Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier.

When Marin gets distracted by a phone call at Pike Place market, that's all the time it takes for her young son Sebastian to disappear. And that's how our story begins, with Marin and her son Derek, learning how to adjust to their new normal with a child who's disappearance is still a mystery.

But while they may be an ordinary grieving couple on the surface, secrets lurk underneath, and decisions are made that can't be unmade.

I can't give much away about this one, but it was a lot of fun. I was hooked from the very beginning and stayed captivated every step of the way. A great beach (or quarantine) read. Very entertaining and fun.

I heard about this book when I was at my online bookclub with my friend Amy at her site – http://www.momadvice.com – and we were talking about Mary Kubica’s new book (The Other Mrs – reviewed here: https://drbethnolan.com/2020/04/05/the-other-mrs-by-mary-kubica/ ). Ms. Kubica said she had just read Little Secrets and it was very good so I got it from Net Galley (lucky me!).

What a read! It was suspenseful and thrilling and scary but not too graphic or disturbing. I don’t usually read things about missing children as it gives me nightmares, but this was okay for me. I feel that Ms. Hellier (new author to me) did such a great job in describing the main characters feelings and depression while she is caught in a horrific limbo of not knowing what happened to her child.

So glad I picked this one up! Thank you, St. Martin’s Press!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This book was a lot better than I thought it would be. For a book that had no likable characters in it with the exception of the little boy, It was a good story. This book had a lot of twists towards the end and i really enjoyed that. I highly recommend this book.

Jennifer Hillier is one of my go-to authors. She is a master at unveiling details a little at a time, enough to keep you enthralled. It took some time for me to get to this ook, but once I started, it was finished in a matter of days.
It is told from two different female perspectives. It starts when Marin's son is taken. Marin is the narrator for the majority of the story and her close relationships are examined. I highly recommend this book if you like thrillers.
Thank you, NetGalley for my gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to Netgalley, Minotaur Books and author Jennifer Hillier for giving me a chance to read and review this terrific thriller.
Marin takes her young son to a Christmas market just a few days before Christmas. During the short time she releases his hand to answer a text, he disappears. Thus starts every mother's worst nightmare. Surveillance videos only show Sebastian walking out to the market with someone dressed as Santa and holding the giant lollipop he wanted.
After sixteen months, the police have put the case on the back burner. It is always on the mind of Marin who fell apart and tried to commit suicide. She has had a difficult time going back to her upscale salon and her marriage to husband Dexter is a mess.
Marin decides to hire a private eye to look deeper for Sebastian. PI Castor doesn't find the child, but does find out that Derek is having an affair with a young woman who works in a coffee shop.
The plot takes on a fact pace with lots of twists after this. Although the title is LITTLE SECRETS it is a novel of many big secrets that slowly get revealed and keep the reader turning the pages more quickly. I am not usually one of those who says they stayed up late to finish a book, but once I got to a certain point, I stayed up way past my usual bedtime to get to the end. The ending surprised me, but really all the clues were there if you looked close enough. The true talent of a great writer is in having surprise ending that is authentic and not contrived. Jennifer Hillier is definitely in that category. She is a new to me author, but I will be looking to read her previous novel and any future ones.
The author developed the characters fully, flaws and all, and it helped to have the point of view from two sources. It was hard to like most of the characters, but the author did make them relatable. It was clever how social media and its impact on daily life played a big role.
I highly recommend THE SECRETS, but allow yourself enough daytime reading to finish it.

This is my first read by Jennifer Hillier and it won’t be the last. This book was everything I wanted in a thriller. Secrets that keep you guessing but make total sense in explanation. Characters that make you care about them despite their flaws. And a writing style that drives you forward, keeping you enthralled by the story. I will definitely be reading more by this author.

The main point is that what happens to the main character could really happen to anyone. And that’s the scariest of things!

You can see more in my video review:
https://youtu.be/sAtnHUfcvc8

I can’t believe how fast I got through this book! There were so many twists and turns. That’s one thing I love about this author’s books, she always packs in a lot of plot twists and always some new element that I wouldn’t have considered! There were a few mouth dropping moments. And some that made my question why. Why would someone do that?!? To someone they love?!
As for the characters, I went back and forth between liking Marin and thinking why is she letting this happen! I did take into consideration though, what she had been through. Grief can make people do crazy things sometimes. Derek.....I don’t know how to feel about him. He just seemed douche-y the majority of the book. Kensie, she was another that I went back and forth on. She seemed very much like an airhead at times. As for Sal, I liked him for the most part.
Everything seemed to wrap up neatly and once the reasons why had been revealed, then it made sense.
It took me a few days to process what I had read. I am kind of bummed that the book is over. It felt almost like a movie or tv series and I want more!

This book had me from the beginning and didn’t let up till the end just when you think you know what is gonna happen next your like wow!! I highly recommend this book

I’ll come straight out and say that the first chapter of Little Secrets was brutal on me. All the emotions that were coming toward me were hard to digest. A child kidnapping is just horrendous, in real life as well as in fiction.

Now to the rest of the book.

What made this book unique were the two female POV’s. It was amazing how the author switched between them, and managed to suck me into each POV. Both characters were highly developed and were very addictive to listen to. The characters inner voices were captivating, and their essence so clear and distinct. The author portrayed them perfectly.

The title promised lots of secrets, small and big and they just kept on coming.

I actually wouldn’t read any blurbs or reviews for this one, and just enjoy the ride. It’s much better this way. 😀

Overall the book was one of the fastest audiobooks I’ve listened to in a long time. I was glued to my phone, thrilled and entertained to no end.

Wow! I did not see that ending coming! Fast paced and unpredictable, Little Secrets hit all the "must-have" buttons for me. This is only my second Jennifer Hillier book but I love how she takes a subject and turns it on its head. You never know how the story is really going to go with her. Absolutely recommend!

Jennifer Hillier has done it again! I first fell in love with Hillier’s writing when I read Jar of Hearts a couple of years ago, and it is easily one of my go-to thrillers. She has such a knack for writing an utterly compelling story that you just can’t put down until you get to the final page. And her latest, Little Secrets, is definitely no exception.

Little Secrets is the story of a woman named Marin, who has had her worst fears come to life only to learn that she’s on the verge of losing the only family she has left. Marin soon embarks on a journey of truth and revenge, desperate to get some semblance of her old life back.

Hillier brilliant wrote these characters in such a tangible way, and I felt the very emotion of grief and anger along with Marin. I honestly couldn’t put it down. Little Secrets has proved, once again, that I will gladly read anything and everything that Jennifer Hillier writes.

While shopping during the holiday season celebrity hair stylist Marin Machado loses her young son Sebastian. One minute he is there. The next -- Poof! He is gone. Despite the million dollar reward she and her husband Derek put up there are no leads into their son's disappearance.

The majority of <b>Little Secrets</b> takes place a year after. Neither Marin nor her marriage has recovered from this traumatic blow. Told from alternative viewpoints -- Marin's and her husband's lover -- Hillier doles out a psychological suspense that really digs into her characters's psyches. Neither woman is above reproach. They both yield weapons of deceit and manipulation. They both bear scars.

In <b>Little Secrets</b> there are plenty of twists and turns. The only problem was that I guessed the major plot twist. Overall, Hillier's in-depth treatment of loss and her nuanced drawing of characters lends itself to an enjoyable read.

<i>Special thanks to St Martin's Press and Minotaur Books for access to this book.</i>

Marin Machado leads a charmed life. The owner of a chain of high end hair salons is married to Derek, a successful businessman and they have a five year old son Sebastian.
While out shopping one day, Marin lets go of her sons hand for an instant to reply to a text. In that moment he is gone!
A year later Sebastian is still missing, Marin is barely hanging on.
When she finds out Derek is having an affair with twenty four year old Instagram influencer and grad student Kenzi Li, she becomes enraged.
Marin is determined not to lose her husband too. As she fights to win him back, she begins to uncover secrets that could lead back to her son.
This dark, twisted mystery/thriller grabbed me right from the beginning. With an irresistible storyline and engaging writing, I was hooked! A great read.
Thank you Minotaur Books for the e-ARC via NetGalley.

This is the first novel I’ve read by Jennifer Hillier, and I’m sure it won’t be my last. Little Secrets was such an intense, emotion-filled thriller that kept me engaged and turning the pages, reading late into the night. I finished the novel within two days, and am eager to share my book review of Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier with you.

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A brief synopsis of Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier

Marin Machado is a successful salon owner living in Seattle with her husband, Derek, who runs a million dollar company. After many years of trying to have a child, they finally have their son, Sebastian. Their life is now all they ever dreamed it would be: perfect.

Until one day, Sebastian lets go of Marin’s hand and she can’t find him in the crowded market. He’s missing. Believing he was kidnapped, the FBI searched for months, ultimately coming up with no leads and deeming the case “ongoing, but not a priority”.

While Marin falls into a dark place, staying home and drowning in her misery, Derek consumes himself in his work. They barely speak, both aware their marriage is on the verge of breaking.

Marin refuses to give up on Sebastian. She hires a private investigator to continue the search for her son. However, the P.I. ends up discovering Derek has been having an affair, which when revealed to Marin, turns her sorrow into rage.

Marin turns her focus completely on her marriage, desperately realizing she can’t lose her husband, too. Broken and overwhelmed, she turns to her good friend, Sal, who has been there for her since college. With him, Marin is able to create a plan that will change the course of her life — one that cannot be undone. As things escalate, Marin finds clues that reveal someone in her life knows more about her son than they are letting on.

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Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier is an intense, fast-paced thriller filled with emotion. Gently easing the reader from one POV to another, this novel is written with such precision that there is never a time the reader is confused about the character’s perspective.

The emotion in Little Secrets is one of the most notable elements to the novel. The depth given to each character’s history is an aspect of this particular story that brings connection between the reader and the characters. The intense brokenness that Marin feels towards her missing son is almost tangible. The rage she feels towards her husband’s affair is also very believable, being felt by the reader as well.

However, the emotion becomes a bit confusing when we find out that Derek’s affair is not his first. The pure hatred that Marin experiences feels a bit out of place when the reader finds out about Derek’s past. I’ve concluded that this extreme emotion is triggered by the situation with her son, and the realization that she could potentially end up alone.

I thoroughly enjoyed the overall plot of the story. It felt just realistic enough to be believable. I was able to piece the mystery together before it was revealed, which made the ending less shocking than I was expecting. But, I did feel that the plot of the story was solid, and brought a well-rounded conclusion.

Including the history and perspective of the woman Derek is with added a lot more dimension and realism to Little Secrets. By including her point of view, the reader is able to find a purpose behind her current actions.

I do believe that the beginning of the novel had a great balance in each character’s POVs, however, towards the ending I felt there was a large gap before the reader comes back to Marin’s perspective, which shows a drastic change in her life that I felt should have been presented earlier and not as a reflection later on.

Though Little Secrets was missing a few elements that I believe would have made the story even stronger, I do believe this novel is powerful. Little Secrets had a great balance of fast-paced energy and thoughtful details that helped to mold this thriller into a memorable story.

In conclusion, Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier is an intense, dark, character-driven thriller that encompasses the pain that comes with the unknown, and the freedom one feels when the unknown is brought to light.

I had very high hopes for this thriller after loving Jar of Hearts and while I found it to be a fast-paced read, I was left disappointed in the end. Marin, a hairstylist to the stars and the main character, is married to her husband Derek, also a successful businessman. They have a 4 yeard child, Sebastian, who in the opening scene is kidnapped- this isn't a spoiler, rather it's the premise of the story- or is it? I have to say I was completely on board for the way the author wrote the characters, I was immersed in finding out what happened to Sebastian- but by the halfway point, the story took a turn and it basically became a different story, one that I wasn't expecting and wasn't invested in. I'm being vague because I think you should know as little as possible. For me, this turn of character motive and storyline seemed off and left me feeling frustrated while reading as it took away from the main kidnapping storyline. The author's writing is so good that I kept going despite my frustrations because I really wanted to find out if my predictions were true. Turns out they were which also left me with the feeling that this was predictable. Overall, it ended up being a fast read but much different than I expected.

A thriller that opens with a heart-breaking crime!

Marin has the seemingly perfect life that she would not trade for the world. Then an unspeakable crime occurs and her world is flipped upside-down. She has been through the ringer and just when she is starting to get her life back in order she is hit with some shocking news. Once she absorbs the truth she finds herself more awake than she has been in quite some time. All she sees is hate and revenge is in order!

My heart went out to Marin and who doesn’t like a good story of revenge! This is a chilling story chock-full of secrets. It was a quick and easy read that had my attention throughout. I may have enjoyed her previous book Jar of Hearts a bit more than this one, but that in no way lessened my overall enjoyment of this book.

I look forward to Jennifer Hillier’s future books and will forever be a fan!

Little Secrets starts of strong with Marin Machado. She seemingly has everything. A son she adores, a loving husband, a successful business, friends, etc. All that changes in the blink of an eye during a last minute Christmas shopping trip when she briefly answers her phone, letting go of her son's hand. Just like that, he's gone. Every parents worst nightmare.
Several months later, Marin is a shell of herself. Always drunk, uninvolved in her business, her and her husband hardly speak and she barely has the will to live. When the private investigator she's hired to help find her son uncovers her husband's affair though...it's like a fire is lit in Marin.
This story was a little slow for a bit after Sebastian's kidnapping, but otherwise kept a pretty good pace. I didn't really see any major plot twists, as I feel like the ending was fairly easy to guess. That didn't make it any less of a great read though. Would definitely recommend if you are a fan of the genre.

This book really tugs at the heart strings. I feel so bad for Marin as the book progresses. I do not want to give spoilers, but the person responsible is found and I couldn't believe who it was. The book takes so many twists and turns and is heart wrenching. I loved the suspense and the way the book progressed. It wasn't too slow to give details. I highly recommend for a small suspense, but sweet book to read.

Solid mystery that’s well written and grabs you from the very first chapter.
I had to hold back a star as I did feel there were some lulls and predictability, but this is still an excellent read!

Areas of mention go to the support group scenes. Those were really well written and you could tell a lot of research went into this whole topic. Hillier was able to capture the emotional piece that a lot of authors struggle with as well.

Eagerly looking forward to the next work this author pens together!!

ARC provided by NetGalley

This was such a creepy thriller. I couldn’t put this book down. Twists in like every chapter. I loved it.