Book Review: Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier.

When Geo was sixteen years old her best friend disappears, or so everyone thought. Only Geo and her older boyfriend Calvin know what really happened to Angela. Fourteen years later the life Geo has built for herself comes crashing to the ground when Angela’s body is discovered buried in the woods behind the house Geo grew up in. Geo is offered a deal—testify against Calvin and serve a short prison sentence. Geo takes the deal. Her former boyfriend, Calvin James, is charged with Angela’s murder. It’s also revealed that he is the Sweetbay Strangler, a serial killer responsible for murdering at least three other women. As Geo faces her demons we learn more about her past and the events leading up to Angela’s murder.

This was definitely a page turner. I stayed up way too late reading this, but I just couldn’t put it down. Although it was ultimately too graphic and violent for me, the story had me intrigued to the very end. There were lots of interesting twists and turns throughout this nail-biting, gripping tale. I always appreciate books in which there are characters that aren’t obviously good or evil, but rather many-layered and complex. I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about some of the characters. Also, I was left pondering my own moral compass—wondering how I would proceed if I found myself in a similar situation.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good, fast paced thriller. I should warn you that it contains violence, rape, and sex and as such is not appropriate for minors. 4 out of 5 ⭐️

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for sending me an Advanced Readers’ Edition to review. This book will be published on 6/12/18.