About The Book

Bestselling authors Christine Pride and Jo Piazza return with a gripping and thought-provoking new novel about a Black woman whose interracial marriage is tested when a journalist investigates a decades-old murder tied to her wealthy husband’s family.

Simone Hartwell has made trade-offs to build a life she loves, including giving up her once promising career as a journalist. But as her husband, Alex, stands to finally take the reins of the family business—a chain of high-end grocery stores his grandfather started—Simone vows to settle contently into her role supporting him and raising their son Langston.

But when her college ex and first love, Kwame, resurfaces in her life, her carefully constructed domestic bliss threatens to crumble under the weight of old feelings and new dramas. Kwame, who built the journalism career Simone once dreamed of, is investigating a decade’s old mystery of a young Black man who disappeared from The Tate School—the same elite prep school that Alex’s family has attended for generations. When he discovers a startling connection to the Hartwells, it sets everyone on a collision course that will unearth long-held secrets, test loyalties, and force a major reckoning between the past and the future.

Thorny, urgent, and nuanced, I Never Knew You at All is a story of love, forgiveness, and redemption that asks provocative questions: Who deserves forgiveness? Can people really change? And ultimately—what does it take to hold a marriage together…or break it apart?

About The Authors

Photograph by Christine Han

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 many bestselling and critically acclaimed novels and memoirs. In addition to writing novels, she does select editorial work, proposal/content development, and teaching and coaching.

Brittney Valdez

Jo Piazza is a bestselling author, podcast creator, and award-winning journalist. She is the national and international bestselling author of many critically acclaimed novels and nonfiction books including We Are Not Like ThemCharlotte Walsh Likes to WinThe Knockoff, and How to Be Married. Her work has been published in ten languages in twelve countries and four of her books have been optioned for film and television. A former editor, columnist, and travel writer with Yahoo, Current TV, and the Daily News (New York), her work has also appeared in The Wall Street JournalThe New York TimesNew York magazine, GlamourElleTimeMarie ClaireThe Daily Beast, and Slate. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania in economics and communication, a master’s in journalism from Columbia University, and a master’s in religious studies from New York University. 

Product Details

  • Publisher: Atria Books (October 13, 2026)
  • Length: 288 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781668033258

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