Jar of Hearts - 3.5⭐

I finished this in less than 24 hours but needed to process afterwards (aka I finished at 1am and couldn't fall asleep after). I surprised myself by guessing the twists - there were several throughout the book which I love in a thriller. The book was fast paced, with multiple timelines, and had me racing to finish. While I enjoyed this book, it was rather disturbing.

Potential spoilers: There were a few things that didn't quite make sense to me. To be vague and not give anything away: 1. How was a convicted serial killer not recognized? 2. Geo's actions on the night of the murder.

⚠️Content warnings: rape, murder - graphic with gore, and murder of a child were all described in detail, not just brief mentions. This one was pretty graphic, more than I prefer in my thrillers.

Great book. Really enjoyed this one, will definitely be looking out for more from the author. Four stars.

This is the story about three inseparable high school best friends: Georgina Shaw, Angela Wong, and Kaiser Brody. Angela went missing during high school, a case that was never solved. Years later, her remains are found along with a camera containing images that points the finger at Georgina and her former partner. As she's charged with murder (with a plead to reduce her sentence and put the blame on her old boyfriend), Kaiser keeps tabs on her progress to trial. Kaiser, you see, who was never able to let go of Angela's disappearance, is now a cop.

A well-constructed and well-written mystery/thriller, the narrative alternates between the past and present, gradually filling in our picture of the events and characters involved. Hillier does a great job of creating three-dimensional characters, eliciting sympathy in interesting and unexpected ways, keeping readers guessing.

Gripping, twisty, surprising, and recommended.

I absolutely loved this book! Definite a author to follow!! Had me from the begining!
When the truth comes to light of a murder that happened fourteen years prior, the suspence doesnt end there. This book will keep you guesss, make you guess your guess, and throw in a few ...wait, what?!!!
Highly recommended

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

Oh, I liked this one. A LOT. Super good, twisty in a non-obvious way, revealing at just the right moment.

BFFs Angela, Geo, and Kai have been traversing High School together until one night during their Junior year when Angela disappears and Geo might as well have. Fast forward 14 years and body parts have been located behind Geo's old childhood home and she finds herself being arrested by Kai and witnessing at the trial of her ex-boyfriend, Calvin. It's a relief to not carry this secret any longer. Fast forward another 5 years and Geo is being released from prison, ready to rebuild what she lost due to her role in Angela's death. Right before her release a body is found, assaulted and discarded in the same place Angela's was and in the same way. But a second body accompanies this one and immediately Calvin is the suspect, having escaped successfully from prison 5 years before. Kai, having five years to simmer down from his anger over Geo playing any part in Angela's death, starts working to hunt down Calvin and end the killings. Geo wants nothing to do with it all and just wants to move on but the community she grew up in and lives in again won't let her. She faces obstacles on all fronts. Convinced Calvin is coming for her there is an urgency to find him and keep her safe. But can he be found and if so, can he be stopped?

16-year-olds do dumb things. Really dumb things. It's that whole undeveloped frontal lobe thing. Who knew the frontal lobe served such an important role in our ability to think through things and calculate consequences and rewards of behavior? This is the story of little decisions, dumb ones, being made that end up equaling one huge action that alters the course of several lives. I loved it.

A creepy, suspenseful mystery that brings the reader along a winding and twisted path. Geo is arrested for the murder of her best friend 14 years ago, and what happened all those years ago comes back to haunt her mentally, physically and emotionally. This book got me from page 1 and I didn’t want to put down.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. High school girl goes missing and years later her best friend goes to jail for helping cover up her murder. Now she is out and the murder is missing and now a serial killer. She is both victim and guilty party in this dark novel about secrets and the choices that get made.

This story intertwined me in heart pulsing and spine chilling on the edge of the seat time. A who done it or did they ride. My emotions went over the cliff and landed smack down on the ground with this one. I could not put this book down and if i did I always ran back for more.

Three best friends, only one survives. Angela Wong was popular with everyone, or so it seemed. Suddenly she disappears when she's only 16 years old. Nobody questioned would ever point a finger at her best friend, Georgina Shaw. Flash forward to the present, and Georgina Shaw is thriving in her career and quickly rising through the ranks. Why would anyone suspect she participated in the disappearance? Kaiser Brody was very close friends with both girls, and is dead set on finding out the truth.

14 years after the disappearance of Angela, her remains are found in a woodland area close to where Georgina grew up. Kaiser is now a detective and might be used to cold cases. But this one hits a little too close to home. The suspect is Calvin, who Georgina fell in love with back in high school. For 14 long years, Calvin kept this secret to himself, the killing of Angela.

The past catches up with the present as secrets are unraveled and truths uncovered.

Jennifer Hillier is one of my favourite authors, and Jar of Hearts cements her position there. This is a creepy novel, but one I just couldn’t put down. Loved it!

Emotionally charged mystery which you can never leave once you start. To be honest, it was too exhausting for me. Everything is messed up. If you like the psychological thriller like that, this one is for you.

I'm sorry I forgot to post feedback which I wrote in 2018. (I noticed it now!)

Geo is finishing out her sentence in woman’s prison for a crime she committed over fourteen years ago. Angela, her high school best friend, was buried in her backyard and discovered years later. While the two had a rocky relationship, is there more to the story? What makes a seemingly small lie grow?
Geo’s then-boyfriend is still on the loose, wanted for a recent string of murders that appear to be his work. Are these new cases his, or the work of a copycat? Told through flashbacks and present time, Jar of Hearts tells the story of what really happened that night and explores family and relationships (trigger warning: abusive relationships, rape, violent crime).
While this story was more intense than I realized, I enjoyed the themes it brought up and the character relationships explored. While Geo’s character is certainly in the wrong in my opinion, I did feel for her situation. I think anyone who loves a twisty thriller will enjoy this! The end definitely left me surprised.

I have become hooked on thrillers lately. Jar of Hearts is an amazing psychological thriller. The book is broke into separate parts with each telling more of the story. The ending, OH MY GOSH, the ending…. I had no clue, not even an idea, until the last couple chapters and I loved it. The story wrapped up perfectly, the truth came out, and secrets were no longer secrets. I am glad it had an epilogue just to finish it out. To tell a little more about the characters that could have been left up to the reader’s imagination.

Jar of Hearts is a story of friendship, jealousy, and murder. The friendships were typical high school friendships and I liked that they weren’t perfect. There was jealousy when one of them had a boyfriend and then there was the murder. The characters were wonderful. I could feel their pain, their fear, and their love. Maybe it wasn’t realistic, but I hope that it wasn’t as there was a murder involved and I am sure I don’t want anyone I know to get mixed up in that kind of problem.

Pick up your own copy, find a cozy chair and enjoy an amazing psychological thriller.

Geo was just a teenager when she met Calvin. He was older, darkly mysterious, sexy. He wanted to drink, to party, to be physical. Geo wanted that, but she also had homework. She had cheerleading practice. She didn’t want to disappoint her father, who has raised her by himself since Geo’s mother died when she was just a kid. Geo was intrigued by Calvin, drawn to him, but a little scared of him too. But as a girl in high school, she had no idea what he would become.

In high school, Geo was best friends with Angela Wong. Angela was beautiful, confident, the captain of the cheerleaders, and the girl most boys would give anything to go out with. There were three of them who would hang out after school—Angela, Geo, and Kai, who had a crush on Geo and was one of her best friends. They would get drinks at the 7-11 together. They did homework together. They went to parties together.

And then Angela just disappeared. And Geo’s life was never the same.

Now Geo is older. She graduated from high school, went to college, got a good job, got engaged. She’s a rising star at the pharmaceutical company where she works, taking the company is new directions and planning a wedding with the CEO of the company. She had put her past behind her and moved on to bigger, better things.

Until the day Kai showed back up.

Now a detective, no longer a teenager with a crush, Kai shows up in Geo’s life for a purpose: to arrest Geo. The remains of their best high school friend have been discovered, behind the house where Geo lived back then.

Calvin, now known as the Sweetbay Strangler, has killed more women. And Geo is testifying against him as part of her deal. She testifies at his trial, goes to prison for 5 years, and her role in Angela’s death is forgiven. Legally, anyway. It will be years before all her shameful secrets come to light. But they will. The truth always comes out.

Jar of Hearts is a complicated, dark story about the secret shames we carry and what we are willing to sacrifice to save ourselves. Author Jennifer Hillier brings these characters to life, with all their frailties and strengths, and takes readers on a journey through darkness to humanity, through grief to redemption.

This is not an easy book. It’s not a lightweight, fun thriller. It goes to dark places, and HIllier does not shy away from them. There are scenes of sexual assault and violence, both inside the prison and outside. This is not a book you can read and set aside. It will live inside you, both the darkness and the light, and forever leave its stamp. I’m not saying not to read it, because it is also beautiful and lyrical and powerful. But I know that it’s not for everyone, and if you’re one of those people who don’t want to go there, there is no shame. No judgment. I’d rather you know before than halfway through that you’re reading the wrong book.

I listened to this on audio, and narrator January LaVoy did a lovely, unflinching job narrating a book with some very difficult scenes. So if this book is for you, audio is a great way to go. But be warned—the ending of my audio had an excerpt for her next book, Little Secrets, and the beginning of that one is even more compelling than Jar of Hearts. Books can be a dangerous drug!

Galleys for Jar of Hearts were provided to me by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks, but I bought the audio book myself through Audible.

This is my first by this author. It had a storyline that was easy to follow and so mysterious. Highly recommend.

RATING: 4.5 STARS
2018; Minotaur Books/St. Martin's Press

It's almost been two years since, I read Jar of Hearts and while I have forgotten some details the way I felt when I read the novel still resonates. I am a fan of gritty twisty dark psychological books, but it is often hard for me to find one that has me rate a novel 4.5 or 5 stars. I remember reading the first few chapters of this novel, and I was hooked. I read Hillier's debut novel when it came out and it was one that I enjoyed, but Hillier was not on my "must-read" authors...yet. After this crazy ride I am down for her next book, and will be going back to read her older books. I am glad I recognized Hillier's name so I could request this book.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

I love love love to stumble across a Canadian author! I devoured this book; it was creepy, gripping and left me wanting more. That is my only complaint; I felt like the ending was rushed. I could have read this book for longer or even read a sequel!

I enjoyed this read, I liked the way it was written and found the characters believable, none were over the top. I would say the overall theme is tragic friendships and I was totally invested. I found the twists kept me hooked, and think the author did a great hob at showing us, humans, and all our ugly.

I really enjoyed this book and as I felt there were some parts that dragged on the others made up for that fact. Highly recommended read.

Well I can basically say that Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier left me speechless. I've had so many people tell me how much they loved this book and I can definitely see why!

Triggers, oh there are triggers, rape being a big one. Jar of Hearts is chilling, disturbing, maddening, and amazing. While I did figure out a major part of the plot before it was revealed, the journey getting to that point was riveting and dotted with so much doubt. This is one of those can't-put-down-until-you-finish type books and I stayed up until 2 AM one night to do just that.

While it sometimes takes me a little bit to get into a book, I was hooked as soon as I started Jar of Hearts. The pacing was steady, and I loved that it was broken into parts with each part switching between Geo and her high school friend-turned-detective, Kaiser. It gave the book a police procedural feel at times that I really enjoyed, while also being a nail-biting thriller.

I also picked up on the fact that Hillier seems to like using the same world in the Pacific Northwest which she ended up noting in the author's note. It was fun seeing the names of a couple of places that were also in Little Secrets and I will have to make sure I pay attention in her other backlist books now! Jar of Hearts is my second time reading a novel by Hillier (both in the same month) and I can't wait to read the rest of her books. Stunning writing and you will not want to put this down! If you can get over the triggers anyway...

Thank you to the publisher for my advance review copy via NetGalley. All opinions and thoughts are my own.