* 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
I don’t even know where to begin with this one. There is a reason that this book has the high rating that it does – because it’s that good. The outstanding aspect of this novel is the plot. I have yet to read a plot that twists and turns like this one. All of the assumptions you (the reader) have made by the middle of the book will be completely wrong by the end.
Read it!
An outstanding page-turner that had me gripped from the start right through until the end. I sunk into the world and felt more empathy for the characters than I would have thought. A must-read for thriller fans.
I love psychological thrillers & this sure fits the bill ! I hope the author is writing another one right now ! It was exciting & twisted, creepy & a real twist that I wasn’t expecting. I loved it & highly recommend for those thrill seekers.
I’ve never read a book quite like Jar of Hearts. Everything about it drew me in: the voice, the timeline, the engrossing twists and turns, the darkness… Jennifer Hillier has written a truly exceptional thriller.
In high school, Angela, Geo, and Kaiser were a happy trio of friends. But then Geo started dating an older guy, Calvin, that took up all of her time. She started pulling away from friends, slipping behind in schoolwork and more. After a brief falling out, Geo tries to make things right with Angela, but then Angela disappeared and everything changed. Fourteen years later, we start our story, told in alternating timelines of past and present, the story of the fateful night that Geo has kept hidden comes to light. Kaiser, now a detective, is the one to arrest Geo as we watch the story unfold.
So I was really excited for this read from all of the hype and Hillier did not disappoint. As the book went on, I found myself more and more shocked by Geo’s choices. We spent all this time hating Calvin, and it turns out there is someone so much scarier out there. I thought the characters were great, the plot was excellent. While I did figure out the major plot twist, I thought it was a doozy, and that most wouldn’t see coming. I’ve not read Hillier before but she definitely has a new fan.
What an amazing book! I loved the twists and turns in this story–it totally creeped me out (but in a good way). Honestly, I can only read darker books once in a while, but this was a great pick.
It’s amazing how jam-packed the first chapter is with a lot of action. I also liked getting a glimpse of the prison system from a woman’s perspective. It was hard to predict how things were going to unfold, and I enjoyed being surprised during nearly every chapter.
My only very minor issue was the quick wrap-up at the very end of the book. It seemed like a jump in time without really going through all the processing of what happened, which I would have preferred getting spelled out.
Anyway, a wonderful book for those who love a heart-pounding thriller.
Wow!! What a great, thrilling, page turner of a stand alone novel! This author has been on my radar for awhile and I’m so excited to be reviewing this great read, I’m just sorry it’s taken me so long to finally pick up and finish! Make sure you’ve got plenty of time in your day as you’re going to want to keep flipping the pages until you reach the end. The segments of the storyline are pieced together like a perfectly cut puzzle, with each clue placed in sequence for a distinguishing reader to pick up and tie together into a shocking ending! If you enjoy Chelsea Cain and Chevy Stevens, with a twist of Orange is the New Black, this is a book and an author you don’t want to miss!
Wow. This book needed to be finished in one day. It grabbed me in as soon as I started listening and never let me go. It starts with Geo testifying at her ex boyfriends trial in order to fulfill a plea deal for herself. Her best friend was murdered when they were 16 and she hid that secret for 14 years. Kai Brody was Best friends with both Geo and Angela (the murdered girl) and he is now a police officer. Kai had my heart. The whole book I was rooting for him even if he made some bad “dating” decisions. This book was twisty and kept me guessing right until the very end. It ended absolutely perfectly too.
Be prepared to be surprised as each new piece of information is slowly revealed. A masterful suspense story about Georgina Shaw, who knew what happened to her high school friend and did not reveal it until 14 years later. How will a chance meeting with a man change not only her life but the lives of her two high school friends?
It started slow but then picked up and held me engrossed all day. I totally forgot what I had planned to do and just listened. It is explicit and graphic so if that bothers you, pick something else. It was bizarre but I was entertained. There were some twists that I saw coming but others I was surprised. The narrator on this one was awesome. I would definitely listen to other narration by Jennifer LaVoy.
“You carry the past with you because it transforms you. You can try to bury it and pretend it never happened, but that doesn’t work.”
These words ring true for Geo. Her past surfaced and that was the least of her problems. The mystery around all of these characters had you guessing the entire time. I knew where things were going, but there was a moment in the story that was a bit shocking to me.
“In every story, there’s a hero and a villain.”
I loved emptying the jar of hearts and figuring out where all the pieces would fall.
Great read.
Angela and Georgia were best friends in high school. When Angela was only sixteen, she disappeared without a trace. It wasn’t until fourteen years later that her body was discovered. That is when the arresting officers showed up at the executive office of her best friend, Georgia. What could possibly lead Georgia and her boyfriend, Calvin, to murder Georgia’s best friend?
Shortly after the identities of Angela’s murderers is known, similar murders are being discovered. Secrets long buried begin to be discovered, revealing hidden truths.
I admit, this one kept me guessing. Ms. Hillier unravels the mystery and the secrets little-by-little, revealing everything in flashbacks, until we come up to the truth behind the present-day murders. The only problem with this storyline is the over-the-top violence. Some of the behaviors of the characters crossed some lines, making it seem a bit far-fetched in spots.
Jennifer Hillier’s latest, Jar of Hearts, is definitely a page turner. While like many of the books in its genre the story has some impossible twists and turns (will not be a spoiler here — you’ll know), it definitely keeps your attention as the tension mounts. Geo (short for Georgina) is just a teen when the most horrific night of her life occurs. Like many kids her age, she is drawn to the older “bad boy,” (Calvin) who also has a violent streak. She and a friend, attend a high school party and stop by his house, and he rapes and murders her friend. The two bury the friend, and she is not found for many years. Calvin continues on this path, raping and murdering several other women before he is caught. Geo turns State’s witness, and only serves 5 years. Calvin escapes from prison. After her release, a series of murders of women and children occurs. Is it Calvin, back again to somehow attract Geo’s notice? A copycat? The book culminates in a twist that builds as the book progresses. You will be in suspense the entire read. Enjoy!
A refreshing suspense with a clever twist! A 16-year-old’s abusive boyfriend rapes and murders her best friend. The crime is hidden for 14 years before the boyfriend is convicted and the girl serves a 5-year sentence in a plea deal. Now there are more bodies discovered. The story shifts between past and present, tossing in clues amidst more twists, and finally a clever, unexpected revelation at the end.
Georgina Shaw, Angela Wong and Kaiser Brody are best friends in high school until one of them disappears. One of them goes on with their life and becomes a successful executive, another becomes a detective. For fourteen years no one knows what happened to the friend that disappeared until the body is discovered. Life gets turned upside down for the two that remain
The story goes back and forth from the past to the present. It is extremely well written and is a gripping story that you can’t put down.
I read this book in one day. I couldn’t put it down. The twists and turns kept me riveted to the story and I couldn’t wait to get to the end. I highly recommend this book and plan on going back and reading Jennifer Hiller’s other titles.
This book was a break from Hillier’s norm, considering it’s structure and plot, but incredibly crafted and it worked well. As usual, her writing and characters don’t disappoint while this plot remains unique. Anything this author writes is dependably good!
Oh my! I was extremely excited and very much looking forward to reading this highly anticipated book after seeing some fabulous reviews for it. I can more than happily confirm that after I’d finished reading, it was everything I had expected and MORE!
Frighteningly vivid and so tense there were times I didn’t realise I was holding my breath, I was so immersed in the moments and the well developed characters. It truly felt as though I was actually standing in the story viewing it as a spectator. Such a professionally written and polished story with an intense clarity to detail, it really did make for a sick, twisted and utterly compelling novel. The women’s prison scenes at the start were truly scary and certainly had me on the edge of my seat.
“Jar of Hearts” is told between the present day and the past as it actually happened and although I did start to work out the twist towards the last quarter of the book this didn’t effect my enjoyment of the story as I was hooked into still seeing how it all came together at the end. And what an ending!
I haven’t read any of Jennifer Hillier’s other books but I am now very keen to read more by her because if they are anything like this one, then they will be fabulous too!
A word of warning though – there is a continuous flow of sensitive and explicit scenes throughout, very much needed for the telling of the whole story, so therefore if you are easily offended or squeamish then this sadly may not be for you.
Fast paced, creepy, twisted, dark, gruesome, stomach churning, enthralling, addictive etc etc etc I could go on! I SO LOVED this book, it was everything I seek in a serial killing thriller and I will be certainly be putting this book in my top ten possibly even my top five for 2018!!
A fabulous 5 stars and more!
My first book by Jennifer and I loved it! Love reading books that just flow so easily, and everything is clear, no turning back to see who is who, etc. The book kept you guessing, and had a surprise you did not see coming at the end!! I want to read more by her!
I devoured this! My best thriller read of 2018 to date. You won’t be able to put it down, it’s that good.
Highly recommend.
Oh boy!! This story was all kinds of twisty and unpredictable.
I loved this audiobook. I pretty much listened to it non-stop for the last couple days. Wherever I went, I listened to Jar of Hearts. I loved the premise and the superbly plotted story – it kept me wanting to know more. The urge to know what really happened was always present.
Through flashbacks the listener/reader gradually found out what actually transpired so many years ago. Chilling, nerve-racking, and heart wrenchingly emotional, the story of Jar of Hearts had my fullest attention. I was 100% entranced by the twisty plot that kept me on the edge of my chair literally and figuratively.
There were twists in this plot that I never saw coming. And the chilling depiction of a women’s prison was only one aspect that gave me goosebumps. Not knowing who did what kept me guessing throughout the book, and I had a hard time concentrating on anything else.
I’m not going into details, reading the blurb gives the reader a really good idea of what it’s all about. But the one thing I will say is, read it!!! If you love mysteries and thrillers, grab this book right now.
The hype is real!!!
I genuinely liked the main character Geo, her past as well as her present self. She was such a typical teenager, self conscious, easily manipulated, and utterly alone at times. What she had to go through was horrible and broke my heart. It was amazing that she ended up as such a strong and resilient woman.
Kaiser, the police detective responsible for the case was another character I loved and rooted for. Especially after finding out about his past friendship with Geo, and his unrequited crush. I truly hoped for a HEA for both of them. It shouldn’t be a surprise that I love at least a little bit of romance in my books, even in the most chilling and darkest books – it gives me hope.
The story in itself was beautifully written. There was not once when I thought the back and forth was confusing or jarring. The plot wove perfectly and with ease between past and future and it made for an excellent reading experience. I must admit that the author hooked me with her excellent writing and storytelling. I won’t think twice about picking up any of her other books and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.