#ATBR2020 Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier @minotaurbooks @JenniferHillier @jessmapreviews
Little Secrets
by Jennifer Hillier
Thank you Minotaur Books for these copies.
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publish Date: April 21, 2020
Hardcover
352 Pages
Standalone
Genres: Suspense, Psychological Thriller
From the author of Jar of Hearts, a mother driven to the edge by the disappearance of her son learns her husband is having an affair with the woman who might have kidnapped him.
Four hundred and eighty seconds. That’s how long it took for someone to steal Marin Machado's four-year-old son.
Marin had the perfect life. Married to her college sweetheart, 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. Up until the day 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. The only thing keeping her going is the unlikely chance that one day Sebastian reappears. She hires a P.I. to pick up where the police left off, but instead of finding him, she discovers that Derek is having an affair with a younger woman.
Kenzie Li is an artist and grad student—Instagram famous—and up to her eyeballs in debt. She knows Derek is married. She also knows he's rich, and dating him comes with perks: help with bills, trips away, expensive gifts. He isn't her first rich boyfriend, but she finds herself hoping he'll be the last. She's falling for him—and that was never part of the plan.
Discovery of the affair sparks Marin back to life. She's lost her son; she's not about to lose her husband, too. Kenzie is an enemy with a face, which means this is a problem Marin can fix. But as she sets a plan in motion, another revelation surfaces. Derek's lover might know what happened to their son. And so might Derek.
Four hundred and eighty seconds. That’s how long it took for someone to steal Marin Machado's four-year-old son.
Marin had the perfect life. Married to her college sweetheart, 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. Up until the day 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. The only thing keeping her going is the unlikely chance that one day Sebastian reappears. She hires a P.I. to pick up where the police left off, but instead of finding him, she discovers that Derek is having an affair with a younger woman.
Kenzie Li is an artist and grad student—Instagram famous—and up to her eyeballs in debt. She knows Derek is married. She also knows he's rich, and dating him comes with perks: help with bills, trips away, expensive gifts. He isn't her first rich boyfriend, but she finds herself hoping he'll be the last. She's falling for him—and that was never part of the plan.
Discovery of the affair sparks Marin back to life. She's lost her son; she's not about to lose her husband, too. Kenzie is an enemy with a face, which means this is a problem Marin can fix. But as she sets a plan in motion, another revelation surfaces. Derek's lover might know what happened to their son. And so might Derek.
My Review:
"You Alive?"
Is it weird to say I'm in love with Jennifer Hillier now? After reading Jar of Hearts last year, I was beyond excited to read Little Secrets and am happy to report that I absolutely loved this one too! I think this is a good one to go in blind (but I actually feel this way about all books). Hillier touches on loss, infidelity, suicide, depression, friendship and marriage - and gives us twists and turns that I did not expect.
"You said hurt people... hurt people."
What a binge read. These characters are flawed and my heart went out to them. Marin's decline into her own savageness felt so real and raw. I literally stopped chewing and just soaked in one particular chapter. I may have gotten a little teary eyed but let's blame that on the isolation shall we? *wink* Kenzie turned into something more than I had expected and I loved to loathe her.
In a world full of thrillers that seem to saturate us with the same story over and over again, Hillier brings us twisty realness and was exactly what I needed in my reading journey right now. I just want to pull Sebastian in for a big bear hug and get him the biggest lollipop in the world.
★★★★★
Jessica's Review:
Jennifer Hillier wowed me with her previous release, JAR OF HEARTS, so naturally I was so excited when I receive a copy of LITTLE SECRETS. Man, the first chapter of this book just hits you and sets the tone for the entire book. I loved every second of it!
Marin is experiencing every parent's worst nightmare - her four year old son is missing. After looking at camera footage of the market they were in, things get worse when they see that Sebastian was actually taken. That's just the first chapter. Hillier hits us hard and then jumps to a year later when the case has run cold and Marin has instead hired a PI. Of course, her private investigator finds out more about Marin's husband, Derek, and this lights a fire in her.
The synopsis gives you all the information you really need and I don't want to spoil anything! Multiple POVs, flawed characters, the twists, the lies, the emotions. Hillier has brought us another incredible thriller that stands out against the others in the genre. I will continue to pick up anything of hers I can get my hands on.
5 stars
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