Member Review
Review by
Judith D. C, Reviewer
The fabulous award-winning thriller "queen" and master storyteller returns following her smashing hit, Jar of Hearts, Winner—Best Novel, 2019 ITW Thriller Award (and you may ask, "how she could possibly top it")?
Well, my book friends, she is Jennifer Hillier!
Yes, she does. LITTLE SECRETS is totally addictive and enthralling! Starting from the striking front cover to every thrilling page. One of my favorite books of hers thus far— once again landing on my Top Books of 2020. I have read all her books, and you can find my review links below. No one does twisty plot-driven and character-driven thrillers, better.
"All it takes to unravel a life is one little secret..." Indeed, these secrets turn into dangerous life-threatening massive secrets!
LITTLE SECRETS is an addictive psychological domestic suspense thriller that is a bit of a square or rectangle, versus a triangle with four main characters:
Marin— the wife and mother.
Derek— the husband and father.
Sal— Marin’s best friend (bad boy)
McKenzie— the mistress, barista, art grad student who is obsessed with social media.
Sebastian —Marin and Derek’s four-year-old toddler son who is in the center of this square.
Set in Seattle (one of my favorite cities) in Pike Place Market, it is December and the busy Christmas season.
Marian owns hi-end hair salons and caters to celebrities and the wealthy. Derek is a successful business owner as well, and they are quite the power couple. The cars, homes, clothes, friends, and prestige. They have it all and a beautiful son after many rounds of IVF.
Marian is doing some last-minute Christmas shopping, choosing just the right gifts for her staff, and Sebastian is getting impatient, wanting a promised lollipop. She tells him, "five more minutes." Something we all have done.
Then coming down the escalator, she receives several texts, one from her husband whom they will be meeting shortly, and one from her best bud and childhood friend, Sal. She is distracted.
Marin lets go of her son's hand for one minute to type a reply, and in the blink of an eye, he has vanished. Where could her precious little boy have gone in his cute little reindeer sweater?
She panics— she must find her son. She knows the statistics. The longer it is before he is found, the fewer chances she will every find him alive. Did he get lost, or did someone take him? How could this have happened?
The security footage shows someone dressed in a Santa Claus suit has taken his hand. In the other hand is the lollipop. The same one from the expensive candy store, she had planned to take him to.
That is all it took to steal a child. Four minutes. A lollipop, a Santa suit, and two hundred forty seconds.
Sixteen months later, nothing.
The FBI has not found her son. They have all but given up. Too much time has passed and all the leads go cold. Marian will never give up!
She hires a PI. She is barely functioning. Her grief, her guilt, she wants her son back. She cannot even think about all the bad things that her son is experiencing, through or if he is still alive. Her mind goes to dark places. She has even attempted suicide. Her relationship with her husband has deteriorated. She is a shell of her former self.
She decides to attend a group with like-minded parents. An interesting group of secondary characters.
Now the PI has some new information. However, it is not about her son. She never told Derek she had hired a PI. The news: Her husband is having an affair with a stupid little twenty-something pink hair graduate student!
Marin turns her grief into rage. She wants revenge. She has lost her son and she will not lose her husband too! Rage and anger take over.
Marian carries things too far and starts talking murder for hire. She will pay. e will not let her husband of nearly twenty years get by with having sex with a younger woman. Sal, a former ex-con and bar owner knows people.
However, the plot thickens. What are Sal, Derek, and his mistress keeping from her?
Everyone has secrets. Those secrets may just lead her to her son and who took him and where he has been? Will she reach him in time? What is the motive?
Lies, secrets, betrayal!. When love turns to hate and things get messy. You will be turning the pages as fast as you can to the explosive ending. I devoured LITTLE SECRETS!
This riveting thriller is fast-paCED, modern, chic, sexy, twisty, and unpredictable! Immersing —intricately plotted and smartly written, Jennifer is at the "top of her game."
What really makes this a stand-out novel, is Hillier's ability to get inside Marian's head. She experiences all sorts of emotions. As a reader, you are drawn into this web of deceit. She delves deep into the mindset of Marian after her son was taken. We feel her intense pain from the array of emotions of guilt, loss, revenge, and her downward spiral.
In LITTLE SECRETS, the author explores highly charged topics. Kidnapping, marriage, infidelity, friendship, motherhood, obsession, love, desperation, suicide, betrayal, grief, revenge, tragedy, and much more. Each of these involves secrets that spiral out of control.
BTW: the “Louboutin’s-twist” was priceless!
Stay tuned for my Q&A Elevator Ride with Jennifer coming April 21, 2020! We will go behind the scenes of LITTLE SECRETS and this acclaimed author. It is going to be fantastic. Move this one to the top of your list. I will also be hosting an upcoming Mother's Day Book giveaway contest.
#JdCMustReadBooks
A special thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. In addition, pre-ordered the hardcover and the audiobook.
My Reviews:
Little Secrets
Top Books of 2020
Jar of Hearts
Top Books of 2018
Wonderland
Top Books of 2015
The Butcher
Top Books of 2014
Prior to my Book Blog
Freak
Creep
Well, my book friends, she is Jennifer Hillier!
Yes, she does. LITTLE SECRETS is totally addictive and enthralling! Starting from the striking front cover to every thrilling page. One of my favorite books of hers thus far— once again landing on my Top Books of 2020. I have read all her books, and you can find my review links below. No one does twisty plot-driven and character-driven thrillers, better.
"All it takes to unravel a life is one little secret..." Indeed, these secrets turn into dangerous life-threatening massive secrets!
LITTLE SECRETS is an addictive psychological domestic suspense thriller that is a bit of a square or rectangle, versus a triangle with four main characters:
Marin— the wife and mother.
Derek— the husband and father.
Sal— Marin’s best friend (bad boy)
McKenzie— the mistress, barista, art grad student who is obsessed with social media.
Sebastian —Marin and Derek’s four-year-old toddler son who is in the center of this square.
Set in Seattle (one of my favorite cities) in Pike Place Market, it is December and the busy Christmas season.
Marian owns hi-end hair salons and caters to celebrities and the wealthy. Derek is a successful business owner as well, and they are quite the power couple. The cars, homes, clothes, friends, and prestige. They have it all and a beautiful son after many rounds of IVF.
Marian is doing some last-minute Christmas shopping, choosing just the right gifts for her staff, and Sebastian is getting impatient, wanting a promised lollipop. She tells him, "five more minutes." Something we all have done.
Then coming down the escalator, she receives several texts, one from her husband whom they will be meeting shortly, and one from her best bud and childhood friend, Sal. She is distracted.
Marin lets go of her son's hand for one minute to type a reply, and in the blink of an eye, he has vanished. Where could her precious little boy have gone in his cute little reindeer sweater?
She panics— she must find her son. She knows the statistics. The longer it is before he is found, the fewer chances she will every find him alive. Did he get lost, or did someone take him? How could this have happened?
The security footage shows someone dressed in a Santa Claus suit has taken his hand. In the other hand is the lollipop. The same one from the expensive candy store, she had planned to take him to.
That is all it took to steal a child. Four minutes. A lollipop, a Santa suit, and two hundred forty seconds.
Sixteen months later, nothing.
The FBI has not found her son. They have all but given up. Too much time has passed and all the leads go cold. Marian will never give up!
She hires a PI. She is barely functioning. Her grief, her guilt, she wants her son back. She cannot even think about all the bad things that her son is experiencing, through or if he is still alive. Her mind goes to dark places. She has even attempted suicide. Her relationship with her husband has deteriorated. She is a shell of her former self.
She decides to attend a group with like-minded parents. An interesting group of secondary characters.
Now the PI has some new information. However, it is not about her son. She never told Derek she had hired a PI. The news: Her husband is having an affair with a stupid little twenty-something pink hair graduate student!
Marin turns her grief into rage. She wants revenge. She has lost her son and she will not lose her husband too! Rage and anger take over.
Marian carries things too far and starts talking murder for hire. She will pay. e will not let her husband of nearly twenty years get by with having sex with a younger woman. Sal, a former ex-con and bar owner knows people.
However, the plot thickens. What are Sal, Derek, and his mistress keeping from her?
Everyone has secrets. Those secrets may just lead her to her son and who took him and where he has been? Will she reach him in time? What is the motive?
Lies, secrets, betrayal!. When love turns to hate and things get messy. You will be turning the pages as fast as you can to the explosive ending. I devoured LITTLE SECRETS!
This riveting thriller is fast-paCED, modern, chic, sexy, twisty, and unpredictable! Immersing —intricately plotted and smartly written, Jennifer is at the "top of her game."
What really makes this a stand-out novel, is Hillier's ability to get inside Marian's head. She experiences all sorts of emotions. As a reader, you are drawn into this web of deceit. She delves deep into the mindset of Marian after her son was taken. We feel her intense pain from the array of emotions of guilt, loss, revenge, and her downward spiral.
In LITTLE SECRETS, the author explores highly charged topics. Kidnapping, marriage, infidelity, friendship, motherhood, obsession, love, desperation, suicide, betrayal, grief, revenge, tragedy, and much more. Each of these involves secrets that spiral out of control.
BTW: the “Louboutin’s-twist” was priceless!
Stay tuned for my Q&A Elevator Ride with Jennifer coming April 21, 2020! We will go behind the scenes of LITTLE SECRETS and this acclaimed author. It is going to be fantastic. Move this one to the top of your list. I will also be hosting an upcoming Mother's Day Book giveaway contest.
#JdCMustReadBooks
A special thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. In addition, pre-ordered the hardcover and the audiobook.
My Reviews:
Little Secrets
Top Books of 2020
Jar of Hearts
Top Books of 2018
Wonderland
Top Books of 2015
The Butcher
Top Books of 2014
Prior to my Book Blog
Freak
Creep
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