Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for sending me an ARC of The Note.

This was a decent read. Easy enough to follow, with secrets abound from the past resurfacing at the worst possible times for 3 long standing friends who get drunk and leave a note on a car windscreen, ultimately for a joke revenge prank. Sometimes these things don’t turn out well….

A decent read, my first by this author, and won’t be my last.

May, Kelsey and Lauren get together for a reunion in the Hamptons with lots of drunken fun. A parking row turns serious when the man goes missing, and is hound murdered. The women all have secrets and they are getting revealed as the investigation is carried out and they are potential suspects. The.three friends don't trust each other and are constantly testing each other to see if their friendship is strong enough. The ending came as a surprise, a good plot twist.
A fast paced and good read.

I requested this modern novel by Alafair Burke as an ARC because of its iconic setting of the Hamptons. It is here, in this enclave of the wealthy and the rich, that three friends meet to revive their former friendship, should this be possible, and to lie low for a while. May Hanover is a Chinese-American district attorney whose subway altercation with a stranger has gone public, Lauren Berry is an acclaimed classical musician who has been ostracised after she engaged in adultery, and Kelsey Ellis is the surviving wife of a rising chef whose murder remains unsolved. None of the women appeared particularly likeable to me, but the mystery that developed after the women play a drunken trick on an unsuspecting tourist couple that involves the 'note' referred to in the novel's title, had me reading on till the end. Definitely a novel for fans of contemporary, dark domestic noir – and my thanks go to NetGalley and to the publishers for letting me read it, resulting in this unbiased and honest book review.

Lauren, Kelly and Kelsey meet up at a summer camp for the musically gifted who soon become fast friends. Despite vowing to remain fast friends, life intervenes and over the years they grow apart.
Each has their own struggles to contend with. Lauren has an affair with a prominent married man leading to issues with her career. Kelsey's husband is murdered and May is captured on camera having a meltdown in a subway over mask wearing regulations with the footage subsequently going viral

After each trying to face up to their life -changing experiences, they decide to meet up for a grand reunion in The Hamptons.

Early on in their trip, a chance encounter with a stranger leads to a row breaking out over their parking space being taken. A note left on the strangers car windscreen soon turns into something darker, turning their lives upside down yet again.

Just what is in the note, who left it and what are the toxic repercussions? Juicy story with lots of twists to keep you guessing

Kelsey, May and Lauren are three friends who first met when they were young at a camp for the musically gifted. Each of them has been involved in a scandal that led to them being cancelled on social media so they call themselves the Cancelled Crew. They are on a trip together to the Hamptons, when a thoughtless note written as a drunk prank leads them into big trouble.

While these three women might think of each other as friends, they are all hiding secrets from each other and it’s the untangling of these secrets and relationships which is really the focus of the book. And it’s a very toxic and tangled web indeed. There’s plenty of suspense and surprise twists as it all unfurls. Although I am a fan of Alafair Burke, and this is an entertaining, fast paced read, it didn’t quite hit the mark for me, perhaps because it was hard to empathise with any of the women and the situation they had got themselves into.

Lauren, May and Kelsey - friends who catch up in the Hamptons waiting for a parking space when someone steals it.

After quite a few drinks leave a note behind the windscreen

This book just didn't do it for me the characters got lost with each other and just took to long to get going

The premise of this book is a pretty universal occurrence when someone steals your parking slot after you’ve patiently waited for the previous occupant to drive off, so a note is left on the offender’s windscreen. But what unfolds from that seemingly innocuous moment is the crux of this story. I’m not going to give spoilers, but suffice to say the characters are three dimensional, some more likeable than others, the story unfolds at a satisfactory pace and the denouement is good (however I had surmised what had happened earlier than the big reveal).

This book is very cleverly done, with so many opportunities to suspect one or more of the main characters. None of them are terribly likeable and they have all experienced their share of public criticism, which only makes it more interesting to ponder their various roles in the events. Alafair Burke always writes well and her descriptions and dialogue are spot on, with plenty of relevant modern scenarios to really settle the reader in the heart of the story,

This was a very enjoyable twisty thriller. This book focuses on three friends Kelsey , May and Lauren who meet up to holiday in the Hampton. . What starts as a drunken prank , ends up in a nightmare for them . Lots of tension and friction between the women resulting in lies and buried secrets. I enjoyed the twists and turns and the fast paced drama. Everyone has doubts about each other , and we see cracks in their relationships. A satisfactory read

Fans of Alafair Burke will enjoy this one.

Taking you to the playground of the rich ad famous, the main part of this story takes place in The Hamptons.

Lauren, May and Kelsey - friends since childhood - are taking a short break in the Hamptons when someone steals the parking space they have been patiently waiting for. Leaving a note on the windscreen, they don't expect it to land them in the middle of a missing persons investigations.

All the girls have fallen from grace in some way, and this opens back up these secrets.

Who can they trust and is there a killer in their midst?

Thank you, Publisher, for a copy of ‘The Note’ by Alafair Burke.
I really wanted to like this story about three girlfriends going away for the weekend in the Hamptons. I did enjoy the first half of the story but then there was so much going on that I failed to engage to the rest of the story. 2.5 stars from me

I thought this was an okay read. I would have preferred it more if I had liked the characters, but maybe we were not meant to like them. It was an enjoyable book, but I can't rave about it.

A weekend reunion of three female friends, The Note (2025) by Alafair Burke is a mystery thriller. Former Assistant DA, May Hanover attends a girls-get-together in East Hampton. Whilst waiting for a car parking space so they can attend dinner at the restaurant, they are annoyed when it is pinched from them. They decide to leave a note for the male driver, only to discover later, he has disappeared. They get caught up in the police investigation. As events unfold, the various secrets and hidden past of the three women come to light, reigniting historic tensions and pointing to one of them as a major suspect. An enjoyable enough read, if little real tension and run of the mill characters that is a three star rating. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given. With thanks to Faber and Faber Ltd and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes.

I will always appreciate a book that his characters that feel like real people, even more so characters who are inherently flawed, maybe even difficult to like.
The Note has them in spades. I sped my way through the novel with its lush locations and cocktails that I really wish I’d been drinking.
My only slight negative was that the ending seemed to come together in a bit of a rush, which felt like a shame. I wanted more of an opportunity to play with the characters and wouldn’t be upset if there was a sequel in their future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Publishing Group for my copy of The Note by Alafair Burke.
3 women are having weekend in the Hamptons, having been friends for years, recent contact has been restricted to group chats but now they are together again. What can go wrong, EVERYTHING !!!!
A great read with lots of twists and turns.
I've yet to read a bad book by this author.

I usually enjoy books by this author, but this one, sadly, left me disappointed as it never really lived up to my expectations. Three childhood friends get together for a weekend away and a prank goes wrong after a night out drinking. I failed to like any of the characters, although I did enjoy the tension between the three women. There was just too much going on and it felt that everything was thrown together in the plotting. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

Burke is good - no doubt about it - but for me, although I could see the strong virtues of characterisation and plot pace - i just wasn't engaged with these friends and their prank - it is almost a locked door type mystery - we are 'stuck' with the intertwining lives of these old acquaintances - but they connect online too often without close encounter. it just felt tedious eventually since I did not click with their ambient and style of friendship - but it is more than good at what it does - and I am an admirer of Burke's work - recommendable but just not for me .

Amazing!! That's all I can say. A really original plot, completely fresh take on a domestic noir. It was like watching a yv series on *insert streaming service of choise*. I was absolutely hooked and had no clue what was about to happen next. It wad just everything I'd want from a thriller. A must read

I really enjoyed this book I couldn't put it down I read it in one sitting. Fast paced and kept me guessing. This is my first book by this author but it wont be last

Burke is great at writing twisty, fast paced thrillers and she does not disappoint with The Note.

The story centres around three friends who have their names linked to the death of one of their peers at camp when they are teenagers and as adults, controversy seems to follow them. When they get caught up in the investigation surrounding the death of someone that cut them up whilst driving on a rare night out together the plot twists begin and several suspects seem viable.

Overall a really enjoyable read that kept me guessing for a good proportion of the book. I highly recommend adding this book to your TBR pile!