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Want to Know a Secret?

Pages
368
Published
2021
Language
English

Synopsis

In an affluent suburb obsessed with PTA fundraisers, book clubs, and whispered gossip about whose marriage is really failing, April Masterson seems to have it all: a devoted husband, a lovely home, and a following as a cheerful YouTube baking star. Then a new neighbor moves in next door, and April starts receiving anonymous threats — messages that promise to expose the secrets she’s worked so hard to keep hidden. As the texts escalate and the careful surface of her life begins to crack, the polite competition of the neighborhood curdles into something far more dangerous, and what started as suburban anxiety builds toward a death the whole community will be talking about. Trading on the distance between the lives people perform and the ones they actually live, the novel mines a manicured cul-de-sac for betrayal, blackmail, and revenge.

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About the author

F
Freida McFadden

Freida McFadden is the pen name of a practicing American physician who specializes in treating brain injury, and one of the best-selling psychological-thriller authors of her generation. She published under the pseudonym from her 2013 debut onward, keeping her identity hidden so her medical patients wouldn’t connect her to her fiction, and only revealed her real name publicly in April 2026. The name itself is a medical inside joke — “FREIDA” is the acronym for the American Medical Association’s...

Characters

April MastersonProtagonist

A suburban homemaker and YouTube baking star hiding secrets behind a perfect image.

Maria CooperSupporting

The new next-door neighbor whose arrival triggers the threats.

Elliot MastersonSupporting

April’s husband.

All characters in Want to Know a Secret?

Frequently asked questions

  • When was "Want to Know a Secret?" published?

    It was originally published in 2021, with a 2026 Poisoned Pen Press reissue — which is the source of some confusion about its date.

  • What is it about?

    A suburban baking influencer’s seemingly perfect life begins to crack after a new neighbor moves in and she starts receiving threatening messages.

  • Who is the protagonist?

    April Masterson, a homemaker and YouTube baking star.

  • What kicks off the plot?

    The arrival of a new neighbor, Maria Cooper, and a string of anonymous threatening texts.

  • Is it a standalone?

    Yes, it is a standalone thriller.

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