I had never read anything by Jennifer Hillier and really enjoyed this one. This is the story of Joey, who has a terrible mother and a difficult upbringing. It is also the story of Paris, who finds herself the prime suspect of her husband's murder. Her husband, 30 years her senior, was a high-profile entertainer and everyone believes Paris did it for the millions she would inherit. Paris knows otherwise but has major secrets from her past life she doesn't want coming out. The book goes back and forth from Paris to Joey until the two finally intersect. Joey's story broke my heart and the reader should know there is child abuse, sexual abuse, violence and difficult foster care situations in this one. The author does a service to the reader by laying this out in the beginning of the book. It was not difficult to hate Joey's mother and so while Hillier does a good job of keeping us guessing until the end how things will wrap up, the ending is definitely satisfying. The book focuses more on character development rather than a thriller aspect so I would go into it knowing that this is not one to keep the suspense high or the lights on. I really liked both Joey and Paris and found myself cheering for them as well as Joey's friend, Drew. I listened the this one on audio and the narration was really good. It was a tough read to put down. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good murder mystery and will be looking for more reads from this author in the future.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and MacMillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the latest psychological thriller by Jennifer Hillier and wonderfully narrated by Carla Vega - 5 stars!

Paris Peralta is accused of killing her celebrity older husband - and things don't look good for her seeing as she was found with the murder weapon in her hand. While the thought of going to jail terrifies her, so do the letters that she is receiving from Ruby Reyes, threatening to expose a secret from her past.

I don't want to give too much away because you must read this book yourself! It is full of multiple storylines and timelines as well as stories that will break your heart. There are the twists that you might see coming and those you won't - all adding up to a gripping story that I couldn't put down. Jennifer Hillier has done it again - her writing and character development are top notch. Highly recommended!

Things we do in the dark

I really liked the book.. Very good writing. Fast pacing. Everything that a good triller should be. The premise was kind of standard, old reach men died/ murdered. Much younger wife which full of secrets in her past is accused of murder. I really enjoyed ( bad choice of word enjoy because the story is dramatic, disturbing, and dark) the drama behind. I feel that the book has strong not pleasant a family drama more into it than a triller. The story is very good structured, I like how author by little doses give us the story and keep us alert until very end. The main character Paris, I had a mixed feelings during whole story, but her mom Ruby is a very strong picture. The author never step out to loose her character, never put us to any sympathy to her. Which I believe if we know her past, her childhood, we will have. I also liked how the author finished the story, put all dots on ‘i’s. All the secrets revealed.
Overall it’s a great ‘enjoyable’ reading. Time past fast with it. Yes dark, twisted, and sad.

I was so excited to receive Things We Do in the Dark! Thank you to NetGalley for the ALC.

From Goodreads: “When Paris Peralta is arrested in her own bathroom—covered in blood, holding a straight razor, her celebrity husband dead in the bathtub—she knows she'll be charged with murder. But as bad as this looks, it's not what worries her the most.”

This was a great slow burn mystery! The twists and turns in the story kept me second guessing along with some of the characters in the story. What I appreciated was that the twists were relatively plausible. This mystery/thriller almost reads like a family drama and I’m here for it!

What I loved:

🔪 Diverse characters
🔪 Learning about Filipino culture
🔪 Well developed characters that are multidimensional
🔪 Strong female characters!
🔪 Canadian location (close to home 🥰)

There are several TWs that the author makes note of at the beginning of the audiobook: child abuse, sexual violence, suicide, & addiction.

“His smile wasn’t just making her uncomfortable it was starting to scare her. She was familiar with that smile. She’d seen it too many times. It was a smile monsters wore when they were pretending they weren’t monsters.”

The pub date for Things We Do in the Dark is June 19th. I can’t wait to read Jennifer Hillier’s other books!

Carla Vega did an excellent job narrating this audiobook.

Hillier is a master of writing a dark, intriguing, and twisty thriller! All I wanted to do was listen to the audiobook, I was in a trance and had to know everything about Paris. The narrator, Carla Vega, did an amazing job.

Paris was such a strong protagonist that I instantly loved her. On the other hand, my heart broke when we dive into her past family life. While I suspected parts of the twists throughout, the ending was so unexpected and completely filling/satisfying! Definitely do yourself a favor and read this book.

***** Many thanks to Macmillan Audio, Jennifer Hillier, and NetGalley for the gifted copy as it was provided to me in turn for my honest opinion.

Rating 4.5 stars but rounding up to 5 stars on the star count.
The review will be post on instagram (thriller_book_sisters) on 7/15/22.

Things We Do In The Dark by Jennifer Hillier

Paris is a young lady about 29 years age difference between her and her husband Jimmy. The story starts off with Jimmy her famous comedian husband is found dead in the bath tub. Paris is in the bathroom holding a razor in her hand. Paris is arrested for murder. This is how the story starts then it split with a duel time line Paris as a young girl before and Paris who is in jail dealing with murder.

The story has some complexity cause everyone feels like a suspect and the main character Paris has her own little secrets. Jimmy had his own crazy history with depression and drugs. Did Jimmy commit suicide or was he murdered? Who killed Jimmy?

I love the duel time line it helped explain the complexity of the main character life and her secrets. Everything does come together by the end of the story it was fleshed out really good leading the reader along the story. The reader is given crumbs along the way to put the story together. I felt like the story wasn't overly complex as I initially thought it would be. My gut was right all along who I thought did it.

This was overall an enjoyable thriller to read and I enjoyed it was a 4 star read for me. If you like thrillers this is a good one to wet your taste buds for a decent straight forward thriller.

Carla Vega narrated the story and gave life to Paris and the other characters she did a great job giving everyone a voice.

Thank you to Netgalley and MacMilan Audio for giving me a free audio copy of this book for an honest review.

ARC Review; Expected Release 7/19/2022

I loved this book. I’m largely a Fantasy reader but have gone through Thriller periods in the past and this one may have started me down one of those paths because i’ll be looking into Jennifer Hillier’s back-catalogue .

The story centers around two POVs.

The first being Paris, the younger wife of an older famous comedian, who we are introduced to in the opening chapter holding a straight razor with her husband dead in the room. She faces a murder charge, and the publics wrath, with the assumption being she’s killed him for the money. While she tries to defend herself and discover what really happened the plot thickens throughout.

The second, Drew, is a successful true crime podcaster, that is preparing to do an episode of the one murder he told himself he’d never cover because of personal connection to it; His deceased best friends mother is known as the Ice Killer and was supposed to be serving a life sentence, but when she connives her way onto parole he decides to work on her story and show the world how terrible she truly is.

These stories twist and turn in such satisfying ways. The author does a great job on letting the reader peak behind the curtain in a way that you feel like you are in on the reveal instead of being blindsided by twist out of no where. The pacing is solid throughout, and the characters felt believable.

The narration is performed by Carla Vega, and she does a stand up job at delivering the story.

Big thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a chance to get in on this book early. I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Book of the Month for access to this Absolutley fabulous thriller.

This book was un-put-downable. Our main character is the wife of a comedian….similarly loved as Seinfeld is…and he dies in a specatculatly bloody way. She is immediately arrested for his murder….and we soon learn that she is being blackmailed because she is not who she says she is.

But who can she trust? Who is she really? And what happened to her husband?

The twists and turns, delving into the past, sloughing though past tramas, and learning who is really on her side. What a fabulous read!

This is my first Jennifer Hillier book and it won’t be my last!

What a great listen! It started off fast with Paris Peralta looking very guilty of murdering her much older celebrity husband, and just kept unfolding in a way that kept me listening to find out what would happen next. I was initially skeptical of Paris, who clearly has some dark secrets. On the other hand I loved Joey from the beginning and really felt for the heartbreaking childhood that she endured. I really liked how fleshed out the characters were and that the twists kept me guessing. I will definitely be recommending "Things We Do in the Dark" to anyone looking for a fast paced thriller that will grab your emotions as well.

Thanks to MacMillan Audio/Minotaur & NetGalley for providing an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Reading Between the Wines book review #57/135 for 2022:
Rating: 4 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷
Book 🎧: Things We Do in the Dark
Author: Jennifer Hillier
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
RELEASES July 19, 2022!!! Get your copy today!

Sipping thoughts: I knew Jennifer would live up to my expectations as well as all the hype I heard. Reading this book was like getting 2 books in one. Although the storyline is really one larger one, the past and present POV really made it feel like I was reading 2 stories. I enjoyed following Paris’ story and trying to figure out if she was guilty and the past she was running from. There is one character in this book is one that I just could NOT stand and for the sake of staying away from spoilers, just know you will feel the same way. I loved the ending and I think all the twists were believable.

Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley, @jenniferhillierbooks @StMartinsPress, @MinotaurBooks and @MacmillanAudio for an advance copy of @ThingsWeDoInTheDark.

#ThingsWeDoInTheDark #JenniferHillier #StMartinsPress #MinotaurBooks #MacmillanAudio #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers

This is one of the better thrillers I've read this year, and it definitely lived up to my expectations. I thought the plot was original, and the execution of the plot was well done. The twists were believable, but not always expected. The characters were well developed, and I appreciated the diversity among the different characters. The audio narration was well done, and I would definitely recommend it in the format. This book will move Hillier into an auto read author for me.

What a great thriller novel with two storylines. This is a new author for me, but will be reading the rest of her books. You will learn about Paris being charged with killing her husband and Ruby’s journey of escaping her mother’s abuse only to be put into another abused home for her to escape. The author does a marvelous job with both storylines and bringing them together.

This is my first book by Jennifer Hillier. I was impressed with her writing style. It was very descriptive and really took a deep dive into the lives of the main characters. I appreciate that in a story.

This story was tragic and at times a bit hard to read because of the content which includes domestic abuse, sexual abuse and child abuse. However I was very impressed with the way the story unfolded and how it wrapped up. It was a gritty and beautiful read.

I absolutely loved the narrator and felt she told the story perfectly. She got me hooked and made me want to keep coming back!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio and Jennifer Hillier for access to the audiobook and ARC available 7/19/22.

This was really good! Jennifer Hillier can come up with a crazy plot. Felt really realistic and painful at times. A really good thriller that touches on family drama, childhood trauma and death,,,, Give it a try

Amazing. Gripping from start to finish. I felt the narrator could have been a different choice, one that was more emotive but that’s just my opinion. Not a significant impact as the story still comes across and is fantastic. Highly recommend! Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy!

This audiobook was way too long and sooo slow-paced. I keep waiting for something more to happen and nothing ever did. The big reveals were obvious and not very exciting, definitely not a “thriller”. This one just didn’t work for me.

My thanks to Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read this copy of Jennifer Hillier’s Things We Do In The Dark.

First I must comment on this super cool glow in the dark cover. It is light a mini night light.

TW ⚠️ for child abuse pedophilia

This is my first Jennifer Hiller book but It won't be my last. I both read and listened to this book over the course of two days and I was riveted. Things We Do In The Dark is a tense dark psychological thriller. The book starts with Paris Peralta covered in her famous comedian husband’s blood. She is arrested for his murder. Then it takes us on a 30 year journey into a past full of secrets lies and murder...

A true crime podcaster named Drew learns "The Ice Queen" murderer, Ruby Reyes is about to be paroled. His interest in this story is more than casual, Ruby Reyes is the mother of a former close friend - Joey. We follow Drew into the past as he tries to investigate a deadly fire.

There is a lot of back story of characters that is dark and tough to read but ties together perfectly. You realize that all of the wicked evil things done - in the dark - will come to the light. No one escapes the darkness of their past, it follows them like a shadow.

Although I guessed the "twist" fairly soon, it did not distract from my enjoyment of the story. I focused my emotional intensity on the "villains" getting their comupence and Hiller did not disappoint.

The narration of the audiobook was done really well and I highly recommend picking up the #audiobook too. I also loved that two of the main characters in this book were #BIPOC

If you like dark, twisty #psychologicalthrillers, this book is for you.

Thank you @macmillan.audio for my ALC. Things We Do In The Dark publishes July 19. 2022.

“Why was it always the meanest ones who lived the longest?”

This book started off so strong. A dead, aging comedian in the midst of a great comeback. Millions of dollars at stake. A much younger wife accused of his murder. An arrest. Police and lawyers.

Then an abrupt shift. I was a bit confused initially, not quite sure how this change in both situation and timeline fit in with the original murder mystery. But it unraveled nicely, albeit slowly. After the shift, though, the story lost some momentum. I didn’t see the ending coming even though it wasn’t a huge surprise, but the story wrapped up nicely which I always appreciate.

The audio is what kept me going with the story. I loved it! The narrator was wonderful and really had me invested in both Paris and her story. The emotion she brought to the character gave the story that extra bit of heart that it needed. I give the book 3 stars but the audio four!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

The book is full of twists and turns in the pursuit of freedom and revenge. Paris Peralta wakes up one morning in her husband’s bathroom. She’s covered in blood. He’s dead in the bathtub, luxuriating in blood. He has a fatal cut. She’s holding the straight razor. That’s how the police find them. Jo/Paris is being put on trial for murder of her husband. The reader is then taken on the journey of the current trial as well as flashbacks to the life of Jo/Paris and how she ended up where she did. The layout of the story is well done and keeps the reader engaged and quite frankly the reader will sympathize with Jo/Paris as you learn more about her trials in her younger years as well as as she grows, with society, family and so many others taking advantage of her. . I really enjoyed how the narrative is structured - the shifts between present and past, as well as the different POVs, make sure the reader is given as much information as possible to really understand the characters and their motives. one might argue that a little too much information is given, as its very easy to figure out the halfway point “twist” very early on. but that didn't bother me because i was just so invested in the characters.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and St. Martins press/minotaur books

I was sent this book from NetGalley. My ratings and reviews will be my own personal opinions and are in no way influenced by publishers or authors who may have sent me books to review.

Jennier Hillier is a must read and buy for me. I was so excited to get an early copy of Things We Do in the Dark. This does have triggers for murder, drug abuse, and child abuse. However; there is limited details around them but could be triggering to some.

This started off a little slow for me after the initial events. I had a hard time picking it back up. I am so glad that I decided to pick it back up and push through as once I started part two, I never put this back down.

This is almost two different stories told in different parts. Of course, they all connect and I knew that but it was still reading like two different stories. I was enjoying both the story with Drew as well as Paris though so I did not mind. I really love the twists along the way on how they really do connect though.

Overall, I really ended up enjoying this one. JH never disappoints.