ReView: Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier

 “...The common denominator in all the terrible things that have happened to you is you.”

Jennifer Hillier’s Things We Do In the Dark is an exciting, unpredictable thrill ride which asks the questions “how far do we have to go to really run away from our past?” and “who are we really protecting by shielding our past?”

When we first meet Paris Peralta, she’s in the back of a police car.  Her husband was found dead in their bathroom, and all signs point to her as the prime suspect. Adding fuel to this fire is the fact that her husband is a legendary comedian whose career just found a second wind. The tabloids jump on the story and, let’s just say, the last thing that Paris wants is more attention.  From there, the story is propelled forward and as we meet characters whose lives all seem indirectly connected, we realize there’s much much more to the story.  

This is a book I want to be really careful about spoiling anything because the way the truth unfolds is brilliantly thought out and really, well, thrilling.

While many thrillers nowadays rely on an unreliable narrator with a questionable memory, what is so exciting about Things We Do in the Dark is that it really takes that trope and turns it on its head. The reader, just like those people who have come in and out of Paris’ orbit, aren’t ever sure if they’re always getting the full story. 

Hillier’s writing is clever, thoughtful and (I know this is weird to say for a thriller like this) fun.  My husband is Filipino (and Cebuano) so I loved seeing a complicated, complex lead character who is proudly Pinoy.

I was kept on my toes and just when I thought I had it figured out, I was pleasantly surprised to see I was wrong.

Rounding up from 4.5 stars as I believe there were some portions that dragged, and because of that the story lost some of its momentum.