
Member Reviews

Marin, hairstylist to the rich and famous and owner of several upscale salons and her husband Derek's lives change forever with the abduction of their son Sebastian. Eighteen months later Marin is still unable to forgive herself for what happened. Unable to move on, thoughts of suicide fill her every waking moment as she waits for news on her missing son. When the private investigator she hires to find him contacts her, she can only imagine the worst. While investigating leads into Sebastian's disappearance, the PI learns that Derek is having an affair with a college student named Kenzie. Unable to lose another member of her family Marin takes matters into her own hands.
Little Secrets is a domestic thriller/mystery in which the investigation of their son’s abduction reveals a web of secrets and lies. This is a twisty tale in which each lie uncovers more discoveries and questions about those people closest to the main character. This was a new author for me and I am always looking for new to me authors to add to my list. The writing is engaging enough to keep me involved in the story. The only downside for me was that the plot was predictable and I figured out the twist pretty early on in the story. Overall I liked the plot, the characters, and I was able to finish this one in a day...a quick entertaining read.

**I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
I was one of the lucky ones to be able to read and review Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier prior to release. I have read her work before and really enjoyed her dark twists and turns and jaw dropping moments. We follow Marin, whose son was abducted one busy morning, and watch as she goes through the motions to try to live her everyday life while awaiting word of her sons return. Naturally along the way there is a good deal of secrets and betrayals and heartache. Little Secrets was dark and twisty and full of suspense. This was an easy and quick read, although bit predictable I still found it very engaging and horrifying. If Thrillers are your thing you will not want to miss out on this one. Even if thrillers aren't your thing Little Secrets would love the opportunity to change that.
4 star Review.

This psychological thriller will keep readers engaged to the end. Marin's pain can be felt throughout this book as she continues to blame herself for her child's kidnapping. Derek's betrayal adds to Marin's emotional being that causes her to plan an desperate act. I liked that the steadfast private investigator, Vanessa did not give up and had empathy for Marin. The twists and turns kept the story moving along at a fast pace. Recommended!

Wow! What an interesting read!
Marin was out with her son, Sebastian (bash for short) and he was kidnapped! Fast forward a little over a year and her husband is having an affair, she can’t stand to lose someone else so she goes to extreme lengths to insure her future with her husband. The twists and turns in this book were unlike anything I’ve ever read. Definitely reminded me of a great lifetime movie!

This is one of the best thrillers I've read in a long time. Chilling and uncomfortable at times, but unputdownable. The book had strong characters and went at great pace. I was hooked from the start!
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this book.

Wow this book really drew me in from page 1! Non-stop action and plot twists keep this book moving at a quick pace. Marin Machado is a successful business owner, wife and mother to 4 year old Sebastian who is kidnapped in broad daylight from a busy mall days before Christmas. Sixteen months later, Bash is still missing and Marin is barely functioning. She has had a really hard time dealing with the loss of her son and lack of evidence in locating him. Her relationship with her husband Derrick is currently practically non-existent. She has her best friend from college, Sal to lean on but that is pretty much it. Therapy and work are not that much help either. Marin has hired a private investigator to keep looking for her son and she gets much more that she bargained for when her investigator contacts her suddenly. This is an exciting thriller with many plot twists that keep it moving and interesting. I did not want to put it down. Do not miss this great thriller!! Thanks to NG for the ARC!!!

What a great psychological thriller. It kept me in suspense throughout the book. The writing was easy and pleasing to read, the characters real and the story intriguing.

As a huge fan of Jennifer Hillier, I was so excited for the opportunity to read her latest book. I have read nearly all of her previously published books and she remains one of my favourite thriller authors.
Hillier’s greatest strength is always her storytelling. I was immediately pulled into the narrative, which was gripping from the first chapters. Her characters are always imperfect and sometimes unlikeable, which makes them feel realistic.
As an author of Asian descent, Hillier always makes an effort to include characters of various ethic minorities and skin colours. However, compared to her previous books, I felt that the aspects of the diversity were fairly sparse and fell at the sidelines of the story.
Given the premise, this one reminded me a bit of The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson (although it certainly goes to a completely different place). Like that popular thriller, this one required a level of suspension of disbelief that just did not work for me. Hillier has a habit in her stories of giving away a lot of the potential surprises by choosing to tell her stories through multiple perspectives. Normally, I don’t mind that, but I felt underwhelmed by the reveals in this one.
Overall, I enjoyed this thriller, but it is not one of my favourites. My criticism is largely that it was not as strong as her backlist titles. I found myself constantly comparing it to her previous books and this one just was not as satisfying. If you are a fan of Hillier, I would still recommend checking out this thriller, but I would encourage new readers to start with her older books like Creep, The Butcher or Wonderland, which better showcase her talent within the thriller/suspense genre. Once you are hooked on her stories then you will likely want to binge through everything she has written.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

First and foremost, I'd like to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's press for the opportunity to have an advance copy of Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier in exchange for an honest review. Secondly, HOLY SMOKES! Five stars hand down for this gem, and my suggestion go in blind to this one and devour every page! This is an absolute MUST READ! Thank you, for the opportunity to have an advance copy I've already spread the word that this is a MUST read.

Wow! The book opens with Marin Machado's 4-year old son being kidnapped. Marin's marriage to her husband Derek begins to crumble as she prays for Sebastian's safe return. Day after day, month after month there is no sign of Sebastian. Marin is hardly herself anymore. Her husband seems to be away on business a bit more than he should be. Unbeknownst to her husband, Marin has hired a PI to look into Sebastian's disappearance. The PI discovers that Derek is having an affair with a young graduate student who may not be all that she appears to be. Does she have something to do with Sebastian's kidnapping? Is Sebastian still alive somewhere, or gone forever?
There are so many twists and turns in this book. I began to doubt EVERY character in this book until the end. The characters were believable and well-developed. The plot moves along quite nicely. Definitely recommended!
I received an advance copy for review. All opinions are my own.

5/5 stars An amazing read that I read in one day! Enjoyed every page of this twisty thriller that left me guessing until the end. I loved it.

This book slightly blew my mind! I feel like the genre has been slightly overdone, but this book truly gave me a run for my money! I feel that the characters are very relatable due to how well they are written. Marin, in particular, had me thinking of what life would be like to be in her shoes. I could feel her trauma and pain oozing off the page and was definitely engrossed in this deeply detailed and strong-perspective story. I even gave it a little time and went back to re-read it, and the story seemed even starker and more damaging from her perspective. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

Great sophomore novel from the writer of Jar of Hearts! Highly addictive psychological thriller. It’s a book about a missing child & I will say no more about the plot because it’s best to go in blind. Absolutely riveting.

Little Secrets is the first book I have read by Jennifer Hillier and I loved it. Incredibly well-written and it moves at such a blistering pace that I could feel my heart racing as I read it. It is captivating from the first page to the last as I had to know what happened to Sebastian and if Marin would be reunited with her son. There are secrets and deceptions that I could not have anticipated and I loved that I could not predict what was going to happen next. Little Secrets had twists that were shocking but still believable.
Little Secrets gives me hope for the thriller genre and Jennifer Hillier truly created a compelling story that I didn't want to end. Thanks to Netgalley, Jennifer Hillier and Minotaur Books for this ARC, I absolutely loved it!

This book started very strong and I was really excited to turn the pages, but then it fizzled and it went sort of nowhere. I lost interest in the plot completely.

I requested this book from Netgalley and was given the advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest opinion, so here it is...
Holy smokes, if you are a parent, this book is your worst nightmare come true. This book was well written, with characters that end up feeling like part of your family. I had no clue for most of the book that the bad guy was actually the bad guy and once I learned, I felt betrayed and completely destroyed. I have never been in the situation of our lead lady, but my gut reaction was very similar to hers on all fronts.
In the end, although I was pretty torn up from all the twists and heart breaking truths that was revealed, I whole heartedly recommend this book to anyone that likes a suspenseful, gut wrenching novel that keeps you guessing!!! 😍

Another fun mystery from Jennifer Hillier. I enjoyed this story of a mother's search for her missing son and how she must deal with her husband's infidelity on top of it. Another story of rich people dealing with tragedy which we all seem to love.

So many lies, secrets, half truths and deception! Such a great story! A kiddo was abducted in broad daylight by Santa. The next 18 months is full of mystery. Why was he abducted, by who and why was there never a ransom?
This story will keep you guessing. Every character is a player in some way. Their half truths, lies and deception morphs into a crazy ending that I didn't see coming.

I enjoyed this book but it did seem a little slow toward the middle. I thought the ending was really unique and I didn’t expect that ending AT ALL!

I adored the novel, Jar of Hearts. Little Secrets was also very good and had the same fast-moving style that I liked so much in the last book. This book covers the unthinkable worst fear: a four-year-old child is kidnapped in a busy shopping area. The mom, Marin, blames herself and will never give up looking for her son. Over a year later, she's still living the nightmare of her missing son and knows that she is barely hanging on by a thread. She has a history of suicide attempts- which could be triggering, so be aware of this part of the story. Also, be aware that these characters are all pretty unlikeable, but even so, I still found myself caring about what happened next. I very much enjoyed how the therapy sessions allowed the grief and ugly parts of life without shame. I think that is awesome and that plenty of people need this kind of outlet and support. This book had twists that I did not see coming and one of the most detestable husbands ever. I definitely recommend and I am so grateful to have received this ARC from Net Galley and the publishers. Thanks so much!