Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Wonderland by Jennifer Hillier.

Vanessa Castro has just started her job as the new deputy chief in this small Washington town. But what she doesn't realize is that one of her "bosses" is actually the local attraction, Wonderland, an amusement park that is deeply beloved by the residence. And one day into her job she's already investigating the murder of a homeless man who was dumped in the park. And while Wonderland seems like a heartwarming small town relic, it has a seedy underbelly that may be more rotten than Castro bargained for.

Who doesn't love a dark and creepy amusement park? This was a very fun vacation read. The story was twisty and dark, all the way to the top of the creaky ferris wheel. I wish the ending was a BIT stronger, but the story as a whole made up for it.

A special thank you to Macmillan audio, Jennifer Hillier and NetGalley for this audiobook version of Wonderland in exchange for my h9nest review. This book has it all for fans of horror, serial killer mysteries and a good story of a family starting over. Great suspense and a setting which became a character in and of itself! It was hard to anticipate who “done it” among this eccentric cast of creepy people, which kept me guessing and coming back to hear more!

An oldie but a goodie!

Something is off about Wonderland, the popular local amusement park. Linked to heinous crimes of the past, now kids are starting to go missing.... and the cast of characters leaves you wondering who ISN'T the killer!

Full of good twists and emotional content about second chances, I thoughroughly enjoyed this! A quick moving story for sure!

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

#Wonderland:⁣
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Jennifer Hillier. Y’all have no idea my trek to purchase this book was 1-2 years ago. 😂 So, I settled for the ebook and then of course never read it. Then @macmillan.audio said “hey girl, we got you. Here’s an audiobook by one of your faves, Eunice Wong” (clearly, these are my words but I imagine them saying this because they know I love them) and in the year 2023, I am happy to say it has been finished.⁣
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First and foremost, when it comes to audiobook narration: Eunice Wong does no wrong. Say it with me people. She’s phenomenal. She gave me the gritty and also grotesque in the best way possible. I sometimes forget she’s just one reader because she can full cast like it’s nobody business.⁣
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The plot. The atmospheric vibe. The absolute creep factor. Top notch. You figure out the killer fairly quickly, but, there’s so much going on, that everyone is to blame in some way. So while your initial guess may not be right, the person you do think did it ends up sucking anyways. ⁣
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I will say somewhere in between the middle, it does get a bit redundant and lost my interest for a minute. I’m all for laying down a solid foundation for detective work, there was a lot that could have moved faster.⁣
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Hillier does it again. I hate clowns. I loved Wonderland. Audio releases April 11th! Thanks again @macmillan.audio

As a resident of Washington state, I really enjoyed that this book was set in the Pacific Northwest. The author did a wonderful job capturing the climate, the views, and the overall feel of Washington in this book. With that being said, I am now scared to live here 😂. This book is the true definition of a thriller. It’s action packed, keeps your heart racing, and provides surprises at each turn.

This is a well rounded book with multiple POV. Though the audiobook didn’t contain a full cast, Eunice Wong did an amazing job capturing each unique character and their voice. I felt her fear with each word she spoke, the uncertainty as worked her way through solving the crime with Vanessa, and how she commended the reader's attention with her tone from start to finish.

I truly enjoyed this book, though there were times I was scared to my bones. The mystery kept me guessing and the thrill, for me, was non-stop. I think this book is a must read for 2023!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC

Wonderland amusement park is the focal point of Seaside, a small Washington State beach town. Vanessa Castro is the newly hired Deputy Chief of Seaside PD. She gets called to a scene at Wonderland on her first day on the job. There is a decomposing body found beneath The Wonder Wheel. Just hours before the body was discovered, a Wonder Worker had scaled the Wheel and posted a selfie on social media that goes viral. Now he’s missing. Did he commit the murder? Or is there something even more sinister happening at Wonderland?

An amusement park with a dark history and thousands of employees made for an excellent setting. It was eerie and there were so many potential witnesses and suspects. I loved Vanessa’s character, a recently widowed mother of two with her own speckled past, it was interesting to try to figure out her motivations while she worked to solve the case. The other characters were well developed and added so much depth to the mystery. I wanted a little more creepy clown factor from the Clown Museum, but I think there were enough real world creeps included to make up for it!

Eunice Wong did an excellent job narrating. Her voice fit Vanessa’s character and the voice changes for the other characters were effective and not distracting. I thought the pacing was perfect and it felt almost like watching a movie. Wonderland was a fantastic audiobook!

I love Jennifer Hillier! I have read several of her titles and I love that side characters and Washington businesses pop up multiple times throughout her works. It makes reading and listening to her books a unique immersive experience.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this advanced listener’s copy!

A small town amusement park that generations grew up going to as a child and working there as a teen that left wonderful memories..... until one day a dead, decaying body is found one morning by the Wonder Wheel

The newly hired police chief Vanessa Castro is starting her new job with murder mystery that just deepens as she finds out there are missing boys as well. Creepy employees, a "creepy" clown & doll house, and a mysterious underground tunnel that may or may not be real.

The narration for all the characters was very good. The story got dark with some of the characters and the story was racing to an intense ending.

Thank you to Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for a copy of this audiobook. Originally released as as book in 2015 and audio will be released April 11, 2023.

This was a binge-able listen! The narrator was excellent for all the voices. She kept me engaged in the story the entire time. The story is centered around an amusement park where the employees have gone missing. I could not put this down until I found out what happened.

This book started out so strong with such interesting and flawed characters I couldn't help but devour it but the ending was a bit convoluted and hard to swallow.
However it still made for a fun read

Queen of suspense Jennifer Hillier has delivered another fantastic psychological thriller. The clown museum inside the old amusement park setting is the epitome of creepy. When a body is found in the park and people go missing, a full-on investigation ensues with newly minted Deputy Police Chief Vanessa Castro at the helm. When Castro's life becomes personally intertwined with the crime, she'll do anything in her power to save her loved ones. Fast-paced with several twists, this will appeal to Megan Miranda and Heather Gudenkauf.

Jennifer Hillier is one of the best thriller authors of our time, however, she doesn’t have the notoriety as other authors. Her novel Wonderland was originally released in 2015 as a kindle book and finally it’s being re-released as an audiobook 8 years later.

“Welcome to Wonderland! Or as we like to call it, Funderland! There’s something here for everyone…”

A small corrupt town with a huge amusement park, that was previously shut down due to the owners philandering with his employees reopened with a new local owner. Everything is great until a new Deputy Detective comes into town and is thrown into a political mess as someone is found dead at the park.

The twists and turns keep coming increasing in suspense, which led me to listen to this in one sitting! The audiobook production was amazing and it’s going to be a HUGE summer blockbuster!

Thank you @macmillianaudio for my ALC of this smash hit!

Wonderland by Jennifer Hillier is about an amusement park in a small town called Wonderland. It follows the new deputy chief, Vanessa Castro, who is starting over and has secrets of her own. One the first day of the job, Vanessa deals with a dead body and discovers that young men who work at Wonderland have been going missing for years. Vanessa investigation uncovers corruption and a potential serial killer. I enjoyed the build up and putting the pieces together and here were some interesting twists that kept me engaged. I listened to this book and the narrator, Eunice Wong, really pulls the story together. The amusement park as a backdrop enhanced the creepiness of the this thriller as well.

I loved the book! I tried reading the book a couple months back and I could not get into it, the narrator changed the game she was wonderful! The story was really interesting, I loved our main characters, and it had a roller coaster of an ending. It was twisty, dark, and I like how everything wrapped up. I also enjoyed the authors note at the end with the little note to connections to her other books. I was happily surprised.

This was a quick Listen, Great story line and twist that i did not see coming.
The story flowed all the way through and was just creepy enough to keep me interested.
The narrator of this was amazing and I would def recommend this one.

4.5 stars

Do not be intimidated by the cover of this book. Although it gives off Stephen King vibes, it is not a horror story. Instead, it is a captivating thriller that takes place in an amusement park.

Jennifer Hillier's Wonderland was first published in 2015 (it is also her debut), but a new paperback version and audiobook will be released next month. I've had the physical copy on my shelf for some time, but I jumped at the opportunity to listen to the audiobook, narrated by Eunice Wong. The audiobook is just shy of 12 hours, and Wong did an excellent job as the narrator.

The story is told from multiple points of view. One being Vanessa Castro the new deputy chief of police in the small town of Seaside in Washington State. The book starts off quickly with the discovery of a body in Wonderland, the local amusement park. Vanessa moved to the town for a fresh start, but she quickly finds herself embroiled in a murder investigation that progresses to much more.

One of the things I enjoyed about this book was the setting. It was atmospheric with the amusement park and its dark history. The mystery deepens as Vanessa uncovers leads and makes gruesome discoveries. The book features a large cast of characters, ranging from friendly to unreliable. At times, I wished I had kept notes to keep track of who was who.

Wonderland is a story of murder, secrets, and a parent's worst nightmare. It was fast paced and suspenseful. A well-written debut and highly entertaining.

I highly recommend the audiobook, as it allows you to multitask while enjoying the story.

My thanks to McMillan Audio and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a creepy amusement Park thriller. ⁣
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Boys, with the same features are going missing around the park. Everyone who lives in the area has grown up there and worked at Wonderland. Rarely do people leave. Secrets and lies are kept and locked away. People cover for each other. There are enough unreliable characters to make you question who’s involved in the disappearances.⁣
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Vanessa is new to town, running from her past and a fresh set of eyes to try to track down these missing boys. She went from the big city to a corrupt small town. ⁣
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There’s a creepy clown museum, an underground tunnel that may or may not be a dungeon, and a warped twisted thriller that was exactly what I was hoping for.⁣

I loved the audio narration of this book and felt like it was well done. I loved the eerie carnival music as well.
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Creepy, especially if you dont like clowns. The clinky music at the beginning and end was odd.

Im really glad that this was re-released. I kept picturing Canada's wonderland and singing the marineland jingle.
I liked this book much better than things we do in the dark. A little slow for most of the book but then picked up around 80%.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

Before the audiobook release of WONDERLAND, Things We Do in the Dark was the only book I'd read from Jennifer Hillier. When this popped up on NetGalley I was excited to dig in to some of her older material, and it did not disappoint. I enjoyed the character of Deputy Chief of Police Vanessa Castro and her new life in Seaside following her husband's death and her exit from Seattle PD. It was clear this wasn't a reader's first meet with the character, but Hillier did a great job presenting enough of the back story so we were able to feel invested quickly and surprised by the many secrets, twists and turns of the plot. Loved the narrator and the creepy ambience of Wonderland Amusement Park and its many many secrets.

Somehow this was the only book by Hillier I hadn't read, so I was excited to receive an advance listen of the audio version, releasing April 11, 2023.
New to town, Vanessa's first day as deputy police chief starts off with a bang with the discovery of a dead body on the midway of Wonderland, Amusement Park. In addition, a young employee of the park has gone missing. The park has quite a history of bad press, as this is not the first death or missing persons case involving the park employees. As Vanessa works on the case, she gets more and more wrapped up in the Dark history of the park.
This is one of Hillier's earlier works, and while not as creepy as many of her others, it still keeps you engaged and eager to find out what happens next. The amusement park setting was enjoyable and the characters had good development. I recommend checking this one out if you haven't yet!

I didn't realize that this book was first published in 2015 and just re-released this year in audio. I'm so happy that I was able to get an audio copy from Netgalley! What a fantastic mystery thriller this was!! I'm looking forward to reading some of this author's earlier work since one of the characters made a cameo in this book.

Wonderland is an amusement park in a little picturesque town called Seaside. The MC, a disgraced Seattle cop, moves to Seaside with her young son and teenage daughter after her husband's death. The mayor, an old family friend, gets her a promotion as Assistant Deputy Chief. The moment she arrives, a dead body turns up at Wonderland and a Wonderland employee goes missing. She must navigate small town politics and a number of potential suspects to figure out what is going on and who the killer is.

The plot moved along quickly and was incredibly engaging. So many plausible suspects and creative twists made for a riveting listening experience. Once I started, it was hard to turn it off.

Terrific audio performance. Felt like I was watching a movie.

Thanks Netgalley for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.