Dare County Library Book Club Information and Resource Center

LITTLE SECRETS by Jennifer Hillier

All it takes to unravel a life is one little secret...

Marin had the perfect life. Married to her college sweetheart, she owns a chain of upscale hair salons, and Derek runs his own company. They're admired in their community and are a loving family―until their world falls apart the day their son Sebastian is taken.

A year later, Marin is a shadow of herself. The FBI search has gone cold. The publicity has faded. She and her husband rarely speak. She hires a P.I. to pick up where the police left off, but instead of finding Sebastian, she learns that Derek is having an affair with a younger woman. This discovery sparks Marin back to life. She's lost her son; she's not about to lose her husband, too. Kenzie is an enemy with a face, which means this is a problem Marin can fix.

1.  Do you think it’s helpful, or healthy, for Marin to attend her monthly Parents of Missing Children support group meetings?  
2. During group, Marin allows her guilt over Sebastian's kidnapping to consume her. Simon tells her, "Sebastian was four, Marin. Kids wander. Ninety-nine percent of the time they just get lost and are found again. It wasn't your fault. He's gone because someone took him. A kidnapper took him." What do you think of Simon's statement, and his suggestion that bad luck or timing – a child being in the proximity of a stranger capable of kidnapping a child – is more to blame than Marin being distracted that day at the farmer's market? 
3. After the FBI investigation goes cold, Marin hires former Seattle police detective Vanessa Castro to continue the search for Sebastian. Why do you think Marin didn’t tell Derek that she hired a PI? 
4. When Marin learns that Derek is having an affair, Marin could have made the decision to confront Derek, which might have ended his affair, or ended their marriage. Why do you think she chose to focus her anger on McKenzie, the other woman, instead? 
5. Considering that Derek and Sal have never liked each other, do you agree with Marin's decision to stay friends with Sal after she got married? And why stay friends anyway, when it’s clear that Marin and Sal's lives have gone in such different directions? 
6. After a good weekend away with Derek, Marin spirals when she learns that Frances's son was found dead. What do you think of Marin's dark net activity? Do you agree with her therapist, Dr. Chen, that this a form of self-harm?  
7. McKenzie has 50,000 followers on Instagram but very few close real life friends, and the one friend she does have – her roommate Tyler – she often lets down. Why do you think she's unable to sustain genuine friendships? 
8. Do you think McKenzie's motivation to date wealthy married men is solely based on money, or do you think her reasons go deeper than that?