Heart of Glass

By: Jennifer Hillier

Narrators: Brittany Pressley, Chris Brinkley, Eunice Wong, Ferdelle Capistrano, January LaVoy

Macmillan Audio

ISBN: 978-1250763181

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Publication Date: 08/25/2026

Format: Other

My Rating: 5 Stars + (ARC) (ALC)

AUG 2026 MUST-READ BOOKS TOP AUDIOBOOKS OF 2026

A serial killer recants his long-ago confession regarding a small-town high school girl―and her then-best friends are forced to confront what really happened that night and what's happening now.

Seaside is a small coastal town, known originally for the local amusement park. But twenty-five years ago, a serial killer dubbed The Carnival Killer confessed to the murder of a local high school girl. Now, he's recanted that confession.

Barb, Nicolette, and Lorelei were best friends - then they met "Sam" at Wonderland, the local amusement park. After hanging out with him there, and accompanying him to the drive-in movie, where the twenty-something handsome drifter made out with Lorelei in the backseat. That night was the last time Lorelei was seen alive, her murdered body surfacing a couple of days later in a local cranberry bog.

Barb's dreams of leaving Seaside and becoming a successful writer never materialized and she is a freelancer for the local newspaper and, secretly, writes anonymously about reality tv stars for a hugely successful gossip web-site called Reality Bitch. Specifically, she writes savagely about a long-running show set in Canada called Trophy Wives.

Nicolette left town shortly after Lorelei's body surfaced, never to return. Ultimately, she married a very rich man, moved to Toronto and rebranded herself as Cole Lennox, one of the stars of Trophy Wives.

With the amusement park about to reopen, revitalizing the dying town of Seaside, the Carnival Killer recants his confession about killing Lorelei, the dead body of young woman washes ashore, and the truth about what happened that night twenty-five years ago - and what is happening now - threatens not only the carefully constructed lives of Barb and Nicolette, but the very fabric of Seaside itself.

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My Review

Jennifer Hillier (favorite author), long-time devoted superfan checking in! Having had the absolute privilege of interviewing Jennifer on my blog platform for the #AuthorElevatorSeries, and having devoured every single one of her books over the years, my expectations for Heart of Glass were through the roof—and she completely smashed them!

Highlights:

~A TRAIL OF DEADLY TEXTS

~25 Years. One Group Text. Five Decades of Lies.

~RECANTED CONFESSIONS

~The Return to Wonderland Amusement Park

~An Elite Full-Cast Audio Masterclass

For Hillier fans who absolutely loved Wonderland as much as I did, you are in for a massive treat because this book brings us right back into that dark, atmospheric amusement park universe! 🎡🎢💀 If you want to dominate your August TBR planning, add this one to your pre-order list right now because it officially drops on August 25th! And as a bonus, the book and audio are a must-pair with this stellar all-star cast.

Since I am a massive fan of this entire narrator lineup as well, diving into the audiobook with the dream-team: Brittany Pressley, January LaVoy, and an all-star full cast was electrifying, delivering an absolute masterclass in perspective-shifting suspense. They turn this twisty thriller into a cinematic listening experience you cannot turn off!

Heart of Glass by Jennifer Hillier

The Hook:

When an infamous death row serial killer abruptly recants his confession to a 25-year-old murder, two estranged best friends must scramble to keep the real truth of that night buried.

Elevator Pitch:

I Know What You Did Last Summer meets the gritty, dark reality television world of UnREAL. A high-stakes, dual-timeline psychological thriller tracking the toxic fallout of a teenage group text that turned deadly.

Setting:

Seaside, Washington—a misty, overcast Pacific Northwest coastal resort town defined by a flooded cranberry bog and the impending, high-pressure grand reopening of the vintage "Wonderland" amusement park.

The Dual-timeline

The setup is flawlessly executed

⬅️ 2001: A group text goes horribly wrong, a teenage girl dies, and a serial killer confesses to the crime.

➡️ Modern Day: On the eve of the local amusement park's grand reopening, he recants his confession—leaving two estranged childhood best friends scrambling to keep their teenage secrets buried.

Vibe:

Dark, gritty, emotionally intense, and utterly addictive.

Classic Pacific Northwest noir wrapped in layers of modern pop-culture cynicism.

~Pacing: Fast-paced / High-tension

~Mood: Dark, Tense, Mysterious, Suspenseful

~Plot /Character-driven: Seamless balance of character depth and twisty plotting

~Genre: Psychological Thriller / Domestic Suspense / Small-town Crime

Themes:

The toxicity of adolescent codependency, the corrupting power of media exploitation, buried trauma, and how long-held lies inevitably decay.

Standout Characters:

~Barb & Nicolette (Cole): Estranged childhood best friends whose carefully constructed adult lives are built entirely on a collective, 25-year-old lie.

~The Carnival Killer: The notorious death row inmate whose sudden, calculated retraction throws the town into absolute chaos.

~The Crimson Coast: The literal fabric of Seaside, Washington—a dying resort town whose entire financial revitalization rests entirely on the pristine public image of the park's grand reopening.

Author Writing Standout:

Phenomenal Character Complexity. Hillier is a master at mapping out deep psychological fear; she builds flawed, messy, and intensely complicated women who make terrible decisions under pressure, keeping the audience completely spellbound.

Takeaway:

A collective lie might protect your youth, but time always forces the ledger to balance.

Title Significance:

A brilliant double-meaning referencing both the fragile, easily shattered nature of the protagonist’s carefully constructed adult lives and a direct nod to Blondie’s iconic, glassy disco anthem.

Metaphor:

The Amusement Park Rollercoaster. Much like Wonderland's rusty, vintage rides, the characters' shared secrets are a dangerous, looping mechanism that cannot be stopped once set in motion.

Why You Should Read:

Emotionally gripping, a multi-layered puzzle box that proves exactly why Hillier remains an undisputed titan of the modern thriller genre.

My Thoughts:

Master of Psychological Complexity! As a long-time superfan who has read every single one of Jennifer Hillier's thrillers, revisiting Wonderland and stepping back into that dark, eerie amusement park aesthetic was pure joy!

Hillier's ability to balance a pitch-black, nostalgic 2001 timeline with a frantic, reality TV-fueled modern investigation is sheer perfection. It delivers her trademark roller coaster of twists and raw emotional depth while managing an incredibly complex structure.

The stakes are brilliant; the threat doesn't just loom over Barb and Cole, but threatens to completely dismantle the economic survival of Seaside itself the moment that new body washes ashore. It reads like I Know What You Did Last Summer meets a gritty reality TV drama. It is atmospheric, incredibly messy, and keeping track of the secrets had me racing through the pages!

"Hillier at her absolute finest. A dark, devastating, and incredibly sharp puzzle box where childhood nostalgia collides violently with modern-day ambition."

Heart of Glass explores the darkest consequences of betrayal, and whether escaping the past really means you're free, especially when the secrets you buried are calling you home.

Audio 🎧Standout:

The Full Cast (Brittany Pressley, Chris Brinkley, Eunice Wong, Ferdelle Capistrano, and January LaVoy)

Vocal Magic! An elite, full-cast audio masterclass. Macmillan Audio went all out with a stellar award-winning powerhouse cast. Brittany Pressley anchors the production with her signature crisp suspense timing, while January LaVoy and the rest of the narrators trade off perspectives flawlessly. It feels less like a traditional book and more like a rich, cinematic, premium audio-drama experience.

Verdict: 5/5 Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

"A breathtaking, sharp-edged masterpiece that showcases Jennifer Hillier at the absolute peak of her storytelling powers. It effortlessly fuses small-town Pacific Northwest noir with a razor-sharp critique of modern media exploitation. Brought to vivid, pulse-pounding life by an all-star full-cast narration, this is an undeniable contender for the best audiobook of 2026!"

Read This If You Liked:

Wonderland, Little Secrets, and Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier, Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera, or The Only One Left by Riley Sager.

Massive thanks to Minotaur Books, Macmillan Audio, #MacAudio2026, and NetGalley for graciously sharing an advanced reading and listening copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks

My Rating: 5 Stars +

Pub Date: Aug 25, 2026

Aug 2026 Must-Read Books

Praise

"One of the most anticipated books of 2026!" ―New York Times

"One of the finest suspense writers of her generation. Amazing dialogue, complex characters and a dazzling plot. Never has betrayal seemed so fascinating. "

―S.A Cosby

"Jennifer Hillier is the master of suspense."

―Freida McFadden

About the Author

JENNIFER HILLIER is the author of the bestselling Little Secrets (finalist, Los Angeles Times Book Prize and Anthony Award), and Jar of Hearts (winner, ITW Thriller Award, and finalist for the Anthony and Macavity Awards). A Filipino-Canadian born and raised in Toronto, she spent several years in Seattle before returning home to Canada. She currently lives in Oakville, Ontario with her family. WEBSITE