.

I found myself mixing up the characters since none of them really resonated with me. I also felt like the ending seemed a bit anticlimactic and I wasn’t really shocked at any point during the story.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It was meant to be a harmless prank.

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.

When she finds herself at the center of an urgent police investigation, May begins to wonder whether Lauren and Kelsey are keeping secrets from her, testing the limits of her loyalty to lifelong friends.

What had they gone and done?

The Note is a page-turner of the highest order from one of our greatest contemporary suspense writers.


It is a little early for beach reads, yet Alafair Burke's new novel should be read on a beach. It is set in the Hamptons during a summer weekend. May is the main character, but she got on my nerves more than once. She came across as high-strung, and Josh was a complete jerk to her because of it. I had figured out the whodunit, but I hadn't figured out the "why," which was pretty scandalous.


This book is for anybody who loves a good beach thriller.

May is a strict rule follower who lives her life with structure. She decides to reconnect with her oldest friends in the Hamptons for a few days and she feels very out of her element. She's willing to bend as needed until a harmless prank goes terribly wrong.

This is such a good twisty thriller. I was able to predict most of them, but the story unraveled in a way that it didn't feel overly predictable. The pacing was excellent and the character development was spectacular. Alafair Burke is becoming a must-read writer for me!

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the ARC of The Note.

This book was amazing! I kept turning pages, wanting to know what was going to happen next, and waiting to see how everything was going to come together. It was a fast and fun read, and the intricacy of the web of toxicity between the friends definitely kept the book moving along and kept me interested all the way through.