Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC and finally getting me out of a book slump! I did not want to put this book down until I was finished! I am new to this author and will be running out to pick up her other titles. From the first chapter when a child goes missing through all of the plot twists and turns, you won’t want to stop turning the page to see what happens next! While the main characters are incredibly rich, beautiful and seemingly have it all, their tale is full of trauma, disaster, lying, cheating, and deceit. A must read!!

Being a fan of Jennifer Hillier for some time, I had no doubt that I would enjoy this book as well, and wow, was I right. This was such a page turner that it absolutely captivated me for the last 4 days; every time I wanted to put it down, " just one more chapter" whispered into my ear.

This book follows the twists and turns that little secrets can cause in people's lives - particularly in Marin and Derek's lives, after their 4 year old son has been kidnapped. Everyone has secrets and when Marin comes up with a plan to fix everything, her plan brings to surface more secrets than she could have ever expected.

A huge thank you to Jennifer Hillier for writing another wonderful story, I truly enjoyed this and cannot wait to read another one of her books in the future. Also a big thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for giving me an advanced e-copy, for an honest review!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this review opportunity.

Little Secrets. Everybody has them. But, some are not so little.

It just takes a second. A second of distraction leads to a parent's worst nightmare.

It's "the most wonderful time of the year" but not for Marin and Derek. Their four-year-old son Sebastian aka "Bash" has been abducted from a bustling Seattle market. The worst part : the authorities have zilch. Suspect's identity unknown, not even gender. No vehicle identification. No helpful camera footage.

The first 48 hours after a child goes missing are critical, yet frantic. As time goes by, the trail goes cold and the chances of the child returning home safely grow slim. Life must go on for the loved ones of the missing. Or a semblance of it anyway. They go through the motions. There are good days and bad. They blame themselves. They are judged by others, even family and friends. Just like that, all is forgotten, and they are labeled "bad parents." Their affluent status(Marin owns a chain of high-end beauty salons frequented by wealthy clients and Derek is CEO of his own successful business, PowerOrganix) is of no help. Rather, they take flak for getting special treatment.

Marin and Derek deal in their own way...separate, but together. Their self-medication techniques disparate and, to a great degree, destructive. The college sweethearts' and golden couple's seemingly perfect relationship and life in ruins. When a child is harmed, it is often the kiss of death for a relationship.

Hillier has done it again with this absorbing thriller. Only when I was almost to the end did what appeared to be mismatched pieces of the puzzle start coming together.

Review by 2shay..........🌟🌟🌟.....

First, let me say that miss Hillier’s previous book, Jar Of Hearts, is one of the best, possibly the very best, psychological thriller I’ve ever read. Maybe I expected too much of this one. The first two chapters of this book are distressing. I came very close to apologizing to the publisher and not finishing or reviewing what turned out to be an okay read. I am glad I finished.

What made this just an okay read was the characters. They’re too rich, too entitled and too ostentatious. A Maserati? Really? The only sympathetic character, for me, was Sebastian, the kidnapped  4 year old. His parents, Marin and Derek, are both cheaters and liars. Yeah, yeah, I know they had been through a lot, but they were secretive a$$holes. As the secrets are slowly revealed, it turns out that they are both a little blind and stupid, not to have figured out who was behind their worse problems.

My recommendation is to not expect the thrill ride we had in Jar Of Hearts. And, prepare to be distressed by the first couple of chapters. The kidnapping of a child is always hard to bear. If you start this book, I truly hope you...

Enjoy! ARC graciously provided by St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an honest and voluntary review.

I enjoyed reading Hillier's Jar of Hearts in 2018, so when I saw that she had another book coming out in 2020, I was excited to get the chance to preview it. Little Secrets did not disappoint! I enjoyed the twists and turns along the way and found myself hating to put it down each night. There was part of the story that I thought was far-fetched but it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book.

Wonderful wonderful book! Was absolutely glued to each page and the ending was excellent and totally satisfying. Great writing, and. Highly recommend this one. Best ever mystery!

A mystery about a missing child and the effect it has on the mother, father and family friends. At times the story moves too slow with the author repeating too many times the mothers guilt and hopelessness. However I kept reading because there were lots of twists and turns that shocked me a long the way. I didn't see the ending coming till it did!!

Many books claim to "take your breath away," "keep you up all night," and "have plot twists you didn't see coming." Many make these claims, but nothing is more disheartening than when you start to read and come to realize that many of those claims are not going to be fulfilled. I can honestly say that this will not be the case with Jennifer Hillier's "Little Secrets." I can unequivocally tell you that you will stay up all night reading, and that this is one of the best suspense thrillers to come around in a long time.

The tragedy of this novel will take your breath away, but before you can wrap your head around one horrific event, many more start to unfold and you realize you're not reading the story you think you are. The writing, pacing, plot and characterizations are magnificent. By the time I came to the very last page, I felt that I had experienced each and every moment of heartbreak they all went through. I haven't been this satisfied by a read in a long time. Just when you think you've reached a impasse in your reading material and that the current offerings have become stale and repetitive, do yourself a favor and grab Jennifer Hillier's latest, and immerse yourself in "Little Secrets."

5 stars!
I really enjoyed this book by Jennifer Hillier. I read Jar of Hearts not long ago and really enjoyed it, but this story resonated with me more. Marin is mother to a young boy who goes missing while they are out christmas shopping.
I love the way this story delves into the cracks in the marriage that follow. Does her husband blame her for their son going missing? She certainly blames herself. Is that why he's off comforting himself with some young side piece? And what does this girl know about the son's disappearance?
The juicy parts of this story certainly revolve around the things they are keeping from each other following their son going missing.
Although I had some stuff pegged pretty early on, it really didn't detract from the story.
Highly recommended!

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is a crazy and brilliant thriller. A Mother's worse day is happening. Sebastian is missing. Taken in a busy market. From the lies, deceit and corruption is all revealed. I was hooked right from the start. Highly recommend!

All it takes to unravel a life is one little secret...

Marin had a perfect life. Married to her college sweetheart, she owns a chain of upscale hair salons, and Derek runs his own company. They're admired in their community and are a loving family—until their world falls apart the day their son Sebastian is taken.
A year later, Marin is a shadow of herself. The FBI search has gone cold. The publicity has faded. She and her husband 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 is an enemy with a face, which means this is a problem Marin can fix.
Permanently.
This was one brilliant book. You think you have it figured out, and nope. A little secret can be a very dangerous thing to keep. I would highly recommend this book.

I love Jennifer Hillier's books, so I was super excited to receive an advanced copy from NetGalley. If you haven't read Jar of Hearts, stop reading this and go read it. Now!

After reading Little Secrets (in two sittings, darn you sleep), my next two reads were ruined because I kept looking for more character development. Little Secrets set the bar high in that aspect. I felt like I personally knew Marin, Derek, Sal, and Kenzie. They are real people in my head, like watching a movie. Hillier's writing is simply that good.

I was a little disappointed that I figured out the story line around the 35% mark, but not so disappointed that I could stop reading, but it's the only reason I'm rating at 4 stars instead of 5. It's a quick read, that provides a really great story, I just wish it were a bit more twisty. .

*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy via NetGalley.

This is the second book I read by Jennifer Hillier and it did not disappoint! So suspenseful, I could not stop reading until I knew what happened! Definitely recommend!

5 STARS!

EVERY STAR!

This is the best book I have read in a long time and I've read about 300 books this year. Do yourself a favor and read as little about it as possible before diving in.

This is not one to miss, I predict it will be all anyone in the book world is talking about in April 2020!

Thank you to Jennifer Hillier, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book starts strong. The story was fast paced and was really interesting. Suddenly, after 10+ chapters from Marin's point of view, it switches to Kenzie's point of view. What? I didn't want to hear what she was thinking. I was fine with Marin's viewpoint. From that point onward, we switched back and forth between the two women. It was hard to have any empathy for Kenzie, she was a manipulative, self aware character. And Derek, the husband, comes off as a douche.

I felt the middle dragged a bit, but after Marin made a certain decision, the pace picked up again. The ending was a little too pat, and I totally disagreed with Marin's actions in the very last chapter. Overall, this was a fun read. I read it over two nights and enjoyed reading it.

I received a free copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wealthy couple Marin and Derek’s 4 year old son is kidnapped in a busy Seattle market around Xmas time. Over a year later the investigation is stalled and Marin finds out Derek has been having an affair with a much younger woman. She leans on her best friend and ex college boyfriend Sal, while barely being able to cope with this affair let alone life without her son.

Well this was about a 2 sitting read for me. I could not put it down. I have read and enjoyed several other novels from this author, but I believe this was her best. There was a lot going on and very little of it had to do with the actual search for the missing son. I was hooked from the start, needing to know how all of this would play out and I was not disappointed. There were only 4 main characters but I had no idea who was guilty of what. This was an excellent page turner.

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier was a thriller that I could not read fast enough because I had to know what happened. In a moment, Marin's seemingly perfect life changes. While out shopping with her four year old son Sebastian, he is kidnapped when she is briefly distracted. She and her husband Derek work with the FBI, but all of the leads go cold. Desperate to find Sebastian, Marin hires a private investigator unbeknownst to her husband. The work of the PI then finds an additional secret- Marin's husband is having an affair. Marin then must navigate her husband's affair and her resulting emotions, as well as the continued grief of losing her son and keeping hope alive he will be found. This thriller was so well told in that it did deep dives into the motives, emotions and reactions of so many of the characters. There was focus on Marin as she navigated two life-changing experiences. There was focus on Derek as he works through what has happened in his own way. There is also focus on the other woman, Kenzie, an Instagram influencer who has found rich boyfriends help with her financial challenges. I liked that all of the characters in the story had a backstory and a depth. It made the experience all the more real as there wasn't just an air of "Here's what happened" rather there was also a "Here's WHY this happened" vibe. The twist at the end was unexpected, and as it slowly started to come together, I had that "WHOA!" moment I just love when I'm reading a thriller. This was a pageturner in its truest form. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this April 2020 release.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book is the epitome of a psychological thriller it had so many twists and turns.
It was well written in that it constantly gave just enough information to keep it moving and keep you on the edge of your seat.
I will definitely be following and reading more from this author Jennifer Hillier.

Holy cow. Now THIS was a superb book. I could not put it down. Chilling and filled with twists from beginning to end. Highly recommend!!

“Little Secrets” is another fantastic read from Jennifer Hillier. I have loved almost everything from this author and her storytelling continues to get better and better.
The latest opens with Marin Machado a successful, wealthy owner of three salons that cater to the rich and famous and her son doing last minute holiday shopping at Pikes Place Market. She has one more stop and then she has promised her 4 year old son Sebastian a giant lollipop as a reward. She let’s go if his hand to answer a phone call from her husband Derek and Loses her son.
They see on video that he has been taken by someone in a Santa suit and he has the lollipop he had been begging for.
This begins every parents nightmare.
Marin and Derek both deal with their loss in very different ways.
The author does such a good job with characters that you normally would intensely dislike but instead empathize with. I did have suspicions on who the villain was but I still missed things.
This is a must read for not only fans of Jennifer Hillier’s works but those who love thrillers or just a well written story that grabs you and has you reluctant to read the last few paragraphs.
This is due for publication in April of 2020, put this on your must read list now. Thank you to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.