Now this is how a thriller should be! Fantastically written and full of dark twists and turns. Absolutely loved Jar of Hearts, I'll be recommending it to everyone!

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.

This is a strange, dark tale - definitely requiring a strong stomach in places - which opens with successful businesswoman, Georgina (Geo for short) Shaw telling a Seattle court how, 20 years ago, she was an accessory in the murder and dismemberment of her best friend, Angela Wong.

Seated in the court is Geo's fiancee, CEO of the company for which she now works and a boy she knew from school, Kaiser ("Kai") Brody, now a police lieutenant. The accused is Calvin James on trial for the murders of 4 young women and dubbed "The Sweetbay Strangler" by the media. By the time Geo has ended her evidence, she no longer has a fiancee.

Twenty years previously, the disappearance of Angela Wong had shocked Seattle and for all that time Geo kept silent about the horrific murder of her friend. But now she's testifying against Calvin in return for a 5 year sentence, while Calvin will receive a life sentence with no chance of release. But, soon after he's imprisoned, he escapes, murdering a prison guard and a counsellor and going on the run with 3 other prisoners, all later found dead.

Now, Georgina has served her 5 year sentence with very few problems, thanks to the protection of Ella Frank, wife of major drug dealer. All this while, Kaiser Brody has been keeping tabs on Geo via monthly reports from a prison guard who he's been paying 100 dollars a time for the privilege.

But, a few days before Geo's release, the dismembered body of a young woman is found in the same woods as where Angela Wong's body was discovered. Close by is the body of a 2 year old child. Try as he might, Kaiser can't stop thinking this is the work of The Sweetbay Strangler.

At times, this story reads like a soap opera. Kai is having an affair with his female detective partner, Kim, who's married to another cop. Geo has been having sex with a young prison guard who seems to have fallen in love with her. Geo's best pal in prison is Cat, who's seriously ill with cancer. I kept waiting for more melodrama to be piled on. Aside from Geo and Kai, most of the characters seemed superficial, despite the author's attempts to give their lives some depth.

For all that, "Jar Of Hearts" is an exciting tale of jealousy and murder with a sensational twist. What really happened on the night Angela Wong was murdered? After 20 years, as past and present collide and the truth will out!

My thanks go to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Amazing book - kept me enthralled all the way through and I was looking for excuses to spend more time reading. Good character development throughout

14 years ago Angela, a popular high school student went missing after a drunken party. Her best friend, Geo (Georgina) knows exactly what happened that night but has kept quiet all these years. When Angela's remains are found in woods very close to home the truth, or at least some of it, starts to come out. The killer is Geo's former boyfriend, Calvin, who has gone on to rape and murder other young women. But Geo is not blameless and is herself facing 5 years in prison for her part her friend's demise. It is almost a relief to Geo for the events that happened so many years ago to finally be out in the open. But her prison sentence is not the end of the story by any means.

This is a pretty decent murder mystery story, told over a period of around 20 years. The book begins with the criminal trial and sentencing of Calvin and Geo in respect of Angela's murder. After that the chapters go back and forth between Geo's incarceration and eventual release from prison and flashbacks to the 16 year old friends and the lead up to Angela's death.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It is a little predictable and far fetched at times but the characters are well drawn and the story is quite engrossing, full of secrets and lies and half-truths. I should probably mention that there are some rather graphic scenes of mutilation and rape in this story that some may find disturbing. A good read though.

Clever and very tense.

This novel was full of twists and turns and kept me up at night! I could not stop reading it