The Note, by Alafair Burke, follows three life-long friends on vacation in the Hamptons. They haven’t seen each other in a long time, and they’re hoping to spend the weekend reconnecting. Things start to take a sinister turn when someone on the island goes missing. The friends find themselves in the middle of the investigation. As the investigation delves into each of them, it becomes clear that they all have secrets.

This is a classic murder mystery, but the mystery isn’t really the center of the book. It’s really the relationships between the three friends that are the focus. Burke uses the secrets between the friends to create suspense and mystery throughout the book. It served to make the murder mystery more interesting. There’s nothing really ground breaking about this book, but it’s an entertaining read.

The farther that the friends get into the mystery the more that their bonds are tested. The book really shines when delving into the friendships. They have all been terrible friends to one another, but that’s what makes the story interesting. It’s hard to tell which friend the reader should believe. None of them seem like they would be reliable narrators. Burke goes out of her way to make all three of the women seem unbelievable. However, Burke manages to walk the fine line of making these friends complex with real issues, while still making them likable enough to root for. Even when it’s hard to tell who the reader should be rooting for.

Burke has clearly tried to make the book very current with recent events. There is a lot of focus on social media, race, and covid effects. While some this great, some of it seems a little forced in. Some elements don’t bring the reader farther into the story. Instead they take the reader out of the story. All of these topics are important. To put them all in one story makes it seem disingenuous.

This book is a fun and short read. It’s easily finished within an afternoon. The murder mystery wasn’t overly easy to figure out. There were several twists and turns that make the book hard to put down. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery.

I was provided this ARC from Knoph, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor. All views are my own.