Book Review : Jennifer Hillier - Little Secrets (2020)
If you don’t already know who Jennifer Hillier is and what she does, it’s almost impossible to assume anything from the cover of her latest novel Little Secrets. There’s a woman who looks vaguely upset on the cover. The tittle is printed in large pink letters and hints at deception. There’s also a mention that it’s a novel, so you know what you’re buying. Without it, I could’ve been fooled into thinking it was a book about the secrets of goth fashion and culture.
Little Secrets is mysterious and I might’ve never picked it up if I didn’t already know Jennifer Hillier was awesome at writing thriller. She’s also getting better and better.
This novel is slightly different from Jennifer Hillier’s usual wheelhouse. It’s more Gillian Flynn’esque for lack of a better word. Little Secrets tells the story of Marin Machado, a successful hairdresser who’s son was kidnapped. Sixteen months later, the disappearance of young Sebastian is still unsolved and it is putting tremendous pressure on her marriage. When she learns that her husband is having an affair, Marin figures out it’s a problem she can solve.
A major difference between Little Secrets and Jennifer Hillier’s other novels is that there’s no serial killer featured. There’s only a bereaved mom surrounded by either unsavory or deceitful people, hence the tittle. It’s by far Hillier’s most relatable novel. It appeals to that primordial fear buried in our limbic brain that no one is telling us the truth about anything and that our lives could fall apart at any time. You know what fear I’m talking about, don’t you?
One point Little Secrets has in common with its predecessor Jar of Hearts is the fusion of the damsel in distress and femme fatale trope in their protagonists. I fucking LOVED that. Marin Machado is both burdened by a terrible drama and about to burden someone else in other to symbolically regain control over her life. That is insanely relatable to me. People are multifaceted. If you have a dark side, you’re not necessarily evil. Hillier understands that.
While the angle (and the specTACular plot twists) are definitely reminiscent of Gillian Flynn, Hillier bring her own tone to Little Secrets. It is melodramatic in the best possible way, like the string of awesome Michael Douglas thrillers that spanned from Fatal Attraction to The Game. While it’s implausible a woman would get systematically lied to like Marin Machado is, the charm of Little Secrets is navigating this disaster scenario and purge our own insecurities.
Little Secrets is a solid thriller. Marin Machado is perhaps not as charming as her previous protagonist Georgina Shaw, but her problems are more gripping and relatable. It’s a brutal and emotional ride that is really hard to pry yourself away from. Sure, the title might undersell how good the novel is. It could’ve been titled more aggressively, like Web of Deceit or The Long, Dark Night of the Soul. But I’m here to tell you that you should read it anyway.
8.2/10
