Sunday 27 November 2022

Book ~ "Jar of Hearts" (2018) Jennifer Hillier

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?


In high school, Geo, Angela and Kaiser were best friends. When Geo met Calvin, who was a couple years older than them, they started dating and she became obsessed with him, even though he was physically and emotionally abusive to her. One night after a party, Angela is killed and rather than tell anyone, Geo has kept it a secret all these years. Everyone thinks Angela ran away.

Fourteen years later, Geo is a VP with a pharmaceutical company and engaged. Angela's body is found chopped up and buried in the woods near the house Geo grew up in. Evidence shows that Calvin killed Angela and Geo had helped. Kaiser, who is now a police officer, arrests her. She testifies against Calvin and is sent to prison for five years, needless to say losing her job and her beau.

When Geo gets out of prison, she tries to pick up her life again but people don't forget. Plus there is serial killer on the loose killing and chopping up women and murdering young children and Calvin, who had escaped from prison, is the suspect because it's so similar to Angela's murder. Kaiser suspects Calvin is trying to give Geo a message and investigates.

I've liked other books by this author but didn't like this one ... it was sooooooo negative. It is written in third person perspective with a focus on where the action was. The timeline shifts back and forth from the past (to give you the backstory to present day). The "whodunnit" at the end was ridiculous and unbelievable. None of the characters were likeable. As a head's up, there is swearing and violence (multiple rapes).

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