This was my first read by Hiller, and I was suprised how much I enjoyed the murder mystery.

Paris wakes up in the bathroom covered in blood, with a razor in her hand, police shouting at her, while her comedian celebrity husband lays dead in the bathroom. Did she kill him? She tells the police she doesn’t know.

Reinvented identied, history of depression/suicide, murder, million dollar blackmail and finding what out what happened to Paris’s husband fill the pages of Things We Do in the Dark. A wild ride.

At this point I shouldn’t be surprised by Jennifer Hillier’s talent in creating thrillers that have you sucked in from the first page. This one in particular exceeded my expectations from beginning to end. I really enjoyed the character development and twisted plot. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a thriller that you can’t put down!

Though I was compelled to continue reading this suspense novel, I did not think the mystery aspect was particularly strong, both twists were easy to guess. I really liked the main character, Paris, and I wish the novel exclusively followed her POV. There is another character who suddenly appears when Paris's present day story hits a wall, and he shares more information about her past while working on his podcast. However, his podcast never seems to come to fruition, and Paris's story would have been just as impactful from her perspective. Particularly, I would have liked to read the diaries she wrote, instead of this other character's distillation of them. I still found the book very readable despite these criticisms, and Paris is a great protagonist.

Nail biter with many clever twists you expect from this author. The story unwinds slowly like in her previous book and just as deliciously. Loved it!

This had a lot of potential but I feel like it gave itself away too early. I saw where it was going but stayed for the ride anyway. Not bad, just didn’t blow my mind.

This is the second book I've read by this author and this one was a masterpiece. Jennifer Hillier has a way of taking a simple story idea and running with it until there are so many plot twists that it leaves you tight gripping the novel itself. Her characters are always one of a kind even when it looks like they have done terrible things she leaves you rooting for them. The book is all about our main character Paris who get arrested for the murder of her husband. At least that is how it looks when she is found covered in blood and holding the murder weapon. However it is not the arrest that has Paris the most worried, it is all the attention that the media is
drawing to her that has her shaking, because how hard is it to hide when you are drawing attention like
a moth to a flame. I loved the characters in this novel they were all so full of secrets that it was like pealing an onion and finding more secrets under every layer. Once I opened this book I was unable to put it down for any reason, first it was the plot then it was the characters that had me in a tight grasp and by the end of the book it was everything. I'm so glad that I got the chance to check out this novel. This is the kind of book that gets readers hooked on thrillers and this is the book that will leave its fans applauding and leave others as fans for life. I cannot wait to see what other books Jennifer comes out with because if they are even half as good as this one then I know I won't be disappointed. I can't say enough good things about this book but all I can end on is this is one book that you won't want to miss.

This is a dark, gripping thriller and it kept me reading long into the night. My heart went out to Joey. She had such a physically and mentally abusive childhood due to her horrible mother - the Ice Queen. Joey had to make some very difficult choices in her life and had to deal with the emotional scars. It's hard to imagine how anyone can recover from a childhood like that. I liked Joey quite a bit for her strength, determination, and her quick thinking. On the other hand, I hated Ruby Reyes with a passion. She is the worst example of motherhood. She should rot in jail. Drew was a good character, and even though I was cautious of Zoe I ended up liking her too.

The was a character driven novel and the characters are fleshed out so you can feel them. The writing flows well and is easy to read. The story unfolded at a good pace. I look forward to reading more of Jennifer Hillier's works.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on July 19, 2022.

I’m a huge fan of all Jennifer’s previous work so I went into this knowing that I needed some uninterrupted time to read this, and that I would love it. As always, she hit all the marks for me. I was stunned and entranced, flipping the pages as quickly as I could to find out what had happened next. With dual time periods and multiple POV this book will knock your socks off.

I can’t wait to recommend this a a must read summer book. This one is going to leave you breathless and wanting more.

I have read two previous books by Hillier, Jar of Hearts and Little Secrets, both of which I enjoyed immensely. Imagine this book nerds joy when I was approved for her latest offering, Things We Do in the Dark. Yippee!

Sadly my approval was the most exciting part of this entire experience.

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

That is the first line of this novel and it set an unpleasant tone that I just couldn't shake. She could have simply said she had goosebumps especially seeing as this woman is in the back of a police car covered in her husbands blood and is accused of his murder. This may not have been the most appropriate time for humor or snark or whatever it is she was going for - it didn't work.

Not to mention there were NO surprises in the book. It was almost embarrassingly easy to figure out the connections between the characters.

Do you like backstory? Do I have a book for you! You get chapters upon chapters upon chapters of Paris' more than unpleasant childhood. If you're a sensitive reader then this is most definitely not a book for you.

Boring, plodding, and predictable.

This will undoubtedly be a hit for die-hard Hillier fans, and I'm so happy for them, but my final conclusion is that this is not Hillier's finest moment. In fact, it's far from it and I'm relieved to be moving on.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for my complimentary copy.

Paris Peralta, a 40 something woman who is married to beloved comedian Jimmy Peralta, wakes up in her bathroom, surrounded by police, covered in blood, with her husband dead in the bathtub. What has happened? The police are sure she is a murderer. Paris is quickly arrested and charged with Jimmy's murder. She has no idea who killed him or if he killed himself. The only thing she knows is she didn't do it.
Twenty years prior, a young woman in her 20's named Joey has been murdered in Toronto. Her former roommate/best friend, Drew, identifies her mostly burnt body which was found in their old apartment after a fire. Joey had a rough childhood and was still struggling to get by. Her mom was the famous Ruby Reyes, The Ice Queen, convicted when Joey was 13 for murdering her married lover in cold blood. She was horribly abusive to Joey and when she was convicted Joey had to go live with her unloving aunt and uncle. She found a family of friends with Drew and his girlfriend Simone. They all happily lived together. Until Drew and Simone moved away, leaving Joey floundering.
Present day, Drew is determined to do a podcast about Ruby. He is not happy that his former friend's abusive mom is being released. He wants to interview her for his podcast.
How are these stories related? Jennifer Hillier masterfully weaves past and present together in Things We Do in the Dark. I think this is her best book to date. I have really enjoyed all of her books. I really liked the character development of Paris, Joey, and Ruby. I could not wait to see what happened but also hated to finish the book. Please don't miss this one! Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

If you are looking for a book that you don’t want to put down, Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier should be next on your list. This book sucks you right in from the very first page—who can put a book down when the main character is covered in her husband’s blood on the very first page?

Paris Peralta is accused of killing her famous husband and the media swarms. But it’s very clear that the attention is something that Paris does not want. As the book progresses, it becomes clear that Paris has a past she’s trying to run away from. After a few chapters, we meet a journalist character and it becomes clear that these two storylines are somehow connected by the past.

I’m not going to lie and say I didn’t guess where the story was going but I loved how everything was weaved together. I couldn’t put this book down.

A homerun by an author I look forward to reading each time a new book comes out. Her grasp of character and plot development is fabulous and leaves me turning pages as quick as I can.

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

Thus begins Things We Do in the Dark, out on July 19 from St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books. It’s such a witty and engaging read.
Paris, a woman with a difficult past, is arrested for murdering her famous and much older husband. She probably didn’t do it… unless maybe she did?
This book had a few twists and turns, and even though I predicted most of them, the writing was so engaging that I couldn’t put this one down.

The beginning of this book and the end of this book are entirely different from each other.

This is one of the best books I have read in years.

I have not said that about any other book in months.

I LOVE this book.

Jennifer Hillier does it again! This is a twisty thriller packed with all the childhood trauma. Not only are you trying to figure out a murder from the first sentence, you’re also going through so much of a traumatic childhood with the main character. I loved everything about this book and can’t give a single ounce of bad or corrective feedback. Definitely a best read of 2022 for me!

This thriller mystery is intriguing. Paris is accused of murdering her celebrity husband - yes she was caught with the murder weapon in her hand, but that is not what worries Paris the most, as she has secrets. Ruby Reyes has just been released from prison and she contacts Paris and says that she know some of those secrets and is ready to reveal them.
I thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Per usual Jennifer Hillier knocked this one out of the park! This suspenseful thriller had me needing to see what happened next. I can't wait to discuss this with somenof my book loving pals!

Paris Peralta wakes up in her bathroom, covered in blood, holding her husband's straight razor--with said famous husband dead in the bathtub next to her. She knows it doesn't look good, and it isn't long before she's arrested for his murder. But what worries Paris most is the media attention this brings; it was Jimmy who was famous, after all, not her. Now Paris' face is splashed across the news everywhere, and she knows it won't be long before someone recognizes her, and the life she's worked so hard to build crashes around her... Twenty-five years earlier, Ruby Reyes was convicted of murdering her lover in Canada. Ruby knows exactly who Paris really is, and now that she's being released from prison, she's going to let everyone know.

"Paris should have known it would end like this, because there's no such thing as a happily ever after when you run away from one life to start a whole new one."

Oh, DARK was quite good! It was easy to get lost in this thriller, which is exactly what I look for in a good mystery. The book was twisty and, ironically, often dark and full of surprises. Even better, it's still enjoyable if you guess a few plot points; I tore through it in less than two days.

The story covers two time periods--going back in time to Ruby Reyes and her life and then present-day, as Paris deals with the murder charge facing her and what it means for her current life (and her past). Hillier weaves together these two eras quite well and introduces an excellent, diverse supporting cast. She touches on some deep and interesting topics, including motherhood, abuse (trigger warning for domestic and sexual assault), and the meaning of friendship. Paris is a nuanced and well-drawn character, and while there is plenty here to keep any mystery fan intrigued, there's also multi-faceted characters and emotional development. The ending wrapped up a little easily for me, but this was still a good read.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. It kept me guessing, but I was also invested in the characters.

I struggled to get through this one. There was SO much backstory, and I get why it mattered, but this just didn’t feel like a thriller in my opinion. It almost seemed more like a family drama with a suspicious death in the background.

The twists were decent, but I also wasn’t a huge fan of the ending. I was really hoping for more from this book after hearing such great things about Jennifer Hillier.

3☆ for Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier.
Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Man. Oh. Man. This was intense.

Paris Peralta's past was supposed to stay a secret. She wasn't supposed to be found one morning, razor in hand, with her famous husband dead next to her. But yet, here she was. Did she actually kill her comedian husband? Why is she hellbent on hiding herself? What is Paris Peralta hiding? And from who is she hiding?

Find out by reading Things We Do In The Dark by Jennifer Hillier.