*** REVIEW *** LITTLE SECRETS by Jennifer Hiller

 

 

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.

All it takes to unravel a life is one little secret...

Little Secrets is the story of Marin and Derek Machado and their life together and apart after their son Sebastian is taken from a busy mall.  Marin and Derek were Christmas shopping at the mall.  It only took a couple of seconds when Marin let go of Sebastian’s hand before “Santa” grabbed his hand, and they both disappeared.  Marin blamed herself.  Why did she respond to the text message?  What appeared to be a solid marriage started to shatter.  Marin knew that Derek blamed her too.  How could she go on knowing that her son would be with them if she weren’t tied to her phone?  Derek has his own secrets and guilt that he must work through too. 

Jennifer Hillier is a new author to me.  She did an excellent job creating this adventure.  Little Secrets is a fast-paced, twisty, nail bitter.  Marin and Derek work hard to pull themselves out of poverty.  They are now in the newly rich category.  They can afford a nice house, luxury cars, and designer clothes.  However, all their money couldn’t protect their son.  Police suspected a ransom call, but it never came. I found the reactions of the characters to be realistic.  I’ve watched shows about abducted children, and Hillier’s characters display those characteristics.   People face these tragedies differently depending on their coping mechanisms. 

Little Secrets is told in four parts.  Part one is the background focusing on Marin, the change in her relationship with her husband, and how Marin decides to fix it.  First, she hires a PI to pick up where the police stopped in the search for her son.  There is a character study of how Marin’s decisions evolve and Marin’s anxiety regarding her choices.   Part two focuses on Mackenzie.  It was sad experiencing Marin’s anguish and guilt and sadder still how Mackenzie capitalizes on her pain.  Part three is Marin and Derek working on their relationship, revealing their secrets incompletely, and making more good and bad choices.  Part four is the epilogue that rounds out the story.

I did begin to suspect the person involved about halfway through the story.  I didn’t know how the character was involved, but I had a feeling.  I wasn’t sure how or why.  It didn’t matter, though.  There were a few unexpected twists that shocked me.  There are times when the characters rubbed me wrong, but it felt real, given their situation.  There is also a character that I loved to hate.

 

4 Stars