I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

If only there was a way to post a “sad trombone” gif as a review...

#The Poison Garden #NetGalley

What grows in a poison garden? ?

You will find out when you read the exciting new psychological thriller, The Poison Garden, by A. J. Banner! This was my first read by this bestselling author, but it certainly won't be my last. I found this novel to be an excellent, easy flowing and very suspenseful story, filled with vivid characters and a setting so real that I could almost smell the beautiful flowers and herbs in the lush gardens.

Set on an island in the Pacific Northwest, Elise Watters lives in a blue Victorian house amid lush gardens. She lives here with her handsome, charismatic husband, Kieran, and runs her late mother's herbal boutique, located behind her home. Seemingly, her life is perfect until the eve of her first wedding anniversary. Then Elise makes a horrifying, life altering discovery that shakes her world and turns her life upside down! Subsequently, her tranquil life has become a nightmare, and each event that follows leads Elise further down a dangerous trail of betrayal and horror. The trail is twisty with unexpected turns, and keeps the reader trying to read faster and faster!!

Truly well developed characters, that make you seem to really know them and a fast paced and suspenseful plot insure that this novel is a real page turner. Twists and turns galore keep the reader guessing who the real villain is until an exciting and unexpected ending. I literally read unti 2 Am to finish this thriller. And then I was sorry I had come to the end!! And yes, I discovered what grows in a poison garden!

Thank you to A J Banner, the publishers and NetGalley for this advanced digital copy of The Poison Garden. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

AJ Banner write so deliciously and thrilling! So addicted to her thrillers. Give her a try if you love domestic thrillers, gritty and suspenseful.

Wow, this was spooky and creepy in all the best ways. So many great twists and turns.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Zero nuance or subtlety. I honestly thought the author did this book as part of the novel writing November challenge.

When we first meet Elise, she doesn’t have it all. Because she has just realized that her darling husband has cheated on her. From there we learn what she thought she had and the details just keep coming. Until I was left thinking, wow, it seemed so simple at first but Elise’s life is a bit of a mess!
She has a best friend who is struggling with her own demons, an ex husband who appears to be a beefcake, but is that all? And why did they get divorced? A recently deceased mother, who btw, grew herbs and created concoctions from her garden to help people sleep, which is different for sure. It just keeps coming. So what seemed like a devastating end to a storybook romance turns a bit more complicated.
A.J. Banner keeps the twists and turns coming from cover to cover. And while I appreciated them and the pace of the novel, some details and scenarios shifted too fast for me and I found myself slightly confused, swiping back through pages to figure out what I may have missed.
Still a satisfying fast read and a solid entry into the thriller genre. Special thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for an e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This review will be published on my blog, Women in Trouble Book blog on September 25, 2019

Excellent read. Hard to put the book down. Right from the start you were sucked in and new this was going to be a good one. The storyline was wicked. Not quite knowing where it was going next. There was lots of twists and turns in the road.

Twists, deception, secrecy- this book has it all. It's hard to know who to trust, but can Elise really trust anyone? Her husband, her ex-husband, her best friend? A total page-turner of a book. Definitely recommend.

Elise Waters comes home a day early to surprise her husband Kiernan for their first year anniversary. Kiernan runs a clinic on the small island they live on that is always busy. Elise is shocked when she comes home to find loud music playing, clothes strewn everywhere and her husband and another woman naked in her bed. Even more distressing is the conversation she overheard- can her husband be plotting her murder?
She throws him out and confides in he neighbor Chantal who lets her know her ex- husband Brandon is doing some work for her and Elise asks him for help in changing the locks.
As Elise starts questioning who is the man she married- she finds more and more that makes her doubt herself. And who she can trust.
This was another really light, quick read but the characters actions were unbelievable. Elise was a little annoying in being such a weak character.
This is another beach/summer read for those days when you want a story that doesn’t require too much actual brain power.
Thank you to #netgalley and Lake Union publishing for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

I’ve read all of A.J. Banner’s books now... they are quickly becoming my guilty pleasure! These books are not good, but I enjoy the hell out of them. They almost remind me of a parody of thrillers. Twists! Turns! So much fun.

Elise Watters seems to have it all, a doctor husband, gorgeous Victorian home and business running her late mother’s herbal boutique. On the eve of her first anniversary, Elise finds her husband in bed with another woman, in her home. Then she hears the verbal exchange between the two and it seems as if they are trying to get rid of her. Now she doubts everything she thought was the truth. Her friends seem to be hiding something, and her ex-husband is coming around again. What is the truth and what are lies?

Another psychological thriller that follows the frequently used formula of a split narrative and a variety of plot twists. The more you try to untangle the lies the more tangled they become. I enjoyed the novel and it was a quick read, but it didn’t leave a lastly impression as I couldn’t remember a week later what it was about.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to review this book.

Just brilliant! Twists and turns and I couldn’t put it down and enjoyed every second. Highly recommended.

I just can't recommend this book. The story is disjointed, the characters are not well developed and the plot is just absurd.. and all over the place. The best thing about the book is the setting. The setting is very well depicted and vivid. But other than that, just no. It started out ok and just kind of disintegrated from there. Perhaps there will be some edits done before publication, because it reads like a first draft.

This book is another chilling thriller by A.J. Banner. This page turner describes disorienting events; competing images between what is real and what is illusion. Elise Watters is shocked beyond her wildest dreams when on the eve of her first wedding anniversary she can not believe what she has just seen. There is danger, loss, a beautiful Victorian home complete with an herb garden, grief and love all bound up in a perfect marriage with multi layered characters who play on this stage. Suspicions are ongoing that keep the tension at a high level up to the very last unsuspecting twist.

I've been looking forward to reading The Poison Garden since I heard that it was coming out. A.J. Banner really does psychological thrillers and suspense well. Her plots are tight and fast moving with characters that are relatable and likable ~ unless they are supposed to be scoundrels. Then they really are hard to like.

The Poison Garden is another thrill ride read that joins the list of her other page turners. When Chapter One opens with this - "On the ferry ride home, I was not yet planning to kill anyone." - you know you're in for a great read.

I enjoyed the characters of Elise and her friend Chantal while I wanted to smack a few others and felt deceived by one. That's a pretty darn good mix for a book that doesn't have a whole lot of major characters. The setting, an island off the coast of Washington, was so beautifully described that I could picture it in my mind. I've always wanted to visit one of those islands and now I feel as if I have.

If you enjoy suspense/mystery or psychological thrillers I would definitely recommend The Poison Garden. The setting is lush, the story gripping and the intensity of the story is suck-you-in good!
I am already anxiously awaiting the next book by this author and this one hasn't even released yet. I hope she writes quickly!

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC at my request. All thoughts in this review, as always, are my own and freely given.

As a thriller fanatic, I was instantly attracted to the overall premise of this book. From the tranquil setting on the islands of the Pacific Northwest, to the charming cottage Elise calls home. It’s all a carefully illustrated facade. For what lies beneath Elise’s charmed life is truly chilling. From stumbling onto her husband’s infidelity, to learning her physician-husband may be responsible for her mother’s early death, your thrown from both loving and despising those close to Elise. Throw in a clever next door neighbor with her own agenda and a jealous ex-husband and you have a cast of gripping characters that can’t be completely trusted. Who are her allies? And who else knows the recipe to create the deathly slumber poison that lies in her mother’s garden. The Poison Garden is a true thrill ride that is beautifully described and completely engaging. I read this book from start to finish in less than a day, which might be a new record for me. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it definitely left me wanting more from A.J. Banner. Check this one out!

A modern day Gaslight. I liked the overall concept, but struggled to get into this one. Not sure why, but the husband Kieran just seemed so slimy, and not sure why Elise married him. Good enough to want to see through to the end, and it is a quick read, so would recommend for a summer take along read.

A narrative full of lies, betrayal, and mystery. A.J. Banner does well with moderate foreshadowing but does fall prey to a predictable plot trope of this genre. However, the writing was superb and her characters were unique which allows the reader to dispense some of those whispers of familiarity. In addition, the story is fast-paced and engaging, making it an easy, quick read. 3 stars.

Thank you to #NetGalley for this ARC of #ThePoisonGarden

On the eve of her first wedding anniversary, Elise Watters's outwardly perfect life begins to unravel. Still mourning the death of her mother, Elise discovers unsettling things about her husband that threaten her marriage, her safety, and her very sanity. As her situation spirals out of control, Elise finds there is no one she can completely trust, as the others in her orbit have consequential hidden secrets and personal agendas of their own. Elise is living an increasingly dangerous nightmare from which she can't seem to escape.

Set on a remote island in the wilds of Washington State, this twisty tale of obsession and retribution is a hold-your-breath page turner with shocking revelations at every turn. A.J. Banner continues to deliver outstanding psychological thrillers, and in my opinion, is one of the most talented authors of this genre.

Really quick and enjoyable read. Has many twist but most of them I figured out so I am giving this book 4 stars. Thanks Netgalley for an early copy.