Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of Little Secrets.


Little Secrets left me guessing what was coming at every turn. But I had the ending figured about 3/4 of away through. I could've done without a lot of the side stories. Overall Little Secrets was an entertaining read. This is my third book by Jennifer Hillier and I can't wait to read more!

I could not put this book down - I immediately immersed myself in this authors previous novels after devouring this one!

Start pulling that string and you never know what is going to unravel and eventually, if you keep pulling, something will unravel. After all, everyone has secrets… even little ones.

Marin’s life has been in chaos for sixteen months; simply surviving after her son went missing at Seattle’s Pike Place Market just before Christmas. In the end, it was her fault and there are no leads. Someone dressed up like Santa with a child is not uncommon. And now, her husband Derek is having an affair with a much younger woman. Her best friend and long ago boyfriend, Sal, wants her to leave him or to let him “take care of him”.

Jennifer Hillier writes an engaging tale of kidnapping, lies, deceit, and desires with a satisfying ending.

When I requested this book, I looked at goodreads and marked it “Want To Read”. I knew I had to read it when I saw that it had no one or two star ratings! I looked at the author’s bio, it read “Jennifer Hillier writes about dark, twisted people who do dark, twisted things “. Looking forward to reading all her other books. 😊

Update: I checked out “My Year in Books 2019” on goodreads; her book was the highest rated of the 84 books I read last year.

Publication Date: April 21, 2020
Genre: Suspense, Mystery, Psycological Thrillers, Kidnapping, Crime, Adultery
Cover: Good
Rating: 5 stars
Source: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to read this great book!
#LittleSecrets #NetGalley

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review -
I absolutely devoured this book - What a read!! I felt every emotion you could imagine, love, tears, fear, anger, revenge, etc -
A life is turned upside down in minutes as a mother is texting her husband and her son disappears in the mall.
Months of heartache, pills, and alcohol and an absent husband drag as the search for her son continues seemingly without hope.
As hope dwindles Marin hired a detective to look for her son. In searching she finds evidence of Marin's husbands affair.
Marin has lost her son - she will not loose her husband. Can she save her marriage? Will they ever find her son?
And what do you do when you find the mistress? Can an old friend help?

One of Hillier’s best. Little Secrets pulled me in and didn’t let go until the very last page.

Little Secrets is devastating while also uplifting. Heavy while also light. The world of missing children is not one that I want to enter anytime soon, but Hillier brought us to this place with the respect and delicacy that it deserves. Marin and Derek have lost their only child, and after 18 months the chances of finding him alive go down by the day. Marin is barely making it through the days and when she finds out Derek is burying his grief into another woman, she’s determined to stop the one thing in her like she feels as though she still has control over.

Little Secrets takes you on a wild ride, having you believe one thing until you’re quickly proven wrong on the next page. It’s fast and thrilling while also heartbreaking and tragic. Every page was better than the last - I would follow Hillier anywhere.

This book was a page turner. You were left guessing about who the villain actually was in the book. The plot made me think what would I do if I were in the same position, it makes you question things. Never a dull moment. What stood out to me about this book was the authors ability to move from character point of views, without getting confused. Very interesting read.

What a spellbinding read! Very unpredictable and kept me wanting to read "just one more chapter." Thoroughly enjoyed this book!

5 stars Thank you #jenniferhillier #netgalley and #stmartinspress for the advanced readers copy shared for an honest review.

This was my first book that I've read by Jennifer Hillier and won't be my last- in fact, I own two of her others and will be bumping them up higher on my to-read list.

Where do I start? I was hooked from the first sentence but I have to admit I"m biased- Little Secrets is based in Seattle (I live here) and the entire book referred to different cities in Washington - a few close to where I grew up. The book starts with Marin, a wealthy hair dresser to the stars loses her son Sebastian in a congested Pike Place Market a few days before Christmas.

The book details the deterioration a marriage can take when dealing with losing a child. Marin's husband, Derek-a rich CEO of a health start up deals with guilt and pain and he and Marin continue to drift apart. After a year, Marin hasn't given up and a PI who she hired when the police stopped searching calls with an update on the investigation. And that's when the book really starts getting good!

Little Secrets kept me guessing until the very end- I swore I had it figured out about halfway through, but no..... This book had plenty of plausible twists and turns and no one is as they seem.

A fun and entertaining read. The storyline is certainly well-developed and the characters are interesting, with an ending you don’t really expect. A good domestic thriller that will entertain.

as a parent, it's very easy to empathize with another when a child is missing and then to discover your husband has been cheating on you compiles the devastation. you know an author does a great job when he/she can make you really hate or really like a character(s). this author was very effective at making me hate a majority of the characters in this story. although it begins as a child abduction, the story will take you on a wild ride of twists and deception that you won't want to miss. it's a great read!

Wealthy parents Marin and Derek have been devastated since their small son was kidnapped. They are surviving, but only just. Derek takes refuge in an affair and Marin relies heavily on her old friend Sal. Not wanting to lose her husband as well, and encouraged by Sal, Marin seeks revenge on Derek's mistress.

When she has second thoughts and tries to change plans, things begin unraveling at a rapid pace. Turns out, everyone, Marin, Derek, and Sal as well as Derek's girlfriend, have all been keeping secrets, and when those secrets are exposed, everyone's world is about to change in dramatic ways. This book is tough to put down until one reaches the satisfying conclusion.

Special thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free, electronic ARC of this novel.
Expected pub date: April 21, 2020
Marin is a successful hairstylist with an elite clientele, and her husband Derek is a hard-working entrepreneur. After several bouts of IVF, the two are blessed with a son, Sebastian. While out at the market one day, Sebastian disappears, last seen leaving a parking garage with an individual dressed as Santa Claus. Marin, of course, blames herself and her relationship with Derek is left in shambles. Refusing to give up on her son, Marin hires a private investigator to continue the search for Sebastian that the FBI and police have ceased. When the PI uncovers secrets about her husbands’ activities, it leads Marin down a dark road where even darker secrets are revealed. Could her husband possibly have had a hand in the disappearance of her son? Is Sebastian still alive?
“Little Secrets” is the newest novel by Canadian novelist Jennifer Hillier. I am a huge fan of Hillier’s creepy horror novels, such as “Jar of Hearts” and “Creep” and although this one was good in its own right, I would classify it more as a domestic suspense as opposed to outright horror like her previous novels. That being said, “Secrets” has just as much drama and intensity as any other Hillier novel.
Marin and Derek are characters, for all their flaws, are both suffering the loss of their child. Though both characters are not entirely likable at all points in the story, it is this fact that generates pure sympathy for them both. Their honest and dysfunctional marriage breakdown is heart-wrenching and emotional, as both deal with their grief in very different ways.
The story starts hot and keeps going, and it held my attention from the beginning. Although the plot has some predictability, in general there is enough suspense and surprise to keep the pages turning at a rapid pace. The outcome is predictable as well, but oh-so-justified and satisfying. Well-told and emotional, full of suspense, with authentic characters dealing with very real struggles, “Little Secrets” will put you through the emotional wringer and have you at the edge of your seat.

Just finished reading Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier, and thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish!

Great writing with lots of twists and turns. I really like this author's style of writing. I had previously read her book " Jar of Hearts", and will definitely look to read the rest of her books

Thanks you to The NetGalley team, St. Martin's Press, and the author for this copy in exchange for an honest review

I am also from Toronto as is the author, and currently live on the west coast in Vancouver BC. I often visit Seattle - so the setting of this book was very realistic to me.

Great book!

#NetGalley

Holy moly...this might literally be my favorite book that I have read this year. It’s definitely in the 1st or 2nd position. I have loved all of Jennifer Hillier’s books, and was absolutely thrilled when I got approved to read and review this one. I had no idea how much I would actually love it.

16 months ago, Marin and Derek’s young son, Sebastian, is kidnapped. Marin understandably falls apart in the aftermath. She attends a support group, has a therapist she doesn’t like going to, and has had moments of self-destruction. Then one day, the PI she hired to find Sebastian calls her to let her know of a revelation...Marin’s husband, Derek, is cheating on her. No matter what, Marin will not lose another person in her life.

LITTLE SECRETS is so gripping that I literally just spent 5-6 hours reading it because I couldn’t put it down. The story is so well written, and the characters are fully fleshed out. There are many twists and “a-ha” moments that I couldn’t fathom. I warn anyone who reads this that you will be hooked from the start and all the way through the emotional conclusion (I had a tear or two in my eyes).

As a bonus, “The Vanishing, with Kiefer Sutherland, Jeff Bridges, and Sandra Bullock has always been one of my all-time favorite movies...very disturbing and suspenseful. I was thrilled to see it discussed in this novel and how well it fit into the character’s thoughts.

If this isn’t one of the most talked about books of 2020, I will be truly shocked.

Thank you so much to author Jennifer Hillier, St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for an ARC.

Little Secrets Review
Unfortunately, Little Secrets by Jennifer Hilliard doesn't cover any new ground. A child disappears, the mother blames herself and attempts suicide, the father has an affair, all ends well. Within that framework, the reader is treated to blackmail, prostitution (or professional girlfriends if you prefer), ransoms, voyeurism, stalking, rampant social media, and general lying.

The premise is solid but Hilliard gives away most of the secrets in the way her story unfolds. There is no nuance. The hints/clues pretty much hit you over the head when they're revealed. The book is an enjoyable but predictable tale that will entertain the reader and make you want to read her other books.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I really want to give this book 5 stars. I fell in love with this author after reading Jar of Hearts and then I went back and read all her other books. I think the bar was set SO high with Jar of Hearts - this kind of let me down. There were some aspects that I really loved, such as the main female characters. I love how the author was able to make me feel empathetic toward a mistress. I enjoyed the PNW setting and the attention to detail. But the whole thing was really predictable. I feel it is a “who done it and why” kinda book - The Who was obvious from the beginning. The “why” clicked by halfway through the story. After that, I feel it dragged on. It’s worth reading, but not my favorite book of this year.

I couldn't connect with any of the characters in this one. None of them were people I'd want to spend time with.

With Marin she says she misses her son and she tells us what she went through in the past because of it, but we didn't get to be present and in the moment with her. We're supposed to feel bad for her because her husband cheated, but then she does the same. For a main character, she felt shallow to me. There were all these surface details, but none of them were explored more deeply.

I only read the NetGalley description of the book so Kenzie's POV was a complete surprise to me. I didn't care for her either. She took advantage of weakness for her own benefit. Her sick mother, which was supposed to garner sympathy, felt tacked on as an excuse to wave away any guilt or responsibility she might feel.

As a thriller, I expected more action, tension, and atmosphere. While there are a couple instances where my heart sped up, most of it was spent with Marin and Kenzie's thoughts about things that happened in the past to explain who they are now and why. And the 'twist/reveal' didn't feel surprising or exciting.

Overall, not a read that is going to keep you on the edge of your seat.

I absolutely loved this and stayed up until 3 AM to finish it. Terrific, richly drawn characters in an emotional maelstrom that kept me whipping through the pages. Amazing twists in the suspense had me gasping and talking to the pages. Hillier gets better and better with each book.

Why I loved it: Y’all. This book was incredible! It has all the thing I love in a mystery and thriller without the gore. The characters are well developed which really propels this novel into another level. I thought maybe I had this book figured out toward the middle. Let me tell you that in a way I did....but not in a way that I expected and that was so refreshing for me! I found myself sitting on the edge of my chair reading the last couple of chapters. I just had to know what happened. This should definitely be added to your TBR pile!
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Rating: 5/5⭐️

I really loved this book!! It had so many twists and turns. It kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next!! This was my first book by this Author, and it won’t be the last!! Quick read!! Highly recommended!! You won’t be disappointed!!