annieb123's Review of No One Needs to Know

by Lindsay Cameron

When an anonymous neighborhood forum gets hacked, the darkest secrets of New York’s wealthiest residents come to light—including some worth killing for—in this gripping suspense novel from the author of Just One Look.

“Big Little Lies meets Gossip Girl in this unputdownable read as smart and witty as it is delectable . . . I raced through it!”—Liv Constantine, author of The Last Mrs. Parrish

A HARPER’S BAZAAR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

It was all confidential. Right up to the moment when it wasn’t.

UrbanMyth: It was lauded as an alternative to the performative, show-your-best-self platforms—an anonymous discussion board grouped by zip code. The residents of Manhattan’s exclusive Upper East Side disclosed it all, things they would never share with their friends or their spouses: secret bank accounts, steamy affairs, tidbits of juicy gossip. The same people who, as parents, go to astonishing lengths to ensure that their children gain admission to the most prestigious boarding schools and universities. So when a “hacktivist” group breaks into the forum and exposes the real identity of each poster, the repercussions echo down Park Avenue with a force that none could have anticipated.

And someone ends up dead.

Is the murderer Heather, the outsider who would do anything to get her daughter into the elite’s good graces and into their even better schools? Norah, the high-powered executive failing to balance work with the emotional responsibilities of motherhood? Or Poppy, whose perfect-on-the-outside façade conceals more than her share of secrets?

Each of them has something to hide.

Each of them will do anything to keep secrets hidden.

And each of them just might kill to protect their own.

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

No One Needs to Know is a standalone crime thriller by Lindsay Cameron. Released 9th May 2023 by Random House on their Bantamimprint, it's 320 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is a moody, atmospheric, and tense thriller with a moderately over-the-top premise, and a collection of scary, mostly awful, rich NYC moms. Users of an anonymous app which is *location based* bare their darkest innermost secrets to others in their vicinity (drugs, infidelity, etc). Of course the app gets hacked and murder and skullduggery ensue as a direct result. The action driven plot is full of acid gossip, cringy behavior, and backstabbing.

The writing is the high point of the read. The author is quite adept at setting and dialogue and a deftness with description which, in less talented hands, would have readers running for the exits. It's mean girls on steroids with some Real Housewives thrown in the mix.

Four stars. Enjoyable, despite the utterly bonkers premise. The release version of the book will have some reader's guide/discussion info, and as such would make a good book club selection. It would also make a good buddy read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

No One Needs to Know

by Lindsay Cameron

Reviewed by annieb123 on Oct 29, 2023

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