4.5 out of 5 stars! Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC. This book did not disappoint! I loved all the suspense, twists, and the two POVs. Drew was definitely my favorite character. He cared so much for Joey, and I loved reading his journey to find more answers surrounding her. I also really enjoyed the mystery around Paris and her background. The only reason why I am not giving it a full five stars is because I pretty much had it all figured out about halfway through. Reading it all play out was still so worth it, though, because there were a couple of twists I did not see coming.

It would be very easy to spoil things in a review, so I advise people to tread carefully when reading reviews because before writing my own, I read quite a few that, sadly, spell things out.

This story slowly comes together through alternating timelines. First, we learn of Ruby’s daughter Joey, who suffered for years from her mother’s abuse and her mother’s boyfriends. Her story is tough to read sometimes, and Hillier does not hold back. Next, Paris’ story is of a woman in love who has overcome a lot in her life. She’s wanted a quiet, stable life, but now she’s accused of her husband’s murder. We watch these storylines weave together.

This is a story where I figured out many things early in the book, but it didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the journey from piecing together what was going on. Knowing certain aspects of a book shouldn’t be a turnoff for readers. Hillier always writes complex characters in a gripping storyline. This has some heavy parts, which might be hard for some readers. I enjoyed how things slowly unveiled and the way things came together out of time. Thank you, St. Martin’s, for sending this along!

🔊Song Pairing: Killing Me Softly With His Song - Lauryn Hill

💭What I thought would happen:

Jennifer Hillier, knew she’d be throwing out some grade A murder book with all kinds of creepies.

📖What actually happens:

Paris Peralta (great name) is in a state. She is covered in blood, holding a straight razor and her husband is brutally murdered beside her. She is obviously the number one suspect as her husband was a vastly wealthy comedian, not to mention the press love a murder scandal with a hearty will.

Paris has plenty of skeletons in her closet that she’s been running from and now worried all this spotlight will open her past wide open including a less than ideal situation with her mother.

🗯Thoughts:

Well I have been on quite the thriller kick…I think I needed a break from all the romances and this was a perfectly fine thriller between some very very excellent ones. If I was in a desert and thirsty for a murdery book this book would have been a 5 star quencher

I liked the way everything went down in the book but I did see it 1000 miles away. I was at the point where @ the end I was like okay let’s get to the shock factor.

Overall, a quality summer thriller but not as good as Jar of ❤️s and looove all the 🇨🇦 references

⚠️ Seriously all the triggers. All of em. This book has all kinds of flags

This is book is suspenseful and had a few twists I didn't expect. Several times I thought I had everything figured out, only to be wrong. The end was also totally unexpected. The characters were well developed, complicated and messed up. I liked how we discovered things as they did. I really enjoyed and highly recommend this book.

Many thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press/ Minotaur Books and Jennifer Hillier for the digital arc.

Paris is the much younger wife of a famous comedian that is coming out of retirement when he gets a deal too good to pass up. Paris is stunned when she comes home to find him dead in the bathtub. She is accused of murdering him. Paris is scared to death…not only that her husband is dead and she might go to prison, but that secrets of her past might be revealed and that could be worse than prison.

I really enjoyed this book. I was invested early on and needed to know all the secrets. The story flowed beautifully and the twists and turns were believable! Great story!

I've really enjoyed Jennifer Hiller's last couple thrillers, so I was excited to see what her newest one had in store.

In Things We Do in the Dark, we follow Paris, who is married to a celebrity comedian who is found dead. When the police charge her with his murder, Paris has to not only worry about claiming her innocence, but also that her past will come to light and ruin everything she has run away from.

I did sort of figure out the twists before they were revealed, but I enjoyed my time reading to it regardless.

Just an FYI: Her books can be gritty at times and don't hide away from triggering content.

A digital ARC of this book was provided to me by NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books. The opinions are my own and freely given.

WARNING
Some content involves child abuse and child sexual abuse

This story is mainly told from the POV of Paris at age 39, who has been accused of murdering her husband. It is also told from the POV of Joey at age 13 and 19 - 20. Joey was responsible for sending her mother, Ruby, to prison for the murder of Ruby's boyfriend when she Joey was 13. There is also Drew, who was 19-year-old Joey's best friend. He is a journalist and is now doing a podcast, Things We Do in the Dark. After 25 years in prison, Ruby is set to be released on parole. Drew in enraged and sets out to tell Joey's story on his podcast.

This book was well written and although you are cruising along reading about Paris, it smoothly transitions into Joey's story. Although I figured out the connection relatively early on, I in no way guessed the ending. I read a little more than half of the book in one sitting. Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and Jennifer Hillier.

Jennifer is truly becoming one of my favorite author. This book is sooo good! When you put it down you will grab it because you need just one more chapter. Highly recommend!

What a spell-binding, riveting page-turner this book turned out to be! Long-time comedian Jimmy Peralta is found dead in his bathtub with his wife, Paris, standing next to the tub covered in blood and holding a straight razor. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a really good thriller that will keep you reading well past your bedtime.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this fantastic book.

Things We Do in The Dark starts out with Paris leaning over her husband's dead body.

How perfect is that.

There are secrets and lies and twists and turns that will give you whiplash.

I cried with Paris, I cheered Paris on and I certainly ( should I say this) admire her amazing ability to plot revenge.

Revenge or justice.

I wont give anything away but get your copy of Things We Do in the Dark and put it on the top of your TBR pile .

Sheer entertainment.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for another nail biting read by Jennifer Hillier.

This book has so many twists and turns and unexpected things that was a joy to read. Another thing that I enjoyed was the structure and the characters so well developed. I can't wait to read the author's next book!

I’ll cut to the chase (no story-related pun intended): This was perfectly good, but I hoped for great!

Paris Peralta is found by police holding a bloody straight razor next to the tub holding her now-deceased and much older husband, famous comedian Jimmy Peralta. Did she do it or is there another explanation?

This scenario looks similar to a murder committed 25 years prior by a woman named Ruby Reyes, better known as The Ice Queen, who was found guilty and imprisoned for killing her older lover. Funny thing is: Ruby somehow knows Paris, and she wants a share of Paris’ potentially huge inheritance to keep old secrets quiet.

There’s SO much potential in that premise, and that’s the story I wanted to read. I wanted the razzle dazzle twists, nail-biting suspense and big thrills one might expect with such an intriguing set-up! What I got was more of a long, sad backstory for Paris, alternating with her present day legal troubles. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it. It had enough twists and red herrings to satisfy my inner detective and keep me turning the pages.

This was my first Hillier book, and I genuinely liked her writing, and for the most part, the story. When I put aside my thriller hopes and just read it as a mystery with some psychological head games and family dysfunction, it was a good story.

My biggest issue with the book is that I felt a general lack of connection to Paris. I felt sympathetic to her circumstances, but I didn’t feel that emotionally invested in her as a person. What I LOVED is that she was Filipina, rather than another homogeneously white female MC so common in the genre.

All things said, I will absolutely be reading Hillier’s previous and future titles. The talent is clearly there, and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!

★★★ ½ (rounded to 3)

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, NetGalley and author Jennifer Hillier for the opportunity to honestly review this ARC. It will be published July 19, 2022.

Thank you to Jennifer Hillier, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for a copy of this story.

This was the first book by this author that I've read and I must say I was thoroughly captivated by this story. I intentionally went into it knowing very little about the plot. Knowing that a wife is found standing over her famous dead husband's body holding a knife. Who wouldn't want to know what happens from there?!

This story was full of suspense with the author dropping little gems about the secrets the protagonist has been hiding about herself for years. The tale is told from multiple points of views and we see a lot of heartache and loss as the story unfolds along with all the suspense.

I would add a trigger warning for abuse.

Jennifer Hillier continues to be one of the BEST thriller writers with her latest novel, Things We Do in the Dark. I loved this book, and found myself entranced throughout. The pages flew, as you discover more secrets, hidden identities, and some crazy revelations near the end. Having read her last several books, this one solidifies her as an auto-read author for me! I will read anything and everything she writes from here on out. If you enjoy this genre, this is a 2022 must-read.

LOVED it!!! What did I just read??!!! I thought it was going to be a book about a woman accused of killing her husband. I was completely wrong. The book had so many twists and turns. I wasn't expecting what happened and was definitely surprised. Joey's story was heartbreaking. Ruby would never win any Mother of the Year Award and would give Joan Crawford a run for her money. I thought Ruby got her nickname, The Ice Queen, from her "charming" personality, but I was completely wrong. Who would have thought to use that as a murder weapon?? A PSYCHOPATH!!!!!!
I never guessed who killed Jimmy and all my suspicions were wrong.

Definitely recommend this book. Loved the story, characters and writing style. Jennifer Hillier's books never disappoint. It's a great mystery/thriller with so many twists that will keep you guessing. I didn't want to put it down and had to know what happened to Paris, Joey and even horrible Ruby. I look forward to reading more books by the author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a darker, slow burn thriller that totally worked for me. I usually prefer a faster-paced read but the complexity of the narrative and the characters actually made the pacing perfect for this one.

I really enjoyed the narrative structure. I love a book with multiple POV and an alternating past and present timeline. This one has both and it was done flawlessly. There was a lot of information given, but it only made me more invested in the characters that much more and made their motivations clear. I really connected with Paris, though I couldn’t relate to her personal experiences, thankfully. She is a complex character that I feel I got to know on a really personal level throughout the story.

I went back and forth between the physical and the audio for this. The audio narrator did all of the different voices well and you really can't go wrong with either format.

Thank you to @netgalley @minotaur_books and @macmillan.audio for the gifted copies in exchange for an honest review!

I absolutely adore Jennifer Hillier and her previous thrillers are among my favorites of all time. This one, while still super enjoyable, doesn't quite match up to some of those previous works - I found myself able to guess the main twists in the story and it lacked a little bit of the true "thriller" elements that I have loved previously. However, I loved the characters and found myself incredibly invested in their stories despite the fact that some things seemed a bit far-fetched. Overall, I still really enjoyed this book and this will continue to be an auto-buy author for me!

Another fantastic read by Jennifer Hillier!

I love all of Jennifer Hillier books, and this one is no exception. Spoilers ahead!!

I thought this book was well laid out, and the back and forth timelines worked well within the story as written. I was happy that this book was slightly less gruesome than her earlier works, and was glad to see that it was especially detailed when it came to the abuse Joelle suffered as a child. That being said, the only thing that didn't work for me was the idea that a woman who faked her death at the age of 20, ran to another country/city to begin her life again would marry a well-known celebrity. She would have known that her photo would be all over the press at some point, which isn't keeping a low profile, especially knowing her mother was alive and infamous in her own right.

Other than that I devoured this book in a couple of days.

Jennifer Hillier never disappoints. I feel like she always writes thriller/mysteries that are unique and different from everything else on the market. The thing I always appreciate is how much I end up invested in the characters and their story. The beginning definitely immediately sucked me in. When we switched perspectives about a fourth of the way through I was like wait hold on who's this?? But I really enjoyed the perspectives and how they came together.

"While you can reinvent yourself, you can't outrun yourself."

The story focuses on answering three main questions: 1. Who killed Jimmy Peralta, 2. Who is Paris Peralta and what/who is she hiding from, and 3. What happened with Ruby Reyes and why is Drew so invested in her case? Told from three different perspectives (Paris, Drew, & Joey),these questions are answered and the three storylines all intertwine in the seamless way that Jennifer Hillier is known for.

I loved the pacing of the story and the anticipation this book built throughout each person's POV. I loved Paris's character and couldn't wait to find out what the heck was going on with her. I couldn't put this book down! There was one character I was very suspicious of in the first half of the book and the plot line and conclusion left me surprised regarding that character.

I will say that I think most readers who read mysteries/thriller will be able to predict a many of the "surprises" in this book, however this did not change how much I enjoyed reading it. There were a lot of dark issues and situations in this story so check trigger warnings before reading. Some of the situations broke my heart and I felt so bad for the character who endured them.

This was my second book by Hillier and I can't wait to read more of her books. They pull you in and keep you reading far into the night.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date (July 19, 2022)! This is no way affected my review and all opinions are my own.