Book Review - Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier

Title: Jar of Hearts
Author: Jennifer Hillier
Genre: Thriller
Published: 2018
 
Description: 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 those years…
 
When she was sixteen years old, Angela Wong – one of the most popular girls in high school – disappeared without a trace. Nobody ever suspected that her best friend, Georgina Shaw, now and executive and rising star at her Seattle pharmaceutical company, was involved in any way. Certainly not Kaiser Brosy, who was close with both girls back in high school.
 
But fourteen years later, Angela’s remains are discovered in the woods near Georgina’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 Georgina, he’s something else entirely. Back in high school, Calvin was Georgina’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, Georgina knew what happened to Angela and told no one. For fourteen years, she carried the secret of Angela’s death until Georgina 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.

Review: I read “Little Secrets”, by Jennifer Hillier, a couple of years ago and really liked it. “Jar of Hearts” gets a high average rating on GoodReads, so I had very high hopes. But, my opinion about this book is going to be unpopular.
 
We learn about the disappearance of Angela Wong, when she was only sixteen years old. When her remains are found fourteen years later, the truth comes to surface as well, with her best friend Georgina going to jail for being involved and her then boyfriend Calvin being convicted for the murder. Angela and Georgina’s mutual friend Kaiser is now a detective, wanting to get to the bottom of this and finding out what really happened that fateful night.
 
While Georgina pays the price for her unconditional love, Calvin escapes from prison. And soon lives up to his nickname of the Sweetbay Strangler. What is his ultimate intention? Do the new victims have a link to Angela? And what other secrets does Georgina have?
 
I found it very difficult to relate to any of the characters. First of all, I didn’t like any of them, but I can often get passed that. I just didn’t understand any of the motivations these characters had. When Angela went missing and later found, many people claimed she was the sweetest girl. But flashbacks reveal something completely different. I don’t get why Georgina wanted to be friend with her. And she also says, multiple times, how much she loved Angela. Angela was the one woman she loved most after her mom. That just makes it even less understandable why she eventually did what she did. And it seems with ease, with her so-called monster of a boyfriend behaving out of character. And she just moved on. It feels like we are supposed to sympathize and empathize with Georgina, but in no way could I do that. Same for her relationship with Calvin. I get that sometimes love blinds you, but it just didn’t make sense what she did for this guy.
 
There is a romantic subplot, that I really did not care about. I mostly hate romantic plot lines in thrillers. And again, I did not understand it. In their younger years, sure, I get it. But as adults, I don’t see why this man still wants to be with her, especially with him knowing about her what he knows. And all these characters have thoughts about other people’s appearances and smells in the most inappropriate moments. It feels so strange.
 
For a book being sold with having many unexpected twists and reveals, I was a bit underwhelmed. Sure, it had some, but the final reveal was pretty obvious in the end. I just didn’t have a good time with this book, unfortunately.
 
Rating: 2,5/ 5