Our Secrets to Keep: A Twisty Psychological Thriller About Lifelong Friendship, Murder, and Buried Truths

Rachel Ayoub

Mar 2026 · NYLA

About this ebook

Three best friends. A lifetime of secrets.

Sahar, Riley, and Jenna have been inseparable since middle school, telling each other everything. . . or so they thought. Their friendship has seen them through the best and worst of adolescence and their twenties, too often marked by trauma: national tragedies, the vices and flaws of their parents, and the freak accidents that took Sahar's mother and Riley's father.

Now, Sahar is climbing the corporate ladder at one of the nation's best law firms, Jenna is opening her own therapy practice, and Riley is thriving in the nonprofit sector. Each is courting a new beginning in the next decade of their lives—until one of them goes missing and is found days later, brutally murdered.

The investigation into their friend's death reveals unexpected secrets and clandestine affairs. The "fresh start" their thirties were supposed to provide feels more like a nightmarish encore to their past. Darkness and deception have already led to one of their deaths. Will the truth save them from their friend's fate—or get them killed?

Ratings and reviews

A complex and emotionally charged small-town mystery that explores the unbreakable—yet secretive—bonds of friendship. While the narrative focuses primarily on the present, Ayoub expertly weaves in past revelations to explain the intricate behaviours and motivations of her characters. Covering heavy and timely themes such as xenophobia, bullying, marital abuse, and dangerous obsession, the story is a testament to the power of loyalty in the face of systemic struggle.

About the author

Rachel Ayoub writes psychological thrillers. Trained as an attorney, she's drawn to stories where the truth is complicated—and the fallout is inevitable.