Title: Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Length: 338 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss
Summary:
Overwhelmed by tragedy, a woman desperately tries to save her marriage in award-winning author Jennifer Hillier’s Little Secrets, a riveting novel of psychological suspense.
All it takes to unravel a life is one little secret…
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.
Review:
Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier is a fiendishly twisted domestic thriller.
Sixteen months later, upscale salon owner Marin Machado cannot let go of her guilt over her four year old son Sebastian’s kidnapping. She is still struggling to return to normal life and she remains haunted by her son’s disappearance. With the help of her therapist and group therapy, Marin now goes into work for a few hours daily.
However, at home, she and her husband Derek have drifted apart and they spend little time together. When her private investigator Vanessa Castro emails her, Marin is hoping for news of Sebastian. Vanessa instead informs her that Derek is having an affair with grad student McKenzie “Kenzie” Li. Although not overly surprised by the revelation, Marin is absolutely furious at… Kenzie. Instead of confronting Derek, she calls her longtime best friend, bar owner Sal Palermo. After a drunken afternoon together, Marin takes Sal up on his offer to help rid herself of her problem. But will she eventually regret her impulsive decision?
Marin is barely functioning after Sebastian’s kidnapping. She narrowly survived the deep depression that overtook her but she is making progress at rejoining life. She knows she is responsible for the growing distance between her and Derek, but she cannot muster the energy to try to fix her marriage. Energized and enraged after learning of his affair, Marin sets in motion a stunning plan to remove Kenzie from their lives.
Kenzie is struggling to make ends meet when she becomes involved with Derek. She is fully aware he is married but she does not allow his marital status to bother her. Kenzie has a tangled history that is revealed late in the story and provides startling insight into what guides her choices in the present.
Unfolding from both Marin’s and Kenzie’s points of view, Little Secrets is a riveting mystery that is full of tension. The characters are vibrantly developed but none of them are particularly likable. The storyline is engaging and the suspense grows with each passing chapter. With a couple of jaw-dropping plot twists, Jennifer Hillier brings this clever mystery to a breathless, edge of the seat finale. I absolutely loved and highly recommend this diabolical mystery to fans of the genre.
