The Note cover art

The Note

A Novel

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The Note

Written by: Alafair Burke
Narrated by: Catherine Ho
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About this listen

A USA TODAY BESTSELLER • AS RECOMMENDED ON THE TODAY SHOW AND CBS SUNDAY MORNING • From the New York Times bestselling author of The Wife comes a suspenseful story about a vacation in the Hamptons that goes terribly wrong for three friends with a complicated history.

"It's only January, but your perfect summer thriller is here already."—Maureen Corrigan, Washington Post

“I absolutely loved The Note. Trust no one in this irresistible page-turner.”—Ashley Elston, #1 New York Times best-selling author of First Lie Wins

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 thriller of the highest order from one of our greatest contemporary suspense writers.

©2025 Alafair Burke (P)2025 Random House Audio
Friendship Genre Fiction Psychological Suspense Thriller & Suspense Heartfelt

What the critics say

“As a storyteller, Burke is a master knot maker. . . . Because it’s impossible to give a sense of how very clever the plot of The Note is without ruining the fun of reading it, I’ll simply say that nothing is as it seems. . . . Burke is also celebrated for her nuanced takes on women’s lives. . . . Here, it’s the complications of friendship among women that’s the deeper mystery Burke explores.”—Maureen Corrigan, Washington Post

“This story is twisty and surprising and a real page-turner. I loved it.”—John Searles, The TODAY Show

"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 best-selling author of The Maid and The Mystery Guest

What listeners say about The Note

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    3 out of 5 stars
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It was OK

This is my first Alafair Burke book. Would I try another book by this author. Yes, I would. For me, this book was just average. A couple good friends get together for a week end. Play a harmless (not so harmless prank) and then a murder mystery unfolds.
It moved along quickly and didn't waste words which I liked. When listening to a mystery I am always trying to figure out the end. I was close but not quite.
Narrator: narrator was OK. For me it felt like I was listening to an elderly librarian read a book in the corner of the library at 2 pm. Didn't love the narration but it was acceptable.
Overall: I will try this author again. Story moved at a good pace. It wasn't an "OMG I love this book!!" but it wasn't a "this book is crap!" glad I listened to it as it was something different.

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  • Overall
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Narration detracted from an OK suspense

This book is OK for a quick page turner. Not amazing, but fine. I won’t be recommending the audiobook though because of the performance. The story follows three inarguably very smart women, yet the clipped, shallow performance somehow reduces them to irritating dimwits. The performance totally undermined the author’s story, treating it like a parody of a trope, which I don’t believe was the intent of the author. If I were the author, I would have found this reading totally unacceptable.

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