Jar of Hearts

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.

Jennifer Hillier is a best-selling author who has written and published seven psychological thrillers. Her novels, which have been published in at least 23 languages, are known for their intensity and plot twists, their explorations of human morality, and their depictions of complex internal conflicts fueled by violence and trauma. 

Hillier’s first four thrillers, Creep, Freak, The Butcher, and Wonderland, were released between 2011 and 2015. She began receiving literary acclaim with 2018’s Jar of Hearts, which won the ITW Thriller Award for Best Hardcover Novel. It was nominated for the Anthony Award and Macavity Award and also graced many “best of” lists for 2018. Hillier followed Jar of Hearts with 2020’s Little Secrets, which was a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist and an Anthony Award finalist. In 2022, it was reported to be in adaptation for a television series on Peacock. Like Jar of Hearts, Little Secrets alternates between the perspectives of two main characters. Also like Jar of Hearts, the novel is deeply concerned with themes of trauma and revenge. Similar concerns animate Hillier’s 2022 novel Things We Do in the Dark, a New York Times bestseller, which shares Jar of Hearts’s interest in secrets, abuse, and crime.