Books featured in this article: The Butcher, Wonderland, Little Secrets, Creep, Jar of Hearts, Things We Do In The Dark

*Creep* (2011) by Jennifer Hillier & apple cucumber ginger and parsley tea

Euphoria. The moment right before you snuggle up with a book. Bonus points if your schedule is wide open and you have nothing but time on your hands…to read. Even more bonus points if you have a good drink to keep you company. And Extra-extra bonus points if it’s a real good book.

I’m going to tell you about the new discovery that has put me over the moon.

Five books in a damn row. Euphoria, no drink needed but highly encouraged. Why has it taken me so long to read her books? Maybe because my TBR is as long as the gap between buying books and reading them. Many many moons.

I was not expecting the instant obsession. Ok, maybe obsession is a little dramatic, but I bought four more books of hers before I was even finished with the first one because I knew I would love them all.

For me, there’s a moment usually within the first chapter, sometimes within the first paragraph if I’m lucky, where I know right away, I’m going to love a book. Call it good ol’ fashioned intuition and alignment.

Yes, you can be aligned with your reading preferences and live a life abundant full of books made just for you. But you have to be comfortable DNFing the ones that don’t interest you. Don’t spend time on books that don’t tickle your fancy, so you have more room for the ones that do.

*The Butcher* (2014) by Jennifer Hillier

One day I was minding my business eating a piece of strawberry cake, admiring all my pretty books and decided to take a quick peek at The Butcher. I call them first chapter sneak peeks; I do it for fun. If it hooks me, I stick around. If not, I put the book down for another day.

Anyway, the strawberry cake was delicious, but the first chapter of The Butcher was way better. I devoured both.

I started The Butcher on the 15th of January. By the time I came up for air, it was the 3rd of February. I read five Hillier books in twenty days.

I was hooked, addicted and obsessed, just like her characters.

Her stories are dark, twisted, digestible, entertaining and intoxicating.

And here’s what I love:

Characters: Passion and obsession. The end. Just kidding.

Characters are my favorite element of a story, and hers are insanely interesting who do crazy shit.

Each one has their own personality that sets them apart from the other. Sometimes I read books and they all sound the same. I will DNF a book so hard if the characters are bland and are alike.

Her characters are diverse, not only in personality but also their skin color. Personally, I don’t care what color they are, it’s never been a deal breaker for me. Half the time I ignore character description anyway, because I just don’t give a shit. I’ve been fortunate enough to live a diverse life, so I don’t expect it to be in every single book I read. However, it is refreshing to read a book that includes multiple races and nationalities because we just haven’t seen a whole lot of it.

*Little Secrets* (2020) by Jennifer Hillier

Secret Reveals: The secrets are twisty, dirty and dark. And they’re sneaky little bastards too. They creep up on you at just the right time. Be prepared for some jaw-dropping gasps.

*Jar of Hearts* (2018) by Jennifer Hillier

Hillier’s Shared Universe: There’s a familiarity in all her books because her characters (and readers 😊) share the same world. Same location, different characters…well some characters make guest appearances in other books which was super cool. I was happy to see Vanessa Castro in Wonderland and Little Secrets, I LOVE HER. The narrator sums her up perfectly: “She looks in places the police won’t or can’t. She’s unconventional, a bit of a renegade. Classy on the surface and unafraid to get her hands dirty.” I hope she gets her own series one day because I wanted to eat her up.

All of her books take place in Seattle because although Hillier is from Canada and has been writing since she was a little girl, she didn’t become a novelist until she moved to Seattle as an adult. She talks about it in her FAQs: https://jenniferhillierbooks.com/faq/

You’ll see a lot of references to the Filipino culture because she’s filipino-canadian. And the way she writes about filipino food…Yum! I make chicken adobo too, but I have a feeling her characters cook better than me. Maybe not my adobo wings…those can’t be beat.

The overlapping references and her signature elements (voice and identity) provides us a connected universe, and it feels so cozy. Which brings a nice balance to the heavy topics in her stories. She gives us readers a sense of familiarity that connects us to her stories and I literally can’t wait to get back into her books after being away, adulting with chores and obligations and shit.

Last thing, she’s a thriller author, so don’t expect rainbows and butterflies. Thriller authors write about dark things and Hillier does not hold back.

I’m currently reading my sixth Hillier book, Things We Do In The Dark and I already know what to expect…a wickedly dark ride.

In closing, I want to thank her agent Victoria Skurnick for believing in her books… Hillier loves her agent and so do I. Her first published book, Creep, was rejected so many times because they said no one would care about a female main character who’s addicted to sex and cheats on her fiancé. It was strongly suggested that she make her more likable. Hillier did not forsake her original idea and decided an interesting character is more important than a likable one and guess what, she was right because Sheila happens to be one of my favorite main characters. She’s vulnerable, real and raw and wasn’t ashamed to tell us about that massive stinky shit she had to take in front of her captor.

Thank you Victoria for plucking Hillier out of the slush pile and saying yes…you guys have made me very happy.

Her books can be read in any order. My favorite ones are The Butcher, Wonderland, Little Secrets and the way it’s looking, Things We Do In The Dark. I’m 50% in and loving it.

Jennifer Hillier-my new thriller obsession

I gotta read faster