Member Reviews
This was a really good mystery with a few missteps. Well, I guess it is one where I would have liked to have been an editor and could have asked a few clarifying questions about things that didn't add up. Along those lines, I also would have gotten rid of the prologue and last chapter as they didn't add anything to the story (and you know how much I dislike those wrap-them-up-with-a-bow type endings). Other than that, it was a solid mystery with several viable suspects. However, you might be disappointed if you started this book looking for a solid suspense thriller. It is more women's fiction than thriller with the murder being somewhat overshadowed by all the petty infighting between the women.
I honestly can't decide how I feel about this book. I was expecting a thriller - especially judging from the cover - but it reads more contemporary fiction/women's drama. An group of wealthy Upper East Side women with children who attend the same elite private school intersect in an anonymous online forum / gossip site, Urban Myth. Women use the app to share their deep dark secrets - everything from affairs, shoplifting, concerns about kids, and even wanting to kill their husbands. When a series of scandals (akin to the oft-mentioned college admissions scandal of 2019) erupts, someone in their circle ends up dead.
A book blurb from a well-known author describes it as “Big Little Lies meets Gossip Girl..." which feels accurate, except there was less drama and intrigue than Big Little Lies. For me, this book just didn't deliver on the suspense that way I had anticipated and none of the characters are very likable.
If you love reading about rich people's problems and domestic drama galore this is the book for you!
I loved the use of an anonymous app to help tell this twisty story of how suburban life isn't as is appears.
I did find the story bit formulatic, but No One Needs to know was an enjoyable read.
Thanks to the publisher for my review copy!
Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam Books for an e-ARC of No One Needs to Know, scheduled for release May 2023.
It comes as no surprise that one of the country's wealthiest neighborhoods has its own anonymous forum for residents to boast about any and all secrets, whether it's their own or someone else's. Some posts are harmless but others could ruin families, livelihoods. Even knowing this isn't enough to stop some people from posting intimate details about their lives. After all, the posts and ensuing comments are confidential so what's the harm? Until one day, they're not. A "hacktivist" group breaks into the forum, exposing every poster's real identity. The aftermath leads to drama and embarrassment up and down Park Avenue -- even a little bit of murder. Is someone willing to kill to keep their secrets?
While an enjoyable, fast-paced read, I thought the novel suffered from a misleading synopsis. While the forum plays an integral part in the story, the focus is on other things until the midway point of the novel. By the time we arrive at the expose, it felt anti-climatic. I'd hoped for more intrigue when it came to the secrets as well. The majority of them sounded like typical skeletons in the closet that we've heard of before.
No One Needs to Know is a scandalous story about a digital platform where the wealthy share their deepest secrets anonymously without thinking of the consequences of their actions. for the most part these are women who are self-absorbed and don't think that far ahead. When the site gets hacked and secrets are about to be revealed, someone ends up dead.
The story is told from three points of views of characters which are not likeable at all. I didn't care how it ended. This was not the book I thought I would enjoy.
I was really drawn to the premise of this book. The modern elements of private online posting sites, photographs going viral, and the pressure to keep up with the rich neighbors felt exciting. The characters were hard to connect to or even like in many cases but that fueled the plot in a way that made sense. The action does unfold a bit slowly but overall this was a fun read about secrets, scandals, and how far you would go to protect yourself and your kids. Thanks to Lindsay Cameron, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This book was a slow burn. It centers around 3 moms and their families. Most of the characters were unlikable but I enjoyed the build up of their stories. There were parts I felt like they dragged on with really nothing happening. The ending left a little to be desired but overall it was a fun read. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book.
SO MUCH DRAMA! Lies, twists and secrets too.
We meet our three mains - Norah, Poppy and Heather - who live in NYC. They all live rather well off lives and have kids that attend a prestigeous private schoo. They are pushing for a fancy high school, then on to Ivy League for their little darlings. All of them post on a social media app called UrbanMyth, anonymoulsy of course! And the things they post are juicy and they would not want to be linked to their own posts.
When news breaks that UrbanMyth has been hacked, everyone panics. Apparently every member’s messages are now available to the public. All you need to know is their email address and you can see everything they posted. Tension runs high.
The husband of one of these women has gone missing, and all three of them have posted on UrbanMyth things that could make them look guilty. Things like blackmail, affairs, leaving their husband, kids doing and selling drugs.
Watching them try to explain away their posts was entertaining. And there was a little twist at the end that I did not see coming!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine, Bantam Publishing for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Poppy, Heather, and Norah all live in Manhattan's Upper East Side. When an anonymous neighborhood forum gets hacked, the darkest secrets of these wealthy residents come to light—including some worth killing for.
I would not call this book a thriller; it's more of a domestic drama. I had difficulty connecting with the characters or engaging in the storyline. The stories of the three wealthy women were somewhat interesting, but the revelations left something to be desired.
Overall, an okay read. The pacing was a bit slow in parts.
#NoOneNeedstoKnow #NetGalley @atrandom @LindsayJCameron
No One Needs to Know is the latest riff on the timely topic of how far ultra-rich parents will go to make sure that their kids get into the best schools. In this case, the children involved are in eighth grade at Crofton and their Upper East Side parents would do anything to make sure that their kids are accepted into prep school at Andover. Heather (a “novelist”) married to Oliver (a partner in an accounting firm) have less money than other parents, so Heather volunteers for every committee at Crofton in an effort to boost her daughter Violet’s chances of acceptance. Norah, who is the breadwinner in the family doesn’t really care about where her daughter goes to school, but her second husband Bennett (who comes from money) really does. Finally, Poppy and her husband both want their son to be accepted into Andover. Despite his low grade point average, they have donated a ton of money to Crofton in order to give him a leg up.
Not that anyone would admit what they were doing or had done to advance their child’s interest. Certainly not on the school-sanctioned email system, or even on the UrbanMyth anonymous website where parents can post anything, whether true or false.
Problems begin when someone posts a picture of one of the children vaping pot at a school function. Then, the website is hacked, making the identities of the posters discoverable. To cap it off, one of those parents is now missing.
The novel is a quick beach read with substance, not only commenting on school acceptance scandals, but also on relationships between social classes, men and women, and even between the women themselves. 4.0 out of 5 stars.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary advanced reader’s copy of this book.
The beginning is a little confusing as several couples are introduced including their children. Important to pay attention to be able to follow. Interesting story and a great reminder that nothing on the internet is 100% anonymous in the end. Good twist. Did not guess it ahead of time. Pretty much read this in a day.
Loved this book! Very gossipy & intriguing. I enjoyed it. Such a fun read. Definitely like GG & BLL. A tad predictable but still enjoyed
No one needs to know sucked me right in. The upper East side of NYC elite trying to get their kids into the right schools. The characters aren’t exactly likable but I don’t think they’re supposed to be. When an anonymous forum is exposed so is everyone and their secrets.
Poppy, Heather, and Norah are all well-to-do mothers of the Upper East Side, each on the hunt for their child’s prestigious admissions to the top boarding schools & universities. whether it’s through hefty donations, volunteering, or legacies, these women all have one goal in mind: for their child to be on top.
unfortunately for these women, their lives are about to be turned upside-down when a popular online forum UrbanMyth gets hackethis site hosts thousands of anonymous comments, secrets, and scandals from the Manhattan elite—from drugs, to affairs, to blackmail, their secrets were supposed to be safe & confidential. but after the hack, anyone can do a quick email search to see who is responsible for each post.
each of these women have something to hide, their reputation to uphold, and a family to protect. and there’s no telling what someone will do when their child’s future is on the line.
this is a fun book for anyone who loves a gossipy read mixed with a little suspense. the combination of socialite scandal and the UES gave me huuuuge adult gossip girl vibes. i enjoyed this more so for the high-society drama than I did for the suspense. i thought the ending was a liiiittle too wrapped in a bow and kumbaya to be considered ~twisty~. that said, I didn’t really miss it in this book; I was having too much fun being immersed in the filthy rich lifestyles of our characters, and all the scandal that seemed to follow them 💵🥂💳💊
thank you to @netgalley & @lindsaycameronauthor for my #advancedreaderscopy! this book comes out on May 9th! 📚🎉
I was so excited to read this book that sounded like a cross between Gossip Girl and the college admissions scandal from the parents’ point of view. I enjoyed the secret website and the scandals that occurred, but I feel like it took too long for the emails to be revealed and it was wrapped up too easily with several loose ends. Overall, I would recommend this book to friends who are new to the genre.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I was interested to read this as I’d enjoyed Lindsay Cameron’s other book, Just One Look. This one began really well, but I couldn’t quite figure out where the story was going - was it a murder mystery? Was it an expose of the school admissions scandal? I wasn’t invested in any of the characters and the ending seemed to come out of nowhere. Not a bad book but not for me unfortunately.
No One Needs To Know is a bingeable, read in one sitting type of book. The level of tension with the parents of the Upper East Side in New York City and their drama is perfect. UrbanMyth is a confidential website residents of the neighborhood can use to spill their secrets and ask for anonymous assistance. Then someone is found dead, the website is hacked, and what will happen next?!
I found this to be such an enjoyable, page turning read that reminded me of a mystery wrapped up in a Real Housewives sort of drama.
Thank you to Netgalley and Bantam for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.
No One Needs to Know is a psychological thriller with a creative plot line which has a juicy, gossipy yet cringy story full of jealousy, wealth, revenge, sabotage, affairs and even murder. What more could one book give?
The story targets the rich, I mean the really rich, and those who want to be richer, live more like the really rich because, well, it’s never enough. Who’s jealous of who, which of their children will get into the better school and what they need to do make that happen. But most of all it’s about the entitled and who they look down on, the less rich.
And the only time it really matters is when they bet busted. And unfortunately for them, the social media site Urban Myth which prides itself on anonymity and which they all use to air their grievances from affairs to wanting to kill someone may not be as secure as they all thought.
Heather is a follower. She wants to be the Queen Bee but is not wealthy enough. She slaves for the Queen in hopes of getting approval and moving up on the food chain. She has a daughter, Violet who she expects to go to an exclusive school. Violet is only 13. She has learned to be creative in her ways to help her family succeed. But when she accidently finds out there is a compromising picture of her daughter at a posh dance in which an administrator from an elite school was supposed to attend online, she goes crazy. Perhaps even obsessed with finding out who’s to blame.
Norah comes from wealth. She also works very hard to sustain the lifestyle she, her husband and daughter enjoy. All she wants is for her daughter Caroline to get into the top exclusive school. Nora is not into the politics of schmoozing with other parents. But when she accidentally finds out something about Caroline, she realizes it’s time to take a stand.
Poppy IS The Queen Bee, and she knows it. She rules in a very demeaning way. Poppy enjoys the attention. She lives for attention. From everyone, except her husband who gives her none. They know where their son Henry will end up, even though he is a bit difficult. Poppy has many secrets, most of which would ruin her if they came out.
Suddenly no one is safe and confidential information begins to leak out in which all the women can’t control. Affairs, bribes blackmail, and one missing person oh my! And then the explosion heard around the world when it is discovered that Urban Myth has been hacked. And everybody must run for cover and protect themselves.
Who will come out of this unscathed? Is there enough money to go around to make sure the children are protected. Rich people problems, I guess… but enjoyable anyway!
No One Needs to Know is a jaw-dropping look at the caste system which even exists with the uber wealthy and the only way in which they know how to make it go away. Throw money at the problem. Such a great read!
Thank you #NetGalley #Bantam/RandomHouse #NoOneNeedstoKnow #LindsayCameron for the advanced copy.
4.5⭐️
How far would you go to make sure your child gets into the best boarding school? For the mothers of Crofton, there is little they won't do. They then happily document their misdeeds on UrbanMyth, the anonymous gossip site of the Upper East Side. The story follows Heather, Poppy, and Norah, with Poppy and Norah being from old money who's family has a reputation for making donations to the school to get their way. When a picture of Heather's 13 year old daughter, Violet, is released on an anonymous Instagram account for the school, Heather is instantly suspicious that the other mom's are sabotaging Violet's chance of getting into boarding school. And Heather think she knows exactly who is behind it.
When Heather can't get anyone else to take her accusations seriously, she takes to UrbanMyth to start several rumors to sew discord between the Crofton family's. Not long after Bennet, a father in the middle of the controversy, goes missing and a tattletale hacking group exposes the identities of every poster on UrbanMyth. Heather finds that by trying to do everything for her child, she put herself in the center of the investigation.
There's nothing more that my middle class, Midwest self unironically loves than reading about the dramatic lives of New York socialites. There's just something so satisfying about the lengths they will go to show that they are better than everyone else. I love watching these women who think they can do nothing wrong realize their action really do have consequences. The fact that they all shamelessly posted on an anonymous gossip site that most of them signed up for with their personal emails just show how untouchable these people think they are.
I also loved that this mirrored the college admission scandal, which is even mentioned as part of the story line. Parents got false disability waivers for testing, bought their way into positions, and even lied about their profession so it would look better on their child's boarding school applications as if these kids had to go to a public school their lives would end. And the interactions with kids we do see, none of them cared about getting into these private schools. It's just all for the parents.
I loved pretty much every part of this. The only reason this isn't a 5 star was it just didn't completely blow me away.
Thanks Netgalley and Bantam for providing this e-ARC to me!
Rich women behaving badly is one of my favorite tropes and man, does Cameron do it well in No One Needs to Know. The story was propulsive and kept me on my toes the entire time, waiting for the juicy payoff at the end that did not disappoint! I absolutely loved this fun, fast read!