Holy page turner! This book had me hooked from chapter one. The most popular girl in school goes missing and 14 years later her remains are found.....in her best friend’s yard. Who can you trust?? Very well written. Easy to want to know more about the characters. I would actually look forward to a follow up on this one. I would like to see the progression of their lives “after”.

Loved this book! Perfect suspense novel. It revolves around Georgina Shaw as a 16 year old and then again as an adult. Lots of secrets, twists, and suspense. I highly recommend it.

Geo is a successful executive working for a Pharmaceutical company and planning her wedding to its
CEO when she is arrested for her involvement in a 14-year-old crime. When she was 16 her best friend Angela disappeared and Geo withheld what she knew about her murder. Angela may have been the first victim of a serial killer called the "Sweetbay Strangler"--who just happens to be Geo's ex-boyfriend and first love Calvin James. Arresting Gia is the police detective on the Sweetbay Strangler investigation and he was once part of the trio of high school friends--Angela, Geo and Kai. Both Geo and Calvin are sent to prison--Geo serves her five years and Calvin is put away for for life. When Calvin escapes and new bodies turn up, it seems Geo may be in danger.

A dark and twisty thriller with a rapid-fire pace and interesting story and characters, there is a lot going on in this book--so many secrets, twists and turns. Geo is an interesting character--we're given more than enough reasons not to like her but it's hard not to feel sympathetic. Her time in prison and how it changes her and further hardens her is interesting--it gave me strong Orange is the New Black (series--I still need to read the book) vibes. I mentioned dark and twisty--the murders are graphic and hard to read about--especially the new murders which have an even more disturbing twist to them--so fair warning if you have issues with graphic violence and physical and sexual abuse. I do wish that I didn't see some of the big twists coming--I think some things were a bit obvious, causing me to yell at Kai for not catching on sooner. But there were still some surprises and I didn't want to put it down until the end. This is the first book of Hillier's I have read although I happened to have had both Creep and Freak loaded on my Kindle and her writing in this one made me immediately read both after I turned the last page of Jar of Hearts.

Note: I was given a copy of Jar of Hearts through NetGalley for the purpose of a fair review. I was not compensated in any way and my thoughts and views are my own.

Holy crap!!!! What a rush!!! This is the 3rd book of Jennifer Hillier's that I have read and I really enjoyed it just as much as Creep and Freak! The flashback scenes are well done so you are not confused in the timeline, The characters are real, and even though Geo is no angel I admire her determination to make it through her time in prison. It's creepy, and twisted, but it was written by Jennifer Hillier and that says it all!

Magnificent book. It was slow for the first 10 pages and then I could not put it down.
posted on amazon as barth gimbal

This book had my attention from the start. It's an easy read with some twist that you don't expect! I was recommend this book by a friend in a FB group and I would definitely read other books by this author as well!

Jennifer Hillier writes with brilliant creative flair, and her stories are so chilling, yet gripping. This is no different! I was drawn in from the very first chapter, and literally did not put this down! I cannot recommend this enough!

Jennifer Hillier writes a gripping, emotive, dark and twisted psychological thriller that had me reading as fast as I possibly could, desperate to see how it all ends. Popular 16 year old Angela Wong disappears without trace, only for her dismembered remains to resurface in the woods 14 years later, close to Georgina 'Geo' Shaw's home. Geo is now a successful VP at Shipp's Pharmaceuticals in Seattle, and engaged to the CEO. Her life falls apart as the knowledge of what happened to Angela, and her role in it, secrets she has kept all these years, now spill out. Kaiser Brody, is a police detective in Seattle PD, he has never got past the stumbling block of his obsessive unrequited love for Geo through the years. He sees that Angela has been a victim of the 'Sweetbay Strangler', Calvin James. When Geo was 16, she developed an blinding obsessive teenage crush on the older Calvin that will indelibly shape her future. The story is told through multiple perspectives, going back and forth in time.

Geo is sentenced to 5 years in prison, and Calvin is imprisoned for life for the killing of Angela, and other deaths. Hillier gives us a chilling portrayal of Geo's prison life, for which Geo has to draw on her inner resources and strength to survive the experience. Calvin manages to escape, and other bodies with a similar MO turn up as the past comes back to haunt the present. As Geo is freed, you wonder if Calvin is responsible and if Geo's life is in danger. There is more to this deadly affair than is first thought as Hillier reveals twist after twist in this tale of abuse and violence. Geo, the once successful and wealthy business woman, now faces life as a pariah, shunned and derided. The narrative gives us a picture of broken and manipulated lives, prison hardships, abuse, friendship, and wrecked futures.

This is a fast paced, beautifully written and impressively plotted book. Admittedly the characters are difficult to like, but Hillier, nevertheless, makes them riveting and compelling, you want to know more about them and the direction their lives head in. I must warn readers that there is dark, unsettling and disturbing material that covers issues such as rape and abuse that may be too much for many readers. I found myself sucked into the story, and found it thought provoking, intense, and an emotional rollercoaster of a ride. I highly recommend this to readers who love twisted psychological thrillers that are a little different. Many thanks to St Martin's Press for an ARC.

This book is a blend of Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta novels, All The Missing Girls by Megan Miranda, with a little bit of Netflix's Orange is the New Black mixed in.

Let me just say that this book is downright creepy and made me squirm many times. It is not a "light" thriller. It's a heavy, complicated, layered thriller with complex characters that made me change my opinion of them several times. Some of the content is graphic and disturbing. It messed with my head. I read this book before bedtime, and it kept me awake thinking about it.

While the topics are heavy and the descriptions are graphic, I thought that the writing is stellar. It enthralled me. It reminded me that every little choice that you make in life can impact your journey, or change it.

The characters of Geo, Angela, Kaiser, Calvin were very well developed. Jennifer Hillier fully lays out their motivations, desires, insecurities, and needs, and this was especially important understand as ties to the central plot.

I loved how the full story is revealed slowly through switching timelines, flashbacks, and perspectives. Slowly, the entire situation is uncovered, and the truth is unexpected, shocking, twisty, and left me with my mouth hanging open several times.

Unforgettable read and highly entertaining!

I feel that with reading a lot of thriller/mystery style books, it's often that things can feel predictable from the start, but that was not the case with Jar of Hearts. It wasn't until I was 87% through the book (thanks, Kindle!) that I felt confident that I *might* have a good guess where this was going. That said, it still had a few twists I didn't see coming even after that. Very well written and a fun read.

I read this book in a day!! Luckily I received this book through netgalley, so any free time I could just whip out my phone and cruise through another chapter. At first I really hated how the book was written, it starts with present, then back to the past, then back to the present. But towards the end it all made sense, it would, and I loved it! The story is about Georgina, her friends call her Geo, and the one bad mistake she made as a teenager. Now she’s 30 years old, engaged to a rich man, and a successful pharmaceutical executive. She is living the life. Until all those secrets from years ago get dug up.
The book begins with a trial, not hers but Calvins’.. The Calvin. You get a little bit of back story on what happened, then she’s whisked away to a holding cell but not before she’s slipped a note, she thinks no one has seen. Then she’s off to prison for 5 years, dumped by her fiancée, exiled from her job, pretty much alone. She picks up on jail etiquette pretty quickly so with no bad behavior she is out in no time. But restarting life isn’t as simple as expected. After her face was blasted all over the news her neighbors aren’t to happy to have her back in her childhood home. Exspecially when two bodies show up murdered in almost the same spot where her best friend was found. Everyone assumes she’s connected, it has to be Calvin back at it again. But is it?

The ending was my favorite! It came out of no where, and the subtle hints throughout the book you don’t notice right until the last few pages. Then finally everything makes sense.

Jennifer Hillier's first novel, Creep, set the bar extremely high. Although her novels that followed were captivating and solid reads, none were able to come close to the intensity until Jar of Hearts. This book was un-put-down-able! Despite the pace being lightening quick, the integrity of the story line and character development was never compromised. I loved Geo and Kai as narrators -- particularly the former. As she claims, she is both the hero and the villain. This was one of my favorite books for 2018!

I really loved this book. Love Geo as a character...thought she was so honest and real. Was expecting a twist at the end but not that particular one (or 2). Loved how the title fit into the book...not what I was expecting.

Very dark in the very best way. Is there a more unlikeable protagonist than Georgina Shaw, who helped her boyfriend conceal the murder of her best friend? Probably not. Still, she's a compelling character, and I couldn't stop turning the pages until I had learned all of her secrets.

This book had me on the edge of my seat! There were moments when I just thought, “ Wait, did I just read that?” Geo’s story was one I couldnt wait to unravel, though I have to admit, I kinda guessed the twist. Loved it anyways. Definitely interested in other titles by this author, this book was wonderful.

Jennifer Hillier has a new biggest fan. This is the first book I have read by this author and I am blown away with how well written and developed this book is. It has a great plot, excellent dialogue, and the twists never stop coming. I can compare it to a roller coaster in the dark, you just don't know when the next twist and turn is coming.This fast paced thriller is easy to read but not for the faint of heart. This book is told in the third person POV following Georgina as she recounts the horror that led her to spending 5 years in prison and an eternity in her own punishment for her involvement. When Geo is released with her life in shambles and bodies start turning up around her home, she realizes the past is catching up to her. This book culminates to an unexpected ending guaranteed to leave you wanting more.

Extremely well written. I can't wait to pick up her next book. Way to go Jennifer Hillier. I HIGHLY recommend this book, you will not be disappointed.

Thank you to Netgalley for introducing me to my new favorite author.

I really enjoyed Jennifer Hillier's new thriller Jar or Hearts, in fact once I started reading it I couldn't put it down! Mrs. Hillier does an excellent job of keeping her reader guessing while giving them just enough juicy details to keep them on the edge of their seat. I really enjoyed uncovering Georgina (Geo) Shaw's story, even if I did not always like her as a person. I think the love triangle between her, Calvin and Kaiser both in the past and present added an extra interesting layer to the story. Readers who love suspenseful twisted thrillers need to pick up this book immediately! I am definitely going to seek out more of Mrs. Hillier's work.

This book is compelling. If you permit it, you will experience a huge range of mixed emotions; liking people who commit unspeakable acts, disliking the actions of the upright. It's a good reminder that you never do know what goes on inside another's life. Not really.

Red, cinnamon heart-shaped candy was Geo's (Georgina) boyfriend's favorite candy, and she'll never forget the smell of his breath on top of her the night her best friend went missing. Calvin made Geo feel alive and she would do anything for his approval, but after that night he disappeared too. Now it's fourteen years later, Geo's a successful executive at a pharmaceutical company, engaged to be married and perched on the precipice of "happily ever after". However, her world's about to turn upside down. Her best friend from high school who went missing all those years ago has been found. Her bones, that is, and terrible secrets are about to come to light.

Fantastic thriller that will keep you enthralled to the very end. Highly recommended!

What a a great shift from the killer to the damaged. This multifaceted storyline hooked me good a reminded me of how we can treat each other in some bad ways. Very different story and Geo is very, very surprising!