Title: LITTLE SECRETS
Author: Jennifer Hillier
ISBN: 978 1786 4951 98
Publisher: Corvus
Pages: 320
Source: Private Copy
All it takes to unravel a life… is one home truth.
Marin used to have it all. Married to the love of her life, she owns a chain of upscale hair salons, and Derek runs his own company. They’re admired in their community and are a loving family – until their world falls apart the day their son Sebastian is taken.
A year later, Marin is a shadow of herself. The FBI search has gone cold. The publicity has faded. She and her husband rarely speak. With her sanity ebbing, Marin hires a private investigator to pick up where the police left off.
But instead of finding Sebastian, she learns that Derek is having an affair with a much younger woman. This discovery sparks Marin back to life. She’s lost her son; she’s not about to lose her husband. Derek’s mistress is an enemy with a face, which means this is a problem Marin can fix. Permanently.
Official Summary
12 September 2023
I am new to this author. I spotted a mention of her work on social media and have been eager to give it a try. I finally managed to get my hands on a copy of Little Secrets – another one of my birthday books and what a brilliant read. I am happy to say a copy of Creep has also arrived and is waiting for me to start reading it.
Little Secrets is a gripping read that follows a mother’s life after losing her child. This book features depression and suicidal thoughts and sensitive readers should be aware of the dark content. However, this story will keep you glued to the pages and it delivers a brilliant twist.
The author created realistic characters making this book easy to fall into and you share Marin’s emotions. I found myself drawn to her and supported even her worst decisions. I loved how real this story felt. Despite the dark content, I could not get enough. I look forward to reading more of this author’s work.
When Marin loses her little boy while out Christmas shopping her world comes to a standstill. Losing Bash on her watch is something she cannot forgive herself. When the police have no leads to follow and the case goes cold, Marin hires a private investigator to keep looking for her son. While looking into everyone around Marin and Derek, the investigator discovers that Derek is having an affair. Marin has lost so much already, that she is not prepared to lose her husband as well. No matter what it takes, she will save her marriage.
Marin’s emotions oozze off the pages. It was not hard to imagine what this woman was going through. The pain, and loss which lead to her dark thoughts are realistic and often this book left me feeling down as I shared in her pain. Her anger, directed at the mistress helped lighten the load of this story.
The author did a brilliant job with these characters. Marin’s pain was so graphic you ended up sharing it. Derek however, dealing with the loss of his son in his own way while really leaving me angry made sense too. The addition of a young mistress and the way she was taking advantage of the situation helped fuel my anger.
There is no doubt that this book is a dark, emotional story that is difficult to read. But I loved every minute and the ending made it all worthwhile. This one will be added to my loved list for the year.
If you are looking for a deep, dark emotional read with a brilliant twist, then you won’t want to miss this one.
Also By Jennifer Hillier
Creep
A popular psychology professor in Seattle, Sheila works hard to keep her secrets hidden. On the surface, she’s an expert in human behavior and a well-liked educator, but nobody knows she’s a recovering sex addict in therapy—not even the love of her life, Morris. And she needs it to stay that way, or she could lose everything.
But Ethan Wolfe is impossible to resist. The graduate student is brilliant, charming, and seductive as hell. He’s also Sheila’s teaching assistant, and thirteen years her junior. Ignoring the risks to her career and relationship, they begin an illicit affair that lasts three months, until Morris asks her to marry him. Determined to get her life back on track, Sheila commits to a future with her fiancé, a man she’s not sure she deserves.
But Ethan can’t move on so easily. He didn’t pursue his professor for as long as he did to get dumped for some boring, middle-aged suit. Ethan’s made plans too, and he doesn’t take rejection well. When the body of one of Sheila’s students is discovered floating in Puget Sound—a young woman Ethan was rumored to have dated—it’s clear that the graduate student has secrets of his own.
And he’s not about to let Sheila get away.
About the Author
Author bio from the author’s site
Jennifer Hillier imagines the worst about people and then writes about it.
She’s the USA Today, Toronto Star, and The Globe and Mail bestselling author of Things We Do in the Dark, described as “an intoxicating thrill ride” by the New York Times and “propulsive and chilling” by People magazine. It was a Book of the Month Club selection, an Indigo Top Ten Best Book of the Year, an Amazon Editor’s Spotlight Pick, a Goodreads Choice Award nominee, a Loan Stars pick, and her third consecutive novel to be honored as a LibraryReads pick, which places her in their Hall of Fame.
Jennifer is also the author of six other psychological thrillers. Her USA Today bestselling novel Little Secrets is currently being adapted for Peacock by Tish Cyrus’s Hopetown Entertainment, writer Melissa Scrivner Love and Universal Television, and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Anthony Award. Jar of Hearts won the ITW Thriller Award for Best Hardcover Novel and was also shortlisted for the Anthony and Macavity Awards. Her earlier novels are Creep, Freak, The Butcher, and Wonderland, the last of which will be published in mass-market paperback and audiobook for the very first time in April 2023. Her books have been published in twenty-three languages so far.
Jennifer is Filipino-Canadian, born and raised in Toronto. She spent eight amazing years in Seattle which is where she first became a published writer. She’s a Seahawks fan who married to a Packers guy. They have a young son who looks most like her when he’s crying. She’s afraid of the dark and can’t sleep unless she’s checked the locks on the doors several times. She loves writing when it’s raining, sleeping when it’s sunny, and reading after everyone else has gone to bed. She cherishes her family (those who read, and those who don’t), and her friends (those who write, and those who don’t). She’s a cat person without a cat, which makes her sad. But she’s now back in the Toronto area permanently with her family, which makes her happy.
Thank you for visiting the blog and reading my review. Are you a Hillier fan? Which is your favourite book? Leave a comment below and I will try to add it to my TBR. I do have a copy of Creep which I am hoping to read soon.
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