Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy. This review is my honest opinion.

The Note by Alafair Burke was a good story of three women trying to stay connected as they moved on with their lives. There were shades of mystery yet was very much a thriller. I enjoyed the fact that these women were close friends with a strong bond. This bond was what kept them together when tragedy struck.

The Note kept my interest with the strong characterization of the women, good writing, and enough intrigue. I will continue to read this author.

There was too much going on in this muddled little mystery. And I felt no sympathy for any of them, which surprised me. I did not want to finish the story, because I had nothing but apathy for the whole unfortunate affair. Disappointing.

May, Lauren and Kelsey are in the Hamptons on a friend’s trip after years of on and off friendship. One a trip out to shop and eat, a couple cuts them off and steals their parking spot that they patiently waited for. Annoyed by this, what do they do? They get a little intoxicated and one of them decides to leave a harmless prank note on the windshield “He’s cheating on you. He always does”.
Harmless, right??? Until the man suddenly show’s up missing (then dead) and suddenly these three women are involved in a murder mystery.
The Note is a suspense novel with lots of secrets, distrust and lies. It guides us through the years of friendship between May, Lauren and Kelsey as well as how rifts formed in the friendships, and how each woman was traumatized by her own scandal.
This was my first novel by this author, and I felt she did a good job keeping you guessing on what happened to the victim, how these women were possibly tied to his murder through the investigation and displaying the doubts that can set in amongst friends when put in a situation like this.
If you’re expecting something super-fast paced, this isn’t it. There’s a lot of buildup and investigation happening and that does make some things feel a bit repetitive, but overall, it’s an enjoyable read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Alfred A. Knofp publisher for providing me a copy of the note by Alafair Burke. This is my first time reading this author. I love Netgalley for providing me with the chance to read authors that are new to me. The Note was a book a little over 300 pages classified as a mystery/thriller. This book was ok the concept was not new I thought it could be classified as ya. I found this book very repetitive.

The Note follows three friends (May, Kelsey, and Lauren) who travel to the Hamptons for a vacation after several years of disconnection. Soon, the vacation turns from a fun weekend together to a missing person investigation. The book revolves around May, who is labeled "the good girl", she has always been the responsible one and the rule follower when it comes to her other two friends. The three friends have a long, complicated shared history with many unspoken secrets that soon begin to surface and take a dark turn. While on their vacation, a harmless prank goes horrible wrong and leads the police to their doorstep. May has a hard time with being the good girl that she's always been or to be loyal to the friendship she is trying to rebuild. Tension continue to build as May starts to uncover several hidden truths of her friends and whether they are hiding something that could change everything. As you delve deeper into the past and present of these three friends, a pattern begins to show on just what might have happened to bring these three to the attention of the police. This book will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat and keep you wondering if friendship is worth keeping with all the dark secrets.

Three friends go on vacation and chaos erupts. Mays friend Kelsey has dark secrets that come to light and a prank goes horribly wrong. This was a great story with interesting characters. Thanks NetGalley and Knoph for this eARC that will be released January 2025!

Currently Reading

Pre-Read notes

I dont have any expectationsfor this one. Going in almost blind. Hope I love it!

"The idea behind the meme is that the whole internet might fall in love with something fabulous like an adorable baby duck who loves to drink milkshakes, but then once the milkshake-loving duck comes under scrutiny, it turns out the duck’s just another piece of crap." p112

Review summary and recommendations

I don't have very much to say about this one. It's an okay read with which I found all these quibbles. I think readers of suspense will enjoy this one. Women's fiction fans may find something to enjoy here as well.

Reading Notes

Three (or more) things I loved:

1. Very interesting characters here and intriguing character development. "As close as May had once been to Kelsey, being part of her life could be a major commitment. Kelsey checked in constantly on the people she loved. It came naturally to her to follow up on every event a friend may have mentioned to her in passing. Waking up to a Kelsey good luck with xyz today message was a reminder that she was in your corner 24/ 7, despite the physical distance. But May remembered the way she had felt obliged to do the same, even when it felt like work." p34

2. The plot unfolds very slowly, but pay attention, and it'll snag your interest at about p80.

3. I'm 58 pages in and I'm still not sure what this book's about. Picked out some of the subplots though, like the challenges inherent to interracial friendships, marrying strangers, and fluxes in our friendships. These subplots are doing all right bearing the weight of the story...for now.

Three (or less) things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

1. So much ageism in this. It's not done well as a matter of character development, even, since the main characters are calling walk-ons "Boomers" for things that aren't really related to generational differences. Boomer is still a generational insult, right? There is also stigmatizing of weight and chronic illness, so...yay.

2. Just to make it clear: this is a suspense novel and not a thriller.

3. Attempts to raise the narrative stakes at the 1/4 point are...underwhelming...since the stakes are still too low to bear on the story, and the content makes the fmc and her friends look like criminals because of the actions they are taking trying to avoid looking like criminals. It's weak internal logic.

4. I like this book's politics, but it borders on didactic.

5. Once the note is in play, story action takes place almost completely through hearsay. I always find story constructed of a lot of dialogue to be difficult to follow.

6. This book goes over and over the same material. I get it too, it's a mystery, but this one gets repetitive.

Rating: 🏖🏖.5 /5 girls' weekends
for the right reader
Finished: Jan 4 '25
Format: digital arc, NetGalley
Read this book if you like:
🔎 mystery or suspense stories
🙄 unlikable leads
🔥 slow burn plot
↪️ plot twists

Thank you to the author Alafair Burke, publishers Knopf, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of THE NOTE. All views are mine.
---------------

First and foremost, I would like the thank NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor Publishing for granting me this ARC of Alafair Burke’s entertaining novel “The Note.”

Stepping outside of my customary genres, I was pleasantly surprised with the book’s ability to capture and maintain my attention. The characters were believable and unique. We almost all know our own versions of May, Lauren and Kelsey, so found the characters ones easily imaginable.

The plot itself was a bit far fetched in the sense that none of these friends seemed to actually be friends and I found their inter-group relations hard to believe. Each girl was tenuously connected to another, yet put their livelihoods and reputations on the line for someone they seemingly didn’t like or know all too well.

Again, the storyline makes the reader curious enough to get to the ending, but the conclusion left me wanting more or perhaps less.

Love Alafair Burke and was really looking forward to reading this. 3 childhood friends who all went through scandal decide to take a weekend trip to the Hamptons. After not seeing each other for a while, it's a chance to catch up. But all 3 women have secrets that they are doing their best to mask from themselves and each other. After a drunken day out leads to a harmless prank, they all feel closer than ever. Except that little prank leads to the police knocking on their door. How did an innocent note turn into a missing person's case?

Fantastic pacing but the main characters left a lot to be desired. May is a great MC but Kelsey and Lauren have no personality besides shallow. The twist was well done.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Knopf for the ARC.

May Hanover was raised by first generation Chinese single mother with high expectations and ended up becoming a lawyer.
Kelsey comes from a wealthy family. Her father is always involved in her life.
Lauren is the musical prodigy involved with her married older billionaire lover.
The 3 women meet up in the Hamptons where Kelsey rents a house. While at a restaurant in Sag Harbor, a couple take a parking spot the women were waiting for. While the women had too much to drink one of them wrote a note saying the guy is cheating. The note was supposed to be thrown out. The guy ends up missing and all three could be possible suspects.

I didn’t care too much for the story. I didn’t care for the characters. There were too many issues thrown into the story. The twist in the end was ok

Thank you #netgalley, #knopf, #pantheon, vintage and anchor

A lighthearted prank between friends May, Kelsey, and Lauren, involving a note, quickly takes a dark turn when a murder occurs. This engaging whodunit kept me guessing, with a rotating list of suspects. I had a great time trying to unravel the mystery and discovering the depth of each character. The rich history between them added so much to the story, making it hard to know who to trust at any given moment. It was the perfect quick read mystery with the perfect amount of characters and mysteries to unravel.

Thank you NetGalley, Alfred A. Knopf Publishing, and Alafair Burke for the e-ARC.

I was immediately captivated by this fast-paced plot from the first page, thanks to the deftly constructed numerous points of view and the compelling backstories that made me like the characters despite their very unlikable traits.

The plot itself was seductive and enticing. There was plenty of dirt to be revealed because of the numerous unexplained deaths and the large number of people who were socially "cancelled." The feeling of complete realism, however, was what elevated the whole experience. And I'm glad to report that everything came to a genuine climax and ending that made me want to read more. as well as accepting all of the statements.

The biggest factor with this book is quite a few of the characters are unlikable. They were not precisely my favorites, ranging from a black-and-white factfinder who was always persuaded of her own viewpoint to a reckless, hasty, wealthy girl who irritated me a little. But in spite of this, the numerous revelations—all of which were shocking but beneficial—and the complex network of lies and secrets more than made up for whatever annoyance I may have had, and I quickly read the book.

If you're looking for a good, quick book that you can easily binge in a single setting or two this is the book for you. If you're looking for a book that will give you game show vibes with drama this is the book for you as well.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC! This was super fast paced & had me on the edge of my seat wondering who did it. Definitely didn’t see that ending coming 🤯

3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Three Besties that haven't been together in a while, have a weekend in the Hamptons to catch up. One pulls a silly prank that sets off a chain reaction like none other. Great fast paced thriller that keeps you guessing to the very end. And of course I LOVED the Rod Stewart mention!
Thank you to Netgalley, Knopf and Alafair Burke for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC!

I am a huge fan of Alafair Burke and all of her books have been a hit for me, with the exception of this one. The premise had the best elements - female friendship, the Hamptons, a mysterious note and unsolved issues from the past. What's not to love?

Well, this book took me a very long time to get through - 10 days? - when a typical Burke book takes two. I loved the note and the disappearance but it just did not end up working for me. All of the characters were unlikeable and I did not really care about the outcome. The friends involvement in the case was too much and also unrealistic.

Still a forever fan of Alafair Burke, this will just go to the bottom of her ranking.

What happens when 4 old friends get together, after each has been 'cancelled' in the press and all have a past secret they are keeping that has split them apart? A whole lot of stress and underlying drama, then add a lot of alcohol and a stupid decision, and suddenly it seems like everything they knew about each other was a lie, and nothing is as it seems. As May tries to work a way to keep them all out of a police investigation, while trying to keep her new job intact, she soon realizes there are multiple mysteries that have to be solved, as they each are only a few steps away from being a suspect in a murder case, as their secrets all cross over each other. A page turner, this one is sure to become a movie series! Love the take on cancel culture that wasn't trite or woke, but honest and true!

I loved everything about this book! It was a mystery with a legal aspect wrapped up in it. With themes of friendship and betrayal you really can’t go wrong.

I loved the fast paced writing, and that the women were coming together because of individual situations. What really glued me was the mystery. I really enjoyed it watching it unravel and loved the conclusion.

Reading in Between the Wines book review #3/125 for 2025:
Rating: 3🍷🍷🍷
Book: The Note
Author: Alafair Burke
AVAILABLE NOW!!!

Sipping thoughts: We all have passed notes in class or to someone. Who knew notes could be so harmful?!
I really liked the concept of this book. I immediately figured out the ending. I didn't know why, though, and that threw me for a little loop. Read this book if you're looking for troubled friendship, love, loss, infatuation, lies, and murder.

Cheers and thank you to @Netgalley and @KnopfPatheonVintageAnchor for an advanced copy of @TheNote.

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I'm usually a big fan of this author and was excited to read this book. I just could not get past the unlikeable characters and that I did not care about the outcome.

I have mixed feelings about this one. While I did enjoy the plot and did finish it because I was curious to how it ended, I was also very frustrated and at times annoyed with the characters. I would read more by this author!