Heart of Glass by Jennifer Hillier
Author: Jennifer Hillier
Genre: Mystery | Thriller | Psychological Thriller | Suspense
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: August 25, 2026
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Rating: ⭐ 4–4.25/5
Synopsis
Twenty-five years ago, best friends Barb, Nicolette and Lorelei spent an evening at Wonderland, Seaside's local amusement park.
Only two of them came home.
Lorelei's body was discovered days later, and Samuel Figg eventually confessed to her murder. He would become known as the Carnival Killer, and for decades, everyone believed the mystery of Lorelei's death had been solved.
Now, twenty-five years later, Samuel has recanted his confession.
Barb never left Seaside and works as a reporter for the local newspaper while secretly writing celebrity gossip online. Nicolette, meanwhile, reinvented herself as Cole Lennox, moved to Toronto and became a reality television star.
With Wonderland preparing for its grand reopening, Samuel's revelation brings the past crashing back into their lives. Then the body of another young woman washes ashore.
As questions surrounding Lorelei's murder resurface, Barb and Nicolette are forced to confront what really happened that night, and the secrets they've carried ever since.
My Thoughts
Jennifer Hillier is one of those authors I always look forward to reading, and Heart of Glass was no exception.
Also, if you've previously read Wonderland, there's a little extra fun in returning to Seaside and its amusement park. This absolutely works as a standalone, so you don't need to have read it first, but already being familiar with the setting added another layer to the experience for me.
The story moves between past and present, gradually revealing what happened twenty-five years ago when three teenage best friends: Barb, Nicolette and Lorelei went to Wonderland together...
And only two came back.
Lorelei's murder was supposedly solved when Samuel Figg confessed. He eventually became known as the Carnival Killer, and for twenty-five years, everyone had every reason to believe Lorelei was simply another one of his victims.
Except now Samuel is saying he didn't kill her.
Meanwhile, another woman's body washes ashore just as Wonderland is preparing for its grand reopening.
I mean...
The timing?
Boombastic. Super fantastic. ^^
Nothing suspicious happening here whatsoever.
From there, everything begins unraveling as questions about the original investigation resurface and it becomes increasingly obvious that there may have been considerably more happening twenty-five years ago than anyone realized.
I really enjoyed the movement between the two timelines. Rather than immediately giving us everything that happened on the night Lorelei disappeared, the past is revealed gradually alongside the present-day investigation. That allowed the mystery to keep changing as new pieces of information came to light.
And, for the record, I did NOT figure out the culprits ridiculously early.
A WIN!
I had suspicions, naturally, because I cannot read a thriller without accusing approximately half the cast of murder at some point. But it took me considerably longer to put the important pieces together, and I appreciated that.
I also enjoyed seeing how differently Barb and Nicolette's lives developed after Lorelei's death.
Barb remained in Seaside and became a reporter, while Nicolette left everything behind and completely reinvented herself, eventually becoming a reality-TV personality. The contrast between who they were as teenagers and the women they became added another interesting dimension to the story, particularly as their carefully constructed present-day lives started colliding with the past.
My main issue was the pacing.
There were sections that felt slightly slow or repetitive, particularly when compared with the parts where new revelations were coming quickly. I don't think the book needed drastic changes, but tightening things up a little would have helped maintain the suspense more consistently.
Thankfully, it never reached the point where I lost interest. I still wanted answers, and the mystery kept me invested until everything finally came together.
Final Thoughts
Heart of Glass was another engaging thriller from Jennifer Hillier, combining a decades-old murder with present-day secrets, complicated friendships, a serial killer who may have confessed to a crime he didn't commit, and a new death that brings everything bubbling back to the surface.
Returning to Seaside was an added bonus as someone who has already read Wonderland, although this story stands perfectly well on its own.
While some sections were a little slower and I think the story could have been slightly shorter, the mystery kept me guessing for much longer than expected and I enjoyed watching the connections between past and present gradually emerge.
A solid, twisty return to Seaside.
⭐ 4–4.25/5
ARC Disclaimer
I received an advance reader copy of Heart of Glass through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this copy did not influence my opinion of the book.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. All opinions are my own.
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