I loved this creepy story! I usually don't like cop storylines but this one worked, probably because the creepy theme park vibes made it more horror-y than a regular detective thriller. There were horror elements, and they were done well, but I wouldn't consider this horror. The twists were pretty good and I did not see them coming from a mile away like many other thrillers.

I listened to the audio as I read along on my kindle. I appreciated some of the 2023 updates, particularly that they edited out some transphobic remarks. Hillier always features characters of color so I love that representation. However, the narrator did not do a great job with the Black character. It sounded very stereotypical and made me cringe a bit.

Overall, I'd reccomended this audiobook for the story and mostly effective narration.

Jennifer Hillier always knocks it out of the park and is an author that I will always read. I have loved so many of her books and Wonderland is another 4-star read. This is a dark, creepy, and twisty story that takes you for a ride, which is fitting as it is set in an amusement park.

The audiobook narration is excellent, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. It kept my interest and conveyed the content clearly. Sometimes things get lost in translation on audiobooks, especially when stories are told from multiple point of views, but Wonderland did not disappoint.

I love the way that Jennifer Hiller tells a story! It’s creepy and feels realistic enough to be believable but it’s outrageous enough to be obviously a work of fiction.

Wonderland revolves around an amusement park of the same name - and it has a Clown Museum. That’s right. Clown. Museum. But even creepier, is the dead body that shows up around opening day, which results in an investigation by the new deputy chief in town and she isn’t handling the park with kid gloves like the other law enforcement in town. She’s new and cares more about justice and solving the missing persons cases and the murder case than saving face and protecting the park.

While I was confused initially with where this was going, I caught on and then couldn’t put it down. I had to know what was going on in this small, corrupt-appearing town (I love those kind of stories honestly!). The ending came on a bit quicker than I was prepared for but I’m not mad about it. I was ready to know what happened, but I did feel the rest of the story was more filled out than the ending.

The audio version, having released 8 years after the initial ebook, was absolutely fantastic. I love the way the narrator handled the story and brought the suspense along with the story. It was perfect.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In true Hillier fashion, this was a story that took listeners on a wild ride. I love her books on audio and "Wonderland" was no exception. Missing boys, a creepy doll house featuring girls dressed as life size dolls, some romance and secrets that are meant to stay hidden -- this one gives readers it all! As someone who doesn't love amusement parks, this only confirmed my suspicions of them - lol.

Thanks to NetGalley for the new audiobook to review. This book was originally published in 2015 and has been on my TBR for years. When I saw the audiobook on NetGalley, I jumped on it. The narrator was very engaging and I enjoyed the ride this audiobook offered. Listening during the night was not the wisest decision as well-written serial killer police procedurals tend to have chapters that keep me awake. This was no different. The writing was good and the overall story was plotted well.

Vanessa and her daughter Ava have just moved to Seaside. Vanessa worked at the amusement park when she was younger and her daughter has gotten a job there now. Vanessa is now the Deputy Chief of police and is immediately thrown into investigating open missing persons cases.

I haven’t read much by Hillier yet but so far this is my favorite. I definitely will read more in the future. Some thrillers do not engage me in audio format but this one definitely did.

3.5 stars. I have had to original paperback on my shelf for years but this year I got into a Jennifer Hillier kick and decided to pick her up. This book disappointed me a tad and it would have also been LOVELY to know this had a character from a previous duology because there was a pretty big spoiler about Jerry(detective from the Creep/Freak duology). Aside from that detail, I found the book to be a little slow. I loved the parts when we were in the park and especially when they described the clown room.

WONDERLAND review

⭐️⭐️⭐️.25/5

🎡This book has been on my “want-to-read” Goodreads shelf foreverrrrr. I’ve read 4 other Jennifer Hillier books and really enjoyed them. Based on her past work, I went into this one expecting a thriller with lots of twists. However, this one felt more like a police procedural than a thriller.

🎡Here’s a summary of the plot:👇
Wonderland is a magical amusement park that’s home to some dark and gruesome secrets. The iconic Wonderland ferris wheel is a crowd favorite, until a dead body is discovered at its base. The more police deputy Vanessa Castro looks into Wonderland, the more she wonders how many more secrets this amusement park is hiding…

🎡This story started out so strong! It set the tone and I was expecting a fast-paced thriller to follow. But the pacing felt a bit off, and it wasn’t really reading like a thriller. I listened to this on audio and the second half of the book sooo many more characters were introduced and I had a hard time keeping them straight. I didn’t expect the ending at all (I felt like it came out of nowhere?) and the story definitely didn’t feel predictable, which is always a plus! Overall, this one isn’t my favorite of Hillier’s but I loooooved the cameo appearances. If you’ve read Creep or Freak by Hillier I think you’ll appreciate the crossover characters too. 👏

I received this book for free from the publisher through netgalley.com. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Holy crap what a wild ride. There is so much going on in this book. I loved the narrator and the story line was fantastic. I love amusement parks but have to admit they give off a spooky vibe as well. Especially clowns. Clowns are a big no for me.

In this small town there is so much political maneuvering, secrets, and coverups it's a wonder any police work got done in this town. Wonderland is the biggest revenue draw for the small town and pretty much everyone has worked there at one time or another. It has a tainted past and when the new owner bought it he tried hard to restore its reputation and create something new.

However the police try hard to keep wonderland out of the papers. As the biggest revenue provider if Wonderland goes down so might the town so crimes are often mishandled, covered up or brushed off.

I love the main character as a flawed woman who has recently moved to the area after her husbands death. She isn't going to toe the company line and starts making waves as she starts to connect multiple disappearances within the park.

Run don't walk to get this book! Thank you @macmillanaudio and @netgalley for providing me a free copy of this audio book.

Seaside, Washington is the setting for this new thriller from Jennifer Hillier. With the Wonderland amusement park as the backdrop, Hillier takes us on a fun thrill ride with more twists and turns than a rollercoaster! A suspected serial killer is loose in the park and his/her preferred prey are "Wonder Workers", kids who have summer jobs at the park. As the new deputy chief of police, Vanessa Castro investigates she uncovers all the secrets the old Wonderland amusement park and the town of Seaside have tried to keep buried. With multiple characters, it took me a minute to figure out who went with who, but in typical Hillier style, it all comes together for a pretty surprising ending. I listened to the book and it was fast paced, very enjoyable and reinforced my own fears that you never know what's going on beneath the surface even if the surface is an amusement park.

This fast paced thriller by Jennifer Hillier started with a bang and cliffhanger chapter endings. Set in the Pacific Northwest and at an amusement park called Wonderland. MC, deputy police chief Vanessa, new to the Seaside PD finds herself with a dead body at Wonderland on her first day. Wonderland is Seaside’s beloved amusement park with a sordid past protected by the locals, including the PD. Many missing employees over the years add to the mystery of the current death and a post from another employee after climbing the Wonder Wheel all collide to bring this plot along many twist and turns, in true Hillier fashion.

This is my fifth book by this author and I enjoyed this book as much as the others. Jennifer Hillier never disappoints and delivers the perfect mix of thrill, gore, disturbing minds and well thought out endings.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC audiobook version of this new release in exchange for my honest review and opinion.

WOW! Where do I even start with this book! Full of intrigue, diversion, corruption, and debauchery. There was someone new doing something terrible at every turn! It kept me on the edge of my seat and constantly guessing.

I immediately went to Amazon to add all of Jennifer Hillier's books to my wish list for future book buys! Hillier is an excellent writer! She kept me invested in the characters and the outcome of all the dilemmas, constantly guessing what was going to happen and who did it, laughing at the assorted banter that was mixed throughout, and floored by the actual final outcome. Never would have guessed it! I HIGHLY recommend this book! Can't wait to read more of her novels.

Also, highly recommend the audio version. The narration was excellent!

Love the cover. The story itself was interesting but wish there was less cursing. Definitely would recommend headphones.

I really enjoyed this! It's being rereleased on audio after being published as an ebook 8 years ago, and I think the narrator did a great job with it. There's a lot of back and forth between a mysterious, dank space and the bright sunlight of an amusement park-centered town, and those moods are both handled really well by the narrator. I kind of wish the author had taken a swing at some edits before this re-release, but I still had a good time with it. Maybe horror-y thrillers set in amusement parks are my new thing? This book could definitely have used more time in the park imo. I kept hoping for flashbacks to the park in the old days, because it was noted several times that the MC worked there as a kid. I did love the way this book leaned into that "is everyone who works here creepy?" feeling and how unsettling the uncanny nature of an amusement park can be, even to those who love them.

Short synopsis: Wonderland an amusement park in the Pacific Northwest is the only thing keeping the small town of Seaside alive. When a body shows up next to the Farris wheel, and boys are missing the new detective in town gets to work.

My thoughts: Who doesn’t love a good amusement park with all the rides and cotton candy? Throw in a clown and doll museums and we’ve found ourselves on a major creepy rollercoaster of a ride!

I loved the behind the scenes in this one, and the drama as well! I really enjoyed the alternating POV between Vanessa the new cop in town trying to avoid all the politics, and what was happening in the dungeon below the clown museum.

The one downfall for me was there were a lot of characters that I had a hard time keeping everyone straight, especially during the final chapters.

Read if you love:
- Clowns and dolls
- Cotton candy and popcorn
- Amusement parks
- Murder mystery
- Alternating POV

So this book originally published as an e-book in 2015, but @macmillanaudio just made it into an audiobook available now! Such a great audiobook, the narration was done very well! Thank you to Macmillan Audio for a copy of this ALC!

This book has the creepy vibes, at least for me. I don't like amusement parks and to put a clowm museum in the middle of one, hell no count me out. Despite all that, I like this book. I like the area the book is set in. I like how the killer wasn't obvious. I got one part right and the other part was like are you for real? it's that last part that makes me love thriller/suspense books, Jennifer Hillier writes them so well. Now I have to read Little Secrets and all the others she writes.

WOW! This one was quite the ride. I was very excited for the premise of an eerie amusement park mystery.

The audio narration itself was great and it kept my interest in the story. This story has multiple POVs which can be hard to follow sometimes, but I love how the audio helps with it. The story itself was a bit slow for me, and although the ending was not all that surprising, it was somewhat satisfying.

This book is a bit creepy, but I think that if you enjoyed Hillier's other stories/enjoy small town mysteries, then you'll like this one.

Loved this book. The narrator was great as well. I felt engaged and drawn into the story every step of the way. I'm going to be recommending this book to others!

It's official Jennifer Hillier is now one of my auto-buy authors. She is such a great writer. I was hooked from the start. I mean how could you not be? Most of the setting took place in Wonderland, the towns creepy amusement park. I love being creeped out. I would totally go into the Clown Museum.

The story has multiple POVs, which I love. It's nice getting the story told by different people! And some of those twists...I. DID. NOT. SEE. COMING! I love it when I am caught off guard. I really enjoyed the characters. I would LOVE to see another book with Vanessa Castro. It's refreshing to see a bad ass female cop!

I would highly recommend this audiobook!! It was fantastic. Usually when listening to audiobooks with multiple POVs I like having different voices for each one, but the narrator nailed it. Go give it a listen!! Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and Jennifer Hillier for the audiobook!

In Seaside everyone works at wonderland, and some simply never leave. There’s a new Deputy in town and her first day she is notified of a decomposed body in the park and many missing people. Her daughter Ava has the privilege of working in the clown house at the age of 14 but everyone knows the minimum age to work there is 16. She starts Getting creepy vibes until she’s locked in her dressing room with no way out. Will she get out alive or will she just end up as the other wonderland victims? Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest feedback!

Amusement parks already creep me out a bit when they have that carnival feel. Jennifer Hillier provides this twisty, spooky atmosphere and more in this police procedural thriller. Vanessa arrives to her first day on the job with the police department in a small town when she learns that a dead man has wound up at Wonderland, the local amusement park. In addition, a teen has gone missing after a stunt that went viral on social media. What follows is enough to give you chills and having you turning on all the lights.

What was great:
- the setting of the park and the pacific northwest
- enough suspicious characters to keep you guessing
- a strong, smart female police woman

Not my favorite:
= a weird hookup that didn't seem necessary to the story
- the shifting back and forth of varying character's POVs
- the all-to-quick wrap up at the end; just as it was building, it ended in a flash

The audio was very well done. While the narrative did shift, the voices were done well and never took me out of the story. Overall, I enjoyed this and gave it 4 stars. This is my second book by Hillier. Her writing is great and I love the tone of her books. I am looking forward to future releases.