Little Secrets

A good addition to Hillier's growing list of psychological thrillers., although not in the league of Jar of Hearts for me. Initially this story seems to center around the kidnapping of a 4-year-old boy in busy Pike Market in Seattle. Marin, his mother, cannot get over her guilt and grief and begins seeing both a therpist and attending a support group of other parents whose children are missing. But then before the quarter mark, the novel takes a U-turn and becomes much more about Marin's discovery of her husband's affair with Kenzie and her plans for revenge. That's where the book lost me, I'm afraid, because Marin did not seem like a woman who would resort to the measures she puts in place. Also the fact she was willing to continue with her marriage to a cheating spouse as though nothing had happened rubbed me the wrong way. She turned from a grieving mother to a complicit wife concerned with appearances, material success, and maintaining the status quo, which wasn't the character I'd identified with at the beginning. The twists and turns in the plot were deftly handled although I did see the solution coming halfway through (I thought the antagonist was easy to spot) For me, all the characters acted in selfish, self-centered and frankly, over the top ways so when Hillier finally cycled back to the kidnapped child, I'd lost interest in how it all turned out.
My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.