Just about everything I could possibly want in a thrilling story. This book had my attention from the beginning. Thriller enthusiast will find this novel fresh and enjoyable.

This was an unexpected delight for me. I was not sure I'd like the book when I started it, but I really started to get invested in the story. It's amazing how different people can act when they are in stressful situations or their normal realm of control is threatened by an outside source. This book took me to some dark places but I liked how everything turned out.

I loved Jar of Hearts and was worried I wouldn’t love this book quite as much. I had no need to worry. I loved this book. Invested from the very beginning and all I wanted to do was read it. Great twists. Highly recommend!

This book starts off with successful businesswoman Marin and her 4 year-old son Sebastian out happily Christmas shopping. But when she lets go of his hand just long enough to reply to a text message.. in that moment, he is kidnapped.

“Four minutes. That’s all it took to steal a child.
A lollipop, a Santa Suit, and two hundred forty seconds”.

Sixteen months later. Sebastian is still missing and Marin is still living day by day by blaming herself for his disappearance, and the secrets and surprises just keep coming!

I found that this book was never lacking in suspense! It is a total page-turner with twists and turns at every corner! A must-read for thriller fans!

Thank you to #NetGalley, St. Martin's, and Jennifer Hillier for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Extremely well written story with plots and sub-plots. Maybe a little convoluted but heck what do I know? I enjoyed it and will definitely read more from this author. Thank you publisher and netgalley for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

This book grabbed me from the first page and never disappointed! Marin and Derek are very wealthy. While Christmas shopping with her 4-year-old son, Sebastian, Marin gets caught up texting and "Bash" disappears. Video of the mall shows Bash leaving with Santa Clause. The case goes cold and the police put it on the back burner. Grief causes Marin to spiral out of control with drinking and several suicide attempts while Derek begins a 6-month affair with a much younger woman. Sal, Marin's former boyfriend from college who is still her "best friend" offers to introduce Marin to a "fixer" for her problem. Lots of things happen in this book that made it a real page turner. I highly recommend this riveting thriller to all who love a good read. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this great book.

Little secrets that are actually HUGE secrets can destroy marriages and lives. Marin is Christmas shopping in Pike Place Market with her 4 year old son Sebastian. As they walk along, Marin gets into a text conversation with her husband Derek. Suddenly, Sebastian is no longer at her side. Despite efforts of people in the crowd and the police, no trace of Sebastian is found. All that can be seen on security footage is Sebastian walking out of the market with Santa Clause eating his favorite sucker. The story picks up sixteen months later. Marin is, of course, devastated. At one point she even tried to commit suicide. Marin relies on her closest, dearest friend, Sal, to help her through his. Marin and Derik are drifting apart. Marin spends her days working, attending a support group and talking to Sal. Derek has found his own way to cope. He has started an affair with McKenzie. But McKenzie has her own agenda. She is a “professional dater” and plans to use Derek for her own gain. As the book goes forward all the stories converge into an unexpected ending. Little Secrets is a great book – not to be missed!

Marin's son Sebastian was kidnapped right out of a public marketplace after she let go of him for just a moment. A year later her private investigator digs up dirt, not on Sebastian's disappearance, but that husband Derek is having an affair. I would have loved to read more and find the connection this has to the kidnapping, but since Marin's solution to an unfaithful husband is to have the woman murdered...well, I kind of felt like that was putting too much blame in the wrong spot. Didn't really flow with society's current women supporting women.

Had to put this down for now, but since I love Jennifer Hillier, I will try to pick it back up another time.

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier is a dark, twisty thriller that grabbed me from the very start. Ms Hillier is another new author to me, but I have already added more of her work to my ever-growing TBR. This is a brilliant, compulsive read that will stay with you long after the final page is turned.

Marin is living a life that others envy. A successful businesswoman, she is married to the wealthy Derek, and is mother to a longed for son, four year old Sebastian. But one day, while Christmas shopping at a busy market, Marin's perfect world is shattered in an instant when her precious boy is snatched from right under her nose. A year later, the search for the boy has gone cold, and Marin is dealt another unimaginable blow. Her husband is having an affair with a younger woman. As her life continues to descend into a seemingly endless nightmare, Marin knows that she must do whatever she can to save her marriage. But at what cost to her own slippery hold on sanity?

This is a riveting read that will certainly keep you guessing. If you enjoy delving into the dark and unpredictable abyss of the human mind, this one is for you.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for this ARC.

This was a bit too convoluted for me and just overflowing with names and people. Dealing with a very sad kidnapping, the book involves too many people, too many subplots. I found it lacked a believability factor.

Though I liked the start, I found it devolved into a chaotic plot.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5 stars, rounded up
This is my first book by Jennifer Hillier, but I’ve been anxious to read something of hers for a while. This is an extremely fast, easy read. I blew through it. It starts with a mother losing her four year old son in Pike Place Market. She soon learns he’s been kidnapped. Sixteen months later, and he’s still gone. Then she discovers her husband is having an affair. At this point, she makes an irrevocable decision.
The story alternates between Marin, the wife and mother, and Kenzie, the other woman. I can’t say either woman is likeable, but Hillier does a great job of fleshing them both out. I had sussed out the villain early on in the book but certainly not the how it all played out.
I enjoyed how once again social media plays into the lives of the young. Hillier even does a great job explaining the why of its importance.
This is a fun read, but it’s like a Chinese meal. Good, but it’s not going to stick with you.
My thanks to netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy.

Marin and Derek seem to have it all, success, wealth, and a good marriage. But soon both are living every parents nightmare. While answering a text at a crowded Christmas market, Marin lets go of her son’s hand, and in an instant he is gone. When camera footage shows him being led away by someone in a Santa suit, they pull out all the stops to get Sebastian back.

Fast forward over a year later and with no new leads, the case has gone cold. What Derek doesn’t know however, is that Marin has hired a private investigator to keep digging into the abduction. But instead of receiving news about their son, she finds out that her husband is having an affair with a 24 year old student. Having already lost so much, Marin is not about to lose her husband as well.

This was a great binge worthy read. Everything about this story worked for me, the characters, the plot and the pace.
4.5⭐️

Little Secrets opens with Marin and her little boy Sebastian holding hands while shopping in a crowded Marketplace. Marin promises Sebastian a giant lollipop if he's good while she shops for one last Christmas present. She's momentarily distracted by a phone text, and in the time it takes her to realize her son is no longer holding her hand, Sebastian is gone. Sixteen months later, he's still missing with no viable leads, and Marin's life is a living hell as she's unable to come to terms with her loss. After the FBI search goes cold, Marin hires a private investigator (a little secret) without telling anyone. She's convinced Sebastian was taken by someone he knew - he wouldn't go with a complete stranger. The PI begins an intensive investigation into all of Marin and her husband's acquaintances, and what she finally uncovers will shred Marin's world into tiny pieces all over again. How much pain can one woman possibly endure without falling over the edge? You're about to find out.

Do yourself a favor and allow yourself a chance to read this book without knowing any details. I consider myself lucky to have skipped all reviews as well as the synopsis/blurb before reading it. As a result, I opened the book a complete innocent and was lured inside just as surely as Sebastian was lured away with a lollipop. Hillier excels at rendering dark, twisted tales that keep you up at night, reeling from the unexpected revelations time and again. A shadowy, menacing tone drives this story at a frantic pace through unexpected twists and turns. The story unfolds through two characters points of view - one is Marin, and I won't say who the other is because its unexpected and part of the journey, the story. The characters are not all likeable, but I think that's where the author's brilliance shines brightest. She writes deeply flawed characters in a manner that makes them real . . . makes them human even though they may do terrible things. They're not necessarily forgivable, but I like that Hillier cracks them open like a nutshell allowing readers to then pick at the heart of them - get to the bottom of what life experiences made them what they are. Likewise, Hillier's ability to weave multiple plot lines with perfection is truly amazing. Never think you know where a story will go in the end in a Hillier story because you'll most likely be wrong.

Little Secrets is a dark, raw, edgy, highly compulsive story of secrets, lies, betrayals, loss, guilt, revenge, and yes, even love. It's about starting over at ground zero when you've lost everything. It's about fighting for your beliefs and to keep what's yours. It's about never, ever giving up. It's about surviving. I started and finished it in one sitting because I couldn't put it down without knowing everything. Like I said, it's a highly compulsive read! The intensity is insane, the pace frantic, and the story heartbreaking. A enthralling thriller that I highly recommend!

Wow! If you're looking for a book that will pull you in right away and keep you interested from page one, you've landed on the perfect book. It begins with a mother's worst nightmare. A mother, Marin, is in a busy place with her son. She is on the phone, distracted for only a short time waiting for her husband, Derek, to meet them. Then she notices her son is not with her. He's been taken. Panic ensues. The story is set for my worst nightmare as a mother. I honestly did not know if it was going to be easy for me to read it and not feel pain and guilt, but Jennifer Hillier took the kidnapping and added some more secrets and twists to this suspense thriller and had me hooked.

This is not only a story of kidnapping, but what happens to families AFTER the child has been taken. What happens to a marriage and friendships? This story centers around Marin and Derek and a couple other characters that play a very significant part in their journey to find out what happened to their son and what is going on around them with their lives. You may not like all the characters, but they will make you feel things and make you question their motives with their lies and deceit.

Great book. Amazing story. Wonderful pacing and Flawed characters that keep you on your toes. This intriguing story was a true page turner that will keep you thinking about it after you’ve finished. Although I predicted a couple scenarios and wasn't 100% on board with parts of the ending, I really enjoyed and would thoroughly recommend this book. I debated between a 4 and 5 star because of the couple of minor issues that I had, but this book deserves all the praise and recommendations. It's well crafted and the twists make it that much more exciting. I know without a doubt, I will definitely read more books by this author.

Little Secrets is a great thriller because it's difficult, initially, to know what direction the book is going to take. I didn't read the description but just started reading, and I am very happy I went in not knowing much. The pace was very quick and I truly wasn't sure where it was leading me for a good length of time. I call that a win for a mystery/thriller since I read so many!

Very early on I was tempted to bail as it begins with an abducted child and the grief the mother experiences is written with gut wrenching detail. Also, although I sympathized with Marin, the mom, I also sort of hated her (there are reasons). As more characters get introduced, I didn't like any of them very much. For me, I sometimes have a hard time getting invested in a book about terrible people. Very quickly I found myself interested enough in the story and wondering what was going to happen to overlook the morally questionable and somewhat one dimensional characters.

I found most of the twists pretty surprising and enjoyed them. I will admit, there's a definite feeling at the end of "oh this would never have happened" but I enjoyed the story enough to have the needed suspension of disbelief! I advise going into this one knowing as little as possible.

The writing in this book is good, but, unfortunately, it still wasn't for me. I didn't like the plot line at all and don't enjoy when the wife blames the other woman when it is her husband who cheated.

Little Secrets, by Jennifer Hillier, was a thriller with incredible character development that I read in a day and a half. The storyline ended up being very different than I anticipated, but I loved how deeply I got to know the characters. The different storylines were each told by different people, and I really enjoyed hearing the multiple perspectives. Honestly, this book probably would have been a 5 star for me, but about half way through I guessed the ending. I would have LOVED having the twists come as a shock. Overall, I gave this book 4.5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur Books for providing me a free copy of this book for this honest review.

Little Secrets is the newest book from Jennifer Hillier after her very popular and awarding winning Jar of Hearts (2018). In what starts as a simple, but scary story of a mother, Marin Machado, losing her 4-year old son, slowly builds into something larger, drawing the reader more and more into what becomes a complex story. Hillier’s seemingly simple but absorbing writing style leads the reader to keep reading and reading.

Marin Machado’s life is changed by the loss of her son and after a year when the case is cold with the federal investigators, she has not given up. Her marriage of course suffers. Since it’s a cold case with little action on the part of the FBI, she secretly decides to hire a Private Investigator who soon finds out Marin’s husband is cheating on her with a younger woman. Although the story is told primarily from the perspective of Marin, we do get to learn a little bit more about Marin’s husband’s lover McKenzie when the perspective shifts to her. The author at first lets us think that McKenzie is what Marin thinks she is, a young immature woman in love with Marin’s husband. We soon learn that what McKenzie and Marin’s husband know is quite different and the story becomes much more complex and even more exciting then, with little desire or ability for the reader to stop reading until the book is over.

This is the first book I’ve read by Jennifer Hillier. I had heard her speak at Bouchercon several years ago and was impressed enough to pick up a couple of her books, but the apparent horror nature of those books has kept me from reading them so far. After all the positive press of Jar of Hearts I was definitely interested in reading it and when her new book became available at NetGalley, I was quick to request a copy. Wow, what a great writer. I now have a copy of Jar of Hearts and hope to read it soon. I’m sure I’ll also read everything else she has written or will write. I’m not sure I can adequately describe what I like about her writing, but it’s complex without being complicated or overly written. If you haven’t read her, I suggest you start now, and certainly you can’t go wrong starting with this one.

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier was a magnificent read. It takes place in Seattle... and the Pacific Northwest... my home so I was immediately drawn to the plot. This story begins with a bang. Marin Machado lets go of her 4 year son Sebastian’s hand for ten seconds and he is kidnapped in broad daylight in the middle of Pike’s Place Market. To say that this story was easy to figure out would be a complete and utter lie. The author led the reader down multiple paths all which lead to an ending.... but is it the ending one would expect? Well you will have to read it to find out! Could NOT put this one day. She touches on infidelities, mental health, support groups, loss, grief, and even reconciliation. I highly recommend this book. It is a quick, pulse pounding, thrill ride!

What a fabulous book! An intense and dark page turner that makes you anxious for an ending. A good ending.

I loved the authors note because Hillier explains she had to dig deep and go to an unknown place of despair in order to portray the emotions she wanted. And I admire an author for going to those extremes because then you read such a fabulous story.

Halfway through the book, I did have an inkling of what happened and what was going on but I still appreciate that it continued to keep me on my toes. You really feel for Marin and what she’s going through. Losing a child and then possibly her husband? Of course you will have dark thoughts and do things you would never imagine doing! Her life was so raw and that made the book great!