Reviews - Nada fica no passado

5.78k reviews for:

Nada fica no passado

Jennifer Hillier

4.0 AVERAGE

nursekat20's review against another edition

3.5

dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

vjeris's review against another edition

3.75

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

songbirdslu's review against another edition

5.0

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

wjreadsbooks's review against another edition

4.0

Jar of Hearts begins with a bang: Georgina Shaw, corporate high-flyer affianced to the heir to the Shipp Pharmaceuticals throne, is arrested in connection to the death of Angela Wong, her high school best friend that had been missing since they were sixteen. As it turns out, Geo's ex-boyfriend Calvin is suspected of being a serial killer. His first victim? Angela. And despite what Geo knew about that night, she never came forward until Kaiser, the other best friend in the trio, arrests her for covering up what happened that night. The trial begins and ends quickly and one might've thought that that would be how the story ends, as well.

But that's just the beginning. Once Geo is convicted, things only become more complicated as Geo struggles to adapt to prison life and as Kaiser begins to investigate a new case. Bodies have started to appearing again, killed in ways similar to Calvin's MO. And the connection between the past and the present soon becomes clear.

The book changes between Kaiser and Geo's perspectives, which I thought was a really effective plot device. With Kaiser, we see the doubts that he faces about the girl that he loved in high school and how different she had appeared to him, once he learnt about her involvement in Angela's disappearance and death:

There are three versions of Georgina Shaw that Kaiser knows. The first is the girl he knew in high school - the sweet cheerleader who had friends in every social circle, and who got straight As. The second was the girl she'd become after she'd met Calvin - distracted, consumed, unavailable, selfish. The third was the woman he'd arrested in the Shipp boardroom fourteen years later - successful, mature, exhausted...and remorseful.

Which version is she now?

We also get to see more of the police work from Kaiser's perspective, especially when the bodies start reappearing. I found that the present mystery brought a sense of urgency to the plot. Meanwhile, Geo's perspective is more focused on the past, especially as she begins to recollect how she had met Calvin and all the events that had led up to Angela's death. In particular, I found the descriptions about her relationship with Calvin to be particularly tragic, especially with hindsight involved:

The problem was that none of those public service announcements addressed any of the real issues behind abusive relationships. A relationship isn't supposed to make you feel out of control; it's not supposed to consume you; it's not supposed to change you into someone you don't want to be. But how do you teach that? How do you explain to someone who's never been in a romantic relationship what a healthy relationship feels like?

How do you explain to a sixteen-year-old girl who's never been in love what love is supposed to feel like?

There are plenty of twists and turns, especially once we begin to question what we know about the past and Geo and Calvin's involvement and how this may be linked to the present.

Spoiler

As it turns out, Geo's guilt isn't just as simple as how she had led Angela to Calvin's house. She was the one who had decided to cut up Angela's body to avoid any earlier discovery and that she had a son with Calvin, born out of his sexual assault. And she actually gets away with all of it, as the deaths of both her son and Calvin means that the only one left that knows the truth is Geo.

nahlareadsbooks's review against another edition

5.0

dark sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Another great read from Jennifer Hillier. A fast-paced dark thriller. All characters were well-written and the plot twists just keep coming. Story is quite dark and graphic at times. Can be triggering to some folks.