Heart of Glass ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Heart of Glass by Jennifer Hillier


NetGalley About Summary

Twenty-five years ago in Seaside, Washington, a charming drifter named Sam met three inseparable teenage girls at the local amusement park. Days later, one of them was found dead, her body surfacing in a flooded cranberry bog not far from where she was murdered.

Barb and Nicolette were shocked to learn that the man they all met at Wonderland was the Carnival Killer. After he's arrested for the murders of five young women – one of whom was their best friend, Lorelei – Nicolette moved to the city to pursue her dreams of being famous. Barb stayed behind in Seaside, eventually becoming a reporter for the local paper. Their past safely behind them, they’ve both moved on with their lives.

But when the Carnival Killer recants his confession and a new body washes ashore on the eve of Wonderland’s grand reopening, the secrets that Barb and Nicolette have worked so hard to bury begin to resurface, threatening to destroy everything in their carefully constructed lives.

Genre: Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers
Goodreads added: Sɇriɐl Ki⅃ℒer
I'm adding h0rr0r because I unexpectedly stumbled across it at around 20%. 
👹😱🙈 Thankfully it was just one scene because we know how I feel about h0rr0r!

The How/Why: SM influencers and GR book friends recommended. Was available on NetGalley > requested > approved. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

🎉 Overall Storytelling? 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

🎣 Did it grab and keep my attention? 🎣🎣🎣🎣🎣

🗣️Would I recommend it to anyone? Yes ➕Absolutely for my Mystery/Thriller friends. 

🕮 Would I want a sequel? No ➖ Not necessary but I would hop to it if there was a Wonderland #3 in the future.

📚 Would I want to read more books by this author? Yes ➕

💣💥 📢 Content Warnings? Google says: Vi0lɇncɇ & Ƈrïmɇ, AbŲsɇ, Sɇxuɐl Vi0lɇncɇ, Aȡȡicti0n & SȖbstɐncɇ Ųsɇ. 
There is one more but it would be a spoiler. No spoilers until after publication date when they are readily available on the the internet.

🌶 Spice? No.

🌪 Plot Twist? YES ☂☇☔

👟 Pace? Great

💻 Tidbits ~ One word: :goosebumps: I know, I've never heard me say that about a mystery/thriller either!
From the author's bio on GR "Jennifer Hillier imagines the worst about people, and then writes about it." She's not joking! 

Okay, now more words! 

Three teenage besties. Lorelei's body is found in a cranberry bog. A Sɇriɐl Ki⅃ℒer had confessed to MŪrdɇrinᵷ five women, one being Lorelei.
25 years later, now with terminal cancer and nothing to lose, he confesses he MŪrdɇred four women, not five, not Lorelei.

Nicole has left their small town, reinvented herself as Cole, and has a wealthy husband and a dream job on a hit reality show Trophy Wives. 

Barb's dream of becoming a writer have been sidelined as she's settled for a freelance job for a gossip site Reality Bitch where she slings trashy reviews of Trophy Wives with a vengeance. 

Barb and Cole were left carrying the secret of what really happened the night Lorelei died like the proverbial weight of the world on their shoulders. It drove them apart for 25 years. Can the truth bring them back together again?

Added to the mix is Cole's unhappy marriage which has her back in Seaside, plus another body has washed ashore on the eve of the grand reopening of the amusement park. 

Everyone is flawed in a very believable way. I almost started an Evidence Board to put together the small town puzzle pieces, along with string to connect the dots. As the dots started to connect, they also started to fall off the board until they started to come together again. 

The cast of narrators was very good. Brittany Pressley, Chris Brinkley, Eunice Wong, Ferdelle Capistrano, January LaVoy.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say this is one of the best mystery/thrillers I've listened to this year. If you embrace a suspenseful mystery/thriller keep an eye out for Heart of Glass to be published late August. 

This is Book 2, earlier book is Wonderland. It is a standalone and said to be more of a companion than a sequel. I did not read/listen to Book 1.

🎧 Narrator: Cast ~ Brittany Pressley, Chris Brinkley, Eunice Wong, Ferdelle Capistrano, January LaVoy

🎧12.57 hours 🕮 368 pages

Not yet published. Expected 8-25-2026

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the free ALC in exchange for my honest review.

UPDATE: FTM: 
Favorite Character: Cecily (sp?) Monaco, Cole's over the top super star co-star on Trophy Wives. She gave fantastic advise, like make sure your prenup has an infidelity clause. Priceless.
Favorite Quote: Cole "You really okay to drive, the rehab facility is three and a half hours from here?"
Cecily "Oh honey please, I'm from LA. It takes me that long to get to my hair appointments". <FACTS!
NOTE: The book hasn't been published yet so quote is subject to change. 


24 and counting

Music Lyrics ~ Blondie



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