Member Reviews

While I really did enjoy this story, I figured pretty much everything out early on. But I still read on to see how the twists came to light. Jennifer Hillier writes in a way that makes her books hard to put down, even when you know what's coming.

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This is a popular pick for spooky season and beyond - the author's unique style is something you should definitely give a try.

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“The denominator behind all the terrible things that have happened to you is you.” This belief is explored in the very dark, disturbing and compelling thriller Things We Do in the Dark. The story is told from alternating timelines that enables the reader to totally become immersed in the life of Paris Peralta. To understand someone’s actions you must first understand their history and motivations. This character driven thriller definitely takes you on a journey that will make you cry and leave you breathless while at the same time breaking your heart. Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for my copy.

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I knew I’d enjoy this book by Jennifer!! I have read all her books so far, and this one didn’t disappoint…

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Paris Peralta is on trial for her husband's murder. Things look bad for Paris, but she has an alibi. Although she doesn't want to face prison time, she is more worried about the media frenzy that surrounds her. Paris' late husband is famous comedian Jimmy Peralta and she soon realizes that she didn't know a lot about his past. It could have been because Paris was hiding her past as well, and her involvement in another murder is only the beginning.

I love Jennifer Hillier's novels. They are layered and dark, and this one is no exception. Part 1 of Things We Do in the Dark wasn't super thrilling, but once we got a glimpse of Paris' backstory, I was hooked. There were a lot of twists I wasn't expecting, and this made it hard to put down. This was a great read!

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I read this in almost one sitting. This was by far the best thriller i've read in awhile. I loved the characters and the overall thrill and suspense of the book. Such a good one and I wanted more! I'm excited to read the next one that Hiller comes out with!

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About the book:
"When Paris Peralta is arrested in her own bathroom—covered in blood, holding a straight razor, her celebrity husband dead in the bathtub behind her—she knows she'll be charged with murder. But as bad as this looks, it's not what worries her the most. With the unwanted media attention now surrounding her, it's only a matter of time before someone from her long hidden past recognizes her and destroys the new life she's worked so hard to build, along with any chance of a future.

Twenty-five years earlier, Ruby Reyes, known as the Ice Queen, was convicted of a similar murder in a trial that riveted Canada in the early nineties. Reyes knows who Paris really is, and when she's unexpectedly released from prison, she threatens to expose all of Paris's secrets. Left with no other choice, Paris must finally confront the dark past she escaped, once and for all.

Because the only thing worse than a murder charge are two murder charges."

This is a highly entertaining thriller with a lot of twists and turns that had me pulled in from page one. I will continue to read anything Hillier writes!

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It wasn't one of her best with that said I did like the book it was good and kept my interest through the book

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Not bad, but it wasn’t really a thriller. I’d call it domestic suspense or maybe mystery. I didn’t really feel any tension as I was reading, which is what I tend to look for in a thriller. Some truly horrible things happen to this girl throughout her life, but they are in the past so there is no build up to a climax. What I did like about the book is that it was a quick and easy read. If you’re looking for a mindless story that doesn’t require a lot of concentration, this is your book.

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This book was just okay for me. There weren't really any twists or surprises, you could see those coming a mile away. So really all it was was a recitation of all the absolutely horrific things this woman has experienced in her life. It was an almost unceasing list of evil, with very, very few moments of levity. It wasn't thrilling or mysterious, just incredibly depressing.

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This book was indeed thrilling! I loved it! I couldn’t tell which direction it would go next or who really did what? It’s a character study and who done it style thriller. I have lived all of Jennifer Hillier books and this one was no exception!!

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The feel of this book was that it was written to be made into a movie or mini series. That's not a bad thing exactly but it didn't have the depth I'd prefer.

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I love Jennifer Hillier’s books and this one really kept me turning pages. A mystery with so much graphic and sad backstory I had to know more. Paris is accused of her husband’s murder, but is it a murder? To understand her we have to go back to her tragic childhood, with a narcissistic mother. Trigger warnings for child abuse.
With so much back and forth we really get to know Paris. I’m not sure anyone gets to escape their childhood, this book will grab you until the very last page.
4.5 ⭐️

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Things We Do in the Dark
Jennifer Hiller

Paris Peralta has a happy life with her loving husband Jimmy, but that life comes crashing down around her when she is accused of murdering her husband. It's hard to think she didn't do it, seeing as she was found covered in his blood, with a straight razor in her hand. Since Jimmy was a well known comedian, the case draws a lot of attention, including the attention of the Ice Queen, a woman named Ruby Reyes who is serving life in prison for murder. The Ice Queen knows that Paris isn’t who she says she is, and she is willing to use that information to get what she wants. After all, murder is a useful barganing chip. 

Things We Do in the Dark is a twisted web of a story. I liked how Hiller weaved the past with the present, as well as different characters’ perspectives and experiences with each other. I was pulled into the story and wanted to see what had happened or how things would turn out for so many of the characters, especially Paris. Paris is such a strong, sympathetic character; I found myself wanting to see her persevere and succeed. This book does touch on some serious themes and situations, such as abuse, but it doesn’t overwhelm the story. Overall I found Things We Do in the Dark to be a thrilling page-turner, and I highly recommend it.

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This was an amazing book! The horrors that Joey faced at the hands of the person who is supposed to love her the most made me want to cry. I don’t want to spoil anything but pick up this book! You won’t be disappointed.

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I haven't read anything from author Jennifer Hillier that I didn't like and this is no exception. She does an amazingly job making you empathize with characters and describing the various settings. (Something I love, so I can build it in my head).

It may seem like a lot going on at once in this book. First, we are introduced to Paris who is accused of murdering her husband, a comedian 30 years older than her. Of course, many just assume she's a gold digger who wanted him to die so she could have his money.

Next, we meet Drew. Drew runs a successful podcast and plans to use it to keep Ruby Reyes in prison, airing her dirty laundry for the world to hear. Its a bit personal for him.

Then we go back in time to meet Joey. Her story is truly heart breaking. A victim of child abuse, both from her mother and the men she brings around, its easy to empathize with her.

In the end, it all comes together. Personally, I felt the plot twists were very predictable. Not a terrible story, just not any jaw dropping plot twists. Definitely worth reading if you want a bit of a mystery that pulls on your heart strings more than it keeps you guessing.

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"Things We Do in the Dark" hooks readers from the first, titillating (pun intended) sentence. What starts as an abrupt investigation into the suspicious death of a celebrity and his young wife set up to receive millions quickly unravels. Every character has their secrets, Paris most of all, but what she hides isn't what others may think. While at points the narrative seemed to derail, Hillier expertly wove the threads back together. Though a bit confusing at times, I ended up really liking and appreciating how much of the story about Paris' life was recounted from outside perspectives until closer towards the end. I was also impressed several hinted-at twists occurred much earlier than I was anticipating, and then more reveals and twists with slower buildups were revealed throughout the last portion of the book. The story never dragged too long or felt like The One Big Reveal had happened since there was almost always more to the story. I think going in blind is the best way to fully enjoy this book, but do check trigger warnings because it is adult fiction and there are heavy topics/themes, but nothing too graphic.

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I think Jennifer Hillier is amazing. I really enjoyed this book! Hillier has a way of really crafting a story to where you are absolutely going in one direction until a slight shift happens and you realize you had it all wrong. From what I've heard about her, it's because she honestly doesn't know where the story is going until she gets there. That method has the propensity to go terribly wrong, but somehow she gets it so right every time. I liked how the story was told and how the characters were connected. I could tell there was something deeper going on from the start and had predicted a lot of it, but I was still pleasantly surprised by how everything came together. I absolutely cannot wait for her to write more books.

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ennifer Hillier is brilliant at showing the complexity of a human being. Not all good, not all bad is usually how a person’s character untangles. Of course, there are those people who are so good and nice and thoughtful, you cringe at your own comparison. And, there are people who are truly evil, some who are psychopaths or sociopaths and some who seem to defy diagnosis. Hillier’s focus on her main character is more on circumstance and related behavior, showing readers that given the right (or wrong) circumstances, everyone has a capacity to do, well, things they don’t want to see the light of day, maybe even those salt of the earth people. My favorite book by this author is still Jar of Hearts, because it was the first book that truly made me see someone who did something very bad in a new light. Things We Do in the Dark continues Jennifer Hillier’s keen insight into the psyche of people and their motivations. Sometimes in desperation a good girl must do something bad to get to a better place, and sometimes her secrets surface.

In a recent article in CrimeReads, author Jincy Willett explores that in her early mystery reading she read the Agatha Christies and older books that concentrated on the who-dun-it, and then after reading a Ruth Rendell, Jincy was never again satisfied with the focus on who. It was the “why” that was fascinating. Jennifer Hillier takes the why one step further and explores the universality of the why in any given person. You don’t have to be a villain to murder, and the reader looks inward to ask the question of applying that personally. Even an unreliable narrator can show us the mistake of judging a murderer too quickly.

Paris Peralta comes home to Seattle early from a yoga conference, and the next thing she knows she’s waking up in her bathroom beside a blood-filled tub with her dead husband in it. In her hand is a straight razor with blood on it. Her husband, Jimmy Peralta, was thirty years her senior and had just made a huge come-back as a comedian via a streaming special. His assistant Zoe is screaming that Paris has killed Jimmy and the police are taking Paris into custody. Paris is scared that people will believe she killed Jimmy, whom she really loved, but she’s more scared that a past she’s worked hard to conceal will be revealed. She had signed a pre-nup with Jimmy, so will people really think she killed him for his money? Well, when the new will is found and Paris stands to inherit 47 million, her motive just went up by about 45 million. As if a murder charge and worrying about her past isn’t enough, Paris has a blackmailer intent on getting rich or telling the world what Paris did in her previous life.

In Canada, Ruby Reyes, aka the “Ice Queen,” is about to be released from prison after serving twenty-five years for murdering her married lover. Drew Malcolm, an investigative journalist turned pod-caster was, for a short time, a roommate and close friend to Ruby’s daughter, Joey Reyes, who was abused and tormented as a child by her mother until Ruby was sent away for murder. Drew finds it appalling that Ruby will live free again, as he doesn’t believe that she will ever be anything but a self-centered monster who preys off people. So, Drew is committing his whole new podcast season to exposing the evils of Ruby Reyes. This means he will have to go back to a painful personal past where Ruby’s daughter died a horrific death.

These two storylines will come together in a twisty mesh of past and present. It is a fascinating reveal, but one that the reader will probably see coming. That’s okay, though, because the intensity and thrill of seeing how it all connects is full of little surprises. Things We Do in the Dark is indeed a dark tale and contains triggers of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. Hillier was respectful of these triggers while writing the book and there are no graphic scenes, no gratuitous horrors. However, these abuses are central to the characters whose lives are formed around them.

The dual story is told through the eyes of Paris and Drew and Joey, with flashbacks guiding the narrative. I enjoyed Paris’ descriptions of her and Jimmy’s relationship. It was a bright, sweet spot among so many sad, painful ones for Paris and other characters. Joey’s narrative was heartbreaking, but I loved the strength and pragmatism she brought to her story. She didn’t give up, but she didn’t sugar coat it. I came to appreciate Drew in the end, but there were times his judgmental thoughts and actions irritated me, especially his condescension toward Joey for her short-term career choice. It takes Drew a while to realize choices aren’t always black or white, right or wrong. Ruby is irredeemable, and readers know that from the get-go, but she is a perfect villain to despise.

There are quite a few characters in this book, and Jennifer Hillier does an exceptional job of fleshing out both the major and minor players. No one felt flat or unnecessary. I think that’s quite an accomplishment with two story lines and two sets of characters. Even Jimmy, who died right off the bat, was given life through the flashbacks, and I have to admit, I really liked him with Paris. All the characters, both past and present, were well defined, so no confusing characters to undermine the story’s flow.

Things We Do in the Dark is another thrilling Jennifer Hillier brand read, giving readers the expected story of a character with a shadow hanging over him/her. But, Hillier’s stories are never a repeat; each one is original. I thought this book was especially dark, but most crime/mystery readers are no stranger to those tales. The triggers I mentioned earlier might need to be considered by some before reading, but, as I noted, Hillier doesn’t get graphic with the abuse. I felt the ending was a bit rushed but not in a terribly frustrating way. I think those readers who are already fans of Jennifer Hillier’s exceptional writing will be well pleased, and those readers who are new to this author will want to read more of her books after this one.

Thanks too NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

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I wanted to love this one, but unfortunately, I was bored for a lot of it. I felt like I already kind of knew what was going on from the beginning, and for the most part, I was right. I was not engaged by the characters or particularly thrilled.

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