I really enjoyed this creepy story. There were so many little twists along the way. I am finding that I really like Hillier's writing style. There were a few areas that didn't make complete sense and you had to suspend your disbelief for a few parts, but those bits aside I loved being surprised and I couldn't wait to keep reading.

Pretty much every character in this story needed some serious therapy. There are not many that you will like, if any, but I loved getting their back stories and the messiness of it all. I don't think any of the back stories changed my opinions of the characters, but it did explain a lot. I will mention that there are multiple trigger warnings for this book. It has some graphic descriptions, so be aware if you have a hard time with that sort of thing.

I listened to the audio of this one narrated by Eunice Wong and thought it was very well done. I would recommend the audio.

“Another dead body at the amusement park,” she said. “Wholesome family fun at its finest.”

Audiobook ARC Review
Pub date: April 11, 2023

Thank you @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review!

Vanessa Castro is a disgraced police detective starting over in the small town of Seaside, WA. She lands a deputy chief gig through a connection of her late husband, which raises many eyebrows in the small, but tight-knit community. When her team gets a call from Wonderland, a theme park nearby, about a mangled body found under the ferris wheel, she has no choice but to start investigating the body, the abuse, and the ongoing shady occurrences at the park. Vanessa also starts connecting the dots on a series of missing boys who share two common traits: their looks and their Wonderland employment history.

This book started off pretty quick and had me hooked. For me, there were a lot of storylines going on at once and sometimes I had a hard time keeping them together. I felt as though some characters were not necessary for the story and some didn’t have as much air time as they should’ve. It definitely had that “creepy” factor and the feel of the Wonderland park itself was eery.

I love Jennifer Hillier’s books and when I saw that Wonderland, which was previously released only as an e-book was being re-released as an audiobook and mass-market I had to listen to it. I was not disappointed. It has Hillier’s signature creepiness and depraved killers. How can an amusement park that has been around for decades and has an Elm Street and a clown and doll museum not be creepy? It is a sad look at what happens when a town depends on one thing for its survival and everyone important goes out of their way to make sure that Wonderland never gets any bad press. Bad things have happened in the past – young boys have gone missing – but they were glossed over and never really investigated. Then Vanessa Castro comes to Seaside, WA as the new deputy chief of police and on her first day on the job a dead body is found on the midway and another young boy disappears. Escaping her own demons, she left her position as a Seattle detective to move her children to what she thought was a nice small town. She soon realizes that that there are a lot of secrets at Wonderland, and she ignores the way things have been done in the past and attacks the cases with a ‘no holds barred attitude’.

I was so happy to see this released as an audiobook. I have loved reading all her books but I have never done one of her audiobooks and the narrator did an excellent job. The description of Wonderland is so creepy-a clown museum, porcelain dolls, wax museum, a large ferris wheel and now a dead body at the bottom without a face. Yikes! Instantly I am hooked and can't wait to see how this story unfolds.

Vanessa's first day on the new job and there is a dead body and a missing person. She soon discovers that this may be a serial killer and may go back many years. She thought Seaside, Washington would be a great place to raise her children.

Bianca is one sick and twisted character that gives you all the ick factor for going after her young male employees. This is one of the things that I love about this author as she pushes the boundaries and can shock you and creep you out at the same time.

Wonderland was suppose to be a happy place to escape reality. There is so much going on underground that most thought was just rumors. Some have known the secrets and kept them hidden for years. Once revealed it will shock this small town and you might just pack your bags and head back to Seattle,

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the audiobook.

This book definitely has creepy vibes with its atmospheric setting of an amusement park that has a mysterious past of young workers going missing. The economic source to its small town, Wonderland, is able to conveniently hide its not so nice history with the town police. When Vanessa comes on the police force after her own dark incident, she quickly finds herself in Wonderland investigating a body that has been found with a face so disfigured its unidentifiable. Can she get to the bottom of the unsavory past of Wonderland and can she find a sinsiter presence before it gets her or her family? I enjoyed the spooky mystery of this book. I can't say why but I really felt this setting was good at drawing me in as well. I didn't enjoy the depictions of sexual manipulation. This is the second Jennifer Hillier book I've read and I'm starting to wonder if that is a common theme in her books. Maybe then she's just not for me however, I do enjoy the flow of her books. The audiobook narrator did a great job of changing up voices for different characters and the audio kept me wanting more. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced audio version of this book.

I enjoy Jennifer Hillier and was excited to get an ARC of Wonderland. I thought the setting in an amusement park would make the ideal setting for a creepy thriller, but I feel it feel the story fell flat. The story moved slowly and the characters were uninspiring. Even though I liked the twist at the end, I think the big “oh my” reveal was lost in all the multiple storylines.

I absolutley loved this read from Hillier. Dark and twisted from the very beginning. Small town drama on a large scale, but who are you going to trust? Characters are well developed, and WHO KNEW this goes hand in hand with Little Secrets.

The narration was on point! Also I love a good authors note at the end.

Thanks so much for the opportunity to review.

Jennifer Hillier has been on my radar for a while, but this is my first time reading her. I enjoyed the audio. I felt that the narrator did an excellent job of breaking up the text and I especially appreciated the way she read text messages. She read them as if people were typing them, adding to the atmosphere of things.

Overall, I found this book entertaining. The characters were interesting, although all terrible people. I didn't feel that the payoff was that satisfying. It felt a little on the nose to have the creepy janitor be the one out of all the terrible people in this book. I also felt like the buildup to the clown museum didn't have much of a payoff. All the daughter does is stand there and say "hi"? That's the real creep factor? I liked a lot of the puzzle pieces of this story but didn't feel that overall it came together.

Wonderland by Jennifer Hillier

This book is not for the faint at heart it talks about some serious issues that may be offensive to some. Young teenage boys mostly 18-year-olds are being groomed to be the owner's niece sex toy. You would think I am talking about a guy doing this but no not in this case it is a woman the CEO Bianca who is the predator. They have the wonderland look blond hair and good looking. Well, several of them go missing. Now let's throw in a creepy security guard that has a bunch of stolen id's from boys at wonderland. Who is taking these young boys and why?

Wonderland, home of the giant Wonder Wheel, the Clown Museum, The House of Horrors, the Wax Museum and a massive collection of antique porcelain dolls…but that is not all as there is…there is a dead, rotting body left in the midway for all the Wonder workers to see.

Vanessa Castro, the new Deputy Chief, has just left Seattle, with her two children, John-John, seven and her fourteen-year-old daughter, Ava, to start a new life, and new job in Seaside. On her first day of work a decomposed body of a homeless man is found with his face eaten off left under the Wonder Wheel. A teenage rebel employee, an “Urban Free Climber”, climbed up the Wonder Wheel, took a selfie that went viral, and now is missing as well.

Vanessa determines there are a number of young boys, all blonde, age eighteen, all worked at Wonderland, have gone missing over the last eight years. Vanessa and her team must unravel the mystery, and hunt down the serial killer.

The ending was very surprising, and I did not guess who it was. I really enjoyed reading this book. I recommend this horror thriller, but it comes with a warning that the characters are creepy and disgusting. Narrated by Eunice Wong who does a great job giving voice to the many characters and doing a great job.

The book had all the creepy vibes and each character seemed to be fighting their own demons including Vanessa who has her own story. She is not perfect either, but I like her determination to figure out what is happening to the boys of wonderland.

Thanks to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for a free copy of Wonderland for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

You definitely won’t figure out who did what in this story! This kept me guessing tho whole time. Loved this book! Love this author

Vanessa Castro has relocated her family to Seaside, Washington. She is the new deputy chief of their police department. She thinks it’s gonna be different then working in Seattle but immediately a dead body is found at the towns amusement park. And then one of the workers goes missing. Is someone that works at the amusement park behind this or is it all a coincidence?

This book was originally published back in 2015 as an ebook and is now being rereleased as an audiobook. And I’m so glad it is cause I don’t think I would have come across it otherwise! This was really good and had me engaged the entire time!! The author captures the typical teenage girl to perfection in Vanessa’s daughter. Vanessa is a strong woman! And the ceo is incredibly suspicious…As a heads up, there are mentions of suicide, attempted rape, and sexual abuse towards teenagers.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

I loved this book. The only reason I didn’t give it five stars was that I didn’t love the narrator. This book was full of turns and just wondering who was doing all the killing. I did not expect the twist at the end. I will be reading more Jennifer Hillier

I really liked this audiobook. The narrator sounded really good, the story was captivating, and the ending was surprising. I think this did a really good job of keeping the reader/listener hooked.

What on earth was that?! What an unbelievable (in the best way, as only Jennifer Hillier can do) story. I absolutely loved it.

The characters were perfect. Completely flawed in so many ways, but absolutely perfect for their roles. The potential villains? Definitely didn’t see a few of them coming. The twist in the middle? Incredible. The twist at the end? Even better (but I wish they would have covered a little more of that character’s story).

The Seahawks house? I can totally picture it, and I was both grimacing and cracking up at the sight of it.

This was a deep, dark thriller that was absolute perfection. Will I ever go into a clown museum ever again? No. Will I ever go to an amusement park after dark? Likely no. Will I be haunted by the doll room forevermore? Absolutely yes.

I loved the creepy retro vibe of the amusement park! I was sucked into the story right away. The story is not only creepy but also disturbing and kept me guessing right up until the end. I am looking forward to checking out more books by this author, especially since in the Author's Note she lets us know that a couple characters from this book are in other books as well and I am totally down for that!
I do like the clown cover of the ebook better than the audio cover.
Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the chance to review this book!

Fantastic narration. This story is dark, gritty, and intense. Grabbed me from start to finish. Fast paced, suspenseful, and well written. The narrator really brought the tension to life. Great audiobook and a gripping spine tingling tale.

This was a really cool concept. I’m glad I was given the chance to listen to this, because I didn’t realize this book existed. I think the drama was well spaced and the mystery was revealed slowly but kept me interested throughout.

I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

The writing was good - I was into the story and intrigued by the tangled web. The audiobook also had good narration, but I couldn't finish this book. It was too gory for an audiobook (for me). Thanks for the opportunity!

Another hit by Jennifer Hillier. The narration was easy to listen to and the story had me interested from the very beginning. I knew something was going to happen to the daughter but had no clue whodunit til the very end! Would love to read/listen to move from this author!

🎟️ A L C • R E V I E W 🎟️
•
Title: Wonderland
Author: Jennifer Hillier
Rating: 5/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
•
I had been wanting to read Jennifer Hillier's backlist and was recently given the audio of this one to review, so I figured it was as good a time as any to dive in. This book was AWESOME! I loved everything about it; from the creepy clown exhibit with the doll room, to the area under the clown exhibit to everything inbetween this story had me hooked from the first page and had me flying right on through it. The way Hillier can grab you by the first page with a solid fuck you (literally), and take you on a rollercoaster ride (pun intended) of twist after twist to get you to a HOLY SHIT ending is nothing short of amazing. The characters were great (yes even the angsty teens), the plot was amazing and the execution was impeccable.
•
By now, I think alot of you know that I love to both read and listen via audio so when this audio became available to me. I damn near hit the ceiling in excitement. Eunice Wong is incredible; I love listening to books that she narrates. She narrated this book perfectly and brought this one to life. I didnt want to put this one down. Wonderland is a super fast paced mystery/thriller and an easily bingeable read/listen.
•
This was my third book by Jennifer Hillier and I am to the point where I dont think that she can every write a book I wont love. Jennifer Hillier has easily become an Autobuy author for me. Wonderland was incredible. It was creepy, it was thrilling, it was absolutely everything we as thriller lovers look for in a book. If you havent read this one, which was published in 2018, then I highly suggest you pick this one up, it is well worth the read.
•
Huge thank you to @netgalley @jenniferhillier @macmillinaudio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review. Wonderland on audio will be released April 11, 2023! I am definitely recommending that all of my fellow thriller lovers check this one out!
•
Thoughts on creepy amusement parks? Yay or Nay?
•
#netgalley #netgalleyreview #netgalleyalc #alc #advancedlisteningcopy #creepyamusementpark #homelessharry #wonderworker #dollroom #creepyclownexhibit #newrelease #bingeableread #wonderland #jenniferhillier