Little Secrets

Jennifer Hillier writes complicated women the way other authors wish they could.

The less you know before starting this book, the better. So if you haven't read it yet, begin before you learn too much about it.

Child abduction is a harrowing subject, made even more personal and intense when viewed through the lens of parenthood. Jennifer Hillier's Little Secrets dives into this theme with the story of Marin and Derek, whose four-year-old son, Sebastian, is kidnapped in a moment of distraction. Marin briefly lets go of her son's hand to check a message at a market, and in those few moments, a kidnapper disguised as Santa Claus vanishes with him. Surveillance footage captures this moment but provides no clues about Sebastian's fate.

Marin is devastated. Consumed by guilt and despair, she hires a private detective after the police reach a dead end. This PI, whom Derek knows nothing about, doesn't yield many results about their son but does reveal Derek's affair with a younger woman. Fearing the loss of her husband as well as her son, Marin decides to take matters into her own hands.

Although I didn't find the plot as satisfying as I had hoped, and I was frustrated by Marin's continual forgiveness of Derek despite his previous infidelities, including one during her pregnancy, I did enjoy the book's strong character development and fast-paced story.

Jennifer Hillier never lets me down. I just had to keep reading!

This book definitely took it's time to pick up, but once it did, it really picked off.

This reminds me of a lot of things i loved about ‘Jar Of Hearts' by the same author. It's emotional, it dives deep, and it has something to say. It takes a fairly simple plotline, fairly common tropes, but makes it so complicatedly beautiful. 

I cried at the end, and that's when I know a thriller has touched me, and the characters have reached me. I loved this.

You will hate literally every person in this book, so beware if you aren't a fan of unlikeable characters.

You will hate literally every person in this book, so beware if you aren't a fan of unlikeable characters.

I really loved this book. It was a similar approach of Jennifer Hillers books. I thought the twist at the end were really good and shocking. I just feel like its not on a 5 star level like the other ones were. Overall still loved it and Ill read anything Jennifer Hiller writes

This book was so much fun. And it was obviously a compulsive read because I started it yesterday and here we are. This is why I read domestic thrillers. Give me a great set up of lies and drama and let's watch it all unravel. Also though I want it all to make sense at the end- which this one does in all the right ways- Highly recommend!

4.5!!! i did guess the plot twist which is why it isn't a 5⭐️

3.75 stars

The last 1/4 or so of this book was addicting. I couldn't put it down. But the same can't be said for the first bulk of the story.

I had some trouble getting into this one. There were flashbacks that were so long that by the time it came back to the present, I was confused about what was happening in the scene to begin with. It also just didn't feel as exciting or captivating as I expected it to be. I wasn't disliking it, but I wasn't hooked.

But then the las

Wow, this was a fantastic thriller. So well written, with such fantastic three dimensional characters. I loved the plot twists and was absolutely drawn in to the story. Interesting plot and premise, amazingly well executed.

First book by Jennifer Hillier and I really enjoyed it!!

“You know what it's like having a child? ... It's like your heart walking out the door on two legs, vulnerable and unprotected. It's scary as hell.”

I loved her writing style it was very easy to read and the book was fast-paced. (the contents of the book weren't easy to read, but the writing style made it a bit easier)

“I've learned not to make comparisons. Hell is hell, in all it's incarnations.”

I guessed the twist a bit early on into the book but that didn't ruin the reading experience. The only reason I guessed the twist was because, remember the part where Marin got a tiny suspicion of Sadie but then she quickly dismissed it? and I remember thinking if she can suspect Sadie what about Sal? Coz the way he was acting was pretty sus.

I am the eldest of 7 and I have seen the fears my mom and dad always have when we go out in public/crowded places. (which is prob why we don't go out a lot lol) And this book went into more depth about how it is to lose a child and it was so haunting to read about.

“Love is unpredictable, and love hurts. Trust is reliable, dependable, and solid. ”

I loved the representation in the book we got characters of various ethnic minorities and skin colors which I don't see in a lot of thrillers and I really appreciated it here.

The book definitely lives up to all its hype and this is the perfect book to get you out of a slump: it's fast-paced and gripping what more can you ask for?

Though the story premise is a common one, this had enough compelling differences that really kept me engrossed.

I actually cried at the end! Well done Ms.

Well written interesting plot. I listened to the audiobook which helped keep my interest.

Imagine your son is holding your hand one minute, and the next he's...gone. It's Christmas, Marin's grabbing last minute gifts and Bash is fine for just a moment while she sends this one text...until he isn't.

Marin is thrust into a dark spiral of guilt, heartbreak, and terror. Her son is gone and it's her fault. The FBI have stopped their investigation and it looks hopeless. Derek, her husband, begins to pull away and soon her marriage is just a shell. She soon learns of his infidelity and so begins an even deeper spiral as she stalks his mistress.

Little does Marin know the secrets and lies that surround her, and people she thought she knew and could trust prove false. Is it possible her son is still alive? Can she keep it together long enough to sift through the lies and find out what happened? More importantly, after she finds out, will she be able to survive the truth?

I haven't read anything by this author and was happy I picked this up. Even though I figured out some of the twists about halfway through, that didn't take away from the book overall. I enjoyed the flow immensely as the pages flew by. The style of writing was entertaining, kept me captivated, and kept me reading.

A good addition to Hillier's growing list of psychological thrillers., although not in the league of Jar of Hearts for me. Initially this story seems to center around the kidnapping of a 4-year-old boy in busy Pike Market in Seattle. Marin, his mother, cannot get over her guilt and grief and begins seeing both a therpist and attending a support group of other parents whose children are missing. But then before the quarter mark, the novel takes a U-turn and becomes much more about Marin's discovery of her husband's affair with Kenzie and her plans for revenge. That's where the book lost me, I'm afraid, because Marin did not seem like a woman who would resort to the measures she puts in place. Also the fact she was willing to continue with her marriage to a cheating spouse as though nothing had happened rubbed me the wrong way. She turned from a grieving mother to a complicit wife concerned with appearances, material success, and maintaining the status quo, which wasn't the character I'd identified with at the beginning. The twists and turns in the plot were deftly handled although I did see the solution coming halfway through (I thought the antagonist was easy to spot) For me, all the characters acted in selfish, self-centered and frankly, over the top ways so when Hillier finally cycled back to the kidnapped child, I'd lost interest in how it all turned out.
My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Two weeks later finally writing this review and I'm still shaking my head in shock. All I can say is, this book blew me away.

My first title by this author, picked it up after I caught another author I love sharing and recommending it. The first book in a while that totally sucked me in, to the point where I devoured this in two days, I was so invested in the characters that I could not put it down.

Marin is dealing with more than any one person should have to handle. Her son Sebastian disappeared a year ago and now she finds out her husband and high-school sweetheart has been having an affair with a much younger woman named Kenzi. Kenzi, on the other hand, is well aware of what she is doing and finds perks in dating older, married, pre-occupied men. But she is also starting to feel like there may be more to this relationship than even she is admitting to.

Searching for answers, the more Marin discovers, the more she has to accept that she may be the only one left clueless in all of this. This book kept me on the edge of my seat as one little clue lead to another and then finally, that amazing moment when it all comes together. HIGHLY, highly recommended read!!