I wasn't able to put this down! Got it on a recommendation from a friend and I'm so happy she told me about it. The character development is so good that you actually feel like you know these people. Almost everyone will be able to relate to the high school days depicted in the book. The twist will have you stunned!  Do yourself a favor - get this book, turn off your phone,  call in sick to work and read it in one sitting. You won't be sorry!

This book was one of the best i’ve read in a long time. Will seek this author out! Great read!

14 years after helping her boyfriend Calvin cover up her best friend Angela’s murder Geo is arrested for the crime.In exchange for the testimony Geo who by now is a executive of successful company is given five years of jail time.After serving her sentence Geo comes back to her old house to live with her father but somebody believes she still hasn’t paid for her crimes and is leaving dead bodies in her neighborhood.

Jar of Hearts is a fast paced, twisted,psychological thriller going back and forth between the past and the present  . Some of the screens described were fairly disturbing and it definitely is not for the fainthearted..Overall a quick read and will look forward to reading more by Jennifer Hillier

 I would like to thank St. Martin's Press / Minotaur Books & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/

Every now and then a book comes along and grabs you, literally, and you can not walk away until it is read. This happened to me with Jar of Hearts. I just turned the last electronic page and I don't want it to be over. This book totally captivated me. Geo, Angela, and Kai are best friends. One night Angela disappears without a trace. For years her parents and friends mourn her; Kai and Geo grow apart and no longer speak. Until 14 years later, when Kaiser, now a police detective, arrests Geo in the conference room of her corporate office for the murder of her best friend. 

The details of that fateful night emerge, and the gaps in the story fill in. Geo, once the girlfriend of the infamous Calvin James, better known as the SweetBay Serial Strangler, is charged as an accessory to the murder of her best friend. Geo loses everything she has worked hard for, and she goes to prison, knowing it is time to pay the price for her part in the crime. Five years later she is out. With no where to go; no job, no money, she goes back to her childhood home, much to the remorse of the neighbors. Almost simultaneously two more sets of mutilated bodies are discovered. The murders appear to mimic those of the victims of the SweetBay Strangler; who escaped from prison five years earlier. Geo's life is in danger, and Kai attempts to piece together the clues in thee mystery and keep his former best friend safe.

A horrific crime has occurred, yet for some reason it is hard to maintain harsh feelings for the characters in the book. As more and more details emerge, it is hard to hate Geo, and even Calvin himself. What a great story about fate and how sometimes it just happens, and sometimes we help it along. It is also the story of friendship, how it can go wrong in the blink of an eye. One small decision in a weak moment takes a life past the point of no return.

This book is due to be published in June - I am so glad to have been given an opportunity to read it in advance for free from Net Galley. This is one of the best books I have read in a long, long time.

Geo has made a plea deal that will put her behind bars for the next 5 years of her life for the murder of one of her high school best friends, Angela. 

Fourteen years after the murder, Geo's other best friend Kai - now a cop in their hometown, came to Geo's office and arrested her upon finally finding Angela's remains. Though Geo won't tell Kai or anyone else the whole truth about what happened that day, she gives them enough information to convict her old boyfriend Calvin who also happens to be more widely know as the "Sweetbay Strangler" - a serial murderer.

We journey with Geo and Kai through the past and the present learning about what the trio was like in high school and how Geo feels about her part in what happened to Angela. Once Geo is released from prison, a series of new murders being to crop up with all the markings of Calvin - who has escaped prison. Kai races to find Calvin as Geo finally comes to terms with exactly what happened all those years ago. 

This book had me on the edge of my seat all the way until the very end. It was an interesting point of view to see how a teenager who was caught in a gruesome act felt, and how one bad decision truly affected her entire life and the lives of so many people. Really well written and thought out. Would certainly recommend!

Enjoyed this book! It captured me with the first chapter and I really wanted to get to know the characters. Geo was an interesting, multi-dimensional woman. I liked the way the author let us get to know her from her teen years through her adulthood. Calvin was well portrayed and a scary character. The author did a good job showing how a young girl could fall for him and be pulled into his web of deceit. I also enjoyed how the story evolved through the eyes of the different characters and the way the time frames for events were presented....kept the story riveting. Lots of different twists that keep you changing your opinion of the characters -- showing that everyone has multiple dimensions to their personalities. Fast paced and hard to put down.

This book 🙌🏼. I think I might have loved everything about it. I was sucked in right away. I went back and forth hating Geo and then feeling sorry for Geo, then hating her, then wanting to be a mother to her and then hating her and by the end even loving her. Raw characters, great storytelling and the plot and all of its many many layers. I did guess the ending by about 75%, but the author was smart and had another curve ball waiting at the end. This book captivated me and made hard topics relatable and told them with a realistic sense. Perfect read anytime or anywhere!!

Jar of Hearts a is great, fast-paced thriller that kept me hooked until the end. There were very nice elements to this story. The narrative alternated between past and present and it was told from the point of view of both Geo (Georgina) and Kaiser Brody. I really liked the way Hillier described Geo's life in prison. I liked that it wasn't sugar coated at all. I also liked the way the story captivated the reader and how it was a difficult book to put down.

One thing that didn't work so well for me was the fact that apart from Geo, all other characters were rather flat. Not a lot of character development there. Partially because of the genre, maybe, but more because of an emphasis on the development of Geo, a character who you don't really get to know until the very end of the story.

I don't give half a star so this was a hard book for me to rate. I felt like this book fell in between a 3 and 4 stars mainly due to the ending, which I felt was rather rushed and predictable. This book is still a gripping and entertaining thriller for fans of the genre.

I would like to thank Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing me with an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Really enjoyed this one and didn't see the ending coming at all.  The author's story telling will definitely keep you up at night.

What a great novel! I didn’t realize until I finished reading this that I had read this author before in the book The Butcher. So I should not be surprised that Jar of Hearts was so well written, the characters are well written and the story line builds to a shocking conclusion. Many of the directions the author takes in this novel are not the ones expected but this makes it much more enjoyable.

I could not put this book down. It was entrancing and gripping, everything I love in a Thriller. This so far is my favorite release of this year. Some parts were so sick and twisted, it was hard to read. The author did an excellent job of making the characters come to life and seem real. I will be recommending this to friends.

Jar of Hearts is a really addictive read. Really well paced, with an engaging plot, I found it difficult to put it down. A little gory in parts,  and quite graphic in others, maybe it’s not for the faint of heart. I really enjoyed it though. I was eager to find out what was going to happen with the characters. And I will definitely check out the authors other books!

Georgina Shaw, Angela Wong and Kaiser Brody are best friends in high school until one of them disappears. One of them goes on with their life and becomes a successful executive, another becomes a detective. For fourteen years no one knows what happened to the friend that disappeared until the body is discovered. Life gets turned upside down for the two that remain  

The story goes back and forth from the past to the present. It is extremely well written and is a gripping story that you can’t put down. 

I read this book in one day. I couldn’t put it down. The twists and turns kept me riveted to the story and I couldn’t wait to get to the end. I highly recommend this book and plan on going back and reading Jennifer Hiller’s other titles.

Wow,this was a twisting read. This a 3rd person,alternating POV thriller that goes between the time before and after Angela's murder, Geo's sentencing and prison sentence and what happens after she gets out. 

I at least understood the characters. Geo  messed up big time and she comes across as a flawed but sympathetic character ..Kaiser is also flawed but his friendship with Geo and dedication to the truth rings true.These aren't the easiest characters to like,especially Geo,but they are fleshed out.

I recommend this book.Not everyone with enjoy it as it goes into the dark territory of sexual assault,murder,and prison life.

Overall this was a good thriller with lots of twists and turns. I didn't feel connected to the characters, though. I did keep turning pages though. So while others may give it 5 stars I am stuck at 4.

As murder investigations go, the story is unnerving and heartbreaking (think parents' grief for their missing child, think teenage love, vulnerability, survival and remorse and mistakes of the past coming back with a vengeance - <i>"She’ll have to start her life completely over again. But not from the bottom, lower than the bottom, clawing her way out of the hole she dug herself into"</i>), the mystery is engrossing, the characters - strong, the issues - crucial (<i>"Just how quickly the abuse would start to feel normal."</i>). But I had difficulty believing the resolution, *mild spoiler ahead* because the crimes committed required way more information and resources the villain could plausibly have. 

The plot is a constantly tightening and escalating spiral that loops through past and present events, revisiting those events again and again, every time revealing another detail, another piece of the puzzle. Some of the pieces remained hidden until the very end (why "you are welcome" in Calvin's note to Geo at the hearing?), but it probably is one of the reasons why the tension never abates. Against this backdrop the villain and the resolution seem almost careless, with barely an explanations about the ways and means to do what the villain did.

The characters are very well written, no question about that. None is flat or one-dimensional, each is full of nuances and very humane contradiction that are revealed in their various interactions (my favourite is the brief scene with Kaiser and Geo's father: <i>"Kaiser stares at Walter Shaw, the father of his best friend from high school, the father of woman he arrested. He’d sat at Walt’s table, had eaten Walt’s beef stew, had drunk Walt’s beer when he wasn’t home, had been in love with Walt’s daughter. Georgina’s father stares back. It feels like a face-off of sorts, neither man wanting to back down, but neither knowing what to say next, either. Kaiser speaks first. “Walt, I care about your daughter. I’ve always cared. I hope you know I was just doing my job.” It’s not exactly an apology, but it’s the best he can do. After a moment, Walter nods. It’s not exactly an acceptance, but it’s the best he can do."</i>). And even if a character appears only briefly - as Mrs Heller does - the portrait is still vivid and compelling (think <i>bathing in her own indignation</i>). Also, I like when authors refer to characters by their names, not surnames, as a reader I find that more personal, almost intimate, as if I'm really getting into their secrets. 

But it is the prose I liked the most. Sharp and no-nonsense, but also fluid and with some strikingly precise observations, like here: <i>"It feels like someone took her life, shattered it into small pieces, and then put it back together, all messed up. The pieces are recognizable, but they’re all in the wrong places."</i>, or here: <i>"A long silence falls between them as Geo processes this, and she becomes acutely aware of the different compartments inside her, each reacting differently to this revelation. The compartments bang against each other like metal on metal, screeching and clanking and noisy, although outwardly, she shows no sign of the turmoil she’s feeling inside."</i> For me it's usually the prose that makes or breaks a book, in "Jar of Hearts" it's the former.

Amazon is not allowing reviews right now.  This book is so engrossing that the reader has a difficult time putting it down to do anything else!!  All the characters are quite real to the reader, with Geo, of course, the one best understood.  The many twists and turns most captivating!  OUTSTANDING!!

If you love thrillers, murder mysteries and want to read one of this years top ten books, look no further than JAR OF HEARTS by Jennifer Hillier.

JAR is the story of best friends, the most popular girls in school and the people in their lives. I sat reading, trying my best to pick up any clue, trying to figure out the ending. Was this possible? Maybe that? Turns out everything I guessed was wrong. Just sit back and enjoy this very tightly - not to mention well written - adult thriller. It has everything you could possibly ask for.

Coming in June from St. Martins Press, this is an amazing Advance Review Copy that I am happy to recommend.

Wow. This book was amazing but seriously intense. It is one of my favorite reads so far this year. Geo is not an easy character to like but it is easy to empathize with her. Everyone makes mistakes, particularly in their teen years when you don't have enough life experience to know how to extricate yourself. The story,  I think, leaves you questioning what you would do in her situation and whether you would make better choices than she did under such pressure.  I will absolutely recommend to psychological thriller readers, particularly fans of Jessica Knoll's Luckiest Girl Alive. And I'll definitely be checking out this author's backlist and looking forward to her future titles.

This was one of my favorite books of 2018. I loved it so much and I read It in one day.

This is a story about three friends. One is a murderer, One is dead and One is searching for the answers.

When they were sixteen years old, Angela Wong was the most popular girl in school but she went missing without a trace. Nobody suspects that her best friend could be the reason she disappeared. 

Fourteen years later, Angela's remains are found. They know who the killer is, and it's Georgina Shaw's ex boyfriend who has murdered at least three more woman. Georgina was Angela's best friend. Kaiser was the friend who was looking for answers and now he's a police detective.

Geo has held in this secret for fourteen years and now she has to face the music.

This is such a good book! I couldn't put it down and I highly recommend reading it.