* Winner – Best Novel, 2019 ITW Thriller Award * Authors on the Air Network – Thriller of the Year 2018 * Finalist – Anthony Award for Best Novel * Finalist – Macavity Award for Best Novel * MysteryTribune Ten Women Mystery and Thriller Writers You Should be Reading * Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Best of 2018 * Bustle’s Best Thriller 11 Authors Read This Year * CrimeReads’ 20 Best of 2018 * Writer … CrimeReads’ 20 Best of 2018 * Writer Types Podcast Favorite Books * LitReactor Best Books of 2018 * CrimeReads Favorite Crime Books of the Year * BOLO Books Top Reads of 2018 * SouthFlorida.com Best Mystery Novels of 2018 * Suspense Magazine Best of 2018 – Mystery/Thriller category
“Jar of Hearts grabs you by the throat! The perfect blend of riveting characters, chilling details, and gasping twists in this standout thriller will keep you frantically reading until the explosive end.” – Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author of Right Behind You
This is the story of three best friends: one who was murdered, one who went to prison, and one who’s been searching for the truth all these years . . .
When she was sixteen years old, Angela Wong–one of the most popular girls in school–disappeared without a trace. Nobody ever suspected that her best friend, Georgina Shaw, now an executive and rising star at her Seattle pharmaceutical company, was involved in any way. Certainly not Kaiser Brody, who was close with both girls back in high school.
But fourteen years later, Angela Wong’s remains are discovered in the woods near Geo’s childhood home. And Kaiser–now a detective with Seattle PD–finally learns the truth: Angela was a victim of Calvin James. The same Calvin James who murdered at least three other women.
To the authorities, Calvin is a serial killer. But to Geo, he’s something else entirely. Back in high school, Calvin was Geo’s first love. Turbulent and often volatile, their relationship bordered on obsession from the moment they met right up until the night Angela was killed.
For fourteen years, Geo knew what happened to Angela and told no one. For fourteen years, she carried the secret of Angela’s death until Geo was arrested and sent to prison.
While everyone thinks they finally know the truth, there are dark secrets buried deep. And what happened that fateful night is more complex and more chilling than anyone really knows. Now the obsessive past catches up with the deadly present when new bodies begin to turn up, killed in the exact same manner as Angela Wong.
How far will someone go to bury her secrets and hide her grief? How long can you get away with a lie? How long can you live with it? Find out in Jennifer Hillier’s Jar of Hearts.
more
* Thank you to St. Martins Press for the ARC*
4.5* A gripping tale of 3 best friends, one dead, one in jail, and one an Officer of the Law. One night things quickly take a turn devastatingly wrong , and years later it’s still haunting them. An exciting page turner with a twist I hadn’t seen coming!
I don’t even know what to say about this book. It definitely took me out of my thriller slump. I have been finding many lacking for me lately, so reading this kicked me back into the thriller mindset.
A big thing about thrillers, or any book for that matter, is how it’s told. This one is told in the only way I think it could have worked. Going back and forth, seeing what the characters saw, feeling what they felt, it was as if I was in the story myself.
I would like to say that I saw everything coming. I did see a lot of it. However, the way everything played out was not exactly what I was expecting. It was one of those I saw it but didn’t see it at the same time.
I have only read one of Hillier’s previous books. It, too, was very unique to me. I definitely will be reading more of her books in the future.
***4.5 ‘Wait. Hold Up Just One Second’ Stars***
That ending…what…when…*big heavy sigh*
Okay, the ending is not the best place to start a review, especially when it will probably be all kinds of vague-non spoilery-verbal vomity (Warning you now) but, but I have so many questions now (please note that I am actually pouting while laughing as I write this)
Because seriously?!? WTF?
***Takes deep…DEEP breath…holds it…and let’s it out slowly***
Okay. Let’s do this semi-properly.
I don’t normally do mystery/suspense nowadays, but I’d been waffling over going for Jar of Hearts for a minute ~ I couldn’t get the cover out of my head and the blurb definitely peaked my curiosity ~ Then I saw the early reviews rolling in from other blogger/reviewers I follow and who tend to swim in the same opinion pool as myself and decided to give it a go because why not?
And I was hooked from the first page.
HOOKED.
I was in that weird limbo where I wanted to devour it while wanting to savor each detail because there was still so much unknown that I didn’t want to miss that ‘lightbulb’ moment when all of the innuendos and off handed thoughts and comments finally made sense ~ and let me tell you, when they did the lightbulb almost burst.
While I won’t give away much of the of story line I will say that I was absolutely fascinated by Georgina aka Geo. Experiencing all that she went through and watching her reinvent herself throughout the story was, for lack of a better word, fascinating. I loved watching how she adapted to her surroundings and still held on to pieces of herself along the way. And regardless of how you may end up viewing her, you cannot deny her strength.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even when the pacing dragged for me, which, despite how this review started, is my only real gripe. I’ll admit that the drag could very well be because of my need to know what the truth was, but it is what it is. But this one kept me on my toes and when all was revealed at the end, it was a total “Whoa” moment. But outside of the mystery and Geo herself, I thought all of the characters were well written. They were all unique and added layers to the story that gave it the depth that gave insight to the overall story without taking the focus off the main issue at hand. And as for the ending, it may just be me, but I have questions, this isn’t to say that the big plot questions aren’t answered, it’s just that kind of ending.
~ Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley & voluntarily reviewed ~