Book Review: Little Secrets

LITTLE SECRETS | Jennifer Hillier
04.21.2020 | Minotaur Books
Rating: 5/5 stars

Sixteen months ago Marin’s world was turned upside down when her four-year-old son Sebastian was abducted while out Christmas shopping. The case never provided any solid leads as to what might have happened to her son. Marin feels as if she is unable to heal, but she has been trying to put the pieces of her life into some shape that works. She is back at work and attending a support group regularly. Things with her husband, Derek, have never recovered and now it appears that he is having an affair with a much younger woman. As Marin starts to investigate her husband’s extramarital relationship she begins to find hints that may lead her to answers about Sebastian. Could her son still be alive somewhere?

I absolutely loved Jennifer Hillier’s book JAR OF HEARTS and was thrilled to see that she had a new release coming out with LITTLE SECRETS! When I read the synopsis, I knew this was going to be a story I enjoyed, but I wasn’t prepared to find another 5 star read from Hillier!

LITTLE SECRETS is a perfect, binge-worthy, lighter suspense read. Hillier is immediately able to suck the reader into Marin’s life by opening with the disappearance of her young son, Sebastian. Witnessing the event that broke Marin’s spirits allows for an immediate connection between the reader and Marin. From here, Hillier takes us sixteen months into the present where we see how Marin is coping. I have never lost a child, so I do not have firsthand experience on the subject, but for me Marin’s state of mind felt incredibly real. Marin is broken in a way, but she is also strong. She will never let her son’s disappearance rest without answers and she is ruthless in investigating her husband’s affair. Along with Marin, Hillier has included great secondary characters who test Marin to her limits and bring out the multiple facets of her personality.

While Marin is the main character in LITTLE SECRETS, Hillier gifts the reader with sections from a few of the secondary characters throughout the story. This allows the reader to have a chance to learn the other side of the story. In particular, I loved getting to hear from Kenzie, who is Derek’s mistress. It’s so easy to see one side of a relationship, but this allowed me to see much more. I not only got to know Marin and Kenzie individually, but also the character of Derek through them. 

Hillier keeps the pace of this story at a rapid pace with short chapters that propel the reader to keep going. This is one of those books that I picked up and somehow binge read 100 pages without realizing any time had gone by. I was instantly drawn to this story from the moment I opened the book and could not put it down! There is so much I want to gush about in this review, but I don’t want to spoil any of the book for readers. My suggestion is to go buy this one ASAP!

This book is available to buy from: Amazon | Book Depository

A huge thank you to Minotaur Books for my gifted copy!

Disclosure: What Jess Reads is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This in no way influences my opinion of the above book.