“ There is a time and place for erect nipples, but the back of a Seattle police car definitely isn’t it.”

And just like the that Hillier had me hooked from the very first line of the book. I’ve been a fan of Hillier since Jar of Hearts, and let me tell you this one was just as dark. There are certainly some triggers as well. I liked how it was as told in multiple parts and that at first there appeared to be two separate storylines running parallel when really that wasn’t the case at all. My heart broke for poor Joey and her crappy childhood. Hillier definitely created a perfect villain in Ruby Reyes. She was an awful mother and an awful human.. revenge was certainly sweet in her case. The ending did feel a little rushed and I wish there was an epilogue but otherwise this was a great read!

Things We Do In The Dark was my third novel by Jennifer Hillier and I enjoyed it just as much as the last two. Her books are typically thrillers, through and through. In Things We Do In The Dark, there is more mystery and drama than THRILLS necessarily, but the book is so engaging, I would defy anyone to claim they aren't riveted by it. I don't want to talk toooooo much about plot because it might take away from some of the surprise and enjoyment of the novel so I will try to be a bit light on details. I loved the story of Paris and her dead, much older husband. Accused of murder, no one, including the reader and Paris, herself, knows whether or not she is guilty of murdering him. There is another storyline involving a child-abusing single mom, Ruby, who is soon to be released early from the murder conviction she received after killing a married lover. Yet another storyline, tying the two stories together is of Podcaster, former journalist, Drew. While most thriller readers will figure out early how the stories are tied together, it doesn't take away from the fun of the story.

The author herself lays out some trigger warnings early on, and though I generally do not need them, I was glad to know about some of them going into the novel. I do not love being surprised by child abuse, and the warning helped me be less shocked when I got to those points in the book without taking away any of the horrificness.

If anyone has read and loved Jennifer Hillier before, that person will love Things We Do In The Dark. If someone is a thriller OR a mystery lover who doesn't mind a PG-13 level of grittiness, that person will love Things We Do In The Dark. And even though this book is not True Crime, I believe anyone who likes True Crime and/or True Crime podcasts, that person will love Things We Do In The Dark.

𝔸𝕦𝕕𝕚𝕠𝕓𝕠𝕠𝕜/𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚆𝚎 𝙳𝚘 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙳𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝚋𝚢 𝙹𝚎𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚏𝚎𝚛 𝙷𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚛
@𝙹𝚎𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚏𝚎𝚛𝙷𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚛𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚜
𝙿𝚞𝚋 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎: 𝙹𝚞𝚕𝚢 𝟷𝟿, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟸
𝙽𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚛: 𝙲𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚊 𝚅𝚎𝚐𝚊
@𝙸𝙰𝚖𝙲𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚊𝚅𝚎𝚐𝚊
𝙳𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗: 𝟷𝟷𝙷 𝟻𝟶𝙼

I have read or listened to all of Jennifer Hilliers books, needless to say, I am A. FAN.! Things We Do in the Dark is just the chefs kiss of psychological thrillers – twisty, tense, and suspenseful - I ate this up AND I licked the spoon!

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙞𝙨𝙩

Paris Peralta is a woman accused of murdering her husband, a man famous and beloved, and all the evidence points to her guilt but could there be more at play?

𝙈𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨

There are two stories going on, past and present, and I loved the way Ms. Hillier combined the two to give me, the reader, a thrilling ride into the life of two characters, Joey and Paris. What’s their connection to each other? Who’s lying and who’s telling the truth? Who has something to hide?

Everyone has a secret, some more dangerous than others.

There are well-developed and multi-faceted secondary characters, mostly seen through the eyes of Joey in the past and Paris in the present, that kept the story mysterious and suspenseful and definitely kept my interest throughout. In true Hillier fashion, it didn’t take me long to become invested in the characters and their story.

Narration: This is narrated by Carla Vega and what a talent! She moves the story forward with all the emotion and nuance needed to do justice to this absolute gem of a thriller.

My thanks to @Macmillan.Audio for this gifted ALC and to @Minotaur_Books for this gifted DRC

This book!! I could not stop reading. Jennifer Hillier knows how to suck a reader in. Things We Do in the Dark starts off with Paris Peralta, who finds herself arrested for the murder of her much older celebrity husband. As her arrest begins to blow up online, she becomes increasingly concerned that the unwanted publicity will unearth a past life she has worked for years to bury.

I was surprised when a second point of view was introduced, that of true-crime podcast host Drew Malcolm. Drew has decided to dedicate an episode to the Ice Queen, who was convicted of murder when he was a teenager. She also happened to be the mother of the one who got away for Drew, Joey Reyes, who has since died.

At first, I found the jump disruptive, but I soon got sucked into Drew’s life too and I was intrigued to see how his story and his singular focus on the Ice Queen would eventually tie into Paris’s life.

Paris’s life was constructed incredibly richly. She had detailed interests, backstory, and friendships and I felt like her character came to life so much. This kind of character development felt rare coming from a thriller, and it made me especially invested in the plot.

I saw this a lot but I read a ton of mysteries and thrillers so I think I'm a fairly good judge of what makes a 'good' versus a 'bad' one. This...falls into the 'not great' category.

Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier starts with a band. Paris Peralta is arrested, and covered in blood, and her famous husband is dead in the bathroom. She's holding a straight razor, and she knows that she's going to be charged with his murder. She also knows that she didn't do it.

That's the most exciting part of the book.

What follows is a lot of words to backstory, of who Paris is, who her husband was, who his friends are and who other characters are. We also meet Drew, a podcaster who investigates famous murder cases and is interested in Ruby Reyes, The Ice Queen, who is being released soon, despite being one of Canada's most famous murderers. Drew once knew Ruby's daughter Joey.

Look. This storyline is fairly obvious and I knew exactly where it was going before it even got there. The twists were like shining beacons in the night. There was no mystery. I did read other reviews mentioning details of child abuse and detailed scenes of exotic dancing ...no, those were more implied. There were no details, that I saw or read, just implications and hints.

I do think that Jennifer Hillier has a great future in this category, but this wasn't it for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really enjoyed this book!

Paris Peralta is arrested after her husband, famous comedian Jimmy Peralta, who is 30 years her senior, is found dead in their bathroom. She believes he committed suicide and tries to prove her innocence.

However, that's not all that is going on. Alternate chapters talk about how she grew up and how she ended up where she was. I really enjoyed that part of the story a lot too.

Is this the next great American novel? No. But it is a fast read, a fun read, and an enjoyable ride!

The author #jenniferHillier has not let me down yet..

Thank you to #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review. 4 solid stars.

Once again, the #wwbuddyread made this title all the more fun!
I was so impressed by the caliber of this book, my first from Jennifer Hillier. She was even able to come and chat with our book club on Zoom to discuss the novel after we had all read it.

I believe this title was one of her favorites because she leans so heavily into her personal Filipino culture, Don't be fooled though, this book at it's core is a murder mystery thriller. We follow Paris while in the opening scene she is arrested for the murder of her much older, famous comedic husband. While Paris denies her guilt for this murder, we immediately get the sense she is no innocent women.
We follow a trail through time and identity changes that brings the past back from the grave and into the present, in more ways than one.
There were so many plot lines occurring in this story, but they all beautifully supported and threaded through one another. Jennifer Hillier has now become a go to author for me!

Paris Peralta is arrested after her husband, famous comedian Jimmy Peralta, who is 30 years her senior, is found dead in their bathroom.

As Paris is arrested for Jimmy’s murder while she tries to determine if Jimmy’s death was a suicide. Alternate chapters focus on Paris’ past as well as the perspective of her best friend of the past, podcaster Drew.

Jennifer Hillier has done it again. The plot was fresh and I enjoyed the starring Filipina character and culture woven into the novel. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this arc in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Every time Jennifer Hillier comes out with a new book you can bet your bottom dollar that I will have to read it and devour it in the process. This one was no exception. I read well into the night and early morning to finish this. It’s that unputdownable. I found it to be captivating and whip smart. I didn’t want this to end.

Another solid, disturbing thriller from Jennifer Hillier! I discovered Hillier after my book club read one of her previous novels and was really looking forward to reading this digital arc from the publisher and NetGalley.
Paris Peralta is arrested in her own home after her husband, who is 30 years older than her, is found dead in their bathroom. The reader learns about Paris’ past as the chapters jump between past and present and from the perspectives of Paris and her best friend, Drew.
I liked how the author gave the reader a reason(s) to suspect each of the main characters. And although I easily guessed the twists, I would still recommend this to others who enjoy dark murder mysteries. Releases July 19, 2022!

First, I have heard of the great books Jennifer Hillier has written but to my loss, I did not pick them up. Needless to say, I was late to the party but better late than never. This was my first Jennifer Hillier book and all I can say is; What a read!

I am a Filipina and what a joy to read about Filipino characters written by an absolutely awesome author of Filipino descent. The characters were speaking my native dialect Cebuano and reading about them cooking good food! So, even if the Filipino characters were criminals, I was ecstatic!

The plot was very well layered out. Just as I thought I figured out the outcome, here comes more curve balls and tight twists that had me second guessing myself and making this book hard to put down.
The drama- oh. the.drama!
The murders- yes, that is right! Murders!
The lies- was there even anything true!

The suspense was real , the thrill was inevitable, the race to the end was bound to happen! I was very thankful for Minotaur Books via Netgalley for giving me an e-copy to review. It made me pick this book as my BOTM choice for the month as it deserved a spot on my shelf! This is never going to be my last Jennifer Hillier as I am making this author an auto-buy!

Jennifer Hillier is a must read for me and her latest, "Things We Do in the Dark" does not disappoint. It tells the story of Paris Peralta, who is arrested for murder in the death of her famous, older husband Jimmy Peralta. Told from multiple points of view and periods of time, this thriller is twisty and unexpected. Fun read!

I absolutely loved Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier so I was really excited when I saw this available to request. After reading the description I was definitely intrigued and this lived up to my expectations. Jennifer has a knack for making you second guess yourself and then throw in one last twist to completely throw you for a loop. This is told in a dual timeline style and I found myself interested in both timelines and couldn't decide which one was more intriguing. The characters were well developed because of the multiple POVs set in both the past and present. I really enjoyed the drama in this and couldn't decide what I thought happened. The multiple final twists really made me do a 180 and I really did not see them coming. I can't wait to see what Jennifer Hillier brings us in the future! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a read! I was drawn into Things We Do in the Dark from the beginning and continued to read diligently until the very end. It was hard not to have compassion for the main character, Paris, and to cheer her on throughout her story. Of course, there are some great twists along the way! If this book is a representation of the depth of all of Jennifer Hillier’s books, I want to read all of them!

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions above are my own.

Jennifer Hillier continues to surprise me with her detailed storylines, compelling characters, and fantastic plots! Things We Do in the Dark is a story woven between the current time and the early years of the main character. It was a fantastic story, and I would recommend it for domestic thriller readers!

Paris Peralta has a past, and she hopes to always keep it separated from her current life. When she finds her famous husband dead in the bathtub, and the police find her in what looks like a murdering position, she’s thrown into the spotlight. With her face in every media avenue, her past smashes into her present, and we’re along for the ride!

I enjoyed that this story was told through Paris’ perspective as well as a podcast reporter, Drew. I enjoyed Drew’s perspective and voice in the story. He gave interesting backstory, and I enjoyed having him in the story.

This one isn’t a heart pounding thriller like some of Hillier’s book, so I would recommend going into this one as more of a mystery to unravel and understand. I knew where we were headed for most of the book, but I still found the reveals to be fun and interesting. I enjoyed the storytelling, and I would absolutely recommend this!

Thank you #NetGalley for the chance to read this in exchange for an honest review. It is currently almost 3am and I am writing this review. I could not stop reading this one, obviously. (Lol!) There were so many twists and turns here and I loved every single second. The crafting of this story was impeccable and I know I’m going to be thinking about this novel for days to come. With the multiple perspectives of the main character from childhood through the present, it really felt like I was reading multiple stories as times. So far, this is one of my favorites for the year.

**Triggers: child abuse, rape, sexual assault **

Paris, a Filipino yoga instructor, comes out of a haze covered in blood and holding a straight razor next to her wealthy husband Jimmy’s body. Jimmy is 30 years older than her and a retired comedian who’s recently decided to re-enter the spotlight after some election jokes gave his career a new boost.

Paris doesn’t like the spotlight but that doesn’t mean she’d hurt Jimmy. He’s much older but she loves him. Paris has had a hard life. She grew up in Canada and fled to make a new life, with a new identity, in the PNW. It’s clear that she did something there that is coming back to haunt her but what could it be?

The other side of this story is back in Canada. Drew, a successful podcast host, is doing a season on the Ice Queen, a woman who murdered her rich boyfriend and is supposed to be doing life in prison but avoided it by claiming to be a #metoo victim. She also happens to be the abusive mother of Joey, one of his best friends.

How do these situations, past and present, fit together? With Drew one one side of the border investigating Joey’s death and Paris on the other side fighting to remain free, who will figure it all out first or will it all collide?!

This was a great mystery. I’m always amazed by Hillier’s ability to weave timelines together. When you follow different characters for long portions of the book and then switch, it can be choppy but she always makes it enjoyable and it clicks together. I also love her taste in music and think it’s cute how she fits that in to her books! This was very twisty. I caught on to a few and was blindsided by a few!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read, listen and review. I received audio and ebook. Narration was fantastic!

I have a few Jennifer Hillier books on my shelf that I haven't picked up yet but after reading Things We Do in the Dark, I look forward to reading more of her work. This is an addictive psychological thriller about a woman running from her past and the extremes she takes to ensure that it doesn't catch up to her.

There are three main stories that take place within the overall story. First, the book begins with the death of Paris Peralta's husband. Then it moves to Drew Malcom, a true-crime podcaster who learns Ruby Reyes aka The Ice Queen is about to be out on parole after a 25 year sentence. He's particularly interested in Ruby's story because growing up he was close friends with her daughter Joey. Lastly, we see things from Joey's perspective.

The shifts between the present and the past and from one POV to the next kept me engaged in the mystery of it all. I felt like as a reader I was given breadcrumbs of clues and information to understand the characters, their motives and figure out the connections. Although this did lead me to figuring out both "twists," it didn't take away from the overall story. I don't think Hillier was trying to shock the readers with an OMG jaw-dropping moment, but rather offer a more in depth story with deeper character development and meaning.

This is an entertaining read that I couldn't put down, but I found myself wishing for a little more suspense and tension. That being said, I did find all of the characters to be intriguing and I liked learning their backstories. I would definitely recommend this to lovers of psychological thrillers/mysteries .

**Thanks to Minotaur Books, Jennifer Hillier and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.**

This was a really fantastic read! I've loved all the Jennifer Hillier books I've read, and this one did not disappoint. She kept me hooked throughout the story and I can't wait to see what she does next. Definitely recommend!

Loved every minute of this book! Who killed whom? Which individuals are actually the victims? And finally….how does one get revenge? This will keep you guessing until the very end! If you like thrillers, you need to read this!