The Note: A Novel
A Best Book of the Year: NPR, Washington Post, Sun Sentinel • A USA TODAY BESTSELLER • AS RECOMMENDED ON THE TODAY SHOW AND CBS SUNDAY MORNING • A suspenseful story about a vacation in the Hamptons that goes terribly wrong for three friends with a complicated history • From the New York Times bestselling author of The Wife and The Better Sister (now a Prime Video TV series starring Elizabeth Banks and Jessica Biel)
"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 page-turner of the highest order from one of our greatest contemporary suspense writers.
"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 page-turner of the highest order from one of our greatest contemporary suspense writers.
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
The lives of three close friends begin to unravel after a one-night encounter ends with a man dead and a note that raises troubling questions. As investigators close in, the women are forced to confront what they remember, what they may have suppressed, and how well they truly know one another. The case exposes cracks in their friendships and the dangerous power of secrets kept for self-preservation. What unfolds is a tense psychological thriller about guilt, loyalty, and the cost of protecting the truth.
Idk how I somehow always manage to end up reading thrillers with the girls’ trip trope but I do 🥴 it’s not my favorite, honestly. I just hate that mean girl energy, or the cattiness that usually occurs with the trope. But as with the others, I had seen this book a lot and decided to read it without having read the synopsis. I finished the book, so it was entertaining enough, but the overall plot was just dumb. Just three girls who have no common sense and are upset they got “canceled” which they clearly deserved to be.
Don’t waste your time.
Trigger warnings: Sexual assault and consent-related themes, violence and murder, alcohol and substance use, psychological distress including guilt, anxiety, and trauma, police investigations and interrogations, betrayal and manipulation within close relationships
A modern Long Island “girls weekend away” mystery!
Once the storyline got going, it REALLY gets going and the twists get tighter as you get closer to the ending. Not violent or scary, truly a suspense-thriller.
Enjoyed, and would recommend for those who enjoy suspense novels!
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