Favorite Quote:

There is something timeless and otherworldly about birds, the surviving descendants of dinosaurs. Evidence of past eons. I could take comfort in knowing that, millions of years from now, our lives will amount to nothing but a cosmic hiccup.

My Review:

Once I picked up this addictive book I resented any intrusion or interruption and could not willingly put my Kindle down. It was stellar! This was my first experience reading this gifted author and I greedily want all her words, she has to be an evil genius as her storylines were brilliantly crafted, cunningly paced, and kept me gripping my Kindle and wishing I could read faster yet also wanting to savor each an every well-chosen word. The writing was transportive, the characters were all compellingly suspect and oddly out of pocket while absolutely no one appeared all that trustworthy, the narrator included. The plot was unique and compelling, the writing was divinely enthralling, dripping with intrigue, and I remained riveted and transfixed. The narrative was densely packed with twists and turns and miscues. I devised and cast off numerous theories but would never have guessed the conclusion. Gasp, it was marvelous.

Banner has a way of just taking you right into the story. From the very first chapter you're left with questions and it continues throughout the entire novel.

At times the writing did feel a bit rushed and not as smooth as I have seen from other books by this author. Question. Answer. Him? Her? The best part is that you really don't know who the killer is. Doubts are cast on every character, which is always a fun read in my opinion. I am a little put off by the very last chapter. I'm not sure how I feel about it and if it was really necessary. If you've read the book I'd love to discuss with you.

I did feel most of the scenarios were pretty realistic. When long time friends with a bit of a sordid history come together, jealousy, paranoia with that underlying of knowing the goodness in each can make for solid story telling.

If you're looking for a quick whodunit type of read that will keep you entertained that I think this qualifies.

Thank you NetGalley for my ARC.

Wow, this book was so good! So many plot twists and turns. A big mystery of whodunnit until the very end. I really got easily sucked into the book right off and loved that it kept me guessing the whole time. Definitely would recommend reading this one....just make sure you have a big chunk of time because you definitely won’t want to put it down!

After NightFall by A.J. Banner.

Thank you NetGalley & Lake Union Publishing for giving me this ARC of this fantastic book. It is the very first book by the Author I read and plan on checking others out. I don’t give spoilers as I think you should find out for yourself. I highly recommend and give this Five Stars. I enjoyed this book so much I ordered the hard back copy off Amazon. Please if you have not already check it out. I did not want the book to end.

Thanks for the opportunity to read in exchange for a honest review! Wow this book had it all, I was so twisted with all the turns that this book took. I thought I had it figured out twice before I finally finished the book. I was concerned for Anna, just because I wasn't sure how she fit in to the story. I liked that even though he told the truth she is still taking things slowly after everything that happened with Nathan. I liked Marissa from the start and even at the end, when she was jumping to conclusions about EVERYTHING! I am glad that things worked out in the end for everyone. I can see where Rianne was coming from but to use your child against their father is the wrong way to go about things. I see that all the time, parents using the other parent against the child. Also the real twist was at the end, OMG!

I ’ve been trying to expand my reading horizons a little bit (especially after my mid-year goal check-in, when I remembered that I wanted to read 50% or less contemporary fiction books), so this story allowed me the opportunity to do just that. Not only is it a psychological thriller, but it’s also adult fiction instead of YA. I was intrigued by the premise because “friendship” stories are my cup of tea, especially when friends coming together can have disastrous consequences. I was excited to jump into this story.

Marissa is getting married and decides to bury the hatchet with a friend who had long-ago betrayed her. She invites her to the engagement party… and then she ends up dead off the side of a cliff. Marissa decides to investigate the accident (or murder?) and finds so many people in her life are implicated.

I appreciated Marissa’s dedication to her job as a SLP (this was a really detailed part of the book, even though she was on leave throughout the story), but I otherwise didn’t love her as a main character. She poked and prodded to get answers but kept forcing things despite signs she should back off. I kept wanting her to tread more carefully. She didn’t trust anyone, which was mostly a good thing, but she was bulldozing into conversations with people without thinking of how they might be affected if what she knew was true. View Spoiler » She refused to believe that certain things were true, despite all of the evidence proving it to be true, and genuinely put multiple peoples’ lives at risk.

The “whodunnit” aspect of the story definitely took me by surprise. As usual, I was caught off guard by the big reveal and was fooled by some other red herrings. Some parts didn’t fully line up in my head and I’m still not 100% sure about that ending (really the last sentence!). I read this book in one sitting (except for 1-2 chapters I read the previous day) and could not put it down. I was determined to see what happened.

The beginning of this book immediately drew me in. I liked seeing the dynamics of the different couples/friends at the dinner and then throughout the book we slowly learn more about each character. This was definitely a story where I found my self frustrated with the main character at times. The story was not necessarily unique/never been done before in thrillers...but nonetheless it was done well and I enjoyed the end. Would recommend if you enjoy thrillers.

A.J. Banner has done it again! She has woven a tapestry of lies and deceit. This book is vividly descriptive. I was there. I knew the people. Filled with a cast of complicated and complex characters that come to life. The storyline is exquisitely crafted and kept me up all night. This book is full of twists and turns and then BAM comes the explosive ending. I am usually good at figuring out who the culprit is, but not in this book! The dialogue is true to life and you will be drawn in from the first page. I highly recommend this book to all who love a great psychological mystery. It is a real page turner!!

It’s the night of Marissa’s engagement party.

In attendance will be her fiancée, Nathan and his daughter Anna. Nathan’s brother Keith and his wife, Hedra. And, their neighbors, her childhood best friend, Lauren and her husband, Jenson.

It should be an evening of celebration and new beginnings.

But Anna seems upset by the announcement. Keith and Hedra are quarreling. And, Lauren is drinking too much wine and unapologetically flirting with Nathan, right in front of Marissa and Jenson.

Lauren has to leave unexpectedly-her daughter needs to be picked up from a party. As Marissa follows her out the door, she confronts her about the flirting. Lauren blames it on the wine, but asks if the two of them can speak privately the next day. “It’s important. “ Lauren says urgently..””It’s about Nathan.”

They never get to have that conversation as Marissa discovers Lauren’s body on the beach the next morning instead.

It seems that everyone was hiding a secret.

And, everyone had wandered outside late that night, after the party had ended.

Was Lauren’s death an accident, a suicide or a murder?

Marissa cannot help but play a amateur detective, and neither will you...

This was my first book by A.J. Banner but I am looking forward to reading her two previous books, as I found this to be a quick, entertaining story of Domestic Suspense!

I read this book in 1 day! This is one of the best suspense stories I've ever read. Sometimes while reading a story like this you almost have a "sense" of who did it...not with this book! With so many sketchy characters, I was guessing until the very end.

After Nightfall was a page turner! I always needed to know more of what was happening. In turn I finished this book in 4 days! This is definitely one of my top three books of the year!!

After Nightfall falls firmly under the umbrella of the latest, hottest genre that everybody is reading, everybody is writing, and everybody is talking about. I don’t usually do well with what everybody likes and this genre has been more Miss than Hit for me lately.

But A.J. Banner changed the game with this one, my own personal game of trudging through whodunit stories of toxic friendship versus happily devouring every word and being sad when it’s over.

This book is one I devoured and mourned the end of.

It was a little sketchy to start, what with wine-drunk adults at a dinner party flirting with everyone they weren’t married to or about to marry and a kid sitting ignored, and maybe a little crazy, in a corner. I was not hopeful about where it might go.

And then one of the dinner party guests got murdered/died/was no longer alive for some reason, which seemed mostly like another box ticked on the way to a meh book.

But things escalate quickly from there, in an intensely readable sort of way. To be fair, some of the other boxes were ticked - know-it-all woman thinks she can solve the case before the detective, detective suspects know-it-all of crimes when she keeps stumbling into crime scenes, everybody in a relationship harbors a deep mistrust of the one they love, bossy man telling know-it-all to leave it alone because everybody else is crazy and she shouldn’t be that way too.

Yet somehow this manages to make the story better. Possibly because it makes everyone, quite literally everyone, an entirely legitimate suspect in what may or may not be a murder.

Mystery thrillers where it’s hard to even guess who might’ve definitely been the killer are the absolute best thrillers. I don’t want to figure it out early, you know? I want to get to about 95% read and be like “holy crap on a cracker, I did not see that coming!” and I want that moment to be believable, legitimate, and fitting.

A.J. Banner ticked that most important of boxes for me in After Nightfall and I cannot recommend this book enough!

Thank you to Net Galley and Lake Union Publishing for giving me this book in exchange for my honest review. This book is amazing! I read it in less than a day, I did not want to put it down. I don't normally rate books as 5 stars but this one deserves it! I will definitely be reading more books by this author!

I LOVED this book from start to finish. This is the first book I've read of AJ's and I plan on reading them all now!! The tension starts in the first chapter and doesn't let up. The first chapter sets the whole story up -- read it again after you finish the book!!

I loved After Nightfall by A.J. Banner. She has become one of my favorite authors and I always look forward to reading her books. After Nightfall is a great mystery that held my attention from the very beginning and I couldn’t put it down until I found out what happened! I highly recommend this book.

I'm just going to say it - A.J. Banner is one of those authors who flies under the radar. She's not one of the more well known names out there so, sadly, gets lost in the shuffle. You did note that I said 'sadly' because that's true. This book is sooo good and should be more well known by readers! Banner created characters that I honestly cared about and wove a plot that left me guessing throughout. I'd love to say that I had the ending figured but, nope. I got 'Bannered' by an ending that I totally didn't see coming. (I love it when an author is able to that!)
Marissa is happily announcing her engagement to Nathan only to have a tragic event unfold as the evening winds down. Is her fiance' everything he seems? A divorced man with a daughter, Nathan comes with baggage, as they say. Marissa gets along well with the daughter, Anna, and is trying to fit into their lives. Is it possible? What secret is Nathan hiding? Heck, there are a lot of secrets and tension in this bunch of people. This novel has romance, mystery, forensics and each is covered well.
Do yourself a favor, put aside some of the bigger names in books and check out this hidden gem. A rising star, this author is one not to be missed.
I received an Advance Review Copy. All opinions are my own.

Wow!!! I stayed up way past my bedtime finishing my copy of A..J. Banner newest release AFTER NIGHTFALL and boy is my heads still spinning by all its wonderful twists and turns. If you’re looking for the perfect summer thriller, one that will keep you guessing until the very last page, look no further than #afternightfall A special thank you to Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for my advanced readers copy to read and review. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect thriller of a book #mustreads #amasterfullthriller #undeniablyengrossing #topoftbrlist

Many thanks to Lake Union for the opportunity to review this amazing book. This is the first but certainly not the last book I will read by AJ Banner. After Nightfall was an intriguing psychological page turner that will stay with me for a long time. Marissa's past mixes with her present in a disturbing way;leading to sinister events,including murder. Clear your schedule.

Utter suspense that created a trail of question marks in my notebook. What did I just read? And, that ending. This was my first, definitely won't be my last, A.J. Banner book and I could not get enough of it. Where do I begin? The cover, setting, the death, and those characters....I cannot type enough about this book, it was simply breathtaking.

I liked how you knew what happened right away because then you has the rest of the book to answer the major question. I felt the ocean breeze of the Pacific Northwest, felt the sheer horror of finding the body, and felt my heart race to ending to answer, who killed Lauren?

The descriptive, well-developed, and shockingly fantastic takes the reader on a wild ride. There are various characters in this book and so I wrote a list to keep everyone in order, but what made the story better was that each character created an additional suspect. Like for real, you could not point your finger at one person without questioning the next. Bravo A.J. Banner on writing a suspenseful thriller that had me DMing you via Intagram freaking about the ending.

Thank you Kathleen Carter Communications and Lake Union Publishing for the gifted review copy.

Marissa Parlette and her boyfriend Nathan Black are hosting a dinner party at Nathan's home. Those attending are neighbors, Lauren and Jensen, Nathan's brother and sister-in-law, Keith and Hedra, as well as Nathan's nine year old daughter, Anna. Marissa met Nathan when she began working as Anna's speech pathologist through the school. It should have been a happy occasion since Nathan proposes at the dinner table but Marissa and Nathan are concerned about how Anna will take the news. Nathan and his ex-wife, Rianne, have joint custody. But Lauren is making everyone uncomfortable because she has had too much to drink and flirting with Nathan and even Keith. This was not the first time that Lauren seems to be after Marissa's boyfriend. Marissa and Jensen were together before Lauren and Jensen married. Tensions are very high when the party broke up and are even higher when Lauren's body is discovered at the bottom of the cliff the next morning by Marissa.
No one is off the radar to be guilty in this intense thriller. I went through the gamut wondering who could have killed Lauren. Anyone could have. Her husband wasn't happy with her behavior but no one else was. Her relationship with her daughter wasn't great. Marissa feels that something is off about Nathan. Keith and Hedra have a strained relationship. This is an entertaining read that will keep the pages turning to the end. The author does a great job making everyone look suspicious until the twisted end.
I received a complimentary ARC from Lake Union Publishing through NetGalley for the purpose to read and give an honest review. The thoughts and opinions stated are mine only.