Exclusive: Author Karen Winn spills the secrets behind can’t-miss thriller The Society
In an exclusive chat with TAG24, author Karen Winn spilled the secrets of her new thriller The Society, which centers around an elusive society in Boston.
New York, New York – Karen Winn brings readers behind the closed doors of the fictional Knox secret society in her new novel, The Society. In an exclusive chat with TAG24, the author dished on the real-life inspirations for the first can’t-miss thriller of the year.
As TikTok continues to obsess over the “old money” aesthetic and dark academia reads, Winn’s newest novel couldn’t come at a better time.
The Society, which hits bookstores on January 20, is the story of an elusive secret society called The Knox, and two women who find themselves in its crosshairs.
One of those ladies is Taylor, a 25-year-old nurse who recently moved to the city from North Carolina.
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Taylor is desperate to uncover the secrets of her late mother, who left their family for Boston before her sudden passing.
While on an ER shift one day, Taylor meets the glamorous Vivian, who is rushed in for treatment after an unexplained fall.
As Winn explained to TAG24, “Taylor becomes instantly captivated with Vivian because to her, Vivian is everything she thought Boston was going to be.”
Taylor’s curiosity about Vivian leads her to the front steps of The Knox, while flashbacks of Vivian’s life paint a picture of the dark secrets lingering within the mysterious society.
Crafting the elusive world of The Knox
Winn, who lives in Boston’s historic Beacon Hill neighborhood, drew inspiration for the novel from the city’s own history.
While on a docent-led tour at the Boston Athenaeum, Winn learned of one of the major benefactors, Thomas Handasyd Perkins.
“The docent alluded to this dark history of how this man and his brother had made their fortune, or a vast portion of their fortune, in the opium trade,” Winn explained.
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“I was really intrigued by this and went down this rabbit hole to discover, to my surprise, just how much wealth these Brahmin families made from the opium trade, and how much of it has shaped Boston and the city that we know today.”
It’s this history that provides a foundation for the layers of secrets lingering within the walls of The Knox. In the present day, the first members of Winn’s secret society were also involved in the opium trade.
“It was historically built as a place, a meeting place for these families to get together and discuss their international dealings,” she said of The Knox.
“If these walls could talk”
Winn took an unconventional approach to the world-building, opting to include The Knox mansion as a narrator in itself, recounting the memories of the society’s dark past.
“I realized that, at some point, I needed an insider perspective, because there are things going on there from the past that play a role in the present-day story,” she said.
“So I decided to make it literally, ‘if these walls could talk.'”
The building isn’t the only unique way Winn unravels the twisted tale of The Knox, as historical accounts, the secret society’s charter, text messages and emails, and even Reddit threads help bring readers deep into the story’s world.
It all comes together to create an addictive thriller that pulls you in further page after page.
“There’s a lot going on in the world, and it’s fun to lose yourself in some mystery,” Winn said.
“Our world feels like it’s imploding a little, and you get hit over the head every day with so much news that it’s nice to have some intrigue and some mystery and get lost in that.”
For more on the hottest reads of the new year, check out TAG24’s Book Release Radar for January 2026.
