January 2025

In THE NOTE by Alafair Burke, three friends have decamped to a stunning place in the Hamptons for a reunion visit. It all sounds idyllic, but this is a thriller, so don’t settle back in your chair and relax.

Lauren, Kelsey and May have not seen each other in a while. But it quickly becomes clear that had they not attended the same camp in the past, they probably would not be in each other’s lives. They were close at one time, but we don’t know exactly why they’re spending time together now. Is it to share memories, or something else? Each has a history that is carefully parsed to readers, as something scandalous or embarrassing has happened to them. They know some of each other’s secrets, but not all of them. Alafair does a great job of drawing us deeper and deeper into their lives.

Then there is “the note.” A couple of years ago, I pulled into a spot at the mall not realizing that someone else wanted it. I returned to find a scratch across my back fender that clearly had been done by the person who wanted the space. So when I read that Lauren, Kelsey and May are cheated out of a parking spot that they thought was theirs, I wondered how they would handle it. They play around with some clever lines, and one of them slips a note on the offender’s car that reads: “He's cheating. He always cheats.” Okay, that’s pretty low, but I’m sure that after a couple of cocktails it’s pretty funny too. And that’s that.

Until the man driving the car is found dead, with a gunshot blast to the head. Attention suddenly is drawn to these women and the note. It turns out that Kelsey’s husband died much the same way. And thanks to cameras being all over the place these days, those investigating the murder track them down.

I have enjoyed Alafair’s books in the past, but here she has honed her craft and taken it up a notch. The twists and turns that she brings into the story, which includes a shocking conclusion that I never saw coming, will keep you turning the pages. What she has created is really masterful, and I will be surprised if you guess the ending.