I loved Jennifer Hillier’s last novel, Jar of Hearts, so I have had high expectations for this one. Marin and Derek seem like the perfect couple, rich, good-looking, and parents to an adorable 4-year-old, Sebastian. Then one day Marin lets go of Sebastian’s hand for just a moment and he’s gone. A year has passed with no news of Sebastian, but Marin learns that Derek is having an affair with a much younger woman. Marin lost Sebastian, but she won’t lose Derek.

As the mother of a 5-year-old boy, story was hard for me to read. It brought out a lot of emotions and made me think about some of my worst nightmares when it comes to my children. But I think other fans of Jar of Hearts will also love this smart and engrossing thriller.

While I found the writing lacking in parts, and some of the characters too stereotypical and without depth, this book still had me furiously turning pages trying to figure out what happened.

The subject of this book is very scary to me, because it is something that could actually happen to anyone. I found that made the book very terrifying and while it was very good and suspenseful, it freaked me out!

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier a tension-packed, addictive and easily consumable story that immediately sucks you into the narrative. It’s a tale of loss and grief, your worst fears coming true, because they sometimes do, and how one copes and manages day-to-day in the aftermath. It’s a story about persistent hope, relentless endurance, even when only hanging on by a thin thread, yet never giving up. It explores the depths we will go to for those we love, which may surprise or even alarm us when push comes to shove, and it’s about the wide-ranging ways we cope with and handle our heartbreaks.

Little Secrets is, at its core, a story about the abduction of a child; the one fragile, fleeting moment when a parent’s world is changed forever. It describes in vivid detail, the aftermath of Marin and Derick’s ordeal, which was further complicated by layers upon layers of lies and secrets, deceit and betrayal.

This novel was as much a story about grief as it was a thriller, though it had its fair share of shocking twists and turns. But because of its very nature, it was all the more impactful and a truly moving and powerful story that will long stay with me.

When four year old Sebastian disappears from his mother’s side just before Christmas, his parents, Marin and Derek go in to a downward spiral. They grow apart with Marin contemplating suicide and Derek gets involved with another woman.
I went in to Little Secrets without reading the synopsis or knowing anything about it and was immediately sucked in with the shocking start. I enjoyed this book despite a group of unlikeable characters, but I think it was great writing which made them flawed and difficult to like. Marin’s downward spiral after her son disappears was uncomfortable to read. As a mother, losing a child was always my worst fear. It happened once when my oldest was four. He disappeared in a major airport for about fifteen minutes and it was terrifying, so I related to the initial panic, but the grief over an extended period of time would make most of us crazy. It was well written.
Of course, being me, I didn’t expect the outcome and I thought it was a good one.

5 amazing stars!!

I wish I would have highlighted more so you could see how great this book is. But I was so entranced that I didn’t stop for highlights. I couldn’t stop other then having to work and sleep.

Can you imagine loosing your baby, after seeing him moments before?!?! How do you live with the guilt?!?!

I don’t have enough good words for this book!! It hooked me from the very first chapter. The secrets. The lies. It was soooo good.

You think you know but you have no idea who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. I mean really. This book was just what I needed to take my mind off what’s happening in the world.

Sorry my review doesn’t even touch how fabulous this book is. Trust and believe this is a book you want to read!!

**I received this book as an ARC and in return I gave my honest review**

5 stars for Little Secrets the brilliant new novel by Jennifer Hillier. This author became one of my favorites last year when I read Jar of Hearts, so I was super excited to receive an ARC of JH’s new novel.

Little Secrets opens with a nightmare. A mother, Marin, and her 4-year-old son, Sebastian, are Christmas shopping in the crowded Seattle Pike Place Mall. She is distracted for an instant, Sebastian wriggles free of her hand and almost immediately disappears into the throng of shoppers. He is seen on security footage walking out of the shopping center with a “Santa”, and then gone, without a trace. M is a strong and hugely successful woman who owns a small but prestigious hair salon empire. With her nearly unlimited resources, she never stops looking for Sebastian. When the police case basically grows cold as all possible leads dry up, she hires the best private investigator for the job.

A year and half after the kidnapping, M is a shell of the woman she was before, holding herself together, but just barely – self-medicating with booze and drugs. She unenthusiastically attends sessions with a psychiatrist and with a support group of people who are suffering the loss of their children under differing circumstances. Her marriage to Derek appears to be solid but has grown indifferent.

PI does not find son but inadvertently makes a dramatic discovery that will jolt M into anger (“humiliations galore”). At this point the pages are flipping by themselves! Rage is a far more driving force than despair and the anticipation of a delectable revenge had me tearing through the novel to see what, where, how and who will feel the full force of M’s wrath.

Enter best bud Sal – once boyfriend but after they separated in college, he and M remained best friends until the present, Twenty years later. M knows everything about this man (how is that possible?) and he is the person she trusts more than anyone – even more than her husband – and apparently for good reason. Sal still loves M and will do anything for her. He is her go-to guy. M’s visit to Sal after meeting with PI sets in motion the nail-biting events to follow, until the shocking discovery close to the end of the novel.

JH - Setting the nude selfie on the iphone wallpaper was priceless (and ingenious)!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press Minotaur Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've been reading so much lately. So many of us have. Not a lot to do right now. So I've soured on a lot of books I've read recently. But this one was a nice surprise. It begins with a mother and son doing some Christmas shopping. Four year olds are a handful, and can be gone in a flash. And that's what happens. So, we watch Marin trying to deal with her guilt of letting go of her child's hand for a few seconds. She never gives herself a break. She falls apart.

Then I'm thinking this is the mystery of her child's disappearance. Soon, it becomes the story of dealing with grief. Next, it becomes the story of vengeful people. Soon, we get to see another perspective. We are reminded that the way we see others and ourselves often have nothing to do with reality or the perspective of others.

I found myself riding this story. I wanted to go along with it, experience it. The grief. The tragedy. The betrayal. The lust. The sorrow. Sure, there are moments when you make connections and then wait for the characters to make the same connections. You know and you hope.

Thank you to Jennifer Hllier, Netgalley, and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I plan to search out previous titles by this author.

The depths of this book were seriously impressive. The premise of a thriller based on the a disappeared child was different than many of the domestic thrillers I read, and I was interested to see how the pacing of the plot played out. Man, did it pack a punch. Hillier packed so much into this book! Luckily, it was pretty lengthy, so it never seemed like too much was happening at once to the point of disbelief.

Marin struggles to live with herself each day after her son is kidnapped from her side at a busy market. Some days she is more successful than others. Hillier paints a rounded picture of Marin’s work life, her grief group, and her relationship with her husband and her best friend Sal, and how each is impacted and influenced by her loss. Marin has also hired her own private investigator, employed after the police have long given up actively searching for her boy, Sebastian. Marin keeps the investigator secret from her husband, but she soon learns that she is not the only one in their marriage keeping secrets.

As Marin focuses in on the deceit in her relationship, the other parts of her life seem to distort around her. Reading this book was like watching a carefully constructed life fall apart piece by piece. It highlighted the darkest corners of the human psyche, and the truly twisted ways different people react and lash out when they are hurting.

I never could have guessed how each thread of this story was interconnected, and what elements of Marin’s past were informing her present. I’m not sure how, as a thriller-lover, I am just now discovering Jennifer Hillier, but I can say with confidence that I’ll be seeking out more of her work!

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪.5

Review posted on April 12 to:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-5KmpngFWI/
https://treatyourshelf.home.blog/2020/04/12/little-secrets-by-jennifer-hillier-book-review/

Marin Machado seemed to have it all – a beautiful four-year-old son, three premiere hair salons in Seattle, and a loving husband who was extremely successful. They were an enviable power couple, people who had such a perfect life that it was almost unreal. Sebastian’s abduction, right before Christmas, gutted Marin and Derek. They offered a million dollar reward, had the police and FBI searching, but eventually all the leads evaporated as easily as Sebastian had. Marin blamed herself for letting go of his hand in crowded Pike Place Market, and seeing the security footage of Sebastian leaving with Santa, holding the large lollipop he had been asking for, four minutes after Marin realized he was gone, left her despondent and suicidal.

Derek’s guilt took a different track, as he began a six-month long affair with McKenzie Li, a barista and grad student who played married men for a hoped for financial payout. The private investigator Marin hired to find Sebastian was the first to inform Marin of the affair, and Marin reacted badly, seeking help from her best friend Sal, who owned a bar and knew people who could eliminate the problem. Meeting up with Sal’s friend Julian was a surreal experience, and Marin paid a quarter of a million dollars to have McKenzie eliminated, all the while working at her salon and grieving for her missing son.

Wow. This was a fascinating read, full of twists and turns and excitement on nearly every page. I can’t say much more without getting into spoiler territory, so I’ll just say that this is definitely one for the TBR stack. I read it in one sitting – just couldn’t put it down.

A lollipop, a Santa suit and 480 seconds is all it takes to kidnap a child.

Sebastian who is the 4-year-old son of Marin and Derek is kidnapped while out shopping with his mother one afternoon at Pike Place Market. Marin lets go of Sebastian’s hand for a brief period to return a text only to find him missing from her side.

Unbeknownst to Derek, Marin hires a private investigator to look into Sebastian’s disappearance as the FBI case has gone cold. Sixteen months after Sebastian’s disappearance the private investigator calls Marin one morning and asks her to come into the office. The news Marin receives is not about her missing son but is to inform Marin that her husband is having an affair with a younger woman for the last 6 months. This is the point in which you break out the popcorn and let the story tell itself.

Hook. Line. Sinker. This book had me hooked at the first chapter. As with all mysteries I find this book difficult to review without giving away any spoilers. I loved peeling away each little layer of this story and found myself not wanting to put the book down which is why I finished it in less than 24 hours.

If you love a good suspense novel pick this up and give it a read.

Big thank you to NetGally/St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this title!

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier was an emotional story from page one. I was immediately hooked. Starting out with the disappearance of Marin and Derek's four year old son, Sebastian. If, that doesn't pull at your heartstrings, nothing will.

A month later the case is put on the back burner and Marin hires a Private Investigator. The majority of the book takes place 16 months after Sebastian has gone missing. That is where things start coming together or unraveling, depending on what way you are looking at the story.

About three fourths of the way into the book, I had to put the book down and do a little pondering. At that point there were about six ways I could see this book coming to a close. Of course, I had to move forward to find out the conclusion. It was not what I was expecting at all.

This book kept me reading and fully invested in what the outcome would be. It was a very good mystery. This was my first book by Jennifer Hillier and I'm sure it won't be my last.

I received this book from the publisher for a fair and honest review.

Wow, a roller coaster ride of a read! I really loved this book! I found Marin's story very compelling and there were many wonderful twists which took me by surprise! This won't be my last book by this author!

hat a ride! Though I kinda saw where the story was going I was still excited to see how Hillier would pull all the pieces together. A fast paced read that I literally could not pull myself away from. 4.5 stars.

This book is everything! I really enjoyed it and flew through it in 2 days (which in quarantine time is unheard of). I recommend not knowing too much going in- just that a successful woman will go to the ends of the Earth to find out what really happened when her son was taken from her at Seattle's busy Pike Place Market. This one is full of lies (obviously), domestic suspense, and believable twists. I was rooting for Marin throughout! I definitely need to go back and read some of Hillier's back list (like last year's JAR OF HEARTS)- she's quite talented. Recommend!

Unputdownable psychological suspense.

Marin owns a chain of salons with celebrity clientele and is married to Derek, who is even more successful. But all the money in the world can’t prevent the unthinkable: their young son, Sebastian, disappears while he and Marin are Christmas shopping in packed Pike Place Market.

Sixteen months later, the FBI has pretty much abandoned the search; Marin and Derek are distant from one another; and Marin relies on the support of her best friend and former lover, Sal. When the private detective Marin hired tells her she’s learned something new, Marin is stunned to learn that its Derek has a lover—a young graduate student/Instagram influencer named McKenzie. MeKenzie provides a target for Marin’s suppressed anger, setting into motion a chain of circumstances that even the most jaded mystery/suspense reader will predict.

I’ve had a hard time concentrating on books during this time, but once I started LITTLE SECRETS, I could not stop reading. #LittleSecrets #NetGalley

4.5 twisted stars!

Wow, I really liked this one. While some of it was hard to read (I feel like your child being abducted is most parents WORST nightmare) I appreciate the brutal honestly the author attacked the story with. The beginning completely sucked me in from the get go, then it drug a bit for me around the halfway mark but when it started to pick up again it was a crazy series of revelations till the very end. I didn't completely guess what was going on and I always enjoy when an author can blindside me a bit.

For those who like thrillers/suspense I highly recommend!

I absolutely loved "Jar of Hearts" and was thrilled to have the chance to read the ARC of "Little Secrets". Once again Jennifer Hillier pulled me right in with her writing and a story that is dark from the start.

Marin and Derek have been together since college. They are both incredibly successful and in love with their 4-year old son, Sebastian. But their lives are about to take a tragic turn.

A few days before Christmas, Marin and Sebastian are at the bustling Pike Place Market in Seattle where Derek is coming to meet them. Marin answers a call on cell phone...she lets go of Sebastian's hand for just a few seconds...and then he's gone. It's as if he disappeared into thin air.

More than a year later Marin is a shell of her former self. The FBI never found Sebastian. Marin has never forgiven herself. She and Derek barely speak. And she's barely keeping it together.

"And that's what life is these days, isn't it? A series of slips and catches, mistakes and remorse, a constant juggling act of pretending to feel okay when all she wants to do it fall apart."

Desperate for answers Marin enlists the help of a P.I., but she uncovers a new secret Marin wasn't even looking to find - her husband is having an affair. Despite the problems in her marriage, Marin has already lost her son and she will stop at nothing to make sure she doesn't lose her husband too.

This was a fast read with short chapters that left me wanting to flip *one more page* that of course never stopped at one more. We get multiple perspectives, which I always love, and a twisted tale of dark and messed up people doing dark and messed up things. I love flawed characters that I am simultaneously hating, yet somehow rooting for. Thoroughly enjoyed this read!

Big thanks to Jennifer Hillier, NetGalley Minotaur Books and St, Martin's Publishing Group for the opportunity to read the ARC of this book.

The son of a wealthy couple is taken days before Christmas by someone dressed as Santa Claus. Sixteen months later Marin is still struggling with the lose and guilt of her son’s disappearance. Her whole world has seemingly slipped away from her until the private investigator she secretly hired has news. Marin braces for it to be about her son but instead finds out husband is having an affair with a 24 year old Instagram influencer with pink hair. Marin refuses to let the last member of her family go and fixes to take care of the problem. The mistress, Kenzie, is used to dating married men - it’s actually her side hustle but this time is different since she’s falling in love. Everyone has little secrets, but which one will lead to the truth about the couple’s son.

This book had so many fun surprises and twists I just couldn’t wait to see how they all unfolded. I found Marin to be a very strong character even when she was at the worst time in her life. The feelings of lose, unsureness, and anger felt real and were easy to connect with. The relationships between every character were rich with deep past and their dialogue and decisions felt grounded in the details we are given as readers. While this is a book about vulnerable, deep, and dark issues facing the main character it does not feel slow or stilted but instead is so exciting and heartfelt. I thought the pacing was superb and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire book. I did correctly guess the accomplish a little before halfway done, but even so finding out why was very satisfying.

Thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for an advanced e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this novel. The suspense kept me flipping pages the entire reading experience. I was intrigued and eager to find out what happened next.