Little Secrets: A Novel

I have read around 20 books so far this year, mostly crime fiction. This is the only book that I have given 5 stars. I found this author on a Reddit recommendation, after searching for books similar to “Big Little Lies.” I was not disappointed! This book is full of secrets, big and small. It captivated me from start to finish. I read it in every spare moment I had. I truly couldn’t put it down, and I can’t recall the last time I felt that way about a book. I look forward to reading more by Jennifer Hillier. Her writing style is clever, her characters are interesting, and her story lines are intricately woven. 5 stars, hands down!

“Hope lasts only so long, can carry you only so far. It’s both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes it’s all you have. It keeps you going when there’s nothing else to hold on to. But hope can also be terrible. It keeps you wanting, waiting, wishing for something that might never happen. It’s like a glass wall between where you are and where you want to be. You can see the life you want, but you can’t have it.” - Little Secrets.SYNOPSIS: 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—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. She hires a P.I. to pick up where the police left off, but instead of finding Sebastian, she learns that Derek is having an affair with a younger woman. This discovery 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. Permanently. - Little Secrets.REVIEW: The book is finally out! I read “Jar of Hearts” a month or two ago and since then, I have been excited to read more from Jennifer Hillier, especially this book. This book did not disappoint. I found the plot to be thrilling and I felt that there were a lot of good twists. I think there is some similarity in feeling to her book “Jar of Hearts” so I imagine that this book will also become one of her reader’s favorites. As with most thrillers, I think it is beneficial to go into this one as blind as possible and let the story lead the way. I purposely avoided re-reading the synopsis before I started reading the book and I am glad I did.The characters in this book also had a similar-ish feel to the characters in “Jar of Hearts”. What I mean is that most (if not all) of the characters are generally terrible people. They are quite unlikeable, although they do have some glimpses of redeeming moments. The main characters in the book are also really well off financially, so they adds another pretentious/ interesting element to the book. While reading the book I felt like these characters could be distant relatives of the characters from “Jar of Hearts”. I’m not sure how I feel about this overall. I was hoping for a little more diversity I think, but the plot and motivations behind the characters actions are still so different that I think it ultimately works.One more thing I wish was that there was more “action” spread out in the book. I felt that a lot happened towards the end and I felt that I wanted a bit more build up. However, I did really like the ending of this book and how everything wrapped up. The overall story kept me guessing, entertained, and invested in the characters. In the end, this was a great read and I would recommend it to anyone who likes thrillers. I think Jennifer Hillier writes about some unique characters with interesting personalities that is different than other authors I have read from, and the style feels uniquely her. I will continue to read from this author, and already can’t wait for her next novel.

I honestly have to rate this as the best book I have ever read. This is such an amazing written book, I couldn’t guess how it was going to end or what was going to happen. The ending was amazing and overall book! I can’t even put into words how amazing this book was😍♥️

This was a great easy read for sitting on the beach. Lots of twists and turns and interesting characters.

This is the first time I’ve given a positive review for a story that did not have one likable character. I especially disliked Marin. I hate when women blame “the other woman” for their husband’s affair. Hating the women enough to hire a hit man? This wasn’t his first affair. Husbands are the homewreckers not “the other woman”. In the end she tries to redeem herself by offering “ the other woman” a great sum of money. I was hoping in the end she would want a better husband knowing the best indication of future behavior is past behavior. She remains clueless. In spite of my dislike of the characters the story captivated me and I would recommend as a suspenseful book.

A Very good read! Plots twists and mystery! Love and hate! Will absolutely read more by this author! Definitively recommend.

It was really good with a good twist but it wasn’t a pull you in, can’t put it down kind of book for me.

I did not want to put this book down! Binge worthy page turner that brought about an array of emotions while reading it!

I liked this book good twist at the end !

For a long time (over 200 pages) I didn't know what to think about this book, I was enjoying reading, wanted to know more but wasn't desperate to know. I suspect that someone was off with someone in the book and was not surprised when I was right. There was more going on in the last 60-40 that's when I really wanted to know but I wasn't super surprised by all of it to be honest I thought it was a bit slow and didn't care a lot for the characters. I had a good time reading it, it just didn't gave a 5 star feeling and I thought a 3 was to low so I gave it a 4.

Was good enough to complete in 3 days.Enjoyed every scene.loved the way it ended. I love thrillers like this.

WOW! Ok, I'm absolutely sure that this book is one of the best psychological suspense novel I've ever read.It's a long time since I've read this genre and I wanted to try it again.What I didn't know was that I chose a brutally emotional one.It's a story that, as a mother, has touched me more emotionally than I thought possible.This book is an avalanche of lies, secrets and betrayal.I don't think I've read a book as fast as I read this one.I couldn't work in peace today because I kept constantly thinking about this book.This book has so many layers and different kind of disturbing topics, it's like a rollercoaster of brutal emotions and constant tension.I swear I felt and understood all emotions Marin went through.I felt and understood her pain and feelings.This is what I look for and love in books.When I can connect with the characters and their emotions move me.This is my first book by this author and I'll definitely read many many more by her.

I absolutely devoured this book in two sittings. What a blast!The story follows Marin who we meet at the beginning of the book when her 4 year old son – Sebastian is lost at a market at Christmas. The investigation has found nothing and Marin is existing only, she is not really living and she has hired a PI to try and find her son. The investigator uncovers that Marin’s husband Derek is having an affair with a much younger woman and it has been going on for a number of months. Marin has lost so much already and she does not want to lose her husband.I was very emotional through the first part of the book as the author laid bare Marin’s feelings and experiences from the loss of Sebastian and the realisation that no-one has any more information which lends itself to find out where he is and if he is still alive. She is existing hour by hour and her mental health is so fragile and so realistic in the authors writing that I just wanted her to have closure and for the pain to go away, but reading on and understanding the impact of loss on a persons life made me change my mind over and over. Marin, on discovery of her husband’s affair sets the wheels in motion to put a permanent end to the woman who she believes is stealing her husband from her.The book switches to the narrative of McKenzie (Kenzie) Li, the young woman who is having an affair with Marin’s husband Derek. I found myself disliking her. She is a young woman with a lot on her shoulders although she has really set her life down a path which will never result in happiness. As more of her backstory is revealed and her feelings for Derek become more intense I became a bit more sympathetic towards her.As the suspense mounts it appears that there a few secrets that people have been keeping from Marin and she needs to be careful who she trusts. It was a thrilling read and left me on the edge of my seat a number of times wondering how the book was going to end.I loved the depth of the characters Hillier has brought to life, Marin’s day to day existence for me was compelling, I felt empathy, sadness, a sense of hopelessness but I could not stop reading. As she took her revenge I willed her to have a change of heart. The ending was stunning, as all the little secrets are revealed the reality of what has happened hits home and left me emotionally drained.I have given this book a 5 star rating.I loved it – the characters have lots of aspects of human society we find appalling, greed, lust, revenge but at the same time love, loss and an emotionally charged understanding of other peoples experiences of loss. For me it was brilliantly plotted and I will be adding her other book Jar of Hearts to my book list to read very soon