Narration & Story: 4 Stars

I finally managed to read a Jennifer Hillier book & I completely understand why she's so loved within the thriller community, Things We Do in the Dark was truly a masterclass in suspense!

I'm finding that with most thrillers these days, you can't get into specifics without giving anything away, so I'll keep everything baseline - but trust me, you'll want to go into this blind. Hillier's writing was instantly captivating & the pacing was perfect - the twists & turns were so meticulously plotted throughout, & I thought the way this was structured was genius (I absolutely loved the courtroom & podcast elements). There are trigger warnings galore for this, particularly with child abuse, both physical & sexual, so please be mindful & do some research before picking this up - I won't lie, some things were pretty difficult to read, my heart just broke time & time again for one specific character.

Spoiler

Just when I thought it couldn't get worse for Paris/Joey - physically & emotionally abused by her mother, sexually abused by her mother's boyfriends, physically & emotionally abused by her aunt & grandmother...then we add sexual abuse from the uncle?! Ya'll, it was just A LOT.

Underneath all of the deception, dramatics, & murder, there's a very human story, & I was both fascinated & satisfied with how that particular storyline ultimately played out. & I have to say, it was so refreshing to read something in the genre with such a diverse cast - I gave the audiobook a listen & our narrator did a great job, especially with all of the Filipino dialect!

All in all, I'm really happy this was my introduction to Hillier's work, this was an engrossing, suspenseful read from start to finish - I can't wait to dive more into her backlist, ya'll have been recommending Jar of Hearts for the longest time!