Jennifer Hiller sure knows how to thrill! This book was intense from start to finish and had me wishing my eyes could read faster by the page. By the end, I found myself so surprised by all the reveals that I wanted to go back and re-read to see if I had missed any clues along the way.

Marin is such a well-written, flawed character clearly struggling with the loss of her son, especially not knowing what happened to him. This was especially well-done in the support group scenes which were so intense and painful and raw and honest; they were hard to read but necessary.

I was frustrated with the Kenzie storyline at first, but could understand where Marin was coming from and that understanding helped Marin’s actions make sense.

Overall, Little Secrets was a fun, suspenseful read that paid off in a big way, and I definitely could picture this as a movie!

3.5 stars!
This one started out really good, but somewhere in the middle I got kind of bored. It was a quick read though and the start was definitely a page turner.
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Marin and Derek have a seemingly perfect life. Until one day at the store, Marin is on her phone for 1 minute and her son is gone. They frantically search for him, but with success. The rest of the story takes you through the grief, different relationships, and secrets surrounding the kidnapping.
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The grief felt by Marin is very raw and emotional. The situation pushes she and her husband apart. Later in the story, the point of view changes from Marin’s to Kenzie’s. You find out who Kenzie is later in the book, but I had a very hard time connecting to the parts from Kenzie’s point of view. I just found her as an unlikable character and didn’t enjoy her parts as much as Marin’s. In the middle, I had no idea where the story was going to go. The events seemed almost off topic from what the start of the book was about. However, towards the end, the story picked back up again. I enjoyed the ending and learning the different secrets kept by characters through the story.
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Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this book. It will be released April 21!

Jennifer Hillier does not disappoint! It was a thrill ride that kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. There are definitely some dark/uncomfortable parts of the story, but it was very well told! Lots of twists, but it all makes sense in the end. Highly recommended!

Hi loved, loved, loved this book! This has been my favorite thriller in quite some time, by far!

This book was quick paced and very hard to put down. I suggest going into this one not knowing what it is about. Some of the twists and turns I had predetermined, but I didn’t know enough, I needed to keep going. I couldn’t put it down. I completely and thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I can’t wait for more from this Author!

You Alive?

Oh. My. Goodness. Little Secrets by @jenniferhillier gave me so much anxiety in such a good way, if that’s a thing?

My heart was racing, especially toward the end. So many ups and downs and twists and turns. I was not expecting the twist of events toward the end, and I love when I don’t guess the twist until I’m invested in the twist.

Marin’s 4 year old Sebastian is abducted right before Christmas and is missing for over 16 months. Marin goes to group meetings to try and deal with her grief. She occasionally drowns her sorrows in substance abuse, while her husband drowns his sorrows into younger women. She hires a PI, who digs up a lot of dirt about her husband and her best friend and her personal past, which leads to a very interesting turn of events.

This book was 5 brilliant stars for me. I couldn’t put this book down!! This is the definition of an awesome thriller!

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for an ARC for my honest review. #netgalley #littlesecrets

The fabulous award-winning thriller "queen" and master storyteller returns following her smashing hit, Jar of Hearts, Winner—Best Novel, 2019 ITW Thriller Award (and you may ask, "how she could possibly top it")?

Well, my book friends, she is Jennifer Hillier!

Yes, she does. LITTLE SECRETS is totally addictive and enthralling! Starting from the striking front cover to every thrilling page. One of my favorite books of hers thus far— once again landing on my Top Books of 2020. I have read all her books, and you can find my review links below. No one does twisty plot-driven and character-driven thrillers, better.

"All it takes to unravel a life is one little secret..." Indeed, these secrets turn into dangerous life-threatening massive secrets!

LITTLE SECRETS is an addictive psychological domestic suspense thriller that is a bit of a square or rectangle, versus a triangle with four main characters:

Marin— the wife and mother.
Derek— the husband and father.
Sal— Marin’s best friend (bad boy)
McKenzie— the mistress, barista, art grad student who is obsessed with social media.
Sebastian —Marin and Derek’s four-year-old toddler son who is in the center of this square.

Set in Seattle (one of my favorite cities) in Pike Place Market, it is December and the busy Christmas season.

Marian owns hi-end hair salons and caters to celebrities and the wealthy. Derek is a successful business owner as well, and they are quite the power couple. The cars, homes, clothes, friends, and prestige. They have it all and a beautiful son after many rounds of IVF.

Marian is doing some last-minute Christmas shopping, choosing just the right gifts for her staff, and Sebastian is getting impatient, wanting a promised lollipop. She tells him, "five more minutes." Something we all have done.

Then coming down the escalator, she receives several texts, one from her husband whom they will be meeting shortly, and one from her best bud and childhood friend, Sal. She is distracted.

Marin lets go of her son's hand for one minute to type a reply, and in the blink of an eye, he has vanished. Where could her precious little boy have gone in his cute little reindeer sweater?

She panics— she must find her son. She knows the statistics. The longer it is before he is found, the fewer chances she will every find him alive. Did he get lost, or did someone take him? How could this have happened?

The security footage shows someone dressed in a Santa Claus suit has taken his hand. In the other hand is the lollipop. The same one from the expensive candy store, she had planned to take him to.

That is all it took to steal a child. Four minutes. A lollipop, a Santa suit, and two hundred forty seconds.

Sixteen months later, nothing.

The FBI has not found her son. They have all but given up. Too much time has passed and all the leads go cold. Marian will never give up!

She hires a PI. She is barely functioning. Her grief, her guilt, she wants her son back. She cannot even think about all the bad things that her son is experiencing, through or if he is still alive. Her mind goes to dark places. She has even attempted suicide. Her relationship with her husband has deteriorated. She is a shell of her former self.

She decides to attend a group with like-minded parents. An interesting group of secondary characters.

Now the PI has some new information. However, it is not about her son. She never told Derek she had hired a PI. The news: Her husband is having an affair with a stupid little twenty-something pink hair graduate student!

Marin turns her grief into rage. She wants revenge. She has lost her son and she will not lose her husband too! Rage and anger take over.

Marian carries things too far and starts talking murder for hire. She will pay. e will not let her husband of nearly twenty years get by with having sex with a younger woman. Sal, a former ex-con and bar owner knows people.

However, the plot thickens. What are Sal, Derek, and his mistress keeping from her?

Everyone has secrets. Those secrets may just lead her to her son and who took him and where he has been? Will she reach him in time? What is the motive?

Lies, secrets, betrayal!. When love turns to hate and things get messy. You will be turning the pages as fast as you can to the explosive ending. I devoured LITTLE SECRETS!

This riveting thriller is fast-paCED, modern, chic, sexy, twisty, and unpredictable! Immersing —intricately plotted and smartly written, Jennifer is at the "top of her game."

What really makes this a stand-out novel, is Hillier's ability to get inside Marian's head. She experiences all sorts of emotions. As a reader, you are drawn into this web of deceit. She delves deep into the mindset of Marian after her son was taken. We feel her intense pain from the array of emotions of guilt, loss, revenge, and her downward spiral.

In LITTLE SECRETS, the author explores highly charged topics. Kidnapping, marriage, infidelity, friendship, motherhood, obsession, love, desperation, suicide, betrayal, grief, revenge, tragedy, and much more. Each of these involves secrets that spiral out of control.

BTW: the “Louboutin’s-twist” was priceless!

Stay tuned for my Q&A Elevator Ride with Jennifer coming April 21, 2020! We will go behind the scenes of LITTLE SECRETS and this acclaimed author. It is going to be fantastic. Move this one to the top of your list. I will also be hosting an upcoming Mother's Day Book giveaway contest.

#JdCMustReadBooks

A special thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. In addition, pre-ordered the hardcover and the audiobook.

My Reviews:
Little Secrets
Top Books of 2020
Jar of Hearts
Top Books of 2018
Wonderland
Top Books of 2015
The Butcher
Top Books of 2014

Prior to my Book Blog
Freak
Creep

Little Secrets was my first thriller by Jennifer Hillier and it was excellent! The title played well into this one as all of the characters are keeping some form of a secret from one another, ultimately tying together perfectly to create a thriller I couldn't put down. Her character dialogue and different perspectives were perfect and gave just enough insight into the minds and choices of the women involved in this story. I will definitely read more by Hillier and would love to see this one on the movie screen someday!

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

This was some creepy ass shit. I mean, all of these people were horrible. Sociopaths. And yet, somehow the ending felt satisfying.
But call CPS.

Marin, hairstylist to the rich and famous and owner of several upscale salons and her husband Derek's lives change forever with the abduction of their son Sebastian. Eighteen months later Marin is still unable to forgive herself for what happened. Unable to move on, thoughts of suicide fill her every waking moment as she waits for news on her missing son. When the private investigator she hires to find him contacts her, she can only imagine the worst. While investigating leads into Sebastian's disappearance, the PI learns that Derek is having an affair with a college student named Kenzie. Unable to lose another member of her family Marin takes matters into her own hands.

Little Secrets is a domestic thriller/mystery in which the investigation of their son’s abduction reveals a web of secrets and lies. This is a twisty tale in which each lie uncovers more discoveries and questions about those people closest to the main character. This was a new author for me and I am always looking for new to me authors to add to my list. The writing is engaging enough to keep me involved in the story. The only downside for me was that the plot was predictable and I figured out the twist pretty early on in the story. Overall I liked the plot, the characters, and I was able to finish this one in a day...a quick entertaining read.

**I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

I was one of the lucky ones to be able to read and review Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier prior to release. I have read her work before and really enjoyed her dark twists and turns and jaw dropping moments. We follow Marin, whose son was abducted one busy morning, and watch as she goes through the motions to try to live her everyday life while awaiting word of her sons return. Naturally along the way there is a good deal of secrets and betrayals and heartache. Little Secrets was dark and twisty and full of suspense. This was an easy and quick read, although bit predictable I still found it very engaging and horrifying. If Thrillers are your thing you will not want to miss out on this one. Even if thrillers aren't your thing Little Secrets would love the opportunity to change that.
4 star Review.

This psychological thriller will keep readers engaged to the end. Marin's pain can be felt throughout this book as she continues to blame herself for her child's kidnapping. Derek's betrayal adds to Marin's emotional being that causes her to plan an desperate act. I liked that the steadfast private investigator, Vanessa did not give up and had empathy for Marin. The twists and turns kept the story moving along at a fast pace. Recommended!

Wow! What an interesting read!

Marin was out with her son, Sebastian (bash for short) and he was kidnapped! Fast forward a little over a year and her husband is having an affair, she can’t stand to lose someone else so she goes to extreme lengths to insure her future with her husband. The twists and turns in this book were unlike anything I’ve ever read. Definitely reminded me of a great lifetime movie!

This is one of the best thrillers I've read in a long time. Chilling and uncomfortable at times, but unputdownable. The book had strong characters and went at great pace. I was hooked from the start!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this book.

Wow this book really drew me in from page 1! Non-stop action and plot twists keep this book moving at a quick pace. Marin Machado is a successful business owner, wife and mother to 4 year old Sebastian who is kidnapped in broad daylight from a busy mall days before Christmas. Sixteen months later, Bash is still missing and Marin is barely functioning. She has had a really hard time dealing with the loss of her son and lack of evidence in locating him. Her relationship with her husband Derrick is currently practically non-existent. She has her best friend from college, Sal to lean on but that is pretty much it. Therapy and work are not that much help either. Marin has hired a private investigator to keep looking for her son and she gets much more that she bargained for when her investigator contacts her suddenly. This is an exciting thriller with many plot twists that keep it moving and interesting. I did not want to put it down. Do not miss this great thriller!! Thanks to NG for the ARC!!!

What a great psychological thriller. It kept me in suspense throughout the book. The writing was easy and pleasing to read, the characters real and the story intriguing.

As a huge fan of Jennifer Hillier, I was so excited for the opportunity to read her latest book. I have read nearly all of her previously published books and she remains one of my favourite thriller authors.

Hillier’s greatest strength is always her storytelling. I was immediately pulled into the narrative, which was gripping from the first chapters. Her characters are always imperfect and sometimes unlikeable, which makes them feel realistic.

As an author of Asian descent, Hillier always makes an effort to include characters of various ethic minorities and skin colours. However, compared to her previous books, I felt that the aspects of the diversity were fairly sparse and fell at the sidelines of the story.

Given the premise, this one reminded me a bit of The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson (although it certainly goes to a completely different place). Like that popular thriller, this one required a level of suspension of disbelief that just did not work for me. Hillier has a habit in her stories of giving away a lot of the potential surprises by choosing to tell her stories through multiple perspectives. Normally, I don’t mind that, but I felt underwhelmed by the reveals in this one.

Overall, I enjoyed this thriller, but it is not one of my favourites. My criticism is largely that it was not as strong as her backlist titles. I found myself constantly comparing it to her previous books and this one just was not as satisfying. If you are a fan of Hillier, I would still recommend checking out this thriller, but I would encourage new readers to start with her older books like Creep, The Butcher or Wonderland, which better showcase her talent within the thriller/suspense genre. Once you are hooked on her stories then you will likely want to binge through everything she has written.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

First and foremost, I'd like to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's press for the opportunity to have an advance copy of Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier in exchange for an honest review. Secondly, HOLY SMOKES! Five stars hand down for this gem, and my suggestion go in blind to this one and devour every page! This is an absolute MUST READ! Thank you, for the opportunity to have an advance copy I've already spread the word that this is a MUST read.

Wow! The book opens with Marin Machado's 4-year old son being kidnapped. Marin's marriage to her husband Derek begins to crumble as she prays for Sebastian's safe return. Day after day, month after month there is no sign of Sebastian. Marin is hardly herself anymore. Her husband seems to be away on business a bit more than he should be. Unbeknownst to her husband, Marin has hired a PI to look into Sebastian's disappearance. The PI discovers that Derek is having an affair with a young graduate student who may not be all that she appears to be. Does she have something to do with Sebastian's kidnapping? Is Sebastian still alive somewhere, or gone forever?
There are so many twists and turns in this book. I began to doubt EVERY character in this book until the end. The characters were believable and well-developed. The plot moves along quite nicely. Definitely recommended!
I received an advance copy for review. All opinions are my own.

5/5 stars An amazing read that I read in one day! Enjoyed every page of this twisty thriller that left me guessing until the end. I loved it.

This book slightly blew my mind! I feel like the genre has been slightly overdone, but this book truly gave me a run for my money! I feel that the characters are very relatable due to how well they are written. Marin, in particular, had me thinking of what life would be like to be in her shoes. I could feel her trauma and pain oozing off the page and was definitely engrossed in this deeply detailed and strong-perspective story. I even gave it a little time and went back to re-read it, and the story seemed even starker and more damaging from her perspective. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!