Welp, Jennifer Hillier does it again with another unputdownable thriller.
Paris Peralta has rebuilt her life. That is until she’s found covered in her celebrity husband’s blood and is on trial for his murder. At the same time, Ruby Reyes who was convicted of a murder similar to Paris’ in nineties Canada. Her unlikely release at the same time Paris is being investigated might just be a coincidence, or it might be about to drag Paris back into her past. With Ruby set to appear on the popular podcast ‘Thing We Do In the Dark’, Paris stands to loose everything she’s spent years building.
I’ll be the first to say that I love a good thriller from Hillier. She has a knack for writing some truly terrible people, while keeping readers engaged in the intricate plot. Once again she utilizes two timelines in order to depict the past and the present.
The past is portrayed through the daughter of Ruby Reyes, Joey Reye’s diary. Joey who died 25 years ago was regularly subjected to physical and verbal abuse by her mother and her mother’s boyfriends. This could be a main trigger for some readers and while Hillier doesn’t get overly graphic there are a few incidents that could give readers pause. Her journal entries though, really develop the character of Joey, even though we don’t get her POV I felt that I knew her better than any of the other characters.
Not only does the present timeline follow Paris but it also follows one of Joey’s best friends, Drew. Drew Malcolm, the narrator of the popular Podcast, Thing We Do in the Dark, is set to interview Ruby Reyes after her release from prison. He’s convinced that Ruby knows more about what happened to Joey, and he’s determined to get answers.
Even though I saw once of the twists coming, the second one was a bit unexpected but it works within the story. As always, her books are a bit dark but she is great at perfecting the atmosphere of a story and at creating complex characters. I really enjoyed trying to figure out the ‘whodunnit’ in this one and highly recommend Hillier’s books to anyone needing a page turning thriller.
Things We Do in the Dark comes out July 19, 2022! Huge thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof_books.
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As soon as I see a POV from a diary, I think “another Gone Girl”? I’ve read so many fake diaries as the twist that it makes me want to throw books across the room…. please tell me Joey’s is real.
Joey is real! And it’s her actual journal.
Ah! Thank you!