I had heard so many good things about this book, so I'm not sure if my expectations were too high but this did not do it for me. None of the twists were shocking, all were pretty predictable. It also felt like multiple different books in one that didn't really come together so greatly in the end. I only finished the book because of all the great reviews and was hoping there would be some amazing unpredictable twist. I was wrong.

Erin's review Apr 04, 2022 · edit
really liked it

I have enjoyed Jennifer Hillers books since I first read “Jar of Hearts” and this one does not disappoint
The basic premise of that Paris Peralta is found holding a razor with husband dead in the bathtub behind her. As the investigation unfolds, we find out that Paris has a secret past and some kind of connection to Ruby Reyes who was convicted of a similar crime in Quebec in the nineties. Twists and turns will keep you guessing in this psychological thriller.

Thanks to Goodreads, Minotaur Books and Jennifer Hillier

Jennifer Hillier does NOT miss. Things We Do in the Dark is a perfect example of a thriller novel as once you start it you will not be able to set it down. I suggest in advance that you clear your schedule now and put your phone on DND. The characters came to life as the pages turned- from fiction to friends. I still ache a bit for Joey :( This would be a perfect novel for fans of Tarryn Fisher!

This was my first Jennifer Hillier book and I loved it and have since added more of her books to my never ending TBR. First off, I loved that this book had a BIPOC main character. So many of the thriller mystery books that are talked about on bookstagram center ⚪️ folks so I am always here for the thrillers that have a more diverse cast of characters. I loved this story, it was deeper than just a page turning mystery with themes of long-lost lovers and overcoming past trauma. I’ll be honest, I did guess the big reveal, but there was so much that I loved about this book that the slight predictability didn’t ruin it for me. This is definitely worth checking out for my usual thriller readers, and if you’re someone who usually reads just contemporary fiction and are looking to dive into the thriller genre, this is a great book to start with!

TW: Child abuse, rape, sexual assault

I’m going to start by saying this definitely won’t be for everyone. Which is why I listed the trigger warnings above.

This was my first Jennifer Hiller book, and a much heavier read than I was expecting. Not quite the popcorn thriller I was looking for. But that’s not to say I didn’t like it. Quite the opposite actually. It kept me turning the pages and finished it in 2 days! Which is a world record for me.

A lot of the story was centred around Joey’s traumatic childhood, which was hard to read at times. Monster doesn’t even cut it for how awful Ruby was! I wanted her to die a slow and painful death!!

I really liked Chaz, eventhough he plays a small role..and Drew.

As someone who was born and raised in Toronto, it was nice to finally read a book that is set in my hometown.

From the unforgettable first line of this book, “There’s a time and a place for erect nipples, but the back of a Seattle police car definitely isn’t it,” to the very satisfying conclusion, I was drawn into Paris Peralta’s story.

This is not a happy story. This a survival story.

Paris is arrested for the murder of her much older famous husband’s murder. She was found all bloody with the murder weapon in her hand. Her motive: the money of course. The media attention draws out people from her past that she fought to leave behind.

25 years ago a different murder. Ruby Reyes aka the Ice Queen took an ice skate to a man’s neck and is being granted an early release. Ruby knows exactly who Paris was and threatens to expose all Paris’s secrets if she doesn’t get paid.

This book delves into some serious topics: abuse, bias, and discrimination, but it’s done well.

Entertaining and thought-provoking. I have found another author I can’t wait to read again.

Hillier is back with another page-turning thrilling story.

Paris Peralta has a past, she's managed to outrun. But it might finally threaten her future.

She discovers her famous husband, Jimmy Peralta dead and is the number one suspect. An investigation determines that it was suicide, but not before it's unleashed a media frenzy around Paris, allowing her biological mother to recognize her and attempt to blackmail her.

Some strong triggers in this story around sexual abuse, child sexual abuse, parental negligence and violence.

When Paris Peralta is found standing over her husband's bloodied body, naturally police assume she killed him. And the sudden spotlight shone on her threatens to expose all her hidden secrets. She needs to sort out her past at the same time as she protects her future... because the only thing worse than going down for one murder would be going down for two.

I couldn't put this book down! By a quarter of the way through I thought I'd figured out all the twists, but I was enjoying the storytelling and looking forward to seeing the mystery unspool anyway... and then SURPRISE, I hadn't actually figured it all out after all, and the way everything unfolded was more satisfying than the version I'd predicted. While I'd categorize this one as sort of a slow burn mystery more than a thriller, Jennifer Hillier kept me on the edge of my seat all the way to the last page. If this got adapted into a series for a streaming platform I'd binge watch the whole thing.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Can Jennifer Hillier do any wrong? Nope, not a bit.
The Ice Queen had me rolling! What a character.
While this story didn't have the heart-pounding twists as some of Hillier's previous works. I felt the writing was elevated. I didn't care about being surprised; I was encompassed by the character development instead.

Ok, let me preface this by saying I usually love anything Jennifer Hillier puts out. I didn’t hate this one, but I didn’t love it either. Hear me out, JH is amazing and this was a total preference thing for me.

This book was more of a slow burn mystery than her other novels. I also consider most of her books thrillers, but I don’t know that I would really consider this a thriller. I’m just not used to that with JH books AND slow burn isn’t really my thing.

The character development was ok but I definitely think there were some missed opportunities. Would’ve been cool to have a flashback for more insight into Ruby’s childhood.

I thought it was a bit repetitive towards the middle, so I sort of felt that the middle of the book drug on. It wasn’t so slow that I lost interest completely but I definitely wasn’t flipping pages,which is how I am with most of her books. I definitely picks up towards the end.

This books wasn’t as demented as most of her books. I honestly prefer her crazier books lol. I
still can’t wait to read whatever she puts out next.

The story overall is a mix of good and bad. There are two murders to solve in this story. One is hard and for another, I saw the ending as soon as a new character was introduced. The author did a great job writing as she cast a doubt on every single character. Everyone has a motive. Paris's character was easy to decipher. Even though Paris has a mysterious nature. I feel that only Paris's character was fully developed. Everyone else was incomplete. Also, the development of the story is extremely slow. At times, dialogues and scenes did not contribute to the overall storyline and were just fillers. Overall, the story was good, not great.

Thank you to Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This book is going down as one of my favorites of this year! Thank you so much NetGalley for this advanced copy.

Paris Peralta has found herself covered in blood and her husband Jimmy dead in the bathroom. She has no idea what has happened but is charged with murder. As the story unfolds we find out about Paris’ past and Jimmy’s murder.

Things We Do in the Dark had me hooked from the very beginning. This book had everything - dual timelines, interesting characters, an exciting plot line, and even some courtroom drama! I highly recommend this book to thriller and mystery fans. Things We Do in the Dark reads fast because you won't want to put it down!

Decent thriller. Not my favorite by hers. I felt like i figured out the plot twists earlier in the book than was meant. I do think the average thriller reader will enjoy this though. I would rate 3.5 stars if that was an option.

This one is right up there with "Jar of Hearts". It would not let me go and I devoured the whole book!!

Jennifer Hillier does it again. This book had me on the edge of my seat and man did it take me for a ride. I loved each twist and turn. While some of the reveals were predictable some caught me by surprise. This book was entertaining but lacked some of the more thrilling aspects I have come to expect from this author. I also would have liked to have seem more of Ruby’s development. She was a large part of this story and we only get glimpses into her and it all revolves around Joey. Joey was overall the most developed character and her chapters were gut wrenching, reading all the struggles this girl went through in such a brief time was awful. Overall I enjoyed this book but it was nothing new in the grand scheme of things.

I enjoyed the latest thriller from Jennifer Hillier, Things We Do in the Dark. As always Ms Hillier did an excellent job of giving the reader characters to love and characters to hate. I want to thank NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an early copy to review.

I absolutely loved and devoured this book. So much more to the story than I expected, I almost feel like the blurb is misleading but in a good way! This is my second time reading Jennifer HIllier and will certainly not be the last. After so many mediocre thriller releases in the past few years, this story kept me entertained and invested from the get go. The layers to the story were so interesting and impressive. I'm excited to sing the praises of this one to all my fellow readers!

This thriller was good but I did find it a bit predictable. I figured out pretty early on who had done what but I still enjoyed the plot and finished the whole book quickly.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy to honestly review.

I loved this book, even more than Jennifer Hillier’s last. It will keep you on your toes and keep you guessing until the very end. Jennifer Hillier is cementing herself as a must-read thriller author from here on out!