Things We Do in the Dark is a fast read psychological thriller that will have you guessing until the end!

Paris is arrested and suspected of killing her incredibly wealthy, famous and much older husband. As the media focuses on Paris, she is afraid her hidden past will come out. Did Paris kill her husband? What is she hiding from her past?

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good thriller. I loved every minute!

Talk about mental whiplash. This one felt like it was an easy ride the first quarter of the book, I was thinking “okay, this one should be all right nothing too crazy but I’m into it.“ then the back-and-forth timeline of past and present events, combined with characters from past and present that began overlapping, took my brain on an adventure like I haven’t had from a book in a while. Hillier does a phenomenal job creeping out a story and developing characters that make you want to keep reading, easing in details that make the flow of the story work seamlessly, but also make you think you have everything figured out and then you realize you don’t. There are certain aspects that you have to have known were coming but that’s just what Hillier wants you to do so she can weave in the unexpected twists.

Hillier has been on my to be read list for a while and the synopsis of all of her books have intrigued me and now I’m kicking myself that I have slept on her work for so long.

Things We Do In The Dark is about the wife of a famous comedian, her secret past and the events after he dies.

Paris Peralta becomes well known when her much older famous husband is found stabbed to death and she is found holding the murder weapon. Now she is accused of his murder and her secrets are at risk of being revealed to the world.

The book starts out with Paris’ point of view. There is then a switch at about the 25% mark to Drew’s point of view. Drew is a former journalist now podcaster who is stunned to find out a killer is going to be paroled. Drew has a personal connection to the killer as he was friends with her daughter, Joey. The third point of view we get is Joey’s. Overall, the POV switch to Drew was rough for me. I was enjoying the book and it took me a bit to get settled in a new POV. I also think the POV switches spoiled the twists for me a bit. It revealed motives and made the plot come together very quickly in my head. However, because of this, I lost the suspense, thrill and mystery I would normally have.

There are two or three interconnected twists and I saw all of them coming from a mile away, Even though I was not surprised, I still enjoyed the book. It’s a great read and you’ll want to confirm your theory is correct. I will say I wasn’t the biggest fan of the ending. This is one of those stories where you will have to suspend reality to enjoy some of the scenarios. It gets a little unbelievable at parts. However, this is fiction and doesn’t always need to be possible or realistic to enjoy.

Overall, I really loved the book. It wasn’t a complete wow but it was a great read and if you’re a fan of Jennifer Hillier, you will enjoy her latest.

Small trigger warning: This book has child abuse and sexual abuse throughout,

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Really solid thriller with a great build up to the ending. I had the twist figured out fairly quickly but that didn't take away from the story at all. Interesting characters.

I absolutely love Hillier and all the books i’ve read by her! The storyline to this and how it was broken into 5 parts kept me entertained and wanted to read more! I unfortunately did predict all the twists which was disappointing because I feel like in her other books I have not and I was waiting for that 🤯🤯🤯 moment which never came. Her writing style is phenomenal and I will continue to read anything she writes! I would recommend to anyone to read her books!

thank you netgalley for the ARC to this book!!!

Paris Peralta is accused of murdering her celebrity husband after she is found next to his body, covered in blood, holding a straight razor. The resulting media attention makes her worried that her secret past is going to catch up with her.

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I loved this book. Paris was a complex, messed up character who made some sketchy AF choices, but I could understand why she did what she did and really wanted her to come out ok in the end. The way the narrative is structured really ratcheted up the tension with shifts between the past and the present and multiple characters' POVs. I wasn't really surprised by the twist(s), but I fully enjoyed watching it all unfold. I loved Jar of Hearts, and I have added Little Secrets to my TBR and Jennifer Hillier is going on my auto-read/request/buy author list. This was a super enjoyable, well-written, suspenseful, fast-paced thriller. Highly recommend!

Summary: 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.
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Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
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My thoughts: @jenniferhillierbooks has done it again friends! This one was dark and twisty and such a fun read! Thank you @netgalley and @macmillanusa for the advanced copy! I had so much fun reading this one, the perfect summer thriller! A great read as per usual and lots of fun to dive into. It will keep you guessing until the end.
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This book missed the mark for me. It's dark and intense, which is standard for psychological thrillers, but it wasn't enough. The pace was too slow, except for the ending (which didn't seem plausible, even for fiction), which felt rushed. Twists were predictable. I didn't like any of the characters, therefore, I had a hard time staying engaged. The first part of the story was better than the latter half.


There are numerous trigger warnings, including: child abuse, sexual assault, emotional/physical abuse, and racial slurs

This was my first Jennifer Hillier novel. There are two timelines, which is something I really enjoy. Hillier is good at maneuvering from one to the other without losing the reader. The book is tense and dark, like most good psychological thrillers. I was really into it for the first few chapters; unfortunately, I quickly lost interest.

I was hoping for much more. The pacing was slow until the very end, which was rushed. The twists that came earlier on were easy to figure out, and the ending itself was too unbelievable (I'm all for suspension of disbelief, but there's a limit).

As for the characters... I didn't hate them, but I could not tell you a single thing that I liked about them either.

Please check trigger warnings, this book is full of them.

Publication date: 19 July 2022

I really did not enjoy this one. I didn't think the characters' motivations made much sense. Joey's motivations were so unclear, for one. I also felt like the ending was very sudden and we still don't quite understand why anything happened the way it did. I wish there had been more depth to the characters as well as detail to the plot.

Overall, this one really didn't work for me.

So that happened.

Not really sure what to say about that.

Things We Do in the Dark started out strong. At the outset, I was in, and then shortly thereafter, I wasn’t. I hate when that happens.

Nothing about the novel thereafter shocked me or held my interest, yet I kept reading, hopeful.

The story of Paris Peralta and her husband Jimmy didn’t quite do it for me.

Why?

The implausibility factor is high, which admittedly is not my favorite thing. My eyes rolled quite a bit, especially at the last 30%, at which I had to suspend disbelief. While this wasn’t my favorite, I like Jennifer Hiller’s writing and adored all of her other novels, thus I remain a fan.

This was another buddy read with Kaceey, which left both of us wanting.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced readers' copy.

Hillier has done it yet again with Things we do in the Dark! I have been so impressed with everything I’ve read by her in the past that I was a little worried my expectations would be too high but she pulled through!

I love that we dive right in with our main character Paris Peralta getting arrested for the murder of her husband, famous comedian Jimmy Peralta. It also flips to perspective of true crime podcasted Drew Malcom, I’ve read several books the last few years with the “crime podcast” trope and I’ve loved them all and found them all to be very unique and this one was as well!

I normally don’t like when I can guess the twists of the book, but in true “podcast” fashion, I felt hillier was giving the exact right amounts of information to make me feel like I was getting the information right because I was such a good investigator, not because they were obvious.

I definitely recommend adding this one to your summer reading list!

Things We Do in the Dark starts off with Paris being arrested for the murder of her famous comedian husband, Jimmy who is about 20 years older than her. She is found with the straight razor used to kill him in her hand. Now Paris's dark past comes back to haunt her. She has never revealed her past to anyone in her current life, but now that she is front page news, someone from her past recognizes her.

This was a dark psychological thriller with the twists pretty easy to figure out. I liked the characters - Paris, Drew, Joey and Ruby were all very interesting. There's definitely the hint of an unreliable narrator with pieces of a young girl's journal and lots of secrets kept under wraps for years. This was an entertaining read, although I didn't feel like it had a lot of suspense or mystery. A pretty good thriller, even without a lot of 'thrill'.

Thanks to Minotaur Books, the author, and NetGalley for the free gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

SCREAMING. How have I never read a Jennifer Hillier book?? Because wow. This will definitely be the thriller of the summer.

Definitely get this book in hardcover or a paperback because I heard the cover glows, which is amazing.

I could not put this one down, because the twists kept coming. There are multiple POV which is always amazing during a thriller cause then you don’t even know who to trust.

I don’t want to say too much that will give it away - but if you like thrillers at all then pick this up and be ready for a wild ride.

Paris, a woman accused of murdering her rich, famous, and much older husband attempts to cooperate with her lawyers while hiding her secret past. Meanwhile Drew, a true crime podcaster, considers interviewing a convicted murderer with whom he despises for personal reasons.

Paris and Drew, who alternately act as point of view characters, are both likable, which made it easy for me to connect with them. Paris’ dire situation and the way her secrets are used to create suspense made her sections page turners. Drew is a great investigative journalist, so his chapters created a puzzle to be solved as he tries to piece together the events that led to the discovery of the body of his friend, Joey. While Joey’s tragic backstory including child abuse and sexual assault was hard to read, it served nice to form her character.

I really liked how the author organized the book, even though I was a little put off when the story transitioned into Drew’s point of view in the second section, because I was so invested in ParIs’s story. It didn’t take long though for me to be pulled into his world.

The secondary and tertiary characters, even those with little page time, are beautifully rendered. Even the dead husband is a three dimensional character. The novel is rich with food delicacies, and the court scenes were infrequent and well paced.

This book marries glossy tabloid intrigue with the heart that comes from creating a cast of lovingly-developed characters.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group, for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley.

I was all in in this book from the minute I read the blurb. It starts off with a bang and you can’t help but get sucked into the story. It has that element of suspense that keeps you intrigued from start to finish. Just when you think you have it figured out, there is a twist and it makes you rethink things. There were parts of the story that I found to be a bit slower, but then it would pick back up and I was right back in it. This is one I would recommend you give a chance on. It will be worth the read.

Welp, Jennifer Hillier does it again with another unputdownable thriller.

Paris Peralta has rebuilt her life. That is until she’s found covered in her celebrity husband’s blood and is on trial for his murder. At the same time, Ruby Reyes who was convicted of a murder similar to Paris’ in nineties Canada. Her unlikely release at the same time Paris is being investigated might just be a coincidence, or it might be about to drag Paris back into her past. With Ruby set to appear on the popular podcast ‘Thing We Do In the Dark’, Paris stands to loose everything she’s spent years building.

I’ll be the first to say that I love a good thriller from Hillier. She has a knack for writing some truly terrible people, while keeping readers engaged in the intricate plot. Once again she utilizes two timelines in order to depict the past and the present.

The past is portrayed through the daughter of Ruby Reyes, Joey Reye’s diary. Joey who died 25 years ago was regularly subjected to physical and verbal abuse by her mother and her mother’s boyfriends. This could be a main trigger for some readers and while Hillier doesn’t get overly graphic there are a few incidents that could give readers pause. Her journal entries though, really develop the character of Joey, even though we don’t get her POV I felt that I knew her better than any of the other characters.

Not only does the present timeline follow Paris but it also follows one of Joey’s best friends, Drew. Drew Malcolm, the narrator of the popular Podcast, Thing We Do in the Dark, is set to interview Ruby Reyes after her release from prison. He’s convinced that Ruby knows more about what happened to Joey, and he’s determined to get answers.

Even though I saw once of the twists coming, the second one was a bit unexpected but it works within the story. As always, her books are a bit dark but she is great at perfecting the atmosphere of a story and at creating complex characters. I really enjoyed trying to figure out the ‘whodunnit’ in this one and highly recommend Hillier’s books to anyone needing a page turning thriller.


Things We Do in the Dark comes out July 19, 2022! Huge thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof_books.

Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier starts off with a bang and doesn't let up. The writing was crisp and kept my interest. The book is divided into two parts, and there were times I felt I was reading two separate stories, but I did get the connection. During the second part of the book, I figured out how the story would unfold, but the book was still enjoyable to read. Also, at first, I did NOT like the Zoe character, but she grew on me, and I really liked her in the end. The storyline is quite twisty, and it had a head-turning ending.

I would recommend this book and this author.

#NetGalley @StMartinsPress

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press/ Minotaur Books for this digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest opinions

4.25 stars!

Jennifer Hillier is one of my favorite thriller authors and has yet to disappoint me with every book of hers that I have read. Things We Do in the Dark was one of my most anticipated books of this year and I'm happy to say that it met almost all of my expectations. Things We Do in the Dark follows the story of Paris Peralta, who was found by the police holding the weapon that killed her older husband, as she tries to prove her innocence while also holding back some of her own secrets. I loved the characters that Jennifer Hillier created, and thought it was best that I went into this novel essentially blind. The only thing I felt was lacking was the mystery element. I'm not sure if it is because I have read many thrillers and mysteries, but I found myself guessing all of the plot twists. The only thing I wanted was to be shocked and all other Jennifer Hillier books have done to me thus far. Either way, still very unputdownable, and I look forward to continuing my way through this author's backlist.

Another great read by Jennifer Hillier.

The book was written very well, and though I guessed one of the major plot twists very early on, it still didn’t take away the surprise and enjoyment of the plot. It was a great fast paced read that makes you rush to turn each page, wanting to know what comes next. I could totally see this story made into a movie. Though I’m sure it won’t live up to the book lol.

The only thing I have to complain about is the last part (ending)of the book. I feel like it was kind of rushed and ended too quickly. Left me feeling like something was missing.

This was an overall 3.5 Stars for me.


Thank u Net galley and St. Martin Press for an ARC copy of this book.