Review of "Little Secrets: A Novel of Suspense" by Jennifer Hillier

Marin Machado is Christmas shopping with her 4-year-old son Sebastian at Seattle's 'Pike Place Market' when the unthinkable happens.



Distracted by a phone call, Marin releases Sebastian's hand for a moment, and when she looks around the boy is gone.



A hunt for the child is fruitless, and security footage shows that a figure in a Santa Claus costume led Sebastian away.

The police search for Sebastian is thorough and extensive since Marin and her husband Derek are high profile citizens. Marin is the owner of a beauty salon that caters to celebrities.....



 .....and Derek is a wealthy business mogul. 



Sebastian isn't found, and Marin - who's both inconsolable and guilt-ridden - attempts suicide.



After a brief stint in a psychiatric hospital Marin joins a support group for parents of missing children and - encouraged by her sympathetic salon manager - returns to work.



After eighteen months Marin and Derek, though still living together, have grown apart - and Marin thinks Derek blames her for the tragedy. Marin is barely holding herself together, but her support group acquaintances and her best friend Sal - who was her college boyfriend years ago - help her go on.



When the police stop actively looking for Sebastian, Marin can't stand the idea that the search has ended. So, unbeknownst to Derek, Marin hires private investigator Vanessa Castro to continue the hunt.



Part of Castro's strategy is to look into all of Marin and Derek's friends, acquaintances, and employees. Thus, Castro happens to learn that Derek is having an affair with a pretty, pink-haired art student/barista called McKenzie Li. The PI immediately tells Marin....and shows her pictures.



Marin is furious, and - thinking she's lost her child - determines that she can't lose her husband too. Encouraged by her longtime friend Sal, who's always been a reckless irresponsible guy, Marin does something drastic - and it has unexpected repercussions.

The book alternates between the perspectives of Marin and McKenzie, and we get a close look at the behavior of both women. Marin is a sympathetic character - a distraught woman out of her mind with grief, while McKenzie is a piece of work I'd like to send to Jupiter.

There are some surprises in the story, one of which I found completely unbelievable. That said, this is a well-written suspenseful story, well worth reading.

Thanks to Netgalley, Jennifer Hillier,  and Minotaur Books for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3.5 stars