Jar of Hearts

Jar of Hearts is a compulsive read with a pervading creepiness that prevented this reader from putting the book down for any length of time. The laundry will wait! This book will not! This was not my first book by Toronto-based author Jennifer Hillier (I previously enjoyed The Butcher) and based on my feelings for this book (and the fact that I have an advanced copy of her upcoming book, Little Secrets), it won't be my last.

I thoroughly enjoyed this expertly plotted story that is both a character-based and a suspense read. It pairs well-developed characters with a twisty plot that pivots between current day and the past as the reasons for a gruesome murder, ensuing cover-up and a string of new murders are revealed to the reader.

The story is told using the POVs of Geo, a woman involved in a crime years ago and Kai, the Seattle police detective and high school friend of Geo's who later puts her in jail. Readers become privy to Geo's involvement as the book progresses, but I particularly appreciated how the characters had a believable mixture of good and bad in all of them. There are no cookie-cutter characters here.

“In every story, there’s a hero and a villain. Sometimes one person can be both.”

Initially, Geo's POV has a strong Orange is the New Black feel as we witness Geo's experiences in jail. These scenes were eye-opening, and I enjoyed how Hillier revealed Geo's secrets, her connection to the crime and the repercussions once Geo is released from jail. Throughout the book there was a wonderful, subtle feel to how the twists were revealed which only helped to increase the creepy factor. But readers please be aware that this gritty read includes some disturbing scenes which may trigger some readers (rape, abuse). Although, while they were violent, I didn't feel their addition was sensationalized. The only thing that kept me from giving this book a full 5 stars is that I thought the ending felt too rushed. I wanted a little more time in the denouement.

Overall, this is a fast-paced, impressive, compelling (and a little gruesome) story that will keep you up at night for more than a few reasons. If you're a gritty Suspense fan and haven't met Jennifer Hillier yet, what on earth are you waiting for?

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Author: Jennifer Hillier

Genre: Suspense, Canadian

Type: Trade Paperback (305 pages)

Publisher: Minotaur Books

First Published: June 12, 2018

Book Description from GoodReads: 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?