Editorial Content for Want to Know a Secret?
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Reviewer (text)
WANT TO KNOW A SECRET? introduces readers to April Masterson, an influencer whose story is going to get dangerous quickly in the hands of master plotter Freida McFadden.
After filming her popular YouTube show, “April’s Sweet Secrets,” April receives an alarming text in her replies: Want to know a secret? Your son isn’t where you think he is. This immediately throws April and her husband, Elliot, into a panic as they go searching for Bobby. He’s not in the house, and when April sends a reply to the unknown messenger, it comes back as undeliverable. April and Elliot are experiencing every parent’s worst nightmare.
"WANT TO KNOW A SECRET? is unlike prior books from Freida McFadden and is completely mind-blowing as you try to untangle everything that is being shown to you."
Bobby turns up safe at the home of April’s new neighbors, Maria and Sean Cooper, whose son, Owen, is a playmate of his. April is relieved, but when she confronts Bobby, he says that Owen’s mom told him that it was okay to come over and that his parents were aware of it. The cruel and unexpected trolling of April’s YouTube channel ramps up in the wake of that mysterious text. Not only is her baking prowess criticized, personal derogatory claims are made about her.
As April is dealing with issues pertaining to her husband and his distant behavior towards her, she receives a shocking text that makes reference to Courtney Burns, Elliot’s former assistant who allegedly died by suicide. It soon becomes obvious that there is more to this story to which readers are not privy. April had to deal with her husband’s infidelity in the past, but now she is getting messages accusing her of the same --- with her son’s soccer coach.
A frequent video partner on April’s show is her mother, who is confined to a nursing home. At one point, she accuses her daughter of being pure evil. Shortly after, April receives another text about something being buried in her backyard. It’s somehow related to the issues that she is having with Bobby, who has been accused of severely injuring some of his classmates in spite of his protests of innocence.
McFadden presents countless red herrings that will have readers questioning what is happening. Those instincts would be correct as the second part of the story is told from a completely different point of view. Here, April’s supposed best friend in the neighborhood and head of the PTA recounts a history going back a handful of years about her experiences with April. To say that it is eye-opening would be a tremendous understatement.
I have not read a novel with such a major shift in perspective since the work of the British plot-twist master Robert Goddard. WANT TO KNOW A SECRET? is unlike prior books from Freida McFadden and is completely mind-blowing as you try to untangle everything that is being shown to you.
Teaser
Influencer and baking sensation April Masterson knows the secret to the perfect gooey brownies. Or how to make key lime squares that will melt in your mouth. But if you keep watching her offline, you may find out some other secrets about April. Secrets she'd rather you didn't know. Where did her son go when he snuck out late at night? What was she doing with the local soccer coach behind fogged windows? And what's buried in her backyard? April's secrets are enough to destroy her. I'll make sure of that.
Promo
Influencer and baking sensation April Masterson knows the secret to the perfect gooey brownies. Or how to make key lime squares that will melt in your mouth. But if you keep watching her offline, you may find out some other secrets about April. Secrets she'd rather you didn't know. Where did her son go when he snuck out late at night? What was she doing with the local soccer coach behind fogged windows? And what's buried in her backyard? April's secrets are enough to destroy her. I'll make sure of that.
About the Book
#1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden peels back the layers of a seemingly flawless life to expose a picture of obsession, deception and the quiet menace that waits just beyond the frame.
Everyone has secrets. Some are worse than others.
Influencer and baking sensation April Masterson knows the secret to the perfect gooey brownies. Or how to make key lime squares that will melt in your mouth. But if you keep watching her offline, you may find out some other secrets about April. Secrets she'd rather you didn't know.
Where did her son go when he snuck out late at night? What was she doing with the local soccer coach behind fogged windows?
And what's buried in her backyard?
April's secrets are enough to destroy her.
I'll make sure of that.
Audiobook available, read by Alyson Krawchuk
