Audiobook Review: Wonderland #JenniferHillier #Eunice Wong #Thrillers

BOOK DESCRIPTION (FROM AMAZON)

After a personal tragedy and professional scandal forces homicide detective Vanessa Castro out of Seattle, she takes a new job in Seaside, Washington, determined to make a fresh start for herself and her family. The small beach town, best known for its popular amusement park, Wonderland, seems like the perfect place to raise her young son and teenage daughter.  

But it’s not that easy starting over, especially as the town’s new Deputy Chief of Police. When a dead body turns up at the park her first day on the job, and then a teenage Wonder Worker goes missing, Vanessa’s investigation is met with resistance. After all, Wonderland is the largest amusement park in the Pacific Northwest, attracting tourists from all over the country and providing thousands of jobs for the locals. A scandal that hurts the park hurts the town, but the more questions Vanessa asks, the more questions arise . . . especially when she learns that the missing teenage boy is the not the first park employee to disappear. The deeper she goes, the more she begins to suspect that the terrifying rumors about Wonderland’s dark past might actually be true. 

Surrounded by secrets, lies, and corruption at the highest levels, Vanessa’s family is now in the center of a serial killer’s twisted game . . . and there’s nobody she can trust but herself. 

BOOK REVIEW

This is an excellent, complex, well-crafted thriller. I was hooked from the beginning. The characters are fascinating and compelling. Everyone is flawed, even the protagonist, and the story is riveting. I finally figured out the culprit, but not after falling for one of the red herrings. This is just so well done. I could have done without the steamy sex scenes. The story didn’t need it.

I was listening to the audiobook version, and the narrator, Eunice Wong, was fantastic. She not only portrayed the distinct voices of the characters well, but she did a great job of building suspense. I will seek out her narration again.

My rating for the narration is 5 stars. My rating for the story is 4.3 stars. The total overall rating is 4.65 stars, rounded up to five on sites with no partial star option.

The print/indle versions have been out for some time, but the audio version is being released April 11th.

I received a free copy of this book from MacMillan Audio via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

(In her own words)

Hi there, I’m Jennifer Hillier. I imagine the worst about people, and then write about it.

I’m the USA Today, Toronto Star, and The Globe and Mail bestselling author of Things We Do in the Dark, described as “an intoxicating thrill ride” by the New York Times and “propulsive and chilling” by People magazine. It’s a Book of the Month Club selection, an Indigo Top Ten Best Book of the Year, an Amazon Editor’s Spotlight Pick, a Loan Stars pick, and my third consecutive novel to be honored as a LibraryReads pick, which places me in their Hall of Fame.

I’m also the author of six other psychological thrillers. My USA Today bestselling novel Little Secrets is currently being adapted for Peacock by Tish Cyrus’s Hopetown Entertainment, writer Melissa Scrivner Love and Universal Television, and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Anthony Award. Jar of Hearts won the ITW Thriller Award for Best Hardcover Novel and was also shortlisted for the Anthony and Macavity Awards. 

My earlier novels—which I hope you’ll check out—are Creep, Freak, The Butcher, and Wonderland, the last of which will be published in mass market paperback and audiobook for the very first time in April 2023.

My books have been published in twenty-three languages so far.

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