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.

Less than a minute. That’s all it took for Sebastian slip away into the crowd. At first Marin's sure that her four-year-old son is just lost in the throngs of holiday shoppers. But as the minutes and then hours go by, so does hope of finding him. And when security footage shows the little boy being led away by a stranger in a Santa costume, everyone knows that this is much more than a lost child. Fast forward four hundred eighty five days. Sebastian is still missing. Marin is still grieving. And her husband Derek is largely absent, losing himself in his work as a way of dealing. But Marin hasn’t stopped believing that Sebastian will be found. She fears the worst but hopes for the best when her private investigator asks to meet with her. She never would have guessed what’s been uncovered.

Jennifer Hillier is a master storyteller. She pulls you in from the first page and keeps you wondering until the very end. This newest book is intense and twisty with surprises at every turn. Five stars!

Your worst nightmare happens. You’re standing there in a crowd of people. Your cell phone rings, you let go of your kids hand for 4 seconds ... that’s all it takes and the kid vanishes. Just. Like. That. This book kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole story. Twist after twist. Another great book by Jennifer Hillier. I also loved her other book Jar of Hearts. Highly recommend both these books. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

Loved this book! I have not read a book by Jennifer Hillier before, but I loved her writing style. I will definitely be reading her previous books.

This story begins with Sabastian, a four year old, who is snatched by Santa Claus from a busy candy store. What is unique about this story is the book is ultimately centered around a missing child, yet there is so much more to it. You are introduced to characters whom you think have little importance to the story and by the end you find out your are very wrong!

I don't want to give to much about this book away. Go into it thinking it's a book about a missing child. It is exceptionally told, thrilling, and I couldn't put it down. Read this book! You will not be disappointed.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy for my honest review.

It is no secret that I adore Jennifer Hillier's writing. <a href="http://bookishgeek.com/2018/04/16/review-jar-of-hearts-by-jennifer-hillier/">I read <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Jar of Hearts</span> last April</a>, and it remains one of my favorite thrillers, and is one I always recommend when someone seeks thriller recommendations from me. Everything I love in a thriller wrapped up in one neat, tight package that I devoured. So when I saw her latest novel, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Little Secrets</span>, available on NetGalley I slammed that request button and immediately dusted off my Kindle to read it. I am so glad I did.

<strong>Rating:</strong> <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1190" src="http://bookishgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/BOOKISHGEEKRATING5.png" alt="" width="226" height="50" />
<h2>How I'd Describe This Book to a Friend</h2>
Marin and Derek are your typical affluent suburban couple - they are rich beyond measure, and are blessed with a perfect little boy named Sebastian (which makes them metaphorically, emotionally rich as well). They live in a perfect little Instagrammable bubble world, and nothing could possibly change that - until one day Marin lets Sebastian's hand go in a store for a split-second and he disappears. Store footage later shows him leaving the shop with a man in a Santa Claus costume, holding a giant $5 gourmet lollipop. But no one knows who this Santa was, and Sebastian was not seen in any other footage found. In a split second - 480 split seconds, to be exact - Santa Claus took Marin and Derek's perfect four year old son, and nobody has seen him since.

It's been over a year, now. Merin is a shell of a person - absolutely gutted and riddled with relentless guilt over having let go of her son's hand so carelessly, so willingly. Her marriage is crumbling - Derek handles his grief differently, it seems, and Marin's mourning is really putting a damper on his excellent rich white guy lifestyle. While she still manages to work and keep afloat, Marin's lifesaver at this point is her lifelong friend, Sal, who checks on her each and every day. And Vanessa Castro, the private investigator she's paid to ceaselessly look for Sebastian.

What Marin does not expect, however, is for Castro to sit her down one day and tell her that while she hasn't found Sebastian, she <em>has</em> found out that Derek is cheating on her - with a young, sexy twenty-something graduate student named McKenzie Li. Kenzie, who has a few secrets of her own. Marin would do anything to get rid of this tart, this homewrecker - and I mean <em>anything</em>.
<h2>The Bottom Line</h2>
I can't say a whole lot more, because the plot twists and turns are what made <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Little Secrets</span> so addictive - it's like a breadcrumb trail of revelations that shock and surprise you and keep you guessing. While I have never lost a child - nor has Hillier - Marin is written in such a relatable way that you feel like you're right there next to her - going to her support group, dreading every phone call with a twinge in your gut. I've lost a spouse, and while it's not the same as losing a child it's definitely a unique, hard to explain loss that twists a knife in your heart - it's even harder when they're lost but "lost" is not necessarily synonymous with "dead" in this case. Sebastian could have been dead for months now, or he could be just fine and in hiding. I cannot even imagine what a throat punch that must be, but Hillier really puts us there.

We get a dual perspective here, though it doesn't flip back and forth every chapter but rather from part to part for the most part. We hear not just from Marin, but from Kenzie - we are told that we hate Kenzie in the beginning while we are inside Marin's head, but of course getting inside of Kenzie's adds another layer and makes her more multifaceted than a generic villain. Kenzie is young and smart, ruthless and sharp - she has a long history as the sidepiece to many rich, married men and she has no qualms about extorting them for money to get by, to keep her ailing mother in her retirement community. But this one is different, because Kenzie is falling for Derek in a way she's never fallen for any of these guys before. And that presents a problem. You feel for her, too, even though you <em>desperately</em> don't want to.

This story is a haunting, captivating thrill ride - not just about loss of a child or revenge, but about who you really know, how far you'd go to save a life or get revenge on another. How much can we ever really, truly know another person? This is a captivating, thought-provoking read that will stick to my bones for a long time to come. I cannot wait to read Hillier's next book, and hope I have the privilege of reading an arc of that one, too.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1185" src="http://bookishgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/BOOKISHGEEKLINEBREAK.png" alt="" width="291" height="50" />

&nbsp;

<blockquote>"She is enraged. She feels it washing over her like hot wax, coasting her outsides, hardening like an armored shell over all the soft, squishy, vulnerable, unprotected places.

She welcomes it. It's been a long time since she felt anger like this, and she'll take anger over sadness, any day. For the past four hundred eight-six days, sadness has knocked her sideways, debilitated her, confused her, made her weak, talked her into settling for things she doesn't want, and never did.

Rage, on the other hand, will get shit done."</blockquote>

With only 4 major characters wasnt much of a mystery. One of those books I wonder why I bothered to finish.

So, I just checked...I've read every single Jennifer Hillier novel ever written, and have given them all 4 or 5 star ratings. Do you have any idea how unusual that is for me? Throughout my entire life, I've never had an author so consistently write books I've unequivocally loved. It's a Festivus miracle! I think Ms. Hillier has slowly worked her way up through the ranks, and is currently my absolute favorite author. Let's all send our congratulations to Jennifer...because this is clearly a BIG deal.

What starts as a child abduction story, quickly morphs into something far more diabolical. As is typical of JH, and one of the reasons I wholeheartedly love her novels, she's unflinching in her writing. She's never afraid to go there. Many authors have tried mimicking her style...few have succeeded. She's the queen of "bravely going where most writers have been too wimpy to go before."

Another reason I loved this story? Our protagonist, Marin, drinks Amaretto Sours...the most delicious cocktail of all time, and my personal favorite.

So, my actual rating for Little Secrets is 4.5 stars. Why? Because I actually figured out the antagonist early on. Thankfully, it wasn't a huge deal because there were several other twists I didn't figure out, and the writing was on point, as always.

As per usual, I'll be recommending this book to every person I know. If you've never read any JH novels before, stop what you're doing, go get a copy of every single book, and have a reading marathon this weekend. You won't regret a single minute.

**My sincere thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review LITTLE SECRETS by Jennifer Hillier. I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Five stars and here’s why:

LOVED IT! Ms. Hillier did not disappoint! The secrets and suspense kept me up all night. Holy moly what a rollercoaster ride this book kept me guessing at every page turn. Just when you think you have everything figured out…bam! Total book hangover. Highly recommend.

Marin and Derek are a wealthy and successful young couple who have had challenges starting a family. After many attempts at the very expensive procedure of in vitro fertilization, Marin is able to conceive and gives birth to the light of their lives. A few years go by and they appear to be the happiest of families. That is when the worst thing that could happen to parents happens, their son is abducted. Being very wealthy, they expect a ransom request that never comes. Jennifer Hillier is able to really portray the horror of what it must be like for any parent to lose a child this way.

But some secrets aren't so little.

Hillier is a master in the craft of secrets, her novels are suspenseful and satisfying. Little Secrets is FULL of secrets. I have read so many suspense novels, that I am unhappy with a book if I can see where it is heading. I was well toward the end of this book before I had a clue where it may be heading.

**Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced read in exchange for my honest review.**

This is a fun, fast-paced psychological thriller that picks up speed somewhere around the 50% mark. That's not to say that the first half is slow, rather it's packed with layers of detail that I'm glad I instinctually absorbed at a controlled pace. Everyone who reads this is likely to experience a marathon session that puts all non-reading activities on hold because they just need to know how this story ends.

The dialogue and character development are so great that I felt like I was watching a film while reading it. Though some of the characters' thoughts and actions may seem unbelievable as they begin unfolding, it's a mistake to dismiss them as such. There is context for everything and much of it is messy but, oh, so human it is.

Marin is at the market testing her son.....moments later he is lost in the crowd. Fast forward 16 months as Sebastian is still missing while Marins struggles through the days. Her marriage is crumbling as her husband falls in love with another woman.

The network of relationships and coincidences move the pace along as Marin implodes while still looking for her son.

Little Secrets will grab your interest from page one. The characters ar diverse and you'll find it intriguing to figure out who knows what and how will things end. A real page turner. You'll wonder if the kidnapping was real or somehow staged. You'll learn at the end. Enjoyable read.