When rich & famous comedian Jimmy Peralta is found dead in his bathtub with his wife, Paris, passed out on the floor beside him, covered in blood and clutching the razor that killed him, it's not surprising that she is arrested for his murder. Worse yet, she fears the attention will reveal that she has a past she ran away from 19 years ago, a past with a secret someone is already blackmailing her over. This is a well done multiple timeline, multiple point-of-view novel. I was drawn in to each storyline, and while the twists weren't completely unpredictable, the characters and plot held my interest from start to finish.

I went into this book with such high expectations because of all the incredible reviews. I was expecting it to be an all-time favorite thriller, however, I was a bit let down by this one.

This story started out super strong. I was immediately intrigued, but unfortunately, that didn’t last long. I struggled so much with reading the last 2/3 of the story. I didn’t love the flashbacks/backstory. The characters were also not my fav, except for Drew. I felt like the story dragged too much. However, I will say I didn’t see that twist at the end coming - I thought it was a nice surprise. Overall, I was a bit disappointed with this one but it seems like I’m in the minority.

Things We Do In The Dark by Jennifer Hillier is a psychological thriller about a woman named Paris, who is accused of killing her famous comedian husband who is also very, very rich. When she is found covered in his blood, holding the murder weapon in her hand, it seems to be a clear cut case for the police; however there is so much more to this murder than meets the eye. When Paris starts to receive threatening blackmail letters from The Ice Queen in prison, the past she has worked so hard to hide and better for herself, Paris has to figure out how to both: hide her past and get herself out of this conviction of her killing her husband which she did not commit.

The first thing I want to say when reviewing this book is that there are many different trigger warnings: child abuse, abuse, sexual assault, and rape. I know that these topics can be difficult for people to read so I feel that I must start by stating that. I wouldn’t want anyone to be triggered when reading a book. Some parts of the book were difficult to read.

For me, Jennifer Hillier can do no wrong. I have read several of her books now and I have enjoyed all of them– including this one as well. She has the perfect writing style to weave dark thrillers together. I like how this story was told in several different “parts.” At the end of each part, a big discovery was made. There were so many different twists and turns throughout the story and Hillier keeps you on your toes the entire time when reading.

I also loved the character development in the story. I loved the main character Paris. You felt for her throughout the story but then also admired her for her strength and resilience. I couldn’t help but be rooting for her the entire story and was very satisfied with the ending of the book. I also loved Paris’s husband who was murdered. I really think the show The Prince of Poughkeepsie could be a great show and that Hillier is onto something with that show idea. I liked that he wasn’t the token husband and that their story didn’t follow the classic cheating spouse trope – I am so over the cheating spouse trope when reading thrillers.

The only reason why I rated this a 4 star review instead of a 5 star was that I was able to figure out some of the twists throughout the story. Even with figuring out some of the twists, I devoured this book! I am now officially a huge Hillier fan and will continue to read all of her work and go back and read her work that I have not read yet. I would definitely recommend this book.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to read this one – it was on my list of Ten Summer Thrillers I Can’t Wait to Read in 2022.

Things We Do in the Dark had a complicated plot! There was a past/present plot that stretched from then 1990s to the present.

There were two main narrators, Paris Peralta, accused of her husband’s murder, and Drew Malcolm, a podcaster researching a case about a woman about to be released from prison.

Paris wasn’t the most likable character. Her husband is dead, and she’s accused of his murder, but she seems much more worried a woman named Ruby who is about to be released on parole and is blackmailing Paris. What could Ruby have to do with Paris? You’ll have to find out.

REVIEW OF THINGS WE DO IN THE DARK
06.20.2022 by JEN RYLAND // LEAVE A COMMENT

I really enjoyed Jennifer Hillier’s Little Secrets, a story about a missing child and dark family secrets. So I was excited to read Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier. The book is the story of a woman who accused of her husband’s murder, but, believe it or not, has even bigger problems than that!? Check out my Review of Things We Do in the Dark!

Review of Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier. Graphic with the book cover by Jen Ryland Reviews
REVIEW OF THINGS WE DO IN THE DARK BY JENNIFER HILLIER
To be published on July 19, 2022 by Minotaur Books

WHAT IS THINGS WE DO IN THE DARK BY JENNIFER HILLIER ABOUT?
Cover of Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier
Do NOT read the Goodreads synopsis. I’ve edited it here to remove the spoiler!

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.

WHAT OTHER BOOKS HAS JENNIFER HILLIER WRITTEN?
Author photo courtesy of Jennifer Hillier
Photo courtesy of JenniferHillierBooks.com
Jennifer Hillier is known for her thrillers. She wrote Creep (2011) and its sequel, Freak (2012). Then she wrote two police procedurals, The Butcher (2014) and Wonderland (2015).

She became much more well-known to thriller readers after Jar of Hearts (2018), which she followed with Little Secrets (2020), my favorite of her books. She writes about how an influencer helped Little Secrets become a huge success! You can join my Spoiler Discussion for Little Secrets if you decide to read it!

REVIEW OF THINGS WE DO IN THE DARK
Review of Things We Do In the Dark: photo of an electronic copy of the book on an iPad sitting on a dimly lit shelf
I was so excited to read this one – it was on my list of Ten Summer Thrillers I Can’t Wait to Read in 2022.

Things We Do in the Dark had a complicated plot! There was a past/present plot that stretched from then 1990s to the present.

There were two main narrators, Paris Peralta, accused of her husband’s murder, and Drew Malcolm, a podcaster researching a case about a woman about to be released from prison.

Paris wasn’t the most likable character. Her husband is dead, and she’s accused of his murder, but she seems much more worried a woman named Ruby who is about to be released on parole and is blackmailing Paris. What could Ruby have to do with Paris? You’ll have to find out.

Drew was my favorite character. He’s a podcaster, the host of Things We Do in the Dark, and is researching Ruby’s case. He was once in love with Ruby’s daughter, Joey, who died in a house fire years ago. Joey had a tough life after her mother was sentenced to prison, and Drew believes that Ruby abused Joey.

Eventually, these two plot lines do intersect. Which makes things more interesting but a whole lot more complicated. But eventually Paris’s secrets and Joey’s life and Ruby’s secrets all converge.

I love Jennifer Hilliers writing style. It just sucks you straight in and doesn't let you go. I really enjoyed the plot and the way we find everything out. You have to do what you have to, to survive and that exactly what Paris does. Overall I enjoys this one it was a fun and wild ride. Its a dark a twisted tale of life with a mother that was uncaring and abusive, revenge, love, and finding and fighting for you new path in lifeThe ways the layers of crimes and the intricate way they are revealed. I was able to figure out some of The Who and why but not all over them. I had a little bit of a hard time connecting with the characters. I'm not sure if thats just me or I felt like I knew they would be okay and I didn't need to worry about them. I enjoyed this one and the way the plot was set.
3.5/4 stars

Thank you to Minotaur Books for my review copy! #smpinfluencers

3.5 STARS - You cannot outrun your past.

Jennifer Hillier is one of my favourite authors who writes deliciously dark thrillers. Things We Do In The Dark is her soon to be released book and she does not hold back on vivid descriptions and topics that are not for the faint of heart.

The story uses multiple timelines and the POVs of several characters - Paris, the young wife of a famous comedian who is murdered; Drew, a True Crime podcaster from Toronto; and Joey, Drew's childhood friend. The story shifts from past to present as these POVs weave together. The changes in POV weren't always smooth, but as the story progresses readers see their connections and things start to fall into place.

This is a busy read with a lot going on - a little too much, if I'm honest. It starts off strong with a dead body and a woman covered in blood, but the suspense soon takes a backseat to the detailed backstories of Paris and Joey. Their tragic lives are told with vivid description (see trigger warnings after my disclaimer below) and while some scenes were hard to read, I appreciate that Hillier didn't sugar-coat the tragic experiences of these women.

This is a slow burn kind of read that has a couple of good twists, but its strength comes more from its character development than nail-biting suspense. Hillier remains one of my must-read Canadian suspense authors and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Minotaur books for my complimentary advanced digital copy and GoodReads for the print copy I won in a giveaway. Both were provided in exchange for my honest review.

⚠ Trigger Warnings: Child abuse, sexual abuse

"Things We Do in the Dark" is another winning psychological thriller by Jennifer Hillier! It was positively unputdownable! The writing is uncommonly good for a thriller and the plot had several twists and turns that shocked and delighted me. The characters are realistic and come alive as their secrets are slowly revealed. This is the kind of book that will make a great movie because the plot and characters are already so vivid it creates a movie in the reader's mind. I am giving this book four instead of five starts because I guessed one of the major twists fairly early on.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy of this highly entertaining book, in exchange for my honest review.

This is my first Jennifer Hillier book and I can see why people rave about her books. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story unfolds between multiple POV’s and two timelines which I loved. It made the unfolding of the story more interesting and gave you insights that wouldn’t have been the same from a single POV and timeline.

Even though most thrillers are filled with unlikeable or unreliable characters, I actually liked all of the characters in this book. Well, that’s a lie….a few I loathed, but that was the point. The subject matter is heavy and there’s some serious TW, but it was approached well. There are also a few different reveals and twists throughout, which I thought were predictable but still entertaining.

Overall, I enjoyed this and it was a quick read. I look forward to reading more from Jennifer Hillier.

TW: child abuse (physical/sexual), verbal abuse, pedophilia, suicide, murder, drug/alcohol abuse, racism, fat phobia

I'm a huge Jennifer Hillier fan and will read anything she's written. I absolutely loved this book. Even though I guessed the twist early on, that didn't affect my enjoyment of the book. I still didn't know how it would all play out. The shift to Drew's POV threw me off initially since I loved Paris so much but after a chapter or two of him, I was 1000% in. Loved the pop culture references and the Filipina rep. As always, Hillier had me reading late into the night. A solid suspenseful and highly entertaining psychological thriller.

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

I was so excited to start this book. I love Jennifer Hillier’s writing and didn’t think she could top Jar of Hearts or Little Secrets, but here we are. Things We Do in the Dark is story of trauma, abuse, reinvention, and strength. It is a new favourite of mine for sure.

This book was complex, layered, and beautifully written. While the story was dramatic and intense, it didn’t rely on shock value. The characters have an amazing depth and realness to them that drove the book just as much as the plot. I loved this book so much and can’t wait to see what comes next from this author!

Things We Do in the Dark is a slow-burn, but overall gripping thriller.

It opens with Paris Peralta, dazed and confused, in the back of a police car, trying to recall the events of the night before. The police found her in the bathroom covered in blood, holding a straight razor with her famous husband dead in the tub behind her.

Though alarming, a murder charge is not the only concern on Paris’ mind. Paris married Jimmy with the understanding that they would live a quiet life. Now with her face splashed across the media, Paris fears her past may catch up with her.

This gripping thriller has dual perspectives and alternates between the past and present timeline.

I think most thriller readers will guess the first big reveal. For the most part, I enjoyed the journey of figuring everything out, but the plot did start to drag in Part Two. It spends a lot of time building up to the big reveal, but it was kind of unnecessary since the twist was fairly obvious by the end of Part One.

I did enjoy the conclusion. It ended on the perfect note. It didn’t feel rushed or like it was trying to do too much.

There is a lot of abuse and graphic content that may be triggering for some.

This was my first time reading Jennifer Hillier. I’m not sure why I haven’t read her books until now, but I’ll definitely try more in the future.

3.5

Thank you to Minotaur Books for providing me with an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

https://booksandwheels.com

Jennifer Hillier gets better and better! In Things We Do in the Dark, she masterfully weaves together two timelines and kept me on the edge of my seat to see if Paris Peralta could regain her freedom even when things looked VERY BAD for her. Paris has lots of secrets, but killing her husband isn't one, and I was rooting for her throughout. Strong supporting characters and an end I didn't see coming. I loved it.

4.5 out of 5 stars! Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC. This book did not disappoint! I loved all the suspense, twists, and the two POVs. Drew was definitely my favorite character. He cared so much for Joey, and I loved reading his journey to find more answers surrounding her. I also really enjoyed the mystery around Paris and her background. The only reason why I am not giving it a full five stars is because I pretty much had it all figured out about halfway through. Reading it all play out was still so worth it, though, because there were a couple of twists I did not see coming.

It would be very easy to spoil things in a review, so I advise people to tread carefully when reading reviews because before writing my own, I read quite a few that, sadly, spell things out.

This story slowly comes together through alternating timelines. First, we learn of Ruby’s daughter Joey, who suffered for years from her mother’s abuse and her mother’s boyfriends. Her story is tough to read sometimes, and Hillier does not hold back. Next, Paris’ story is of a woman in love who has overcome a lot in her life. She’s wanted a quiet, stable life, but now she’s accused of her husband’s murder. We watch these storylines weave together.

This is a story where I figured out many things early in the book, but it didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the journey from piecing together what was going on. Knowing certain aspects of a book shouldn’t be a turnoff for readers. Hillier always writes complex characters in a gripping storyline. This has some heavy parts, which might be hard for some readers. I enjoyed how things slowly unveiled and the way things came together out of time. Thank you, St. Martin’s, for sending this along!

🔊Song Pairing: Killing Me Softly With His Song - Lauryn Hill

💭What I thought would happen:

Jennifer Hillier, knew she’d be throwing out some grade A murder book with all kinds of creepies.

📖What actually happens:

Paris Peralta (great name) is in a state. She is covered in blood, holding a straight razor and her husband is brutally murdered beside her. She is obviously the number one suspect as her husband was a vastly wealthy comedian, not to mention the press love a murder scandal with a hearty will.

Paris has plenty of skeletons in her closet that she’s been running from and now worried all this spotlight will open her past wide open including a less than ideal situation with her mother.

🗯Thoughts:

Well I have been on quite the thriller kick…I think I needed a break from all the romances and this was a perfectly fine thriller between some very very excellent ones. If I was in a desert and thirsty for a murdery book this book would have been a 5 star quencher

I liked the way everything went down in the book but I did see it 1000 miles away. I was at the point where @ the end I was like okay let’s get to the shock factor.

Overall, a quality summer thriller but not as good as Jar of ❤️s and looove all the 🇨🇦 references

⚠️ Seriously all the triggers. All of em. This book has all kinds of flags

This is book is suspenseful and had a few twists I didn't expect. Several times I thought I had everything figured out, only to be wrong. The end was also totally unexpected. The characters were well developed, complicated and messed up. I liked how we discovered things as they did. I really enjoyed and highly recommend this book.

Many thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press/ Minotaur Books and Jennifer Hillier for the digital arc.

Paris is the much younger wife of a famous comedian that is coming out of retirement when he gets a deal too good to pass up. Paris is stunned when she comes home to find him dead in the bathtub. She is accused of murdering him. Paris is scared to death…not only that her husband is dead and she might go to prison, but that secrets of her past might be revealed and that could be worse than prison.

I really enjoyed this book. I was invested early on and needed to know all the secrets. The story flowed beautifully and the twists and turns were believable! Great story!

I've really enjoyed Jennifer Hiller's last couple thrillers, so I was excited to see what her newest one had in store.

In Things We Do in the Dark, we follow Paris, who is married to a celebrity comedian who is found dead. When the police charge her with his murder, Paris has to not only worry about claiming her innocence, but also that her past will come to light and ruin everything she has run away from.

I did sort of figure out the twists before they were revealed, but I enjoyed my time reading to it regardless.

Just an FYI: Her books can be gritty at times and don't hide away from triggering content.

A digital ARC of this book was provided to me by NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books. The opinions are my own and freely given.

WARNING
Some content involves child abuse and child sexual abuse

This story is mainly told from the POV of Paris at age 39, who has been accused of murdering her husband. It is also told from the POV of Joey at age 13 and 19 - 20. Joey was responsible for sending her mother, Ruby, to prison for the murder of Ruby's boyfriend when she Joey was 13. There is also Drew, who was 19-year-old Joey's best friend. He is a journalist and is now doing a podcast, Things We Do in the Dark. After 25 years in prison, Ruby is set to be released on parole. Drew in enraged and sets out to tell Joey's story on his podcast.

This book was well written and although you are cruising along reading about Paris, it smoothly transitions into Joey's story. Although I figured out the connection relatively early on, I in no way guessed the ending. I read a little more than half of the book in one sitting. Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and Jennifer Hillier.

Jennifer is truly becoming one of my favorite author. This book is sooo good! When you put it down you will grab it because you need just one more chapter. Highly recommend!