Things We Do in the Dark Summary: A Psychological Thriller of Murder and Identity
TL;DR: The Setup, the Secret, and the Stakes
The novel moves between present-day Seattle and 1990s Toronto.
It follows a woman accused of murder who fears exposure of an older, darker secret.
- Paris Peralta is found holding a razor beside her husband Jimmy Peralta’s dead body.
- The murder charge is dangerous, but Paris fears the media attention more because it may expose her true identity.
- She has spent two decades hiding as the daughter of a notorious murderer.
- The story shifts between the current investigation and the traumatic events that forced her to fake her own death.
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Characters In This Book
| Character | Role |
|---|---|
| Paris Peralta (Joelle “Joey” Reyes) | Protagonist; a yoga instructor hiding her identity as the daughter of a notorious murderer. |
| Jimmy Peralta | Retired comedian and Paris’s husband whose death starts the plot. |
| Ruby Reyes | Paris’s mother, known as the Ice Queen, paroled after 25 years for a gruesome murder. |
| Drew Malcolm | True-crime podcaster and Joey’s former best friend who uncovers Paris’s identity. |
| Elsie Dixon | Litigation lawyer and Jimmy’s lifelong best friend who killed him accidentally. |
| Zoe Moffatt | Jimmy’s assistant who first accuses Paris, later becomes her ally. |
| Mae Ocampo | Joey’s friend whose body was used to fake Joey’s death in the 1999 fire. |
| Charles Baxter | Ruby’s lover who sexually abused Joey; killed by both Ruby and Joey. |
| Sonny Everly | Criminal defense attorney hired to represent Paris. |
| Deborah Jackson | Social worker who tried to help Joey as a child. |
| Tito Micky & Tita Flora | Joey’s abusive uncle and aunt in Maple Sound. |
Things We Do in the Dark Summary: The Full Plot
Spoiler Warning: This section reveals the complete plot, including the ending.
Paris Peralta is found in her Seattle home holding a blood-stained straight razor beside her husband Jimmy Peralta’s body in the bathtub.
Police arrest her immediately. Jimmy was a famous comedian, and Paris is his fifth wife.
At her arraignment, prosecutors reveal that Jimmy changed his will weeks before his death.
Paris stands to inherit over $40 million, which the prosecution uses as a motive for first-degree murder.
Meanwhile, in Toronto, podcaster Drew Malcolm investigates the parole of Ruby Reyes, known as the Ice Queen.
Ruby was convicted of murdering her lover Charles Baxter twenty-five years earlier.
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Drew was best friends with Ruby’s daughter, Joelle “Joey” Reyes, who died in a 1999 house fire.
Drew notices that the woman arrested in Seattle, Paris Peralta, looks like Joey.
He remembers matching butterfly tattoos and concludes that Joey faked her death.
The body in the 1999 fire was actually Joey’s friend Mae Ocampo.
Flashbacks reveal Joey’s abuse by her mother and her mother’s boyfriends.
On the night Charles Baxter died, Ruby stabbed him in a jealous rage.
Joey delivered the final, fatal stomp with an ice skate to end his suffering and protect herself.
Years later, Joey found Mae dying after an attack by gangster Vinny Tranh.
Joey placed her own necklace on Mae’s body and set the house on fire.
She assumed the identity of Paris Aquino and fled to Seattle.
In the present, Paris’s murder charge is withdrawn after border footage proves she was in Canada at the time of Jimmy’s death.
But a missing straight razor from Jimmy’s collection reappears in his drawer.
Paris and Drew confront Elsie Dixon, Jimmy’s lifelong best friend and lawyer.
Elsie confesses she struggled with Jimmy and killed him accidentally.
She staged the scene to look like suicide, not expecting Paris to return home early.
Paris then travels to Toronto to face Ruby, who is blackmailing her for $10 million to keep the “Joey is alive” secret.
Paris refuses to pay and goads Ruby until Ruby attacks her and pushes her into a pond.
Drew, filming nearby, rescues Paris and provides video evidence of the assault.
Ruby’s parole is revoked, and she is sent back to prison for life.
Paris reconciles with Drew and accepts her identity as both Joey and Paris.
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What Drives the Story: Themes in Things We Do in the Dark
| Theme | How the book presents it |
|---|---|
| Identity and Reinvention | Paris lives under a new name for two decades after faking her death. |
| Generational Trauma and Child Abuse | Joey suffers physical, emotional, and sexual abuse from her mother and her mother’s partners. |
| Survival and Desperate Choices | Joey steals a dead friend’s identity and burns a house to escape her abusers. |
| Truth and Public Perception | The media and legal system build a narrative about Paris as a gold digger while hidden evidence tells a different story. |
| Grief and Guilt | Drew carries guilt over Joey’s supposed death, and Paris carries grief over Mae’s death. |
| Betrayal in Close Relationships | Elsie, Jimmy’s best friend, kills him; Ruby abuses and blackmails her daughter. |
Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier — Explores the dark side of a seemingly perfect life and the lengths a mother will go to for her child. Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier — Centers on a past crime resurfacing and the complex, toxic friendships that define a lifetime. The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine — Follows a woman embedding herself into a wealthy man’s life with major twists about identity and motive. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides — A psychological mystery about a woman who stops speaking after allegedly murdering her husband, delving into deep trauma. Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll — A successful woman’s meticulously crafted life is threatened by a teenage trauma. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson — Gritty mystery involving deep investigation into a family’s dark past and systemic abuse. Jennifer Hillier is a Filipino-Canadian author known for psychological thrillers and mystery novels. Her works include Jar of Hearts, Little Secrets, and Things We Do in the Dark. Her stories often center on trauma, identity, buried secrets, and the violent choices people make to survive. Explore more of her work through Jennifer Hillier’s other book summaries. Paris is cleared of Jimmy’s murder after Elsie confesses to killing him accidentally. Ruby’s parole is revoked after she attacks Paris, and Paris reconciles with Drew. Things We Do in the Dark is a standalone psychological thriller by Jennifer Hillier. It is not part of a series. The main twist is that Paris Peralta is actually Joelle “Joey” Reyes, who faked her death in a 1999 house fire. The body in the fire was her friend Mae Ocampo, and Joey assumed a new identity to escape her abusive mother and a gangster. Jimmy’s longtime friend and lawyer Elsie Dixon killed him accidentally during a struggle. She staged the scene to look like suicide before Paris arrived home. Stay Connected With Us! Follow URSummary for more fresh book summaries. Looking for your next unforgettable read? Browse the latest guides on URSummary.
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