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The Note by Alafair Burke

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.

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Week of December 1, 2025

Paperback releases for the week of December 1st include THE NOTE, a suspenseful story from Alafair Burke about a vacation in the Hamptons that goes terribly wrong for three friends with a complicated history; ISOLA by Allegra Goodman, an epic saga of love, faith and defiance that finds a young woman and her lover marooned on an island; THE WOMAN IN ME, Britney Spears' brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith and hope; APRIL STORM, a riveting, much-anticipated posthumous novel from Leila Meacham, in which a seemingly perfect suburban housewife is being pursued by a private detective --- and hunted by a murderer; and the paperback original THE GALLAGHER PLACE by Julie Doar, a layered exploration of family secrets, sibling misconceptions and an unsolved murder set in New York’s Dutchess County.

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Alafair Burke, author of The Note

Growing up, May Hanover was always a good girl. Raised by a first-generation Chinese single mother with high expectations, May didn’t have room to slip up, let alone fail. 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 12 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 if Lauren and Kelsey are keeping secrets from her, testing the limits of her loyalty to lifelong friends.

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