One of my favorite reads of 2023!! So good! Will keep you up thru the night making you wonder what will happen next!

The residents of Manhattan's exclusive Upper East Side neighborhoods, are no strangers to drama. One might say, the bigger the money, the bigger the drama. Looking for an anonymous place to vent and share their deepest, darkest secrets, as well as occasional search for advice, residents turn to an app; as you do nowadays.

It's called UrbanMyth and the promise is that it is 100% anonymous. No matter what you post, no one will ever be able to link it back to you. That sounds too good to be true, doesn't it?

In this story, we're following three different perspectives, Heather, Norah and Poppy; all women who live in the UES and have children at the Crofton School. I don't want to give any details of the drama that unfolds amongst these women, as it is really fun to watch the sh*tshow unfold right before you eyes. Just know, it's high octane, 1% problems, with twist after jilted twist.

As the interactions between the women and their families are reaching a fever pitch, hackers break through the walls of UrbanMyth, tearing them down and exposing all users. After the hack, as long as you have a person's email address, you can find everything they ever posted on the app. When an UES-parent disappears, the local law enforcement find this hack quite useful.

Will any of our ladies be caught red-handed blabbing about their evil misdoings?!

It's no secret that I love stories involving rich people drama, so No One Needs to Know had a really great shot of making me happy, and it did!

It's such a quick, fun read, especially if you are also down for some secrets and drama. I loved the use of mixed media to tell the story. Cameron included various posts from the UrbanMyth app, as well as correspondence involving the lead investigator of the UES-parent's disappearance.

I also really enjoyed the anticipation of getting to the crime. I didn't know for quite a while who, or what, the investigation was going to be into. There were so many different possibilities with all that was going on.

I thought once the crime/mystery was revealed, it was fun watching everyone scrambling around. I couldn't tell if they were covering up something regarding that, or just other various secrets they were trying not to have exposed. It was genuinely an addicting story.

Additionally, I found the conclusion to be immensely satisfying. Cameron knew just what I wanted in the end.

Overall, this is a great popcorn suspense, that will keep you turning the pages well into the night. Don't expect to fall in the love with the characters, but if you enjoy being a fly on the wall watching people's dirty laundry be aired, you should definitely have a good time with this one!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Ballantine, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This is the first I have read from Lindsay Cameron, but I am definitely looking forward to picking up more of her work.

3.5 ⭐️‘s
Three eighth graders vying for a position at an elite high school boarding school …Three mothers that will do anything for kids … When a rumor circulates in an online chat that the admission director from Andover is going to be at the Doubles Club dance, all three who would usually not attend are pushed by their mothers to do so. When a mistake is made and a picture shows up on the internet the next morning, it’s all out war! The picture is true, but the caption that went along with it was false and malicious. It’s cyber bullying, but when their current school, Crofton, gets involved will the punishments be overlooked because of the privileged? The mothers themselves have their own website called UrbanMyth that they post anything and everything on because after all it’s completely anonymous. That is until there’s a breach and Pandora’s box has been wrenched open. Everyone has secrets, big secrets and those secrets have now been exposed. When someone goes missing, there are many that could lose everything if implicated in the police search. This was a fun romp through some scandalous situations and the twist at the was good, but there were too many situations that weren’t tied up, making the ending seem somewhat abrupt. Thank you to Bantam and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

First, let me just say Ballantine Books for granting my wish for No One Needs to Know! I loved Just One Look and was super excited to read Lindsay Cameron's next book.

No One Needs to Know tells the stories of three families that live on the Upper East Side. All of their children are students at an elite boarding school, and each of the parents of secrets of their own, which many share on the website UrbanMyth. UrbanMyth is a website grouped by zip code where members can post anonymously, and let's just say no one holds anything back. Until one of the members is found dead.

I felt like every time a new chapter started, there was a new development and twist. The story is super fast-paced and will suck you in right from the start. I never saw the ending coming either. Really really good.

Definitely, one to check out!

Thank you Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the eARC!

"We just need to come up with a plan." 🤔

Special thanks to @lindsaycameronauthor & @thrillerbookloverspromotions & Bantam for this ARC!

[Swipe for synopsis]

MY REVIEW::
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This book was GREAT! It was like Big Little Lies for boarding school 8th graders and their filthy rich / determined parents. It's got multiple POVs and is very fast-paced and suspenseful! I def stayed up too late a few nights wanting to know what happened next because each chapter ended on a cliffhanger.
I was looking for a little more bang in the last chapter, but overall, it was a great book!

Definitely would recommend this thriller.
& GUESS WHAT , it's coming out THIS TUESDAY May 9th, 2023.
-mark your calendars-

.
.
.
.
.
.
.

#thrillerbooks #thrillerreads #suspensethriller #thrillerreader #thrillerlover #thrillerobsessed #bookrecs #bookreview #bookstagram #bookaholic #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookie #booklove #bookcommunity #bookobsessed #bookworm #booksbooksbooks #booksofig #booksofinstagram #bookish #bookishfeatures #tbr #tbrpile #bookbuzz #BookstaBFF23 #thrillerbooklovers #nooneneedstoknow #lindsaycameron

This gave me Gossip Girl vibes and I was here for it. Full of drama and juciness. I really enjoyed this slow burn thay kept me entertained the entire time. The story follows three mothers in the upper east side. Each have an 8th grade daughter that is trying to get into the ivy leagues and each have something to hide. When Urban Myth, an app that allows users to anonymously post, gets hacked everybody's secrets are exposed. Around the time of the hack one of the groups husbands has gone missing and all 3 of these women have posted things that could incriminate themselves.

No One Needs to Know was a quick and entertaining read. I was instantly drawn into the storyline and was not disappointed. It was so fun to read. I could not help but wonder what would happen if this was really happening in real life. Social media is the center of many individual's world and hiding under a veil anominity makes it more fun, especially when sharing secrets. When that veil is dropped all heck breaks loose. This book was loads of fun and I think it would make a great book club book!!!

Lindsey Cameron's NO ONE NEEDS TO KNOW features the darkest secrets of New York's wealthiest in a scandalous and witty domestic suspense— when an anonymous neighborhood forum gets hacked and turns deadly.

"If you want validation, use your social media. If you want discretion, then turn to UrbanMyth. Your secrets are safe with us."

Bare your secrets.
Confidential.
All you need is an email.
There is no way to track your identity.
Safe and secure.
UNTIL —It WASN'T!

The Upper East Side of Manhattan is a neighborhood of wealth and social status. Parents compete to send their children to the best boarding schools in preparation for their Ivy League education.

UrbanMyth is a discussion board where the residents can post their darkest secrets. However, three moms learn that there is no such thing as anonymity, and someone may die.

Meet the three women: Poppy, Heather, and Norah.

Poppy is the Queen Bee: Upper East side, uber-wealthy, husband, old family money—trophy wife.

Heather is a helicopter mom that has clawed her way into the elite society and will do anything to get her daughter the same as the other kids.

Norah is a successful businesswoman with very little in common with the other moms, except her daughter attends the same school.

Then three moms' paths will cross. The UrbanMyth is hacked! Secrets are out, and someone winds up dead.

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.

A juicy drama!

Highly entertaining scandalous suspense of ambition, desire, greed, envy, and competition. Full of twists and dirty secrets. Oh, the lengths these women will go to ensure their children have what 'they think' is the best—for fans of Big Little Lies.

I am looking forward to more by this talented author.

Thanks to #RandomHouse for an e-ARC via #NetGalley for review purposes. #RandomHouseInfluencers

Also listened to the audiobook, narrated by Brittany Pressley (fav) and Rebecca Lowman, for an entertaining listening experience.

Blog Review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: May 9, 2023
My Rating: 4 Stars
May 2023 Must-Read Books

The Upper East Side of Manhattan is definitely one of the most elite neighborhoods in America. It's there we find three women who are intertwined more than just the fact that their kids all go to the same private school. Heather is a mother obsessed with getting her daughter every opportunity that she didn't get when she was a child. Norah is a working mom, who spends her off time with her daughter and new husband Bennett. Poppy is probably one of the richest parents, marrying into money that is funding the private school her son goes to, even though she is unhappy in her marriage. These three woman all have things in common, and it's not just posting to the anonymous website UrbanMyth, where they air out all their every day life grievances. It's only when a hack on their website that causes the previously anonymous posting to be not so anonymous that their stories become even more interlaced.

I found this book to be just a fun and easy read. This book is Gossip Girl meets the college admission scandal meets Real Housewives. I found it super easy to read with perfect pacing, and just enough bread crumbs left throughout the book that you didn't want to put it down. I love a multiple POV story, and getting to see how all these woman had stories that were so close knit was fun. The character development was great! I loved the thriller/mystery of figuring out the whodunit, and enjoyed the ending for sure. The only down side of this story is that it probably isn't one that I will remember every detail about down the road, just remembering that it was a fun and easy read. I do enjoy when stories feel complete, and this one definitely did. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

A slow-burn drama about wealthy women living in the Upper East Side - I was entertained throughout, but I’d recommend setting your expectations so you aren’t expecting an action-packed thriller.

I would LOVE to see this as a show like Big Little Lies. I want to see the women and their husbands, and I also want to see their homes! Seriously make this one into a TV show ASAP.

As far as the story goes, it is on the slow side and the characters aren’t exactly likable… but I enjoyed it. Heather was a competitive, type A planner and I imagined her as Reese Witherspoon. I think a good cast would make the women a little more likable.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the copy in exchange for my honest review!

Whoever suggested this was basically the love child of Big Little Lies and Gossip Girl hit the nail on the head! It starts off a bit slow as we get to know each of the key players, but around 65%, the drama goes into high gear and doesn’t stop until the last page. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to fans of dark academia and books about rich people behaving horribly.

Juicy rich people murder saga. A slow burn, yes, but it deliberately unfolded so that I never got bored.

Focusing on three private school mothers from the uber-wealthy Upper East Side, focused on getting their children into an exclusive boarding school and onto the Ivy League. Heather, Poppy, and Norah have their own problems as well, and they vent them on the highly anonymous Urban Myth site. Yet scandals and secrets abound, and when one of their circle ends up missing, presumed dead, who might be to blame?

I thought the prologue was a bit superfluous, it didn't add anything other than letting us know that something was going to happen (maybe a death?) I did like the way the book unfolded, it was juicy secret after juicy secret, and when everything comes to light--oooh! the accusations fly! The narrative is straightforward and although I figured out what happened long before it was revealed, it didn't really make a difference because it was an enjoyable ride.

This is a popcorn thriller at its finest, and I was here for all of the delicious drama.

No One Needs to Know by Lindsay Cameron

Published: May 9, 2023
Bantam
Pages: 306
Genre: Psychological Fiction
KKECReads Rating: 4/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Lindsay Cameron worked as a corporate lawyer for many years in Vancouver and New York City before leaving the law behind to write books. She is the author of Biglaw and Just One Look. She lives in New York City where she is currently at work on her next book.

“Rules were rules.”

Getting your child into a prestigious boarding school is how you guarantee their placement in an Ivy League college. And parents will stop at nothing to secure their child has every advantage possible. Money can buy just about anything.

I enjoyed the build-up of this book. The chaos was well organized and added a nice touch to the plot. These characters were complicated.

I found the writing well done, and I did not guess what had happened before the big reveal. I was slightly disappointed with the big twist; after all the build-up, it happened and was over.

This was a startling insight into the lives of wealthy mothers who don’t have much to do other than fret over their children's school careers.

The competitiveness and pettiness were intense, Mean Girls level. But I enjoyed how developed all the characters were and found their dimension engaging.

The book follows the lives of three moms from the Upper East Side, and each of them has their own dramatic story to tell. The novel centers around the use of an anonymous social media app called Urban Myths, where people post their secrets anonymously. However, things take a dark turn when someone goes missing just before the website is hacked and all their secrets are exposed. The story is told from the perspectives of the three moms, and while they're not the most likable characters, the story is still captivating and entertaining. The book is cleverly written and keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very end. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a juicy, scandalous read!

Rich people drama, mixed media, online hacks- come together to create a page turning thriller. Cameron's approach to the story and her writing style will keep you on the edge of your seat. No One Needs To Know is a quick easy read- a fun time

It's described as "Big Little Lies" and "Gossip Girl" smooshed together. That's pretty spot on! The kids played a small part but it was mostly about the parent's scandals. It took me a while to get into and get the people straight but about halfway through I was hooked and had to know what happened. Little anticlimactic though.

Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC!

Y’all know dark academia is my jam and Lindsay Cameron put a spin on it! It’s not the students who bring the darkness, it’s the parents! I was completely caught up in all the drama, back stabbing, and nastiness of these elitist moms! On the Upper East Side, it is cut throat business making sure your children get into top tier schools!

UrbanMyth is basically an anonymous Nextdoor app where you can post anything you want and no one knows who you are. Until they’re hacked and everyone’s secrets are exposed. Now someone is dead and everyone has a motive. I honestly had no clue who the killer was until they were revealed!

I flew through this book, never knowing what was going to happen next. Definitely pick this one up if you’re a fan of dark academia, mama drama, and people behaving badly!

4.5 stars

Outrageously good, that's the first thing I need to say. I'm a sucker for books about wealthy people doing bad things and this one was spot on. I'm familiar with the workings of private schools as my kids went and I can tell you, this wasn't that far off the mark with how crazy it gets in NYC trying to ensure your children go to the best schools and have a leg up on everyone else.

What I loved was the UrbanMyth stuff, how no matter what we put online, there is a way to get caught out, doesn't matter how much money you have. The web of lies and betrayals were done perfectly with so many people being bad in varying degrees. The twist was unexpected so another win for me. Highly recommend this book for those who love reading about people who think they're above it all (and perhaps they're fall from grace).

Contemporary Fiction

If you liked Big Little Lies this is a definite must read!

Told from the POV of Heather, Norah and Poppy, upper east side moms with children in 8th grade. Poppy is the wife of a billionaire with all the advantages that come with it. Heather is the social climbing, desperate mother who will do anything to get her daughter into the best schools. Norah is the workaholic mother who is disconnected from everything that is going on in her daughter's life.

All the drama begins when a picture is released on a social media site, of Heather's daughter with a vape pen in her hand. The anonymous poster calls Heather's daughter a drug dealer. This causes all kinds of chaos at the school and adds stress to Heather and decreases her daughter's chances of getting into Andover and subsequently an amazing college.

There is more going behind the scenes and all the juicy secrets begin to be revealed - blackmail, infidelity, test cheating, gambling and possibly murder as well. It's all very juicy and we get to feel like a voyeur into the lives of the uber rich.

It's a good contemporary novel and a great summer read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this novel.

I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in this book, staying up late into the night to uncover how everything unfolded. The story revolves around three mothers, Poppy, Norah, and Heather, who reside in Manhattan's Upper East Side and have eighth-grade children. They navigate the complexities of an exclusive neighborhood and educational system while striving to secure their kids' admission to top-notch high schools. However, as competitiveness consumes them, someone is tragically killed, and the supposedly anonymous website they use to share secrets gets hacked, making each of them a potential suspect. The narrative felt incredibly relevant, mirroring current events such as people attempting to buy their way into prestigious schools and the dangers of oversharing online.

Although the characters weren't particularly likable, I couldn't help but root for Norah and Poppy, while Heather elicited frustration and annoyance from me. The book skillfully alternates between the perspectives of these three women, allowing readers insight into their lives without redundant retelling. With well-executed plot twists and surprising revelations, the level of suspense was consistently engaging. The book's quick pace, aided by its short chapters and interconnected mysteries, made it a captivating read. Exploring the profound influence of wealth and status on decision-making fascinated me; while I was aware of this phenomenon, the novel delved deeper into the subject.

In conclusion, I highly recommend this book as an enjoyable and entertaining read, reminiscent of the style found in "Big Little Lies." It will particularly appeal to those intrigued by the lives of the privileged 1% and who relish a well-crafted mystery. I also appreciated the author's previous work, "Just One Look," and now I'm eager to pick up "Big Law." A special thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.