A review by tyreadsbooks_
Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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

 ⁕ 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 :

• books that hook you with the first line
• short chapters
• dark, emotionally gripping reads 
• alternating timelines
• that bookstore smell 🥰
• crime podcast element 
• complicated family dynamics 
• Canadian setting & diverse characters 

⁕ 𝙢𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 : 

Reading this story felt like putting together a puzzle without the box to reference- you can slowly start to see where it’s heading, but when you finally see the full picture it’s so, so satisfying. 

I went in blind, & I’m so glad I did! I didn’t expect this to be such emotionally charged story. The way the book was divided into parts, plus the multiple POVs uncovered the layered backstory in a way that kept me glued to the pages. While I did see a few of the twists coming, it really didn't matter or take away from the impact of the story at all. I was so invested in seeing how it all played out, & the end came together just right. An easy 5 stars!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, and Pedophilia