Really fun read. I enjoyed the writing style, and the red herrings that kept me guessing. Marin had a strong voice and character. Although I don’t agree with all her decisions, I enjoyed reading about her!

"Four minutes. That's all it took to steal a child". (Jennifer Hillier)

Derek and Marin are happily married. Marin is shopping at a local market with their 4-year-old son Sebastian. She receives a text and lets go of Sebastian little hand for just a moment to answer. Suddenly, Marin realizes her son is no longer beside her.

The FBI follows every lead. The family offers a reward for the safe return of Sebastian, but the trail goes cold. Marin hires private investigator Vanessa Castro, who uncovers the fact Derek is having a affair with a younger woman named Kenzie. How can this be happening to Miran? How much can one person take?

Oh my word! If you love thrillers and have not read "Little Secrets" by Jennifer Hillier, you need to. Having a child kidnapped is every parent's worst nightmare. This is a incredible story with absolutely shocking plot twists. I read it straight through in one night. Jennifer Hillier is one of my all time favorite authors. I read every book she publishes. Yes! She IS that good! I highly recommend all her books!

5 Huge ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (If I could give it 10 I would!)

Thank you NetGalley, Jennifer Hillier, and St. Martin's Press for the honor of reviewing this amazing book. I appreciate it so much.

Marin and Derek’s world comes crashing down when their young son, Sebastian, is kidnapped. It’s been almost a year and a half, and Sebastian is still nowhere to be found. Then, Marin’s private investigator gives her some shocking information - her husband has been having a 6 month affair with a much younger woman. Marin is livid… what will she do?

I enjoyed this book and the author writing style. It is my first book by the author, and I’m definitely going to be reading more by her.

4.75 STARS

Synopsis: Meet Marin - she runs her own chain of upscale hair salons, has a loving, successful husband, and a cute four year old son named Sebastian. She had the perfect life, up until the day her son was kidnapped. Fast forward a year, and Marin is a shadow of herself. The FBI search has gone cold & she and her husband rarely speak. She hires a P.I. to pick up where the police left off, but instead of finding Sebastian, she discovers that her husband is having an affair with a younger woman. Discovery of the affair sparks Marin back to life. She's lost her son; she's not about to lose her husband, too.

After reading & LOVING Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier, I knew I had to get my hands on more of her work. This book did not disappoint - it was packed full of suspense from the first chapter until the last. I loved Marin as a main character - she was intelligent, ambitious, and independent. Like Jar of Hearts, this was an addicting story, and I never wanted to put it down. I will definitely be reading all of Jennifer Hillier's future & past work!

I definitely recommend picking this one up!!

Checkout my review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3096501163?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

Checkout my review on Instagram at @mollyreadsthrillers

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review! I was kind of "iffy" when I first dived into this one but the more I read the more I realized that I was going to enjoy the roller coaster that this was!

This book is already published, but thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the digital copy.

THE PLOT

Marin's child goes missing one day. 15 months later, she finds out her husband, Derek, is having an affair. Marin can't let that stand. She has to fix this.

MY OPINION

Two things: 1) I read this book because I've seen the hype around her latest "Things We Do In The Dark." 2) I didn't realize until 80% through she wrote "Jar of Hearts" which had the most WTF disturbing (in a gross way) ending. The ending was so NOT RIGHT, it still sticks with me 3+ years after reading it.

Ok. So safe to say, I am not a fan of this author. When I realized she wrote Jar of WTFs, it all made sense... There's a lot of similarities between the two books: Seattle, wealth, lack of logic, oh and did I say wealth??? Any chance she could, Hillier dropped a luxury name. It came across like a 16-year-old writing a letter to her future self... Some sort of wet dream for girls who think getting a Louis Vuitton will complete their lives. It was excessive to say the least.

Next, the writing quality. Basique, as many of the books I've read (nay, endured) this year. Her attempts at insightfulness were as shallow as her characters. I'm not a parent, so by default I've never lost a child, but Marin's obsession with her husband's mistress and misdirection of blame for the affair is grating. Also, he's cheated before her child was snatched up, so she's not new to this. The lengths she goes to "fix" the "problem" of her husband being ain't shit by banging a younger woman is.... ?????? T H E R A P Y.

I found it predictable... and a little over the top like Jar of WTFs. TBH can I please read a book where teenage/college love ISN'T the motive for psycho behaviour??? Can anyone just move tf on??? Or go to a therapist???? You guys were an item 20 years ago and you're committing felonies because of it????? Nah nah NAH.

A duddity dud dud.

PROS AND CONS
Pros: idk
Cons: Basic writing, unreasonable and shallow characters, two pack of ass ending

This book was a twisty and turning. I had no idea where the book was going but I loved Marin. Marin and Derek’s life is perfect but when their son Sebastian is taken their entire life is shatters. Marin’s character is such a complicated character. I adored her and she is such a great mother. After 15 months and the case goes cold, Marin shuts down. Marin and Derek barely speak. After Marin discovers her husband’s affair with a younger women from her PI. She wants this younger women dealt with.
I loved this book. I never knew where this book was going. All the twists and turns. I didn’t guess anything and I did not ever want to put the book down. I read it in one day and in one sitting. I highly suggest this book.
Please check trigger warnings prior to reading this book.

I’ll update links when I post about the booj

Child. Kidnapping. - My. Ultimate. Fear.

As soon as I finished chapter one in this book, I was like “ohhhhhh yes. This is going to be good!” 100% immediately hooked and dragged into the action of this thriller. This one definitely gave me sweaty palms and an adrenaline rush.

This is my second book read by Jennifer Hillier and I can already say that I am a true fan! Wow does she ever know how to tug at your emotions and give you chills straight down to the bone!

I felt such an emotional connection with the mother in this book. I just simply cannot imagine going through the utter devastation of losing your child and having no idea where they are. Yikes!!! I binged this book so fast cause I was desperate to know what happened to Sebastian - where is he ? Is he alive ? Who took him? He’s been missing for 18 months and he’s only 4 years old! 😭

Loved the twists and turns of the story and didn’t see them coming at all! Phew! Definitely recommend this one if you’re a thriller lover! Can’t wait to read more of Hillier’s books soon!

Little Secrets 🍭
@jenniferhillierbooks

“Who would have thought that who you love and who you feel safe with might not be the same person?”

Pike Place Market, a place that will forever be ingrained in the hearts & minds of the Machado’s. The place where their son was taken from them just days before Christmas. To say this book had me on the edge of my seat is an understatement. I love how carefully crafted the characters were. I felt deeply invested in each of them & I absolutely loved how it all came together at the end. I felt the most connected to the main character Marin. I have so much respect for her. Even after all she went through she still somehow managed to treat the people who wronged her in ways I could have never done. Lastly, thank you @netgalley for introducing me to this amazing author. Now I really can’t wait to start Things We Do In The Dark!

This book literally left me speechless. I loved it so much . I've read other books by Jennifer Hillier and loved them but now this is by far my favorite book that she's written. I read this book in one day because it was just so amazing that I couldn't put it down.Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book and review it .

I’m now obsessed with Jennifer Hillier. OB. SESSED. I loved Jar of Hearts and the twisted and dark way we like an unlikable character. Then I read the ending and it was beyond brilliant. It. Was. Perfect. So then I read Little Secrets. An entirely different kind of story but still dark and twisty and I was SO FREAKING SCARED that I wouldn’t like the ending. But she did it!!! She made me love the ending sooooo much!!! I loved getting to know Marin (and in case you’re wondering, I watched a webinar with Hillier talking about this book and her name is pronounced MARE-inn) and getting to know some of Kenzie’s background. I actually yelled out loud in shock at one point and my husband (bless his heart) asked me what was wrong. You would think he would know by now that when I’m reading and I exclaim out loud, it has to do with the book… but apparently I’m THAT shocked that it startles tf out of him, too. That’s how you know I’m reading a great book! I’m adding Hillier to my auto buy list. I don’t even need to read the synopsis anymore!

If you love a psychological thriller, don't miss this one! A child is abducted and a mom wants answers. The twists that occur will keep you flipping those pages!

This was an interesting read, because the tone of the introduction was completely different from the remainder of the book. The introduction presents the book as a child abduction case, but the bulk of the plot centres around the dissolution of a relationship and the wife vs mistress trope common in the thriller genre. I did see the final twist coming, but thought that the story was well-written and I enjoyed watching the plot unfold. I thought this was a solid read and I would recommend it to thriller-lovers. I will definitely read more from this author.

I received an ARC of this book from St. Martins Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier is full of twists and suspense. The characters are well build. You feel all the feeling the author is giving.
I enjoyed the book, couldn't wait to see what is gonna happen next

This was such a good story, all around. I wasn’t sure what I was going into because I’ve never read this author before, but now I want to check out some of her other books. The writing was easy to read and this was definitely a page-turner!

The book opens with Marin and her son, Sebastian, at the market. Marin is texting her husband about where to meet for dinner, and when she turns around, her child is gone. After searching everywhere, the police are called, and eventually they find security footage of Sebastian leaving with a person dressed as Santa. Their four-year-old child has officially been kidnapped.

Sixteen months later, Sebastian is still gone, and Marin is a shell of a woman. She has returned to her job at a hair salon, she’s in a group for parents with missing children, and she’s in therapy, trying to figure out how to go on with life, but nothing is helping. Her husband is never home, always on work trips, and most of her friends are being awkward around her. She’s hired a private investigator, but instead of finding Sebastian, she finds Derek’s mistress. This is the straw that breaks Marin’s back, and she knows that if her son is dead, she will take the necessary steps to be right there with him. There’s nothing left to live for.

There’s nothing else for me to say either, because the rest is spoiler stuff. This story is mostly about Marin and Kenzie, her husband’s mistress. Kenzie has a history of finding sugar daddies, but being with one who is missing a child becomes a bit too dramatic, and she’s not sure if he’s worth it. Little does she know that Marin knows all about her, and life is about to take an even more dramatic turn…

This was a solid four star book for me. It was definitely easy to read and get invested in the characters, it had quite a bit of suspense, and the ending was done well. I can’t really think of any complaints, it was just a good read in a genre that can sometimes be formulaic.

(Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Jennifer Hillier, and NetGalley for the complimentary copy in exchange for my review.)

Holy cow. This book. SO GOOD. Once I started, I couldn’t put this book down. Being from Seattle, I loved that the scenes were familiar, but beyond that, this story had a way of sucking you in.

There were many twists, some I saw coming, and some that took me completely by surprise. I am sorry I hadn’t read this book sooner!

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

In the aftermath of her son's kidnapping, Marin Machado's life crumbles even further when she finds out her husband is having an affair. After all she has been through, Marin is not above revenge.

Little Secrets includes your typical missing person and crime tropes, but it just does it better. Nothing seemed tired or predictable to me, perhaps because the characters were written so well or it skipped the 'random divorced detective' side plot that this genre typically has. With satisfying plot twists and strong pacing, it was easy to read this book for hours at a time.

Note: I received a free eBook copy of Little Secrets from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I don't get the hype...again. For me this was a very meh thriller and not particularly original at that. This sounds a bit harsh, I know, but it was touted as this gripping, unputdownable and imaginative book and for me that was not the case. I probably should have just set it aside. Maybe I've read too many books in this genre, and it's hard to surprise me. Even so, mystery remains my favorite genre, so I won't be quick to give up;-) Recommendations welcome!

Wow! This book was absolutely fantastic. I was drawn in from the start and didn’t stop until I was done. Can not wait for more by author.

I don’t know if a thriller has ever made me cry, but here we are. This book was perfect.
I absolutely ADORED this family, and I want to read more about them.