Publish Date: July 19, 2022
“Some mothers send birthday cards with sweet greetings. Paris’s mother sends blackmail letters with threats.” – Things We Do In The Dark
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.
Jennifer Hillier’s gritty Jar of Hearts was unforgettable, so when I heard about this new book I knew that this was a MUST read for me.
Paris Peralta is jolted from her idyllic, peaceful life by waking up on the bathroom floor with her dead, older, celebrity husband Jimmy laying in a tub full of blood. She can’t remember how she got there, and this starts a chain of events that leaves her never the same.
The story is told in 6 different points in time from various characters. Jennifer Hillier masterfully writes a suspenseful, twisty and shocking story that will tear your heartstrings out for her vulnerable characters. suspenseful, twisted and shocking. Hillier’s writing is phenomenal and sucks the reader into the story immediately; she brings you down one path, leads you to believe certain things and then pulls the rug from under you many times. You never know what to expect in her books.
The book has dark themes such as abuse, rape, murder, drugs, trafficking, and bad family dynamics. These are normally cringe-worthy topics; however, I couldn’t stop reading because each mini-storyline came together to tell a fascinating mystery. Every character is flawed and complex, and many are likeable. I rooted for Paris to overcome her circumstances and succeed.
My favorite quotes:
“Why was it always the meanest ones that lived the longest?”
“Sometimes the only way to start over is to burn it all down.”
“She was familiar with that smile; she’d seen it too many times. It was the smile monsters wore when they were pretending they weren’t monsters.”
“A good chunk of people who are considered ‘missing’ are either dead or don’t want to be found.”
“Occam’s razor: The simplest explanation is usually the right one.”
“The common denominator in all the terrible things that have happened to you is you.”
My rating: 5 of 5 stars 
This book is about love, marriage, motherhood, relationships, survival, and murder. Jennifer Hillier is one of my very favorite authors due to her suspense-building plots, complex characters, and atmospheric settings. Her storytelling abilities are the stuff of legends. I highly recommend this book!
Note: I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley exchange for an honest review.
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