I Never Knew You at All

by Christine Pride, Jo Piazza

Bestselling authors Christine Pride and Jo Piazza return with a gripping new novel where a Black woman’s past collides with her present, unveiling a decades-old mystery that forces her to confront her beliefs about race, love, justice, and her interracial marriage.

When Simone marries into Alex Hartwell’s wealthy white family, she trades her career ambitions for comfort and fully embraces her role as a stay-at-home mom. But when Kwame, Simone’s ex-boyfriend, suddenly arrives in Shorewell with the journalistic career that she always imagined for herself, her contentment begins to crumble.

Worst still, his newest story has brought him right to her doorstep, as he starts digging into a decades-old unsolved murder of a young Black man who attended The Tate School—the same elite prep school that Alex’s family has attended for generations. When he uncovers a startling connection to the Hartwells, Simone is forced to choose between protecting the family legacy she married into or honoring Kwame’s quest for justice.

Thorny, urgent, and nuanced, I Never Knew You at All thoughtfully examines race through the lens of deeply intimate relationships and digs into complex Who deserves forgiveness? Can people really change? And ultimately—what does it take to hold a marriage together…or break it apart?

288 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication October 13, 2026

About the author

Christine Pride is a writer, editor, and longtime publishing veteran. She’s held editorial posts at many different trade imprints, including Doubleday, Broadway, Crown, Hyperion, and Simon & Schuster. As an editor, Christine has published a range of books, with a special emphasis on inspirational stories and memoirs, including numerous New York Times bestsellers. As a freelance editorial consultant, she does select editing and proposal/content development, as well as teaching and coaching, and pens a regular column—“Race Matters”—for Cup of Jo. She lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went into the third book I Never Knew You at All by co-authors Christine Pride and Jo Piazza, expecting a mystery about a missing Black man from sixty years ago, but I walked away with a strong story about how racism affects generations decades later.
The authors use a cold case to anchor a much deeper exploration of systemic inequality and the persistent reach of white privilege. This is a narrative where a Black woman’s past and present collide, forcing her to question everything she knows about justice and her own privileged life.

The plot centers on Simone, who has traded her career ambitions for a comfortable life within her husband Alex’s wealthy white family. When her ex-boyfriend Kwame arrives to investigate a decades-old murder at an elite prep school that Alex's grandfather Poppy attended decades earlier, Simone's world begins to unfold as her marriage, Poppy's dementia, Alex's new role as CEO all collide in more ways than one.
Kwame’s search for the truth uncovers startling connections to the Hartwell family, leaving Simone caught between protecting her family’s legacy and honoring a quest for justice.

The book brilliantly examines the perception of affluent Black individuals. It shows that wealth cannot shield a person from the exhaustion of navigating white spaces or the complexities of identity. At its heart, the novel is also a story of how true love can be found in unexpected places and the messy work required to hold an interracial marriage together, when buried secrets threaten to pull it apart.

The story is nuanced, and prioritizes internal growth and social commentary over a traditional mystery structure. It asks difficult questions about who deserves forgiveness and whether people can truly change. This is a thoughtful read that highlights how the past is never truly gone, making it a perfect choice for those who love character driven stories with deep social relevance.

I Never Knew You at All is a quick story, and another well written one by the two co-authors.

Thank you Atria for the advanced copy!

[Shirley Freeman]

Back in college, Simone was an ambitious, aspiring journalist eager to take on the world. She's the only child of a single mom without tons of resources. Kwame, also an ambitious, aspiring journalist, lost his best high school friend when he was falsely accused and imprisoned for a crime Kwame knows he did not commit. Simone, Kwame and Kwame's friend are black. Alex, who is white and technically an orphan, has been raised by his powerful, rich, white grandfather. The three lives intersect in dramatic ways after Kwame, who made a name for himself, and freed his friend from prison with his true crime podcast, is given a tip about a young black man who disappeared over 50 years ago. There's a bit of mystery, some complicated relationships, racial and socio-economic tension and good old-fashioned story telling.