This was my first Jennifer Hillier book and I really enjoyed it! This has a police procedural flair to it and I'm not mad about it! I find that I really enjoy those. So many secrets! I felt like the book had two mysteries in one but it did not get confusing at all. You can tell Hillier can write for that reason alone. The book wasn't as dark as I expected but that's ok! Loving all the BIPOC / API / Filipino rep! I'm looking forward to reading more of her book - starting with her backlist!

Thank you, NetGalley and Minotaur Books, for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

TLDR:

Things We Do In the Dark is the newest Thriller by Jennifer Hillier. You may have read her previous works, Little Secrets and Jar of Hearts.

Notable elements:

- Investigative Journalism
- Revenge vs. Justice
- Generational Trauma

What I liked:

- High Stakes — It’s not an exaggeration to say Paris is in a life-or-death situation. The severity of her predicament gives this book fast-pacing with high stakes.
- Gut-Wrenching Emotion — I felt the depth of every character’s emotional experience with immeasurable intensity.
- Expansive Lies — All of the characters are deeply integrated in each others’ histories. With compounding lies that span generations, this story is far more complex than your standard murder mystery.

Reminds me of:

- The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James
- Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel

Content warnings:

- Child Abuse, Sexual Violence, Suicide, Racism, Addiction

Final thoughts:

Wow! This book is thrilling, emotional, and riveting from the start. I think Paris is one of the best protagonists I’ve ever read; her voice, her perspective, and her determination to be the best version of herself are mesmerizing. If you haven’t read this book yet, do it!

Dark, dull and predictable.

Listen, I wanted to love this one, saw a bunch of great reviews for it. When I first started listening the style drew me in and I did want to keep listening but that quickly turned to the story dragging out and me figuring out where it was leading too quick for my liking.

Present and past storylines and while I typically love these, I found I was drawn to the past flashbacks more than the present. I liked Joey's story and was curious about her but not enough that I cared about her present story. Which is odd, I know. I wasn't really invested in the plot as a whole and so that made it drag on even more.

Definitely didn't feel like this was a thriller. I feel like the genre labeling has gotten a bit skewed lately when it comes to the horror/thriller/mystery type of books.

I am usually a fan of this author's work and I will be reading more in the future, this one just missed the mark for me.

“As a woman once reminded her a long time ago, the common denominator in all the terrible things that have happened to you, is you.”

Things We Do In The Dark is an unputdownable thriller that will have you returning to it in every free moment until the very last page. With multiple narrators, the twists in this fast-paced story just kept coming. Definitely be sure to check the trigger warnings. This story is heavy and hard to read at parts.

Thank you to Minotaur Books for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Things We Do in the Dark is a smart thriller that begins with a woman, a razor, and her dead husband. From there, we follow two different characters, Paris, who is accused of killing her husband, but adamant of her innocence, and Drew, a true crime podcaster looking into the death of his friend from 20 years earlier. The two characters seem to be connected by a convicted killer who is soon to be getting out of prison. Like most books in the genre, not everyone is who they say they are.

If you like mysteries and thrillers with multiple perspectives, you will enjoy the fast-paced story. Fans of Simone St. James will enjoy the characters with a tragic and wretched past (check trigger warnings). It is fantastic to read a mystery with two people of color as the leads, and the treatment of Asian women is another important point that the book tackles.

Warning: this is one of those books that when you start reading it, you won't be able to put it down.

We start with Paris, who wakes up to find that her husband is dead. She knows she didn't kill him, but the murder scene is pointing directly at her.

And then we just to Ruby Reyes, a murderer in her own right, known as the Ice Queen. She murdered her boyfriend in the 90s and it was a huge story, but Ruby has a secret. She knows exactly who Paris is.

I absolutely LOVED the back and forth of this book, and the different points of view. I found myself thinking I knew how the book would end up, but I absolutely was not prepared for the twist that threw a wrench into EVERYTHING.

I could not put this book down, I had to know what was going on and I raced to get to the end, which was so satisfying. I recommend this to anyone looking for a book binge.

This was my first book from this author and I really enjoyed it ! Her writing is really well done, and flows so well. It started off with a great captivating first line that draws you in, but in a funny way for a thriller. I liked the way that this was multiple POV but weaved together so well. Although I had an idea who was behind the death of Jimmy, I was still questioning things throughout the book and even though I was right, I still enjoyed the way it played out. I enjoyed the multi timeline and found it worked well for this book. Parts of this book were not very shocking and semi predictable, but overall I still enjoyed and will read more from this author.

Yoga teacher Paris Peralta, arrested in Seattle for the murder of her much older celebrity husband, is not at all who she seems to be.

She was found covered in blood and holding the murder weapon, near her much older husband, who had bled out in the bathtub.

Soon readers learn that this has happened to her before. Is she a killer? The novel moves back and forth in time, gradually revealing what happened - back then and, more recently, to Jimmy.

It involves a violent gang with a grudge; a journalist who was Paris's friend and lover and still seeks her; arson; and more than one murder. Things We Do in the Dark is an intricate, engrossing thriller.

This is my 3rd book that I have read from Jennifer Hillier. And I must say that
it didn't disappoint! It has her signature twist and turns that will make you turn the
pages and keep you guessing till the end.

If I see a new book out by Jennifer Hillier I will read that book every time. A just okay Hillier thriller is better than most thrillers.

While I loved the setup for this one - an unreliable narrator covered in her now dead husbands blood - I knew who the killer was the second they waltz onto the scene. The process of getting to the conclusion was fun, but babes I was way ahead of our girl here, and I expect more shocking twists from Hillier.

I'm always a sucker for a podcast in a book, so I really enjoyed that element to the story.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St Martins/Minotaur for an arc of this title.

Paris Peralta, married to a famous legendary comedian, is found covered in blood in her bathroom, with her dead husband lying in the bathtub. Holding the razor blade that killed her husband, it seems apparent that Paris was the killer. Paris herself has no memory of what happened, although she has a strong conviction that she is fully innocent of her husband's murder. Arrested for the crime, Paris is now a media sensation, which is terrifying. Many years before, Paris was also involved in a death. She was forced to run away and begin a new life. However, there is someone in Paris' past who knows all about Paris and where she came from.....and what she ultimately had to do to escape her troubled youth. Paris is convinced that she is innocent of her husband's murder, and she must now find some way to hide her true identity before her past catches up with her.

Hillier is a talented writer who spends time crafting characters that are both beautifully flawed and extremely relatable. Here, she has done it again with masterfully hopping between past and present to unfold a story that will have you rooting for Paris as she faces her tragic past, in the hopes of creating a more promising future. I will say, this story could potentially have some triggers, as there are elements of abuse throughout, so please be aware of that before you read the novel. Excellent story and plot that I would recommend to Hillier fans, or for those who love a solid suspense novel.

A tour de force by author Jennifer Hillier. I listened to this on audible.
I was drawn to this because of Hillier's past thrillers, the cover, and description.
So many have written descriptions of Paris Peralta, how she's caught standing over the dead, bloody body of her famous comedian husband in a bathtub. Paris holds his straight razor. It looks bad.
And so begins a twisted, chilling ride of a thriller. Some of the twists I anticipated, but I was in my car listening to the last crazy spin and choked. Damn, did not see that ending coming!
Things I loved about the book besides her writing style and character development:
The introduction of a crime podcaster as one of the characters.
The podcaster's dive into a crime where the convict, Ruby Reyes, knows Paris and her secrets and what will happen when she's out of jail.
What is Paris' connection with Ruby?
The way Hillier introduces each section and how they seamlessly fit together.
As you can tell, I'm trying not to give away spoilers as you'll want to read this fresh, But read it! Hillier mesmerizes with her story, but it's the characters I love. And you read about one character who will leave you crying.

Thank you to Net Galley, Jennifer Hillier, and Minataur Books for the review copy.

QUICK TAKE: Good opening, but overall this was a pretty basic by-the-numbers thriller, and it was missing some of the dark and twisty i've come to expect from a Hillier book. The final confrontation felt a bit underwhelming and overall this one wasn't for me.

This story was so uniquely told, I’ve never read anything like it!

There were so many layers and it feels like stories within stories and I love it! I was so invested and never bored.

Jammed packed with mystery, murder trials, drama and I couldn’t put it down!

Jennifer Hillier is an autobuy author for me and I truly recommend all of her books! You will not be disappointed! 🧡

Jennifer Hillier does it again with a twisty, multi-perspective thriller! I thoroughly enjoyed this read because it kept me guessing throughout. I especially appreciated the multiple storylines interwoven together bringing this thriller to life.

Paris wakes covered in her husband’s blood. Stunned when she arrived home and found his bloodied body, she had passed out only to be awoken to police arresting her for his murder.

Searching for answers, Drew is looking into the past for his upcoming podcast about the mysterious death of his friend, Joey. His search leads him down a path of answers he never expected and places he never thought he would go, like the prison to meet with Joey’s mother who is serving time for the murder of her lover.

The web of lies and murder link these stories together, and the truths that have been hidden for years.

It is hard to give too much background because of the many different perspectives and how the stories weave together. This is a great thriller and will keep fans of the genre interested!

I also had the pleasure of listening to the audio version of this book. I thought the narration was wonderfully done and created a great listening experience.

I have LOVED some of Jennifer Hillier's previous books, so was thrilled to get this!
It starts off strongly, and I was listening and reading at every opportunity!
The pacing slowed in the middle for me- unexpectedly for this author.
The ending was good but I didn't feel consumed by it.

There were so many layers to this story wow! A great thriller - super dark. Loved the added crime podcast angle.

What a great thriller novel with two storylines. This is a new author for me, but will be reading the rest of her books. You will learn about Paris being charged with killing her husband and Ruby’s journey of escaping her mother’s abuse only to be put into another abused home for her to escape. The author does a marvelous job with both storylines and bringing them together.

This was a drop everything book for me I was able to get an early digital copy and I read it back in January! I had been waiting for a new book from her since 2019 so I was overjoyed to see this one! Even more over joyed for its ability to glow in the dark. How fun!

I really enjoyed it and it kept my attention throughout. I liked the drama, the murder mysteries, and the multiple POVs. It kept me guessing throughout! If you are a fan of her books I think you will enjoy this one! My fave remains Jar of Hearts, but this one definitely lived up to my high expectations!

If you are a thriller lover def add this one to your TBR!

Yes!! She does it again!! Another winner!

I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!!

Big thanks to St. Martin's Press for my copy!