Did I read the same book as everyone else? Am I missing something here?

I've seen many rave reviews for this novel. Many have stated this was similar to Gossip Girl, a show I loved as a teen. I was excited to dive into the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite. Sadly, I found the story boring.

Overall, not for me.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Lindsay Cameron, and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam for graciously sending me the ARC to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

Loved this! It’s a desperate housewives, snooty society, lots of money and drama sort of book!
I loved it! It’s an easy read, good mystery and I loved the characters even though they are all deplorable!
Four stars!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of No One Needs to Know. I was drawn in by the premise of the book, but didn't totally love it. Some of it was very expected and not surprising like in other thrillers. However still a good book.

This mega-wealthy upper east side community loves their secrets. This story follows a few families from a wealthy private school, as told by the wives/moms. When scandal rocks the school, fingers are pointed and the claws come out. Drama unfolds as told by these women, and also through an anonymous neighborhood website Urban Myth. As the drama unfolds, so do the claws. We see what happens behind closed doors, between drugs, cheating, infidelity, money, and the mask of anonymity, there is plenty to keep a reader entertained. This is a slow burn, but worth the read.

This was a fun quick thriller to pick up. I loved reading about all the rich people drama and secrets that came out of it. I’ll definitely be looking out for more by this author!

I loved this book! Definitely kept me engaged from the first page. I was surprised by the ending for some reason. Overall a five star read.

I love rich people drama/behaving badly stories and this one didn't disappoint. This is a gripping thriller that kept me turning the page with the twists and drama. A quick, fun read perfect for poolside or at the beach.

I thought this was a fun, good read! Part thriller and part mystery within the women’s fiction genre that centers around the drama of mothers who want "best" for their kids... though that may not be the most accurate way to describe the novel. I definitely felt a lot of Gossip Girl vibes while reading, especially given it's set in Manhattan's Upper East Side.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Bantam for the opportunity to read this digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

No One Needs to Know is a fantastic read. I loved the developed characters and the gripping plot. I am a Lindsay Cameron fan.

Those who like Gossip Girl will like this book. Juicy gossip filled book. Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

No One Needs to Know is for any Gossip Girl/Real Housewives fans. This novel is full of drama, gossip and backstabbing. An easy summer beach read!

I gave this 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. I wasn’t sure exactly where the story was going to go at first. Once I got to the 25% mark it really picked up. The Upper East Side of Manhattan families have so many secrets. What happens when a private social media forum called UrbanMyth gets hacked and everyone’s secrets are exposed? The parents of the children at Crofton are cut throat when it comes to getting their children into top boarding schools. They will do anything. Gossip, start rumors, even murder?
When someone starts a rumor that Violet is selling drugs and posts a posed picture of her holding a vape pen trying to get her kicked out of school the threats and secrets start unraveling.

I felt like a terrible gossip reading this book, but at the same time I couldn’t get enough of it! I am not sure what that means about me, but it is definitely a great read. I read in summer and I think it’s a great read for the beach.

Children who attend the tony Crofton school in Manhattan and their parents all use the anonymous social media platform, UrbanMyth. That's the place to share secrets and get the heavy load of them off their chests. After UrbanMyth gets hacked, everyone's secrets become public knowledge in No One Needs to Know by Lindsay Cameron.

I was pretty excited to receive this book because I enjoyed Cameron's previous book, Just One Look. The premise of this sounded intriguing and like there could be a lot going on. Although the smooth, engaging writing and incredibly believable descriptions were enjoyable, it wasn't that exciting and the suspension of disbelief had to be stretched pretty far. In fact, the UrbanMyth platform could have been a more central character than it was.

To get to the point where UrbanMyth is hacked, you need to get through the background of the three main characters and their families. You also witness a mysterious incident involving the kids at a dance where allegedly a recruiter from one of the fancy private high schools will be observing the kids for future entrance at the school. This exposition takes until the middle of the book to get to, which seems way too long.

You mostly get a good picture of the one main character. One of the other moms felt very cookie-cutter to me in drawing a picture of a privileged Manhattan mom. She didn't carry much depth. At first, the third mom felt characterized one way and then evolved into a very different character. Some of the dads seemed sparse or, again, somewhat cookie-cutter in their descriptions except for one of them who plays a prominent role in the story. Also, I felt that there could have been more done with the children and their stories.

When you get to the climax, the book is almost over. The pacing seems to be off. Some of the uncovered secrets seem pretty shocking, but some of the twists come out of left field. And I felt the central story with the murder was very implausible.

I expected a lot more from this book since the author's previous book was very well-done. Also, (and this is a question for many of these domestic thriller/suspense novels I read) how are these murders taking place and being hid so well? Some books create a story that you can believe, but this one seemed a little too overt not to be figured out by the police.

Published: 05/09/23

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam for accepting my request to read and review No One Needs to Know.

Keeping it real, this is a 3 to 3.5 star read, and I'm rounding up to 4 stars happily. I have put off writing this hoping it would write itself or go away. The pleasure that I had while reading this and even now I'm giggling with my eyes watering probably says a lot about my character which I thought was good, but now I'm left wondering. I probably should be ashamed of myself, but alas I'm not.

The listed genre is mystery and thrillers. Seriously, I'm stymied. Karma that's what I saw and thoroughly enjoyed. The synopsis lists the characters and problems. The fun for me was watching the house of cards fall around wealthy morally weak adults.

On a serious note, fiction does mimic real life. Currently there are parents working at any cost to put their infant in an ivy league university. The lesson learned from this story is not new, don't judge a person by their cover, purse, car, address, blah, blah, blah. However, books are expected to be judged by the cover, you can't believe everything you read.

I started No One Needs To Know anticipating a Gossip Girl gone wrong vibe. Unfortunately, the characters all seemed to fall flat for me and the book never seemed to catch my attention enough. I think the idea of the storyline is fun but it just wasn’t executed in a way I enjoyed.

3.5 stars

This book was written well enough to capture my interest however I find that the further I get removed from it the hazier the details get.

I remember that it was about three moms of kids in private school who were trying to get their kids into some fancy boarding school and on the Ivy League path. There is some anonymous site where they vent about their issues and somehow someone in their circle ends up missing, who did it...

The book was put together well it unfolded nicely with all these secrets that eventually come to light. If I remember correctly I figured out what occurred before the reveal which happens a lot but that's okay... Lots of drama which makes for an enjoyable time.

Thank you Bantam and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

I absolutely loved this book! I read it in one sitting I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. I’m excited to see what this author comes out with next!

Thank you #Netgalley for the copy.

Poppy, Heather and Nora would do anything to get their children into the best most well respected schooling systems. When a social media platform, Urban Myth, reveals the owners of the posts, which were previously all anonymous, leaves each parent vulnerable and unsure who to trust. So many secrets revealed and to what length will the parents go to protect their child?

I find it difficult to like a book when I dislike all the characters. Dislike is not strong enough - every character was entitled, narcissistic, dismissive, wheedling, dishonest and that is just for a warm-up. Despite this, I read the book - I really did not care what happened to anyone and I should have closed it and put it down but thinking there had to be some positive resolution I played the fool and finished it. And I felt exactly the same.

This obviously wasn’t the book for me but I must applaud Ms. Cameron’s writing which was better than good and her idea and plot development was interesting. Thank you Bantam Books and NetGalley for a copy.