My Readers Guide for Heart of Glass by Jennifer Hillier will have Jen’s Quick Take, a spoiler free character list, a full plot summary and protected spoilers. Let’s discuss this new book by an author who just appeared on the NYT Best Thrillers of the 21st Century list!
Readers Guide for Heart of Glass by Jennifer Hillier
Table of Contents
Jen’s Quick Take on Heart of Glass
- First a content warning: this book contains grooming, kidnapping and sexual assault.
- I’m a fan of Jennifer Hillier! I’ve reviewed Little Secrets and Things We Do in the Dark.
- This book had a lot going for it. I loved the seedy seaside feel of Seaside, Washington. Barb, a hometown girl and local reporter, is tasked with covering the revitalization of Wonderland, the local amusement park. She’s more interested in the body that’s just washed up.
- With multiple POVs, a dual timeline that dips into 2001 and some minor epistolary elements, this book spun a twisted tale of guilt, depravity, and dark secrets but also friendship and forgiveness.
- There are also brief mentions of characters from Wonderland and Things We Do in the Dark.
- Publication date: August 25, 2026. Thanks to Minotaur for the advance copy!
Spoiler Free Character List for Heart of Glass
Seaside Residents:
- Barb Bonifacio: hometown girl and local reporter
- Nicolette Montes: Barb’s high school friend
- Lorelei Glass: Barb and Nicolette’s high school friend (victim of the Carnival Killer)
- Daniel “Hawk” Hawksfield: the trio’s high school teacher, now married with kids
- Ray Montes: Nicolette’s brother; tattoo artist
- Richard Montes: Nicolette’s dad
- Marty Kieswetter: Lorelei’s stepbrother
- Becky Bonifacio: Barb’s late mother
- Dr. Leto: Barb’s therapist
- Detective Cameron Wallace: local police officer
- Alice Chu: police tech expert
- Jonathan Burrows: police chief
Other Characters:
- Samuel Figg: the Carnival Killer
- Kylie Kahl: reality star of Trophy Wives (missing)
- Alfredo “Freddie” Tan: Kylie’s husband
- Cole Lennox: stars on Trophy Wives
- Jordan Lennox: Cole’s husband
- Glynnis Glenn: editor of Reality Bitch and Barb’s part-time employer
- Ingrid Larsen: contestant on Happily Ever After (missing)
- Jana Jones: Producer, Criminal Confessions
- Sydney Carlisle: starred on Showgirls (missing)
Plot Summary for Heart of Glass
Jana Jones is the producer on Criminal Confessions. Her latest season features Samuel Figg, the Carnival Killer, who is dying and ready to talk. He insists that even though he confessed to five murders, he only committed four.
Welcome to Seaside!
Barb Bonifacio, local reporter in Seaside, Washington, is interested in a body that has washed up on the beach of the Legacy Sands gated community. Could the body be of Kylie Kahl, star of the reality show Trophy Wives, who went missing for six years ago on a nearby hiking trail.
Barb’s friend Lorelai died twenty-five years ago and Samuel Figg confessed to her murder. Barb wants to know why Figg is recanting his confession to Lorelei’s murder.
The Legacy Sands body has not been identified, so Barb presses her inside police source, Alice Chu, for more details.
Barb has a secret side hustle: she writes recaps for Trophy Wives.
Kylie POV
Kylie has been chained by her ankle for six years by a masked captor. She mourns the loss of her fellow prisoner, Ingrid, who was killed by their captor.
Back to Barb
Barb watches the trailer for Criminal Confessions and reflects that Lorelei was not the Carnival Killer’s typical victim. Alice sends morgue photos, and while Barb realizes that while the body is not Kylie’s, a ring on the body looks familiar. She realizes why: the ring belonged to Kylie.
The Trophy Wives
Reality star Cole Lennox (aka Nicolette Montes, Barb’s former BFF) tangles with a photographer who taunts her about the fact that her husband has been accused of embezzlement. Cole agreed to be interviewed by Jana and remembers a secret she’s been keeping about Lorelei’s death: the two were arguing, there was a tussle, and Lorelei fell backwards and hit her head.
2001 Flashback
As Lorelei and Sam Figg make out at the drive-in, while Lorelei’s friends Nicolette and Barb impatiently wait for a ride. Nicolette isn’t feeling well: she’s pregnant by her high school teacher, Hawk.
Cole gets Cancelled
Cole runs into Glynnis and they fight. When Cole takes a swing, she hits an innocent teenage bystander and has to apologize and head to rehab.
Worse, she hires a PI to install cameras in her house to catch her husband Jordan in the act with their attractive neighbor, Annika. But Annika comes over and wants to talk.
The Legacy Sands Victim is Identified
It’s Ingrid Larsen, who resembles Kylie. Ingrid’s parents show up at Barb and give her some information. Ingrid vanished while walking her dog. Her mother didn’t recognize the ring on her body. They also offer a crucial witness: Nathan the man who found Ingrid’s dog and Rebecca, Nathan’s partner, who found Ingrid’s phone. Barb thinks this is too coincidental and wants to look into this couple
Flashback to 2001
The group is at the drive in. Marty takes a polaroid of them, which Sam burns. The three girls go to the ladies room, where they talk about Sam and Hawk. A classmate pops out of a stall and says that Hawk is there with a fellow teacher. On a date. This clearly upsets both Nicolette and Barb.
Barb on the case!
Barb realizes that “Rebecca” and “Nathan” are Ted Lasso characters. She finds a picture of Kylie in the ring Ingrid was wearing. She learns that Alice met her new boyfriend on a site for jigsaw puzzle lovers, which I thought was interesting, as Kylie’s captor has a lot of puzzles.
Cole arrives in Seaside with her co-star Cecily, who volunteered to drive her to rehab. We learn that Cole will get $10 million in a divorce if she can prove that Jordan cheated.
Barb gets confirmation that Ingrid wore Kylie’s ring. What is the connection between Ingrid, Kylie, and Sydney? Syd was taking a bus from Seattle to Seaside to meet some friends for a girls’ trip. She got off the bus during a scheduled comfort break but it seems like she didn’t get back on. She called a friend from the rest stop and mentioned that a tall guy with a Polaroid was taking pictures of her.
Kylie
Kylie looks at her captor’s Polaroid collection. She thinks she recognizes one subject: Lorelei, also mentioned in the leather journals in the room. Sydney notices the name Marty written in some of the books.
Cole
Nicolette “Cole” runs into her former teacher Hawk. She checks her secret camera footage and finds a video of Annika and Jordan having sex.
2001 Flashback
Barb and Nicolette want to leave the drive-in and go home. Nicolette admits to Barb that she’s pregnant and that the baby is Hawk’s, which upsets Barb. Lorelei is upset because Sam ditched her and left. Nicolette and Lorelei get into a fight, which Marty, who works at the drive-in, overhears.
Lorelei wants to report Hawk to the police. Nicolette is having terrible pain. Lorelei tells Barb she’s jealous and that boys don’t like her, and Barb slaps her. As Nicolette and Barb stuff Lorelei into a stall, she falls backwards and hits her head on the edge of the toilet.
Hawk shows up, and Nicolette tells them her friends know he fathered her baby. Nicolette’s cramps are worse, and she and Barb ask Marty to drive them to the hospital. Hawk says if the girls keep his secret, he’ll deal with Lorelei’s body. Nicolette asks Marty why he’s helping them and he says that Hawk knows a secret about him.
Barb and Nicolette Reunite
Barb comes over to the Montes house, where she confesses that she took up with Hawk briefly after Cole left town AND that she writes the Reality Bitch recaps.
Back at home, Barb starts looking through old stuff in the house. She gets a call from Vanessa Castro (the main character in Wonderland, a Hillier book also set in Seaside) who has information on Marty. His credit cards were last used six years ago at a hotel in Seattle. He owns a cabin.
Barb goes to the Montes house to talk to Richard, who was cellmates with Sam for a bit. Richard says that Sam insisted Lorelei was fine when he last saw her.
As Cole and Barb go to look at Lorelei’s autopsy report, Cole gets a call from Annika. Their plan worked. Cole will get her $10 million and split it with Annika.
Heart of Glass Ending Explained
Cole and Barb look at the autopsy: Lorelei died of asphyxiation. The fall didn’t kill her.
They want to talk to Marty, so they drive up to his cabin with Cameron Wallace.
At the cabin, Alice Chu opens the door
Sydney and Kylie hear voices and start screaming. Alice is in the cabin with wine and a fireplace poker. Her boyfriend “Nathan” comes back and … it’s not Marty. His name is Owen.
Alice hits Nicolette over the head and she drops to the floor. Barb hits Alice with the wine bottle. Owen chokes her. Nicolette gets up and hits Owen over the head to save Barb.
Kylie and Sydney come in. Kylie grabs the poker and beats Owen to death. Everyone lets her do this. Alice objects, but Barb and Nicolette say that it was self-defense, as Owen was strangling Barb.
Owen murdered Marty six years ago, then Owen took his identity.
Kylie tells Barb and Nicolette that Marty’s journals had an account of what happened to Lorelei. She woke up after they pushed her. She was alive, and Hawk definitely killed her.
Kylie goes to the hospital, and a joyful Freddie arrives to see her.
Barb is talking to her therapist, Dr. Leto. She tells him Hawk has been accused of abuse by eight students and is being tried for Lorelei’s murder.
Cam and Barb and “hanging out.”
Q and A for Heart of Glass
Do you know? If so, please leave a comment.
I don’t think so. She wasn’t chained up with Kylie and Syd. She participated in the search for Sydney and pretended to find her phone. I guess she could have Stockholm Syndrome, but I’m not buying her defense.