A great book full of twists and surprises... a wonderful addition to the domestic thriller genre. Although there's a huge coincidence that took me out of the world of the novel, overall it's a great puzzle with pieces that fit well together.

Another thriller this month that I read and thoroughly enjoyed and this book needs to be turned into a movie ASAP! Can't give to much away and going back to read the synopsis even gives away a little too much in my opinion. One of the twists although predictable to me, I was still happy to go along for the ride and enjoyed the conclusion of it all.

There's no telling what anyone of us would do if faced with a lost child or an affair in your marriage and I think Marin reflects that. I was glad Jennifer Hillier didn't hide her faults and wrote about an honest and human woman for lead in this story,

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and St Martin's Press for providing me with the book in exchange for an honest review.

A continuous flow of suspense. and a terrific blend of characters, setting and story.

SUMMARY
Marin’s life is perfect. She lives in Seattle, owns a chain of hair salons, and is married to her college sweetheart. They're admired in their community and are a loving family—until their world falls apart the day their four-year-old son Sebastian is taken.

A year later, Marin is still struggling to get through the day. The FBI search has gone cold and the publicity has faded. Marin and her husband Derek, rarely speak. She hires a P.I. to pick up where the police left off, but instead of finding Sebastian, she learns that Derek is having an affair with a younger woman. This discovery sparks Marin back to life. She's lost her son; she's not about to lose her husband, too. Kenzie, the other woman, is a problem that Marin can fix.

REVIEW
LITTLE SECRETS is as deliciously written as the chocolate creme truffles at La Parisienne Doux. You will be hooked in Chapter one and will not be able to put it down. The story is riveting. You will just have to find out what happened to Sebastian, in his cute little reindeer sweater.

The plot moves fast and you’ll have no problem consuming it all in one or two sittings. It’s a continuous flow of suspense. and a terrific blend of characters, setting and story. You can feel Marin’s panic when Sebastian disappears from the bustling Pike Place Market just before Christmas, her character comes to life on the pages. One of life’s pleasure is when a book unexpectedly surprises you with how good it is. This one did!

Author JENNIFER HILLIER was born and raised in Toronto, Canada, lived in the Seattle area for years, and has just moved back to Toronto with her husband and son. Jennifer is the author of Wonderland, Creep, and Jar of Hearts.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher St. Martin’s Press
Published April 21, 2020
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

My Mini Thoughts

I've heard such good things about this author from others that have read Jar of Hearts.  So I bought that book, it's on my never ending TBR pile.  Then I was approved for this one on NetGalley, so I decided to go with this book first.

Here's the thing, I shouldn't be allowed to read books about little kids being kidnapped.  Ug, the mom in me just can't handle such a realistic subject.  I teared up a lot in this book. 

I struggled with this one because I couldn't relate to any characters in the book.  There were times I liked Marin and times I wanted to strangle her!  Yes, she still had a private investigator working for her to find her son, way to go!  She never gave up hope of finding him.  On the other hand I thought she was too focused on Kenzie Li, her husbands mistress.  Don't even get me started on the husband!

I will say I never guessed who the kidnapper is.  That was a good twist, a sad one if your Marin.  

So now it's onto Jar of Hearts!  

This book comes out April 21, 2020.

Thank you Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

This was the first time reading this authors work. Can I say I have found my new favorite suspense author. Her writing flows and her storyline weaves seamlessly captivating her audience. After reading this I am going through everyone of her precious novels one by one. With so many current popularly suspense women writers I am shocked she hasn’t been found as one of the top. Imagine Stephen King as a female. The book is set in Seattle and you won’t be able to stop until you finish this book. Highly recommend.

Little Secrets is my first read from Jennifer Hillier, but it certainly will not be my last!

Little Secrets is emotionally charged. Hillier toys with each of the relationships we, as humans, hold dear. What happens when you experience trauma as a parent, a mate, and a friend, all in very short order? Little Secrets quickly become all consuming!

Hillier artfully weaves a web of misconceptions and outright deceit. You will second guess who and what you thought you knew. Full of all those delicious twists and turns we crave, rest assured Little Secrets follows through to a satisfying end.

If thrillers are your forte, I recommend giving Little Secrets a try!

🖤 MINI REVIEW 🖤
.
This book started with a BANG and really is an utterly, addictive thriller!
.
As a mother we can all sympathize with the main character, Marin. Every mother’s worst fear is your child being abducted with no known leads. I truly could feel Marin’s pain as she coped and mourned her son Sebastian’s disappearance. The first chapter will grab your heart in a vice grip and not let it go!
.
Sixteen months after Sebastian’s disappearance, this book continues and it delves deep into the emotional trauma experienced by the parents and the decisions they make to cope.
.
Although this book starts off with a bang, this is a slow burn thriller! Part 2 will seem a little slow but I promise all the information provided in those pages is necessary for the development of the story. Once I got to the final 100 pages, I flew threw them and you will too! I literally could not stop reading and the end did not disappoint! This is a must read!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I was really excited to read this book since I was obsessed with her other book Jar of Hearts. I think it started just a bit slow for me and I was starting to feel a little disappointed it about 50% in it really picked up.

Two hundred and forty seconds. That’s what it takes to lose a child (plus a lollipop and Santa) Marin is part of a wealthy NW power couple who had it all. In the blink of a moment she has what matters most taken for her. Cut to a year later and she’s surviving on pills, wine, her job as an owner of a high end salon, a support group, avoiding her husband and her best friend since college. One day her PI comes to her with the news that her husband is having an affair with a much younger woman. This is the news that gives her a purpose as she’ll do anything to get back what’s hers whatever the cost. I read this book in a day. It was well written, intriguing, sad and tense. While I didn’t love the ending (thought it was too rushed and everything came together rather conveniently I would recommend to a friend and read more from this author. Thank you net galley for the chance to read this book!

Ms. Hillier does a fine job of writing this novel.
A woman, well to do, married to the man of her dreams and a son she adores. Then the son is taken by a stranger and never is there a ransom demand or contact from the child stealer.
She predictably falls apart in her grief. Her husband becomes distant and eventually has an affair.
And then the twists begin. What would you do in her situation? Divorce? Couples therapy? You will be shocked at what she decides to do.
And what occurs after....things are not all that they seem.....
A very well written novel. I enjoyed every minute of it.

Over a year ago, Marin and Derek’s 4-year old son went missing in a shopping center and their lives haven’t been the same since. Marin and Derek have remained together, but their marriage is nothing like it was before. Unbeknownst you’re Derek, Marin hired a PI after their son’s disappearance to hopefully find out what happened to him. But instead of finding their son, the PI discovered that Derek’s been having a secret affair with a young art student named Kenzie.

This prompts Marin to act in uncharacteristic ways, doing things she never thought she would do. What would any woman do upon discovering her husband is having an affair with a much younger woman?

We go on a wild ride full of twists and turns to find out just what’ll happen to Marin, Derek and Kenzie. A story of heartbreak, betrayal and revenge. And just how far will one woman go to find her missing son?

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier is a compulsive, addicting thriller that I couldn’t put down. I’m a sucker for “missing children” thrillers and revenge stories and this book perfectly executed both aspects. I loved Hillier’s last release, Jar of Hearts, so my expectations were high for this one. Little Secrets didn’t let me down one bit! It’s exactly what I was looking for with Robyn Harding’s The Arrangement but didn’t get. This delivered in so many ways and I couldn’t recommend it more. 5/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur and Jennifer Hillier for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After enjoying Hillier's previous book, Jar of Hearts, I was looking forward to her latest thriller; it did not disappoint. Once again taking place in my back yard of Seattle, Marin's four year old son disappears at Pike Place Market, an iconic Seattle location. One year later, we see the fallout of this tragic event, and we also see the clues start to unwind as we are introduced to Marin's husband, his lover, Marin's best friend, as well as a private investigator looking into her son's disappearance. I turned pages quickly, having to wait until the very end to see whodunnit - well done! My one and only complaint is...why does everyone have to be rich? It just got a little annoying to hear about the fancy house, expensive car, successful business, etc. It might have added more depth to story if somewhere there was a little struggle? But overall, very solid mystery.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat and I loved every minute of it. It is definitely a book you want to set aside a decent amount of time to read. All the twists and turns are just what I look for in my thrillers!

This is the third book that I have read by Jennifer Hillier and it was really great!

This author has a way of hooking you right from the first page and she makes you think the whole story is about one thing when really it's about another, but in the end it's about everything!

We start at the beginning with Marin and Derek and the kidnapping of their four year son Sebastian. This book takes place in Seattle Washington so for those of us familiar with the area it adds an additional thrill. Sebastian is taken from Pike Street Market and I could feel the utter grief, fear and chaos of the situation. Fast forward sixteen months and much has happened. Marin has tried to commit suicide and Derek is having an affair. I truly felt that this couple had no chance at all to ever recover from the loss of their son. Enter Marin's best friend Sal and the thrills start jumping. Again what I thought was true wasn't and when Marin starts to dig deeper into her husband's affair the truth comes out and it's explosive.

I highly recommend this author and this book. Jennifer Hillier is a terrific author and her books never disappoint me!

This was my first book by Jennifer Hillier and it did not disappoint! The book was very intriguing from the start. I read it with 3 other women and we were all captivated by the idea of losing your little boy. It felt so real, I was sick to my stomach. It's hard to say much about the book, but just pick it up and enjoy all the twists and turns. I will say that the characters are not very likable so if that bothers you this may not be for you. Without saying much, I just had one little problem which kept me from 5 stars but overall a great thriller!

My heart stops whenever I read a book about an abducted child. As a mom of five and grandma of nine, I cant imagine what a mother goes through during a time like this. And so the book starts off with Marin, letting go of Sebastian's hand for one second, and his disappearing.

But the story doesnt revolve around just this subject. It goes on to cover what this loss does to a marriage, a husband, a wife....lovers and friends. And the more you get into the book the deeper you find more secrets between people who never had secrets before. And then the answer all comes together in the end.

Marin's life spirals out of control when she feels like killing herself, when her husband takes on a mistress, when her best friend betrays her. Amazing story with a great ending.....thanks to #Netgalley for the chance to review this book. #fourstars. #littlesecrets Due to be released April 21, 2020

Many thanks to NetGalley and the team at St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this book early. Its always appreciated.

I really liked this book. I think its going to be a hard one to review simply because its hard for me to neatly sum up my feelings. Is this a good book? Yes. Did I like it? Yes, but my problem was I hyped it up too much. I read other reviews (which I normally don't do) and I psyched myself up for something completely mind-blowing. My mind wasn't blown, but this is a solid read. It truly has everything you want in a great book. An incredible plot, good writing, imperfect characters, and twists you may or may not see coming. Jennifer Hillier takes a subject that has been written about many times before and makes it her own. One of the things I liked most was the fact that I felt Marin's grief and pain. I may not have agreed with everything she did, but I understood it. I also loved how the twists were added to the story. They're subtle (I've been using that word a lot lately) and they make sense. Nothing is thrown in for the sake of it. I also liked the fact that the ending wasn't rushed. Its also very satisfying.

For me, this book took a little while to get going. I admit that I had a hard time getting into at first, but that changed around the halfway point. Seasoned thriller readers might see the twists coming, but that shouldn't deter them. This is an excellent book, just make sure you don't read too many reviews. Go in blind and enjoy the ride; its a good one.

This one starts off sooooo good. I actually had a nightmare after reading the first part at bedtime. 😳

It seems to start in one direction, but then takes a completely different route, and ends up back where it started.

It was a strange format, and I’m not sure if it distracted me too much or if I just didn’t like the “story in the middle” but it didn’t feel like it should until it gets back to where it needs to be.

I know why it was needed, of course, but at times it just felt like two completely different stories.

I felt as though this story was really, really predictable. I knew who the guilty party was very early on in the story and never wavered. Usually, I go back and forth with theories, but this was clear cut for me. No questioning at all.

Was I happy with the ending? Yes. I think it was what needed to happen.

I loved the idea of this one, but not how it was presented, unfortunately. I really wanted to like this one, too.

This is my first book by Jennifer Hillier. And boy am I impressed! The plot is beautifully written with some interesting twists. The character development is done very well. The writing is so eloquent that you will form your impressions and change your impressions of the characters as Ms Hillier wants you to. The title is apt, there are little secrets everyone is keeping and they all tie in eventually. There are no loose ends and it I loved the way it ended. The plot makes you feel every emotion from sadness to immense relief and from desperation to anger. You can feel the pain of the people in the ‘group’ that Mar attends and even though their side stories don’t add much to the overall plot they don’t feel irrelevant. The book actually made me well up in the end- which is a very very rare thing for me to experience!
I’m definitely going to pick up more books by this author. Add this to your must read list for 2020

Marin had everything she could ever want- successful business, fantastic husband, and a son to cherish. And in one second, she lets go of her sons hand and her whole life comes crashing down. After crashing to rock bottom, Marin tries to piece her life back together but gets trapped in something that seems much more sinister than a simple affair.

A great read that kept me guessing until the end! Highly recommended for all!

* I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review