WATERLOO, Ontario - s4story -- Thriller author Crystal Quast has released Influenced: Serenity Acres, the fourth volume in her domestic thriller series that blends toxic influencer culture, family control, and twisted neighborhood secrets. When motherhood becomes a brand, family becomes content, and keeping up appearances turns deadly.

When Brook Salinger decides to step back from her family's wildly popular YouTube channel after years of online bullying, her mother stands directly in her way. Unwilling to let her oldest daughter forge her own path, Daphne Salinger will seemingly stop at nothing to save the family brand. When unseen forces push Brook to uncover a dark secret, plans spiral out of control to a deadly conclusion.

What Readers are Saying about Influenced: Serenity Acres

• Crystal Quast is my new favorite author. Her characters are lovable/hateable and just so believable. Sally on GoodReads
• A wickedly entertaining cautionary tale about the price of turning private life into public content. BooksCoffee on Goodreads
• Compelling, thrilling, and memorable, author Crystal Quast's upcoming psychological and cozy mystery thriller novel "Influenced" is a must-read book. Anthony on Goodreads

Like its predecessors, the new novel mixes satire with suspense. Read as a complete stand-alone or with the other volumes of Serenity Acres:

• Vol 3. Eye Spied: Serenity Acres (April 2026) has a 4.57-star rating on Goodreads. Readers called it, "A slow-burning psychological drama steeped in atmosphere and tension"
• Vol 2. Shafted (October 2025) reached #2 on Amazon.ca in Tragicomedy, Drama, and Plays. It has a 4.10 star rating on Goodreads.
• Vol 1. Dinked (April 2025) earned early praise from readers and critics alike, with coverage in The Globe and Mail and author appearances at the Eden Mills Writers' Festival. With Eye Spied. It has a 4.59-star Goodreads rating

Crystal was featured on CBC KW Morning Edition w/Craig Norris on October 14th to talk about the launch!

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Listen to the interview here: Crystal Quast on CBC KW Morning Edition (https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-104-the-morning-edition-k-w/clip/16242917-new-waterloo-based-book-thriller-based-online-influencers)

Order here: Influenced: Serenity Acres (https://bit.ly/4vroaVJ)

Book Details

Title: influenced: Serenity Acres. Where Secrets Barely Stay Hidden

Author: Crystal Quast

Publication Date: October 15, 2026

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Available: Amazon and other major retailers

For more information, review copies, or interview requests, please contact:

Media Contact: Crystal Quast
Email: dinkedserenityacres@gmail.com
Website: serenityacressecrets.com



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