Writing is solitary work, but this writer is not a solitary person. The title of “editor” does not begin to capture the from-beginning-to-end-and-beyond role that Jennifer Barth has served to advance my work for more than twenty years now, but thank you, Jennifer, for helping my books be the best they can be. And thank you, Reagan Arthur, for welcoming me to Knopf, and to Elora Weil, Abby Endler, Brian Etling, Erinn Hartman, Laura Keefe, Todd Doughty, Kristin Fassler, Chris Dufault, Valerie Walley, and Ruth Liebmann. I am also so grateful to my agents, Sloan Harris at CAA and Jody Hotchkiss at Hotchkiss, Daily & Associates; to Alison Gaylin, Megan Abbott, Michael Koryta, Angie Kim, and Janelle Brown for valuable feedback on this one; and to Harvey O’Brien at Sandh & Co for much-needed website design and support.
And a huge thank-you to readers. I completed this book shortly after celebrating the twentieth anniversary of my first novel. I thought I’d write one book for Professor Burke to keep on her office shelf. The editors who wanted to acquire it all assumed it was a series, so I said, “Yes! A series, just as I planned.” I never thought I’d write or coauthor twenty books in the twenty years that followed, and I hope for another twenty-plus more. Thank you, thank you, thank you to the readers who have given me this chance to have a career and live my life as a storyteller. Many of you have taken the time to connect with me in person at events or online through social media. You have become friends, default event photographers, and voluntary word-of-mouth publicists. I appreciate you so very much.
The most common question writers are asked is where they get their ideas. The Note is the culmination of three inchoate ideas I was playing with.
Idea One: A stupid practical joke. Profuse apologies to the person who found a similar note on a car windshield. I won’t disclose the vacation town where it happened, the person who wrote the note, or how it ended up where it did. But, admit it, you brazenly stole that parking spot. The note existed only because a group of reunited friends wanted to make each other laugh. On the ride home, the friends realized they were ridiculous and began to wonder what happened when the note was found.
Idea Two: A homicide investigation I have followed for years. I won’t identify it out of consideration for the victim’s family, but it’s enough to say that the victim was making someone so unhappy that someone seeking to protect the unhappy person may have decided to end the unhappiness. It’s a case that got me thinking about how intense and potentially deadly loyalty can be.
Idea Three: Faraway friendships. We collectively went through a bizarre, traumatic time a few years ago. We sought connection to the people we really needed. Many of us became even closer to friends who lived hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Those friendships stick. These friends are family. They’re the folks who show up for you when others won’t. Are there any limits to how far we’ll go to support each other?
I hope everyone who reads this book has a May or a Lauren or a Kelsey in their life. So another thank-you here, this time to the long-distance, 24/7 group-chat friends who are my real-life Canceled Crews (but without arrests and criminal investigations): The Vacation Besties, The Pizza Posse, The Puzzle Guild, The Petty Pals, The FlimFlam Hive, and Karin/Lisa (how do we not have a nickname?).
And finally, I do nothing in this world without also feeling tremendous love and gratitude for Sean, forever and ever.
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