Member Reviews
I don’t know if a thriller has ever made me cry, but here we are. This book was perfect.
I absolutely ADORED this family, and I want to read more about them.
I have been wanting to read something by Jennifer Hillier for quite some time and I finally got my chance!
First off thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the Author for allowing me to read this book in place of an honest review!
I do not like giving spoilers but this book had all my emotions going throught every page. I thought it was mainly about her missing son but I seen over time that it turned into something much different and a little sinister with stalking? I really love thrillers and suspense and this was not short of the dark twisty tale that I have been told time and time again that Hillier delivers.
I wanted to like the characters so much but there is times when you just don't and times when you really feel for them. And that really makes a book great for me because it is so close to real life. I did not make a mistake when choosing to read this book, and want to venture further into her books in the future,
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.
The idea of a child abduction did not at first appeal to me, but it turns out that the focus was on what happened after the abduction and how it affected the parents of the child.
A wonderful page turner with many twists that I couldn't put down. I will now look forward to reading many more Jennifer Hillier books both past and future.
Ok first of all, about all I can say is WOW! Jennifer Hillier has done it again with an incredible thriller you won’t be able to put down.
Marin and Derek’s son has been taken. He’s only 4 years old. Marin blames herself since he was out with her shopping and had let go of his hand for just a split second. Can you even start to imagine what happens to a couple that this happens to? I know I can’t. The story takes twists and turns all the way through. There are so many secrets and though the book is call “Little Secrets”, there are some major secrets that become clear as you near the end.
Jennifer Hillier writes psychological thrillers in a such away that you have to remember to breath once you’re finished with the story. The story will keep you enthralled and captivated until the very last page.
Thank you #netgalley, #JenniferHillier, and #St.Martin/Minotaur for the opportunity to read this breathtaking thriller.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
this was a fast paced who done it, and honestly i can say I didn't care for a single character! Each character is morally grey , corrupted, and out for number 1. Well written, plot moved along, no slow movements.
SO GOOD! I felt taken on a twisty ride. There was such raw human emotion, and lots of what would I do moments. At first I was so stumped on how it would all come together, but it came to gether beautifully!!!!! I will read anything Jennifer Hillier puts out!!
Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier is a 2020 Minotaur publication.
This is not your ordinary missing child saga-
Marin and Derek are living a charmed life. Both have successful careers, are upwardly mobile, and even recognizable out in public. They have a beautiful little boy, named Sebastian, who is the light of their lives…
Until he’s abducted by a man dressed as Santa…
From that moment on, Marin’s life turns upside down. She goes through the motions, but has lost interest in life. Just when she thinks things couldn’t be more grim, the private detective she has hired makes an uncomfortable discovery….
About Derek…
Suddenly, Marin is quickened, energized again She’s got a singular mission now. She’s already lost too much- she's not about to let another woman take her husband, too-
And she’ll do whatever is necessary…
Jennifer Hillier popped up on my radar with ‘Jar of Hearts’, - a book that made me sit up and take notice. While my sophomore foray into Hillier’s dark and twisted imagination felt less raw and much more polished, it was nevertheless a tense cat and mouse thriller ride!!
The book grabbed me right from the start, but then it seemed to shift gears, and Marin begins to morph into an entirely different person, obsessing over her husband’s lover, rather than on her missing child.
Curiously, her anger is hyper- focused on the other woman, and not Derek. It was an interesting character study, and a puzzling, shocking, tense and incredibly absorbing tale.
The characters are not especially likable, but that seemed fitting to the story, although there was no one to root for, really. Redemption, though, can be equally satisfying.
Overall, a taut, twisted, crazy psychological thriller! Will be reading more Hillier books in the future!
4 stars
Mystery/thriller books are my jam, so Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier was right up my alley. While this one was engaging and has enough twists and turns to satisfy the average mystery/thriller fan, it was way too predictable for me. I could predict what was going to happen before it did, which really takes away from the story for me. It all just felt way too convienient.
I loved Jar of Hearts so much and I had high hopes for this one and boy did it live up to the expectations. Jennifer is a definite auto buy for me!
I read this book so, so, SO fast! It was haunting and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time! I couldn’t stop reading!
Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review of the book.
If you are planning to pick this one up, I suggest you clear your calendar for the rest of the day.
I was not sure what to expect going into this one. I had read Hillier's <i>Creep </i> years ago and while I found it to be a page-turner, I wasn't blown away. But I am now persuaded to go back and visit other Hillier books from the last several years to see what else I might have missed; this one was fantastic.
The storyline is one I usually try to avoid: a mother loses her 4-year-old son in a busy shopping center. After the heart-pounding open, the next section jumps ahead 16 months, where we see this woman just barely keeping her head above water. These passages are heartrending--and this is also why I tend to avoid such tales (having a young son myself, this is just too horrifying). Hillier takes us into the mother Marin's head as she tries to find a reason to keep going each day. She and her husband are wealthy and somewhat well-known in their community. Marin has a best friend (who is an ex from her college days) Sal, who helps to keep her moving forward. And Marin's husband, Dereck--well she finds out he's having an affair with a much younger woman. And so the plot goes.
I couldn't turn the pages quickly enough. While most all of the characters are pretty unlikeable, it didn''t matter. I needed to see how this would turn out. Things, of course, go from bad to worse when Marin decides--in her grief-fueled desperation--to have her husband's lover killed. There are a few twists that I saw coming, BUT I still needed to see HOW these twists would resolve. And there was at least one thing that I just missed--even though I was looking 😊
But overall, what an addictive read. I was entirely absorbed into Marin's nightmare and found her motivations entirely plausible as she tried to manager her grief and anger. She felt like a real human dealing with impossible tragedy who only manages to make things worse as the plot progresses. This is also a story about women and what they do to survive--as mothers, as wives, as partners, and as friends. I highly recommend this one for anyone looking for twisty page-turners!
I love the cover of this novel and the inside. "Little Secrets" is an exciting novel by Jennifer Hillier. A page turner for sure.
This is a very good book. Once I started it, could not put it down. If you like mysteries with twists and a singular set of characters, this is a story for you. Marin and Derek's son, Sebastian is kidnapped and you follow their story and the people around them.. The author does not overcomplicate the story with extraneous characters. Each person involved has a specific role to play and you want to find out what happens with them. I found that as I was reading this story, little light bulbs would go off as I was connecting the dots and it kept me engaged. I liked the writing style and the author did not make the storyline too complicated. Now that I have read this book, I look forward to reading more by Jennifer Hillier. I received this e-book for free and this review is my opinion and not that of anyone else.
This one was a decent read and definitely kept me turning the pages. It's a good balance between being crime and a psychological thriller.
A good read. Not quite what I was looking for, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Solid writing, good character development.
I don't know why it took me so long to start reading this book. I guess you read a book when you're meant to. Little Secrets was amazing from start to finish!
Dark, twisted, suspenseful, and emotional. That's how I would describe this story. I've never read anything quite like it. This is the first in a long time that I've had an actual book hangover. I really have no idea how to transition from these characters and their story to anything else.
Also, I did NOT see things coming. I don't want to give anything away but things are definitely not what they seem in this book. What a punch to the gut! These were definitely not LITTLE secrets.
I can't properly articulate my thoughts at this time. I want to say so many things but also don't want to accidentally spoil anything for anyone so I'm just going to say that if you're a fan of dark and twisted psychological thrillers, you need to read this book immediately!
What an apt title for Jennifer Hillier's latest book! This starts with every parent's worst nightmare - Marin's young son disappears while she's Christmas shopping with him in a crowded Seattle shopping district. Months later, there's been no real progress on the case, and knowing the odds of a positive outcome, the authorities have essentially put it on the back burner. When Marin hires a private detective to continue digging, she the first in a long line of "little secrets" that make her question everything she thinks she knows about her life. It's hard to say much without revealing too much - I'll just say it's fascinating to watch events unravel and see just how many secrets characters are keeping from each other. Overall a very good read.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a copy for an unbiased review.
Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview Little Secrets by Jennifer Hiller.
Marin is a lucky woman - great family, home, everything. Until one day her child is taken from her. This changes her life and nothing matters anymore. Marin finds herself lost - her husband is distant and she can't find peace. Marin takes matters into her own hands to find her son; she finds more than she bargained for and her life is no longer the same.
Domestic drama - 3 stars.
Jennifer Hillier is a new favorite author of mine! I've read all of her work thus far and she's an auto one-click author for me now!