THINGS WE DO IN THE DARK

SYNOPSIS

When Paris Peralta is arrested in her own bathroom—covered in blood, holding a straight razor, her celebrity husband dead in the bathtub behind her—she knows she'll be charged with murder. But as bad as this looks, it's not what worries her the most. With the unwanted media attention now surrounding her, it's only a matter of time before someone from her long hidden past recognizes her and destroys the new life she's worked so hard to build, along with any chance of a future.

Twenty-five years earlier, Ruby Reyes, known as the Ice Queen, was convicted of a similar murder in a trial that riveted Canada in the early nineties. Reyes knows who Paris really is, and when she's unexpectedly released from prison, she threatens to expose all of Paris's secrets. Left with no other choice, Paris must finally confront the dark past she escaped, once and for all.

Because the only thing worse than a murder charge are two murder charges.

Title: Things we do in the dark

Author: Jennifer Hillier

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Publication date: July 19, 2022

REVIEW

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐

I’ve been seeing Jennifer Hillier’s books around forever. Prior to reading this one I had only read Little Secrets and found it to be quite addictive. That, along the numerous people singing her praises online, made me so excited to read her new book, Things We Do In The Dark. But all that excitement fizzled out pretty soon as I didn’t find it as engaging or, let’s be honest, interesting as the other one.

Paris Peralta has been arrested for the murder of her much older, celebrity husband. With all the media attention she’s getting, she’s worried someone from her past will recognize her. That someone is Ruby Reyes, a convicted killer that threatens to expose all of Paris’ secrets. She will have to confront her past to protect her future.

The premise sounded really interesting. The first few chapters were quite intriguing  and made me keep turning pages. My issue with it started when the past timeline began. It was crystal clear for me how the story would unfold, and I got it all right, so that made it a bit dull. The whole time I was expecting some twist that would knock my socks off and proven me wrong, but it never came.

More than a thriller this read like a character study on a woman with a dysfunctional childhood, and that was not what I expected (or wanted).

Once past and present collided I hoped at least the murder resolution would be kind of spectacular, but it was solved in a pretty straightforward way, wrapping everything up quite quickly.

The writing was good and the author’s talent is undeniable, but the story was predictable and lost most of its steam on a past timeline that slogged the whole novel.

Although not a favorite, I really like the author’s style, so I’m more than willing to give her next book and her backlist a chance.