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.

This was a decent read, but I fear I will not remember it in the long run. It was fun to experience while I was reading it, but it just wasn’t memorable enough to make my Best Books shelf.

THE NOTE – by Alafair Burke

‘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’

I have mixed feelings about this Book—I enjoyed the storyline but wanted to Gib’s a character or three—which is a reasonable response at the conclusion, an ending that was and was not predictable.

Though, Mays’ profession does give me misgivings about the catalyst as it pertains to plausibility, overall all—Recommend!

Thank you, NetGalley and Knopf Publishing (Penguin Random House LLC.), for providing me with an eBook of THE NOTE at the request of an honest review.

I appreciated that this book didn’t have a slow start. By 20% in or so we were thrust into the drama and mystery of it all. On top of that, I did not see that twist coming. Can’t say I’ve read another thriller with a similar twist - that’s for sure! I also appreciated May as the narrator - she had depth and an interesting POV that was complex and nuanced. While she wasn’t the star of the crime, she had her own storyline that added context to the way she viewed it all. Thank you to NetGalley for the early copy.

"I devoured the advanced copy of this gripping thriller! The story follows May, a law professor and former DA's office staffer, who's forced to lay low after a viral subway incident. She reunites with friends, all of whom have their own internet scandal baggage, for a girls' getaway in the Hamptons. But when a chance traffic encounter entangles May in a man's disappearance, decades of secrets and lies begin to surface. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and the story really picked up steam in the second half, keeping me on the edge of my seat."

Alafair Burke’s *The Note* is a well-crafted mystery that blends suspense with emotional complexity. The premise—a mysterious note tied to a suspicious death—grips you from the start. Burke’s characters are the highlight, particularly the protagonist, who is deeply relatable with her own flaws and motivations. The writing is smooth, and the pacing keeps the story moving.

That said, while the twists are satisfying, some feel predictable, and a few plot elements are left unresolved. It doesn’t break new ground in the genre but still delivers a solid, enjoyable read.

Overall, it’s an engaging, quick-paced mystery for fans of psychological suspense, though it doesn’t quite hit the level of an unforgettable thriller.

Hampton girls trip gone wrong

I’ve been missing out on Alafair Burke, as The Note is her 21st novel but my first.

One of the main characters is a true crime junkie just like moi, so having the story sprinkled with several characters and clues made me visualize a corkboard with a red string making the connections.

The story is an exploration of friendship and the push-and-pull of trusting people you (used to) know versus trusting yourself. Plus, the characters’ individual scandals make the story even juicier than the seemingly harmless prank that drives the whole plot.

I always like happening upon a new-to-me author because it gives me a solid backlist to go through.

I think many people can relate to the challenges that exist in staying connected to some of your strongest childhood friendships as you transition into adulthood. May, Lauren, and Kelsey spent summers together at a performing arts camp and now find themselves reunited after they each experienced different degrees of public scandal. When a girl's weekend ends up tied to a mysterious disappearance, they are all forced to face how well they know the grown-up versions of each other.

Overall, I really enjoyed this thriller and was engaged the entire way through. There was substantial character development and I enjoyed how each female main character was flawed in their own unique way. The plot has enough twists and turns to keep you engaged even if you can figure out some of where the story is headed. Perfect travel read.

This is a classic murder mystery, but the mystery isn't really the center of the book. It's really the relationships between the three friends that are the focus. Burke uses the secrets between the friends to create suspense and mystery throughout the book. It served to make the murder mystery more interesting. There's nothing really ground breaking about this book, but it's an entertaining read.

The farther that the friends get into the mystery the more that their bonds are tested. The book really shines when delving into the friendships. They have all been terrible friends to one another, but that's what makes the story interesting. It's hard to tell which friend the reader should believe. None of them seem like they would be reliable narrators. Burke goes out of her way to make all three of the women seem unbelievable. However, Burke manages to walk the fine line of making these friends complex with real issues, while still making them likable enough to root for. Even when it's hard to tell who the reader should be rooting for.

Burke has clearly tried to make the book very current with recent events. There is a lot of focus on social media, race, and covid effects. While some this great, some of it seems a little forced in. Some elements don't bring the reader farther into the story. Instead they take the reader out of the story. All of these topics are important. To put them all in one story makes it seem disingenuous.

This book is a fun and short read. It's easily finished within an afternoon. The murder mystery wasn't overly easy to figure out. There were several twists and turns that make the book hard to put down. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery.

I was provided this ARC from Knoph, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor. All views are my own.

Pretty good, i felt like it was progressing at a nice pace and then it went to 100 miles an hour and wrapped up very quickly.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.5/5

Finished my first thriller of the new year!

An exciting thriller from Alafair Burke. The story centers around three life long friends that have each had moments in their lives that have gotten them “cancelled.” May, Lauren, and Kelsey head off to the Hamptons for the weekend to escape. At dinner one night what starts as a silly prank quickly unravels into something much bigger. When a police investigation begins tensions rises, loyalties are tested, and secrets are revealed.

I recommend to anyone who enjoys legal thrillers, women fiction, and family drama!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

A few city girls in midst of multiple homicides. Who dun it? I felt like story spends 40% of the book just reminiscing between the girls at a rental house party. Then it suddenly becomes court drama, then relationship drama. Oh and throw in some covid and crazy lady drama. Too many different plot lines that didn't have any meaning to tolhe total story. What point did Josh's character serve? It just didn't flow well for me and the ending felt like every option thrown at a wall and see which one sticks. It didn't feel twisty, more messy.