Little Secrets: A Novel

by Jennifer Hillier

Overview

National Bestseller!

"Unflinching and unforgettable. Little Secrets has everything you want in a thriller" —Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of Lock Every Door

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250797087
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/18/2021
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	13,906
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

JENNIFER HILLIER was born and raised in Toronto, Canada, lived in the Seattle area for years, and has just moved back to Toronto with her husband and son.

Jennifer is the author of Wonderland, Creep, and Jar of Hearts.

Editorial Reviews

"Tightly plotted like a TV show, this is a book you can binge." —The Skimm

"This is psychological suspense of the highest order, a rich character study of a woman at the end of her rope and the lengths she goes through to free herself from her bonds." —Providence Journal

"This book belongs at the top of your must-read list." —Suspense Magazine

"Read if you love Little Fires Everywhere." —SheKnows

"The tensions ratchet up as nefarious motives and twisted allegiances come to light. A delightfully twisty psychological thriller perfect for fans of You and Gone Girl." —Kirkus Reviews

"A fast-paced, gorgeously written novel with genuine heart and a lot of emotion." —CrimeReads

"Once I picked Little Secrets up, I couldn't put it down. It's crackling with suspense, bursting with characters I cared about, and has one of the most satisfying endings I've ever read." —Jess Lourey, bestselling author of Unspeakable Things

"[A] diabolically plotted psychological thriller of lust, obsession, greed, and betrayal...a captivating double helix of duplicity." —Publishers Weekly

“Little Secrets starts with every parent’s nightmare—the disappearance of a child in a crowded store. If that sounds like tough stuff, trust me, you want to keep reading. Better yet, trust Jennifer Hillier, a rising star in crime fiction whose work is like no one else’s. That gut punch of an opener jumps to a twisty tale of trauma and grief and revenge, with extraordinary empathy for everyone involved.” —Laura Lippman, New York Times bestselling author of Lady in the Lake

"Unflinching and unforgettable. Little Secrets has everything you want in a thriller—complex characters, heart-pounding suspense and a stunning conclusion. Jennifer Hillier is one of my favorite writers, and this is her best book yet." —Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of Lock Every Door

"Little Secrets will leave readers completely floored. You don't just read this book; you inhale it." —Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl and The Other Mrs.

"Suspenseful and compelling—Hillier is a masterful storyteller." —Chevy Stevens, New York Times bestselling author of Never Let You Go

“You will be obsessed with this unputdownable read. Razor-sharp writing, believable characters, emotional depth—this is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. Absolutely loved it!” —Liv Constantine, international bestselling author of the The Last Mrs. Parish

“Little Secrets is a powerful, enthralling thriller that had me looking forward to the end of each day I could spend with these intriguing characters and Jennifer Hillier’s riveting storytelling. Prepare yourself for a terrific read.” —Alafair Burke, New York Times bestselling author of The Little Sister

"Jennifer Hillier is a powerhouse of the thriller genre. Little Secrets is sophisticated, compelling, gut-wrenching, stunning, and absolutely magnificent. If you only read one book in 2020, make sure it's this one." —Lisa Regan, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author

"An exceptional thriller that turns up the heat with every flip of the page. Jennifer Hillier has created characters so real you'll feel like you're a member of their dark and twisted world. Little Secrets is one of the best books you'll read in 2020." —Matthew Farrell, bestselling author of What Have You Done

From the Publisher

01/13/2020

Celebrity hairstylist Marin Machado, the heroine of this diabolically plotted psychological thriller of lust, obsession, greed, and betrayal from Thriller Award–winner Hillier (Jar of Hearts), believes she’s hit bottom during the 16 months since her four-year-old son was snatched while they were Christmas shopping at a Seattle farmers’ market—something for which she can’t stop blaming herself, nor can her entrepreneur husband of almost 20 years, Derek. But that’s before the PI Marin hired after the case went cold shares her chance but devastating discovery that Derek’s having an affair with a much younger woman, catapulting Marin into an even darker circle of hell. Following the initial shock of the revelation, the furious Marin feels empowered, almost exhilarated. But her rage also threatens to propel this sympathetic protagonist into a rash, potentially catastrophic decision, encouraged by her best friend and onetime boyfriend, an ex-con, who has his own devious agenda. Though a few of the twists down the frenetic home stretch seem forced, until then Hillier sustains a captivating double helix of duplicity. Hillier remains an author to watch. 75,000-copy announced first printing. Agent: Victoria Skurnick, Levine Greenberg. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

11/01/2019

Hillier follows up Jar of Hearts, a much-best-booked ITW Thriller Award winner, with an eye popper featuring a mother whose four-year-old son has vanished. When a yearlong search by the FBI yields nothing, Marin Machado hires a private eye, who fails to find little Sebastian but does learn that Marin's husband is having an affair with gorgeous young Instagram sensation Kenzie Li. What's worse, there are intimations that Kenzie—and even Marin's husband—might know what happened to Sebastian.

Library Journal

2020-03-02
The day Marin’s 4-year-old son, Sebastian, was kidnapped was the day her life stopped. But things can always get worse.

Lured away from Seattle's Pike Place Market by someone dressed in a Santa Claus suit offering the expensive lollipop Marin had stalled on buying, Sebastian was easily taken. Since that day, 16 months ago, Marin's life has fallen apart. She fantasizes about suicide, and now her best friend, Sal, texts “You alive?” every day. Barely able to make it to the upscale beauty salon she founded, Marin now simply cuts hair, admittedly for celebrity clients, but she's turned over most of the business to her right-hand woman, Sadie. Her husband, Derek, still won't talk about the tragedy. The police have given up looking. But Marin hasn't. She's hired a private investigator to search under every rock. But instead of finding evidence of Sebastian’s whereabouts—or even evidence of his continued existence—the PI finds evidence that Derek is having an affair, which lights a fire under Marin: The kidnapper may be elusive, but Kenzie, Derek’s mistress, is very real and a perfect target for Marin’s rage. Hillier deftly metamorphoses Marin’s suffocating guilt over her son’s disappearance into a searingly hot anger at Kenzie, an anger that turns reckless. Once Kenzie comes on the scene, however, Hillier deepens the tale from one of simple vengeance into a psychological thriller by shifting perspectives between Marin and Kenzie, revealing not only the two women’s secrets, but also skeletons in the closets of a few more characters. The tensions ratchet up as nefarious motives and twisted allegiances come to light.

A delightfully twisty psychological thriller perfect for fans of You and Gone Girl.

Kirkus Reviews