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A Novel
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 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.
What book or books are you reading this week? (01/09/2025)
Almost done with The Note by Alafair Burke
-Debra_F
"Engrossing...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." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"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." —Publishers Weekly
"Burke's trademark style creates tension and suspense, but the deeply flawed protagonists might turn off some readers." —Library Journal
"When a girls' weekend away goes wrong, everyone looks to the past for answers. A twisty, fast-paced thriller about friendships, betrayal, and loyalty." —Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid and The Mystery Guest
"No one lands plot twists like Alafair Burke, and The Note may be her best novel yet." —Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"The Note hits the ground running, rocking and rolling from the very first page. Alafair Burke knows how to build a thriller that picks up more speed as it goes, all the while telling a story about lives turned upside down by one wrong move." —Michael Connelly, #1 New York Times bestselling author
This information about The Note was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
alafairburke.com
Alafair S. Burke is the Edgar-nominated, New York Times best-selling author of fourteen novels of suspense, including The Ex, The Wife, The Better Sister, and Find Me, and coauthor of the best-selling Under Suspicion series. A former prosecutor, she is now a professor of criminal law. She recently served as president of the Mystery Writers of America and was the first woman of color to be elected to that position. She lives in New York.
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