This book explodes in the first chapter with the kidnapping of Marin’s small son then fast forwards to over a year later and the fallout of the son still missing. I really liked this book but it fell short of five stars because I worked out the denouement quite a long way before the end. The writing is sharp and easy to read and a good pace which keeps you interested all the way through. I didn’t like all the characters but quite frankly, that didn’t matter. I would certainly search out more by Jennifer Hillier.

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is not my usual genre, I’m more so I am extremely pleased and grateful to them for opening up my mind to something totally different.

I felt like a fly on the wall with this family saga/mystery it was so tense, so interesting and so damaging at the same time.

This happy couple who has everything then a nightmare happens. Their son Sabastian goes missing.
The dynamics of the home starts to crumble.
Her and her husband hardly speak.

She’s become a fraction of the person she was before.

No leads to Sabastians whereabouts so she hires a Private Investigator and finds out more than she bargained for.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from beginning to end.

The author did a fantastic job in keeping me very well entertained.

I have been extremely busy so haven’t had chance to read this book yet. I will get to it as I’m loving the glowing reviews for it and when I do I’m sure it’s one that will feature on my blog

This book had me hooked from beginning to end. There were so many twists and turns, revealing little secrets here and there. As much as I tried, I couldn’t definitively guess the ending, which I appreciate. Too many times I see the ending coming halfway through.

Brilliant. I was totally engaged in this from start to finish. Poignant storyline and true life characters made this a real hit for me. Brilliant twists and turns that just keep you wanting more. Not read anything by Jennifer Hillier before but will definitely be looking for other titles by her. Well deserved 5 stars.

Highly recommended read. If you love thriller books that are a page turner then this is for you.

Thank you Atlantic Books and Netgalley.

This book has it all ....... suspense, mystery, affairs, friendship, kidnap, depression and so much more.

Marin is out at a Christmas market with her son, Sebastian. She turns for just seconds but in that time her son vanishes and there is no trace of him. Over a year later Marin is struggling to cope, she has tried to end her life and unsurprisingly she just can’t function as normal. Her marriage is struggling but she has her best friend, Sal, to help her through.

I really don’t want to say too much more about the plot as it’s one of those books where it is great to go in blind. I really liked and warmed to Marin, the main character, even though she made some iffy decisions. All in all this is a great psychological thriller with plenty of twists to keep you hooked throughout.

Thank you to Atlantic Books and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

A great psychological thriller that is alarming, and dark but very well written. A tense and suspenseful read, with a lot of shocks, twists and turns. Will keep you enthralled to the very end.

Wow! If you are looking for a well-written thriller that keeps you reading and keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end, I suggest you pick this up immediately. It kept me hooked and I flew through it.

A few days before Christmas, Marin's son Sebastian is abducted - over a year later, with her life in bits, whilst still looking for her son she discovers her husband is having an affair. What Hillier does really well is develop the characters, who are interesting if not always likeable - and in particular that of Marin, with all her flaws and her struggle to deal with her emotions, which lead her to make some rash decisions. The twists in the story keep coming, leading to an ending that I for one didn't see coming.

I have been recommending Little Secrets to everyone I know, and now plan to read Jar of Hearts, as well as looking forward to whatever else Hillier writes in future.

My first book by author Jennifer Hillier was outstanding and totally absorbing.

Marin Machado and her husband Derek are totally overjoyed to be raising their 4-year-old son, Sebastian, after struggling to conceive their first child. One Saturday afternoon in December at a very busy market, Marin is texting her husband when Sebastian lets go of her hand and vanishes. Believed to have been kidnapped, the couple's wealth and community standing don't help them as the FBI investigate the case diligently, but 16 months later all the leads have come to nothing and the case is now cold. Marin is not coping well, her relationship with Derek is decidedly rocky and she decides to take back some control by hiring a private investigator. But rather than finding Sebastian she learns instead that Derek is having an affair...

This was a wonderful, pacy, unsettling and compulsive psychological thriller that I struggled to put down. Although the focus of the narrative is from Marin, Jennifer Hillier cleverly provides insight into other characters' mindsets allowing the reader a rounded understanding of incidences and attitudes. A totally well-crafted story, heavy on themes of trauma, betrayal, duplicity, control and emotion. With anguish, anger and grief by the bucket load, the story has a fitting conclusion, and I highly recommend Little Secrets to crime fiction and psychological thriller fans.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Atlantic Books/ Corvus via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.

This book was enjoyable, alth0ugh as a general rule I find I do not enjoy American books as much as British, but that is a personal preference. The story was unusual and quite sad in places, the story of a lost son and the parent's marriage disolving around them. I began to get suspicious about 75% of the way through, but discounted my ideas. However it was a good read, well worth reading.

I raced through this in a day, desperate to find out whether Marin would ever find her son - dead or alive. Marin is a wealthy salon owner living a life of privilege with her CEO husband and four year old son. Until one day, Sebastian disappears while out shopping a few days before Christmas. Led off by someone in a Santa Claus suit, they know he has been abducted. Marin falls apart and becomes a shadow of herself. When she discovers sixteen months later, through the Investigator she hired, that her husband is having an affair she makes a decision that she never thought she would contemplate. Her best friend, and college ex, Sal, puts this into action for her. Is there any coming back from this? I held my breath and even though I had guessed at who had taken Sebastian, I wasn't sure how it would play out. Plenty of drama and emotion. #netgalley #littlesecrets

I liked the premise of this book but in reality it fell short and was unbelievable in parts. .Overall it was ok but not great. And I did not like the ending. It was well written so I would try her next offering. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

My thanks to the Publishers via NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review. I gave this a 4 stars or 8/10.

The disappearance of a child is every Mother's nightmare. One day in the run up to Christmas, Marin's son Sebastian goes missing while they were out shopping together. One minute he's next to her as they walk along and the next he's gone, and so the nightmare begins ...

This story resonated with me due to the fact that my son disappeared for a few minutes in the run up to Christmas when he was a similar age, we were in Finland at the time as we had taken our three children to see Father Christmas in Lapland. Fortunately, we found him and he was in tears when we were all reunited together. It was an horrendous feeling, so I can fully empathise with Marin.

I enjoyed this story and it kept me guessing. I had some suspicions about what was happening, some I was right about and others not quite so. I found that neither of Sebastian's parents were particularly likeable as they both had their secrets that connected them to others and neither of them had many redeeming characteristics if I am honest. At first I felt sorry for Marin the Mother, but she was as flawed as her husband Derek in the end. In many ways they are probably only human in the way that they were acting. I am just glad that we don't all act the same though.

I will be interested to read more books by this Author in the future. This would make a great reading group read in my opinion.

Little Secrets is the latest standalone psychological thriller from bestselling author Ms Hillier and is exactly how a domestic-based read should be written. Marin and Derek are a married couple who have everything going for them and seemingly the perfect life to onlookers and outsiders. Then, one fateful day, a tragedy occurs that sends them both spiralling out of control; their son Sebastian is taken. Despite searching and the police and FBI getting involved he is nowhere to be found and day by day the family loses more and more hope. Soon the case goes cold; leads run dry and the police place the case on the back burner in favour of more up to date casework. This results in Marin deciding to involve a private investigator to search for clues and keep a little hope alive that he may be found. However, the PI unexpectedly stumbles onto a totally different yet no less devastating issue. He discovers Derek is having an affair and to make matters worse it's with a significantly younger woman but Marin is not about to lose the only family she has left.

This is one of the most compulsive and riveting domestic dramas I've read in a while and has restored my faith in this oversaturated corner of the market. It is a pretty believable and so rather relatable story whereby Marin having lost her son refuses to lose her husband too and so she will do anything to stop her family from falling apart. Other writers should really take note as this is how a domestic suspense story should be written. The writing flows effortlessly making you fly through the pages and I found myself totally under Hillier’s spell. She is a master at creating characters you truly engage with and feel sympathy for; Marin was especially believable with her experience reflecting many in the same situation in real life for at least most of the book. If you enjoy wild and twisty rollercoasters of emotion, engaging characters, palpable and heart-pounding tension and some truly gobsmacking shocks throughout, give this a go. A profoundly disturbing and chilling page-turner. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Corvus for an ARC.

This is an intense read from start to finish. A mothers son is kidnapped from right under her nose.

It just gets better from here and I couldnt put it down.

The characters are written really well. The storyline is well written.

If you like mystery then give this a try

I have given this book 3 stars because although it is a good read I think that it is not quite believable in places. I could not imagine a grieving mother wanting to kill her husbands girlfriend.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Four hundred and eighty seconds. That’s how long it took for someone to steal Marin Machado's four-year-old son.

Little Secrets begins with Marin and her young son Sebastian (Bash) at the market, she is Christmas shopping and he is desperate to get to the shop that sells the huge swirly lollipops, she lets his hand go for a few minutes and when she turns round he's nowhere to be seen, this is the beginning of her worst nightmare. Fast forward sixteen months and Marin and her husband Derek are still living the nightmare, because the police and the FBI have exhausted all avenues and the case has gone cold, so Marin hires a private investigator to find her son, but Vanessa Castro PI uncovers more than she bargained for when she discovers Derek is having an affair with a much younger woman, Kenzie Li. When Marin hears about this she is not prepared to lose anyone else and embarks on a very dangerous act of revenge, with the help of her long time friend and ex boyfriend, Sal, but is it what she really wants, it's not going to bring her boy back, is it?

Jar of Hearts was the first book I read by the same author and when I saw she'd released another book, I couldn't wait to read it. I didn't think it would top her previous one, but I was so wrong. Little Secrets is everything you would expect from a psychological thriller, and then some. It has secrets, lies, deceit and revelations by the bucketload, add to that the numerous twists and you are in for one hell of a rollercoaster ride, it's sensational. The concept of the story is one that every parent lives in fear of happening to them, how do you deal with your child being abducted, that split second where you take your eye off the ball and they're gone, it just doesn't bear thinking about. Couple that with the knowledge that someone is also trying to steal your husband, and I'd probably have reacted the same way as Marin did. There were times I felt sorry for both women, in different ways, but they both had their flaws and different ways of dealing with situations, right or wrong. I have to admit I cried many tears during this book, it's a very emotional read.

I'd like to thank Atlantic Books Corvus and Netgalley for the approval, I will post my review on Amazon and Goodreads.

Little secrets is a tense nerve wracking novel that taps into a parent’s worst nightmare; the disappearance of a child. How many of us who are parents can put their hands up and say they’ve never experienced that heart dropping moment when they realise their young child isn’t by their side where one moment previously they were?? Life, as seen through the eyes of protagonist Marin, can dramatically change in a heartbeat which is exactly what happens to her when four year old Sebastian is abducted from a crowded market. With plenty of reasons to become distracted, it’s frightening how easy a young child can slip away unnoticed. Marin,distracted by phone messages, harassed because she’s Christmas shopping with Sebastian who is bored, just wanting a lollipop from his favourite store knows this all too well. Fortunately, for most of us who have had children wandering off, it’s only maybe a few seconds or minutes before they are found, hugged and reminded of the importance to always stay close, which is why my heart was instantly lost to Marin’s plight. I clearly remember when my own daughter was only four years old and had managed to walk outside a shopping centre before I realised and for those few moments until we were reunited my heart felt like it had stopped. I felt sick to the stomach so I could only begin to imagine the way life must stop, forever in limbo, living in a permanent state where time stands still, the greatest fear simply not knowing whether your child is dead or alive. The author has captured those feelings sensitively and with compassion.
All that guilt at turning your back, being distracted,is what Marin has to live with every single day since her son’s disappearance. With the FBI investigation at a standstill, this novel really begins when Marin hires a private investigator to keep digging into who on earth could be responsible for this heinous crime. Her marriage to Derek is unsurprisingly teetering on a knife’s edge, proving that despite their wealthy privileged status, money cannot bring their child back. This isn’t a case of kidnapping where a ransom for his safe return is made, simply yet another sad case of a missing child, another number to add to the depressing statistics. Is it only Sal, long time best friend that can provide much needed emotional support for Marin?
It’s all the little secrets that come bubbling to the surface during the PI’s investigation that make this such a brilliant engaging read. I simply couldn’t put it down! It’s not giving away any spoilers to say what blows Marin’s world further apart is the discovery of her husband’s affair and how she deals with that information, already encumbered by feelings of guilt and loss, living a life without any purpose. At the start of this thriller you couldn’t begin to imagine that life could get much worse for this poor woman but it most definitely can and you will be shocked at the behaviour of some of these characters.
Professional girlfriends, home wreckers, fixers as well as long standing friendships all have a part to play in this incredibly well paced, shocking rollercoaster of a read. As a mother of course my loyalties lay with Marin but none of these characters, including her, are without blame, whilst some are more flawed than others. Jealousy and greed are also at the heart of what motivates some of the characters and although what transpires is scandalous and unforgivable, these kind of sins make for compelling storylines!! I was riveted by the dark side of some of these individuals , almost enjoying what their unscrupulous and unsavoury behaviour added to the storyline. I had never heard of the term professional girlfriend before so this thriller was definitely an eye opener and also offered an insight into the murky world of crime and the kind of person that will do anything for the right price.
Questions of trust, especially when we’ve known someone for a long time, be it a husband of wife or a much loved friend are really put to the test. It makes you wonder how you can ever truly know a person inside out, if they are harbouring secrets never to be divulged, hiding behind a well constructed persona.
My emotions were all over the place towards the end with hope and fear battling side by side wondering what the author had chosen as the final outcome for all the players in this heartbreaking story. I know that when I’d finished reading I wanted to hug my daughter just a little bit closer. Somewhere in the novel is a description about being a parent that sums up the narrative perfectly. “It’s like your heart walking out the door on two legs, vulnerable and unprotected. It’s scary as hell.” Was justice served or did some individuals get off rather lightly?? That’s for you to decide if you now feel persuaded to pick up this page turning thriller.
If you love thrillers, which I obviously do, this one won’t disappoint. An easy 5 stars in my humble opinion.
My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read.

My thanks to Atlantic Books Corvus for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Little Secrets’ by Jennifer Hillier in exchange for an honest review.

“Four minutes. That’s all it took to steal a child.”

Marin is married to the love of her life and they have a four-year old son, Sebastian. She and Derek are well off with Marin owning a chain of posh hair salons that cater to an elite clientele. Then everything falls apart when Sebastian is taken while out with Marin Christmas shopping and she is briefly distracted.

Fifteen months later and Marin is a shadow of her former self. Marin and Derek barely speak to each other anymore. Marin has quietly hired Vanessa Castro, a private investigator, to keep looking for Sebastian now that the police and FBI with no new leads have declared it a cold case.

However, during the course of her investigation Vanessa has discovered that Derek is having an affair with a much younger woman. Marin decides that she’s not about to lose her husband as well as her child. She begins to stalk Derek’s mistress and decides to take drastic steps to remove this threat to her marriage.

This was an excellent domestic noir/psychological thriller and one that I feel is best approached with the minimum of foreknowledge. The novel is told from the points of view of both Marin and Kenzie, Derek’s mistress.

After the shocking opening chapter it settles into a measured pace, slowly developing its characters and building tension before delivering on a smashing, page-turning climax. There were plenty of surprises and twists along the way in this highly engaging novel.

This was my first experience of Jennifer Hellier’s writing and I was very impressed. I certainly plan to explore her other works as well as look out for her future projects.

Definitely recommended.