The note A novel

Alafair Burke

Book - 2025

"A vacation in the Hamptons goes terribly wrong for three friends with a complicated history. 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 f...or 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? A propulsive thriller that explores of-the-moment social issues, The Note is a page-turner of the highest order from one of our greatest contemporary suspense writers"--

Saved in:

1st Floor Show me where

FICTION/Burke Alafair
2 / 3 copies available
Location Call Number   Status
1st Floor FICTION/Burke Alafair Checked In
1st Floor FICTION/Burke Alafair Due Sep 15, 2025
1st Floor FICTION/Burke Alafair Checked In
Subjects
Genres
Thrillers (Fiction)
Novels
Published
New York : Alfred A. Knopf 2025.
Language
English
Main Author
Alafair Burke (author)
Edition
First edition
Item Description
"This Borzoi book published by Alfred A. Knopf"--Title page verso.
Physical Description
281 pages ; 25 cm
ISBN
9780593537084
9780593684863
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

In her new thriller, perennial best-seller Burke introduces the Cancel Crew, a trio of friends who are no strangers to scandal, reconnecting on a trip to the Hamptons. May, a half-Chinese, half-white lawyer, got labeled the "Asian DA Karen" after a video of her blaming a Black man for a white man's racist attack went viral. Lauren, a gifted Black musician, has been lambasted for her ongoing affair with an older white male mogul. Kelsey, a wealthy white woman, became a murder suspect after her estranged husband was shot dead. Now the three women are hoping for a fun, drama-free getaway, but when Kelsey impulsively leaves a note on the car of a couple who stole their parking space, implying that the man is cheating, trouble once again finds them when the man, David Smith, goes missing. The police quickly zero in on the trio, and their interest grows exponentially when it's revealed one of the three had a connection to David. Readers will swiftly turn the pages of Burke's latest twisty and frothy thriller.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

A prank goes wrong in this disappointing standalone from bestseller Burke (Find Me). Law professor May Hanover jumps at the opportunity to meet her two best friends, commercial real estate heiress Kelsey Ellis and renowned musician Lauren Berry, for a weekend getaway in the Hamptons. Frustrated by a couple who steals their parking space at a restaurant, the women write a cryptic note ("He's cheating. He always does") on a napkin and leave it on the strangers' car. On the last day of their trip, they learn that David Smith, the driver of the car, has gone missing. When the NYPD show up at May's building in Manhattan, she attempts to clear the air, but the police remain suspicious--owing, in part, to each woman's involvement in heavily publicized scandals: Lauren has been engaged in a decades-long affair with a married Texas oilman; May suffered a breakdown on a New York City subway platform that went viral; and Kelsey's estranged husband was gunned down five years earlier by an unknown killer. Patient readers will enjoy the clever conclusion, but each woman's backstory is given so much space that it significantly slackens the narrative tension, and there's no one to root for among the unpleasant cast. Burke has done better. Agent: Sloan Harris, CAA. (Jan.)Correction: A previous version of this review quoted the wrong note written by the main characters.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review

Bestselling Burke's (Find Me) stand-alone follows May, Kelsey, and Lauren, who became close friends as young adults. After a tragic accident at a summer music camp where the three were working, the women grew apart, but they reunite and rekindle their friendship, seeking connection after COVID. Although all three live seemingly privileged lives, each has experienced public scandal, which further cements their bond with one another. While on a weekend trip to the Hamptons, the women leave an audacious note on the car of a couple who took their parking spot; this impulsive decision results in a missing person and a police investigation, plunging their lives into chaos as connections from their past bring them back under public scrutiny. Narrator Ho imbues each somewhat unpleasant character with life and depth. Ho's distinct voices will keep listeners engaged, even through some of the story's far-fetched twists and turns. VERDICT An engrossing and tense story that will keep listeners at the edges of their seats.--Misty Schattle

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A holiday in the Hamptons for three friends turns into an engrossing tale of murder. Typically, the worst aftereffects of a girls' weekend are nasty hangovers and swollen credit cards. But in this gripping thriller, much darker things happen. When May Hanover--a Chinese American assistant district attorney turned law professor in New York--agrees to spend a long weekend with two old friends in East Hampton, it's a welcome reunion, and for May, a break from prepping for the next semester while planning her wedding to fiance Josh. The trio first met about 15 years ago at an arts camp, and May has stayed in touch with Lauren Berry, an accomplished Black classical musician. But until recently, she hadn't heard from Kelsey Ellis, the golden-blond daughter of a rich man, since Kelsey married a rising star chef who was subsequently murdered--a death that many online true-crime aficionados attribute to her. That's not the only scandal in the trio's baggage: Lauren's longtime relationship with a married oilman got her fired from a plum job when it was exposed. And the usually rational May was the subject of a humiliating viral video of her threatening to call the police after a confrontation with a Black man on the subway. But this weekend is about leaving those troubles, and their long tail on the internet, behind. When the women drive to Sag Harbor to barhop, another car steals the parking space they were waiting for, and, among themselves, they make fun of the attractive couple in it. But Kelsey goes a little further, tucking a note on a cocktail napkin under the windshield wiper: "He's cheating. He always does." It seems like a prank, but then a tourist is reported missing who looks like the handsome driver. Questions are raised and tempers flare among the friends; in the midst of it, Kelsey's stepbrother Nate arrives. He's cool and charming--and May's ex-boyfriend. As the police start asking questions, May's compulsion to investigate kicks in, although she's digging into her own past, along with those of the friends she thought she knew. Burke builds an intricate structure of secrets layered within secrets, revealed for maximum suspense. The complex friendship among three flawed but engaging characters anchors this satisfying psychological thriller. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.