Another 10/10 Alafair Burke novel! I loved the setting of this -- the Hamptons is perfect for the themes. I love how she also incorporates her law knowledge into the scenes as it makes the book much more authentic.

I’m a big fan of Alafair Burke, but this one fell a little flat for me. I didn’t think the characters were very distinctive. I enjoyed the twists and turns, but something felt a little off.

The Note is an extremely slow burn with a shocking fast paced ending. The final 10% of the book moved at a breakneck speed and had me still questioning it all at the end. I enjoyed the addition of the internet sleuths that have become so prevalent in recent years. It does exactly what happens on the internet - throws info at you to confuse you and make you suspicious of everything.
The twists and turns will surprise you and the ups and downs of the friendships will ultimately endear you to the characters.

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Alafair Burke continues to bring us the psychological thriller with a twist in THE NOTE.

Friends since they were 12, The Canceled Crew; May, Lauren and Kelsey decide on a reunion of sorts in East Hampton. The three haven’t seen each other all at the same time in many years with, love, loss, jobs and even a murder that separate them. The women share common knowledge of a drowning at a summer camp when they were kids. The tragedy and subsequent investigation shaped who they have become. Since that time, each of the women have faced their own personal scandals. May, with an incident on the subway that cost her her job. Lauren, involved with an older, married man is exposed. And Kelsey, whose husband’s unsolved murder just prior to their divorce led to a highly publicised scandal.

As the three women gather for their reunion, a prank note left on a car goes horribly wrong when the recipient is found murdered. As the police investigate, the women are left to clear their names. But again, each of the women is holding something back. When one of the women is arrested for the murder, they all must put the pieces together to find out why David was killed and who is really responsible. Does childhood loyalty extend to murder?

This was an action packed story that was full of twists and turns and kept me turning pages, a ‘just one more chapter’ novel that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout with many a red herring thrown into the mix. The kind of story expected from Alafair Burke. The tension kept rising with each turn of the page. I can’t wait to see where she takes me next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for this ARC opportunity. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.

Loved this book so much! It was the perfect read and writing style. Flew through it!! Recommend as your next read

I really enjoyed the toxic friendship and mistrust between the three main characters. The murder mystery aspect was well executed, with a couple of twists that surprised me, and I even had an aha moment when I figured something out. There was also quite a bit of social commentary dealing with class, race, and the power dynamics between them, as well as cancel culture, that gave the story an extra layer. All of that made up for the fact that the characters were all unlikeable and made stupid decisions that actually had me asking out loud what are you doing?!

This story started off slow but then really picked up. Three friends from meet for a weekend in the Hamptons. May, the ex DA turned law school professor who is infamous for her subway video; Lauren, a musician having a long time affair with a married man whose wife has outed their relationship and Keksey, the rich girl with a murdered husband and the shadow of his death following her all over social media. What starts as a prank, turns deadly and now the friends are back in the spotlight of another murder and on the radar of the police.

I really enjoyed most of this book. The details set a lot up so that you could really visualize what was going on. I feel like there was a lot of unnecessary mentioning of social issues. I also felt the story to be fairly predictable.

This is a fun thriller-crime novel with an interesting cast of characters, tons of drama, and a degree of nostalgia. I enjoyed reading it, and it made me laugh in parts. If you need a genre-cleaner or a quick light read, I'd recommend it to you!

A note: there is incest themes though not on paper.

Thanks to NetGalley and AAKnopf for this copy of "The Note."

What a thrilling, riveting story of three long-time friends and the damage that one anonymous note can heap on their lives.

Author Burke creates memorable characters: the three friends have all been the focus of social media scandals and this affects the choices and decisions they make.

I'm hoping there will be a sequel featuring May, so I'll keep my fingers crossed!

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this story and the premise seemed incredibly relevant to what’s going on today with social media dares! There were so many good twists and turns that I didn’t see coming! It felt real getting all the friends sides of the story from their point of views and really shocked me with the ending! I would recommend to anyone who likes psychological thrillers, mysteries, and female friendships!

A small prank turns deadly…
It sounded so promising but it ended up being slightly disappointing
I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to like or hate the main characters and ended up feeling very indifferent about them
The plot really spiraled and I didn’t love it

I'll start by saying, the premise of The Note sounded great. Three friends on a girls weekend, a drunken encounter and a harmless prank, and someone from the encounter ends up missing. As the story moves along, more secrets from the three friends begin to emerge weaving a tangled web. The twists were good, although, a bit predictable, and the ending was fine. It kept my attention and I wanted to find out what was going to happen. However, I wouldn't say it was the most page-turning, pulse-pounding of thrillers.

All in all, a good read.

Thank you Knopf Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
3.5 stars/5

This book was incredible! I couldn't stop reading. I have recommended the crap out of this book to everyone in my reading groups online. I will be buying this for my trophy shelf for sure! Can't be hyped enough for this amazing read!

I love books about childhood friends reuniting, and this is a good one! There are secrets and twists and surprises. Alafair Burke is a very good writer so I expected well written characters and a riveting plot and she delivered. Any lover of suspense thrillers should enjoy this book.

#thenote is one of alafair burkes best yet.if your into reading thrillers. This book is for you. Its a very compelling read that will leave you guessing to the end.

2025 got off to a great start, definitely. All these new thriller books are killers.

I went into this one completely blind, and oh God, what a great read.

I love it when I cannot figure out a book, meaning knowing who did it from the beginning. I like the book to keep me going until it can no more.

The Note is a fast-paced, twisty, well-written story. With a brilliant plot and well-crafted characters. And a very unexpected ending. I seriously could not put it down.

TW: Suicide. Murder, Fertility Issues, not allowed relationships, complicated family relationships, COVID-19

Thank you, Knopf and Netgalley, for the Free Advanced Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed reading my first book by Alafair Burke. The Note is about a quirky group of friends each with their own issues and flaws they are trying to work through. An innocent little vacation turns into a lot of big drama. Shameful public moments and past secrets are brought to light. The words flowed nicely and I was done before I knew it. Thank you NetGalley and Knopf for the ARC and for introducing me to this author. It is much appreciated.
#NetGalley
#TheNote
#Mystery
#Fiction

May is looking forward to her reunion with longtime friends Lauren and Kelsey. She's known them for decades but hadn't kept in close contact with Kelsey for several years. But Kelsey has rented a fabulous house in the Hamptons for a week, and May joins her two friends for the weekend. A drunken night out and seemingly harmless prank have unexpected consequences, though, when a man goes missing. All three women--for their own reasons--are eager to avoid police scrutiny and make the always bad decision to tell a few white lies early on to avoid suspicion. Only to invite more.

May, the perennial goody-goody and amateur detective, can't help getting them more involved. The more the women try to divert suspicion, the more they invite, and May begins worrying about Kelsey's involvement. At the same time, May's fiance, Josh, is questioning her involvement, particularly as her ex (and Kelsey's stepbrother), Nate, is also involved.

Filled with twists and turns, this suspense novel is riveting. Once I got past my initial dismay at the women's heavy drinking (how can anyone drink that much? May clearly couldn't), I really enjoyed this story. And it managed to fool me, so there's that. #TheNote #NetGalley

The Note by Alafair Burke is a story of three childhood friends navigating friendship as adults and trying to stay connected. They plan a weekend trip where chaos ensues and accusations of murder result.

There are many twists and turns in this book that keep you guessing until the end as to who committed the murder.

Definitely a page turner!

Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.