Jennifer Hillier

Things We Do in the Dark is a brilliant new thriller from Jennifer Hillier, the award-winning author of the breakout novels Little Secrets and Jar of Hearts, where the secrets of the past come back around when a woman, long believed dead, turns up alive...

A Novel

Things We Do in the Dark

Melanie Harvie

You don’t know what it’s like to be born into a life of cruelty and abuse, and you don’t know what it’s like to have to claw your way out in order to have any self-worth. 

"She's my mother," Joey said simply. "Everything I feel for her is intense and I feel it all at once. Intense love, intense fear, intense hate. They all swirl together, like. .. I don't know, like melted Neapolitan ice cream. The flavors are impossible to separate."

Every bookstore, everywhere, smelled the same. It smelled like home.

radhika dhawan

I found this one to be a little more predictable than some of her others, but still incredible. The way she weaves so many stories over so many time periods with clarity and ease makes for an enjoyable and thrilling read. The way she describes depression and mental health issues is so spot on. Please check your triggers! This one is heavy. 

Kenzi Linton

I chose this as my book of the month. There are five parts in this book and I didn’t find myself really invested or intrigued until the second part, when the history lesson really began. This book had my mouth dropped open at some points and there were many moments that I became sad from the things I read. It can definitely be a triggering book for some, so please be sure to read those warnings beforehand.

Incredible thriller with unexpected twists 

Zoey Novak

** spoiler alert **
           VERDICT: 4 stars.

It started off strong, I enjoyed the premise of the book as it is entails the different notions of surviving for many reasons. Paris caught herself in a bit of trouble when she’s branded as the prime suspect with her husband’s murder. The problem lies on the fact that she was seen holding the supposed “murder weapon” and drenched from head to toe with her late husband’s blood. Zoe, the ever so loyal assistant, called the police to inform them of murder. Seems like your typical sugar baby things gone wrong, right? After all, Paris is way younger than her husband who is already in the mid 60s by the time this book is being told.

It’s an interesting premise of finding out whodunit and why. Throughout the book, we are led to believe that Paris is innocent, that Zoe could possibly be the murderer. That is, until we reach to the page where the murderer is revealed.

At that point, I already knew who it could be. I’ve seen the clues and most importantly, I understood the intent. At first I believed that it could be because of a failed relationship, a jealous outrage, yet, we pry further and realize that there is money involved. In fact, I was surprised to see Elsie be the representative attorney because she knew Paris’ husband. It toils over the possibility that this trial would be nothing but emotionally turmoiled. To represent someone that you know of is a violation of the law itself—the conflict of interest. They are emotionally charged with the murder. 

So, I was relieved when they finally switched Paris’ lawyer. The question was, would he do her justice? That’s not all, we also have to discuss the ashes that were supposedly Joey’s, with the way the book was written, we were led to believe that Paris killed Joey, only to reach the obvious conclusion that they are one and the same. Except, we find out who died in the fire is not Joey/Paris, but rather an important person in her life. Her mother, while vile and evil, didn’t seem the type to be sympathized. I dislike her the first time and I still dislike her to this day and that’s good for me, right? Yes. It showed that the author knew which side of my heart to puncture as we read the abuse Joey had relentlessly experienced. 

In short, I enjoyed the book enough to rate it a 4 stars. Will I be reading the author’s future books, I could be. I also felt represented by the fact that these titular characters have a Filo blood in them. Oh and let’s not talk about Drew. I don’t like him, that’s all I can say about him!

Lara Engle

It was a page-turner, but pretty predictable. It felt like a debut novel with some of the messiness in the writing, so I was surprised that the author has written several more books. It wasn't bad. Actually a pretty good diversion in the middle of a rough move.

Mae Erceg

4/5 stars for this one! The ending/plot twist wasn’t as crazy as I was hoping (tbh I guessed it from the beginning) but it was still a super fun ride. I liked the characters so much and their twisted backstories ! Definitely worth the read, would recommend :)

I really enjoyed this story. As I am from Toronto, I enjoyed the many references of the city and GTA. I laughed at some of the things she said like the smell of the Lake Ontario. (It’s very true) I just wish we got more Drew action. An epilogue would have been a nice touch for this book as well. I enjoyed the story! It was a good read. I did find the twist obvious, but still enjoyed reading about it.

Bookworm

Audrey Lord

Nash

I went in blind and I ended up pleasantly surprised. This was such a interesting story. I enjoyed it a lot. I found myself to be suspicious of everyone and ended up nailing who was the culprit. The motive was completely stupid but it made sense at the same time.

I felt like there were certain questions that aren’t talked about. How did Ruby know it was Mae’s ashes, how did Drew just let Joey/Paris back into his life after the lies and disconnect after all that time?

The end felt to rushed the last 50 or so pages it feels like Hillier was trying to squeeze the rest of the story in to fit a page or word limit. 

Overall not a bad read at all I just think that the ending could’ve taken it’s time like the rest of the story did. I appreciate all the flashbacks we get it definitely helps give you a better perspective but the ending was not what I expected from the way the writing was indicating it likely should’ve been

Lizeth Esmeralda

I felt like there were certain questions that aren’t talked about. How did Ruby know it was Mae’s ashes, how did Drew just let Joey/Paris back into his life after the lies and disconnect after all that time?

The end felt to rushed the last 50 or so pages it feels like Hillier was trying to squeeze the rest of the story in to fit a page or word limit. 

Overall not a bad read at all I just think that the ending could’ve taken it’s time like the rest of the story did. I appreciate all the flashbacks we get it definitely helps give you a better perspective but the ending was not what I expected from the way the writing was indicating it likely should’ve been

Alexa M

Boooooring. Nothing like Hillier’s past works. What a disappointment.

Liz B

It was OK. I always love the way Jennifer Hillier writes her characters (esp the women), but none of the twists were surprising and the ending of this one almost exactly mirrored the ending of one of her other books.

Fran Lewis

Things We Do in The Dark - Jennifer Hillier

Wow, from the first few lines, I needed to know the story. It starts with a woman named Paris, in the back of a police car, handcuffed, and covered with blood.

The novel goes back and forth from present time to twenty-five years previously, when Paris was living another life. I don’t want to say too much more about this as I don’t want to give any spoilers.
I cared about the characters, and the story kept my interest throughout. If you choose to read this novel you won’t be disappointed.

 This was my first thriller from Jennifer Hillier and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I will definitely pick up more reads from this author.

Heather Miller

As much as I try, and however much recommended she is, I just cannot get into Hillier books and I’m not sure why. But that's not to say it was a bad book by any means, it just isn’t my cup of tea.

What I like about Hillier’s work is she isn’t afraid to write about the real, dirty aspects of life, no matter how uncomfortable they can be. But the downside to that is sometimes it can be quite dull. Like reading an article in the news. I like a little surprise and twist and something that keeps me guessing and turning the pages. I just feel like everything is already laid out with this story and you can already guess halfway what it is about and how it is going to end. Everything just seemed way too easy.

Now this is definitely a personal opinion, and there are PLENTY of people who enjoy this type of thing and her work, so while it wasn’t for me, and after three or four novels of hers and feeling the same way, I don’t think I will be continuing. But for those who typically like her work, I definitely recommend giving it a shot as I agree she is definitely a talented writer!

I didnt love this as much as everyone else but I still really enjoyed it.

My first problem is this book labeled as a suspense/thriller when kt really doesn't read like that at all. It's more a mystery with suspense.

The second reason I didnt give this a four stars, was because I found it obvious who the killer was and quickly worked out Paris secret. I don't know if the Author made it obvious on purpose or we were meant to be surprised.

However I think the Author mannaged to wrote about something difficult and write it decently without having to give many details that could made it difficult to read.

I did love the main character Paris, she is written really well.

The very ending was something I was so glad happened. I think everyone was happy. Its deserving.

I wasn't bored reading this and got through it quick. It was a good read.

Samantha King

I didnt love this as much as everyone else but I still really enjoyed it.

My first problem is this book labeled as a suspense/thriller when kt really doesn't read like that at all. It's more a mystery with suspense.

The second reason I didnt give this a four stars, was because I found it obvious who the killer was and quickly worked out Paris secret. I don't know if the Author made it obvious on purpose or we were meant to be surprised.

However I think the Author mannaged to wrote about something difficult and write it decently without having to give many details that could made it difficult to read.

I did love the main character Paris, she is written really well.

The very ending was something I was so glad happened. I think everyone was happy. Its deserving.

I wasn't bored reading this and got through it quick. It was a good read.

Christine Bruce

Paris's husband is dead, and she's been arrested for the murder. How is it possible for one woman to have this much bad luck? You see, this isn't Paris's first time around the dead body of someone she knows, and its also apparently not the only death she's responsible for. What follows is the winding tale of what happened to Paris, what happened to Joey, and what happened to Mae. 

What's wild is the story isn't even really about the husband's death, It's more about Paris's past than anything, and how that ties into what she was doing in the days leading to her husband's death. His death is more a framing mechanism to understand her mental state and priorities. As you learn more about Paris, and also about the mysteriously disappeared Mae, and equally distressing death of Joey (and Joey's mother who was a famous murderer) you learn about the horrors Paris lived through again and again. I'll say here, this is a hard book to read. While nothing explicitly happens, there's the lasting panic and damage that her childhood trauma still enacts on her, you can see the tendrils of time affecting every action she makes. You can also see how she was beginning to heal in her marriage. Making her husband's untimely death even more tragic. There's discussion of suicide, child sexual and physical abuse, drug usage, and murder. Most of it happens off screen and is only alluded to or briefly described. A lot of the murder details get explicit. It was a very tough book to listen to, and even harder to put down. 

The characters were so well fleshed out and three dimensional. Their backgrounds and actions all made sense even when you didn't disagree. You could see how what they'd been through led to what they were doing. Y0u could understand every action Paris takes. It's heart wrenching, but its reality. 

As the story progresses it wasn't twists that had my jaw on the floor so much as it was surprise as different aspects were unveiled. While you knew certain things happened, when the scene finally happened I was left shocked at how it unfolded. 

It was a book I would want to read again just to properly untangle it all, to properly track the different threads and to better give the characters the attention they deserve. They went through hell. Paris in particular is an amazing, tough woman that deserves all the respect in the world.

Bonita

a little disappointed by this book, especially after really loving Jar of Hearts! i guess i was just expecting more of a mystery, even the twists that happened at the end didn't really shock me. the main character was interesting enough to keep reading, and i wish (view spoiler)[ we would've gotten more insight in to her & drew's relationship in the past. (hide spoiler)] overall, i wanted more from this book but it was a miss for me. still excited to make my way through Jennifer's backlist!

I had a great time reading it, which is not something I can say for most books.

I was hooked 15% in and the journey was great.

This book needs SO MANY TRIGGER WARNINGS. So make sure you know them before you get into this. Some of them include child abuse, sexual abuse, drugs, etc. off the top of my head. It doesn't delve too much into detail, but it is mentioned quite often which can be triggering enough.

Back to the story, the case of Jimmy Peralta itself is not that intriguing. It doesn't eat up a lot of the whole story. Most of the book is about a girl named Joelle Reyes and her relationship with her mother, Ruby Reyes. 

The twist at the 50% mark came as no shock to me ever since the hinting started at Part II of the book. But the redeeming factor is that the pace was still strong even after the twist and the story was consistently good. You were always suspecting someone and it kept you hooked, and not for an annoyingly long time. This is one of the things that makes a book good for me.

Jennifer Hillier is a great writer and this book was a great one to pick up if you need a quick thriller.

I had a great time reading it, which is not something I can say for most books.

I was hooked 15% in and the journey was great.

This book needs SO MANY TRIGGER WARNINGS. So make sure you know them before you get into this. Some of them include child abuse, sexual abuse, drugs, etc. off the top of my head. It doesn't delve too much into detail, but it is mentioned quite often which can be triggering enough.

Back to the story, the case of Jimmy Peralta itself is not that intriguing. It doesn't eat up a lot of the whole story. Most of the book is about a girl named Joelle Reyes and her relationship with her mother, Ruby Reyes. 

The twist at the 50% mark came as no shock to me ever since the hinting started at Part II of the book. But the redeeming factor is that the pace was still strong even after the twist and the story was consistently good. You were always suspecting someone and it kept you hooked, and not for an annoyingly long time. This is one of the things that makes a book good for me.

Jennifer Hillier is a great writer and this book was a great one to pick up if you need a quick thriller.

kendall p

this book is told in dual pov and broken up into 6 parts. there’s a lot to keep up with at the beginning, but it’s so worth it. the short chapters make for such a quick read. 
the story is so well thought out and captivating. i loved how much back story was given, and how much present day material was given. the story was wrapped up so well — i didn’t necessarily like how one of the plot lines ended, but it made a lot of sense. 
the story was hard to stomach at times. it goes into child abuse, rape, drugs, murder - it was definitely a dark thriller. 
it’s hard to really go into the book without spoiling it, but i’d say give it a read if you like dark thrillers mixed with some legal drama.

Things We Do in the Dark A Novel

Reviews

Highlights