She loves writing when it’s raining, sleeping when it’s sunny, and reading after everyone else has gone to bed. Jennifer Hillier in born in Toronto, but she spent eight years in the Seattle area, which is where all her novels are set.

A novel with themes of hope, betrayal, and greed. With a convoluted twisty plot, devious characters, lots of emotion, myriad secrets and deceptions, this is a domestic thriller that really packs a punch. Her lifelong friend Sal introduces her to a ‘fixer’, and Marin’s life spirals from there. She will do anything to have her marriage back – and she makes a disastrous ( and criminal) decision. When Marin learns of this affair, she breaks, and her mind goes into dangerous territory. Not knowing his fate was torture for her and she couldn’t share her feelings with her husband, as he was dealing with Sebastian’s disappearance in his own way…. For they never found him… no ransom demands, no leads, nothing. Though she and her husband Derek are both wealthy business people, Marin finds that there is little in life worth anything without her beloved son. Her marriage has turned distant and cold. She has unsuccessfully tried to end her own life, and is still entertaining thoughts of suicide. In just a few seconds he is gone! Now, fourteen months later, Marin is a wreck and depends on prescription pills to get her through each day. Three days before Christmas, at Seattle’s very busy Pike Place Market, Marin Machado lets go of her four year old son’s hand to answer a text on her phone. With characters that were not that likeable, I was surprised that they kept me riveted to their story, but they definitely did. What a page turner! I thought at first that this would be like all the other ‘abducted child’ thrillers, but it couldn’t have been more different. I always fulfill my review commitments, even if it is not always in a timely fashion.)

I’ve had a ‘hold’ on this title for quite some time and my hold finally became available.

“ Sometimes someone else’s pain is the only thing that makes yours better“ (I downloaded this title from Minotaur Books via Edelweiss but the book expired before I had a chance to read it – SO… at long last, I ended up reading a library copy on the Libby app.

Little secrets jennifer