Elise Watters is a pharmacist, married to Doctor Kiernan Lund. They live on Chinook Island and she runs an herb and gift shop that she took over following the death of her mother.
After a trip to see her financial advisor, she rides the ferry home, excited to see her husband, a day early to surprise him. Their first wedding anniversary is the next day. It is a second marriage for both of them, Kiernan's first wife passed away. Elise and her ex-husband, contractor Brandon still see each other from time to time.
When Elise arrives home, loud music is blaring. Kiernan is supposed to be at the office, what is going on? She climbs the stairs to the master bedroom, peering in through the open door. First she hears a conversation between female and male voices. About how they want Elise "gone". Then she sees Kiernan in their bed with a young house stager, Diane.
She kicks her husband out, she won't stand for a cheater.
Elise struggles to get her life back together. Kiernan is aggressively trying to win her back and Brandon begins to stalk her.
She starts sleepwalking from the stress.
She can't trust anyone, including her own memories.
This psychological thriller is a fun, fast and easy read. A suspenseful story, slightly improbable, but very entertaining and full of all kinds of unexpected twists.
If you want something different, give this one a try.
Thank you to Lake Union Publishing for the e-ARC via NetGalley.

I really liked After Nightfall, so I was happy to read A.J. Banner’s new book The Poison Garden . It starts out with Elise coming home to celebrate her first anniversary with her husband Kieran who is a doctor. When she walked into the house, she discovered him in bed with another woman. Thus starts the thriller. This is a great book for a lazy weekend as it is a quick read; however, there are just too many twists that don’t make sense, I am glad it was not a lengthy book as I am not sure I would have finished it.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a fan of all things AJ Banner! Loved the premise of the story and it was executed really well. In the end it all worked out, but she kept me guessing the whole time!

It has been a long time since I’ve finished a book in one day. Unfortunately it wasn’t because this book was so amazing that I couldn’t put it down. It’s because it’s only 208 pages and the main character, Elise, kept repeating the same paranoid thoughts over and over so I didn’t have to keep my mind totally engaged.

I have to say that Elise has really bad taste in men. Really bad. And she doesn’t realize it until she’s really deep into the relationship. I know people have messed up lives and this is a work of fiction, so anything can happen, but it was just too much for me to believe it.

Elise believed everything that anyone told her, never questioning or looking deeper into their statements. At first Elise seemed to be intelligent, but each chapter made her less intelligent. A.J. Banner had a perfect plot device of sleepwalking that could have taken this story in a different direction, or given Elise more depth, but it was not well used.

Besides so many unbelievable events, the police office had a crush on Elise so he overlooked murder on her behalf. Um. No. Elise even confessed some of the details to the officer, but since he didn’t write it up in a report, nothing could be confirmed and Elise was free to continue her life.

There are two reasons I’m giving this book two stars instead of one. The first is because of the ending. I wasn’t shocked since there were so few characters, I knew this one was knee deep in the drama. But I didn’t see all of the pieces surrounding this character until the author exposed them, so for that, the book got a bit better.
And as an herbalist in training, I did enjoy reading about the different poisonous plants, although there wasn’t too much about them in the book. And Juliet plant, of course, is a work of fiction. But this fiction, I could get behind.

3.5 stars, rounded up. Super quick, fast paced read. The first half was enjoyable but unremarkable. The story feels a little convoluted as it relies on what Elise discovers after she wakes in the morning and believes she's been sleepwalking, a problem that has plagued her in the past, and she's trying to piece together what's happening. The second half ties most of the threads together and I found the ending to be very satisfying.
TW for suicide(happens prior to the story but is frequently mentioned by one of the characters).

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for this advanced copy for an exchange of my honest review.
I have reas A.J. Banner before and enjoyed the writing so I wasn't too surprised to love this book as well.
Elise is finding herself in a vulnerable position and is desperately trying to get out of the situation. However as she tries to unweave the the puzzle , more questions arise and she finds herself only getting deeper into the problem instead of out.
This is a fantastic thriller/mystery and a fast easy read. I highly recommend this book.
#ThePoisonGarden #NetGalley

The Poison Garden by A.J. Banner is a non-suspenseful mystery/thriller, full of twists that are easily predicted, and generic characters who don’t add anything to the plot.

The story follows Elise Watters who is happily married, loves her job, and owns a beautiful house on an island surrounded by gardens. One day before her wedding anniversary, she decides to return home earlier than she’d scheduled to surprise her husband only to find him cheating on her with another woman. From this point forward Elise’s life turns upside down as everything she thought she knew is being tested. Is she becoming paranoid or is she closer to the truth?

From the first few chapters, I knew who the villain was and suspected what was going on. I never thought Elise was crazy or overreacting, so if the author’s intention was to make me consider the protagonist an unreliable narrator, she failed on that count.

The characters were flat and stereotypical, especially Elise’s husband, and made some silly decisions that conveniently progressed the story. I rolled my eyes at many points when the most unrealistic things were happening and the characters were reacting in a non-believable way.

The writing was straightforward and easy to follow. Despite the plot’s predictability, the book was a quick read, and I felt like I was flying through its pages. The last three chapters, in which everything was revealed, were the most interesting ones, and I really enjoyed them. Of course, we had the big monologues where the bad guy explained his/her motives, but this far into the story, I did expect something like that.

Overall, I think The Poison Garden lacked creativity and character development, but due to the author’s fluent writing style, I’d consider picking another work of hers in the future.


I received this e-arc from NetGalley for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Things are really going well for Elise after some tough times when she comes home and finds her new husband in bed with another woman- and they seem to be talking about murdering her. Is she a reliable narrator? What's the deal with Kiernan, the current husband, and Brendan, her ex, who seems to be around a lot? Should she trust her neighbor Chantal? This has a lovely Pacific Northwest setting and the idea of an herb (and poison) garden is terrific. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. The story itself moves quickly and while you, like me, might guess what's happening, it's still a good read.

This was my first A.J Banner book and now I'm going to need to get my hands on her other books!!

The Poison Garden was SO WELL DONE! I pretty much read the entire book in one sitting. The storyline flows so well and I needed to know what was going to happen around the next corner!! I enjoyed the unpredictability ... so many twists and turns and just when I thought I had it all figured out (several times) I was so wrong! This book definitely kept me guessing.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and publisher for my review copy!

This book was fast paced from the first page all the way to the last page. I enjoyed the characters and thought it was easy to relate to them. I enjoyed all the little twist that led to a huge bang at the end that I did not see coming. I read this book in two night because I literally couldn’t put it down. I will definitely be reading more by A.J. Banner.

The Poison Garden by A.J. Banner
WOW !!! This book was an incredible tale of twists and turns. This is a psychological thriller that is set on a fictitious island off the coast of Washington. The author’s brilliant imagination weaves a fiendish web of deception.

Pick up this book. You won’t be able to put it down. I read it in one sitting.

Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

#NetGalley #ThePoisonGarden

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for a copy of the eARC in exchange for a fair review.


This book will be released on Oct 22 you can preorder at Amazon.


Elise seems to have it all, a wonderful old home, a handsome husband and her dream job running her mother's old shop. But when she returns home early one day her life is shattered in a moment. After that she is forced to question everything she thought she knew including how her mother died.


I hate to be super vague, but since the synopsis isn't giving anything away neither I am. I went kind of back and forth on this one. I really couldn't decide if Elise was riding the crazy train or we were supposed to think that because of all the other stuff going on. This one had several twists and everything but the kitchen sink thrown in. So I know it isn't going to be for everyone. Overall, I enjoyed it, read it in one sitting.


I have read all the other books by this author and I haven't been disappointed yet, I will say I wish it had been taken in a bit, there was a lot going on that makes it all seem a little unrealistic, but again I am a little torn because I really enjoyed it overall. I am not always a fan of the unreliable narrator, but in this case it worked for me.

I loved After Nightfall!!!! This book not so much. I didn't hate it, it was just OK. I can't decide between 2.5 stars and 3 stars. Elise is not very good in choosing men to be her husband. Kieran and Brandon were awful and both were scary. How did Elise ignore the signs? When you can't make a phone call unless you are at the end of your driveway, you know there's going to be trouble. There were so many twists and turns and I wasn't sure who was involved with all this madness surrounding Juliet. I liked parts of the book and it was a fast read. I guess I was just expecting something else. I wasn't a fan of the characters. I knew Chantal was up to something, but I wasn't really sure what she was planning. Did Elise suddenly just stop sleepwalking??? That was a huge part of the book. They lived on a small island where everyone knew what everyone else was doing. How did Kieran keep his philandering a secret from Elise??? She couldn't buy anything from the drugstore without him finding out!! There were so many red flags. Why did she listen to the therapist? Some of the story line seemed far fetched. I wasn't sure who to believe. Was Brandon telling the truth? Kieran? Chantal? How did everyone get away with everything? There's cameras everywhere.

I say give the book a try. It's a quick read. I look forward to reading more books by the author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Lake Union Publishing through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Banner did it again! A fast paced story, that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Just when I thought I may have the story figured out, she twisted it on me. Banner has become one author I know won't disappoint me if I hit the "one-click" button.

The Poison Garden is a quick, suspenseful read with enough twists and turns to keep readers surprised throughout.

A.J. Banner can always be counted on for a good read, and I have enjoyed all of his books that I have read. Will I remember this particular book? I'm afraid not. I realize authors and publishers play to the market, and that there seem to be waves of very similar books in genres. I find myself weary however of reading books where e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e is unstable. Are there no "normal" people left? Are there no good people left who aren't forwarding their own devious agendas? Can't they be interspersed among the characters with issues? And how many people actually have sleep-walking/amnesiac disorders. Apparently more than I realized!!

A.J. (forgive my familiarity), you're better than this. Please use your many talents for original plot lines. I and many others would be so very grateful!!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for allowing me to read The Poison Garden in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

I was not sure what to expect when I was approved to review this book. I was pleasantly surprised though. Although it was not a thriller that had me on the edge of my seat, it certainly did deliver twists and turns along the way. Elise is a likeable character and I cared for her welfare throughout the book. I enjoyed this book and would rate it at three stars.

3 1/2 ⭐️‘s

A book you will find yourself racing through to find out every twisty detail. Even though I figured out the big twist and the plot was a bit far fetched, it was still enjoyable from start to finish. On the shorter side, it was a quick and entertaining Sunday afternoon read. 😊

I hate giving poor reviews but here goes. This was not a psychological thriller because you know by chapter one what is going on. I continued to read it to see how it would all turn out. This book was a little more than 200 pages and the only reason I am giving it 2 stars is because there was a little
twist towards the end of book but i had a feeling about this.I want to thank net galley for this ARC I
received for an honest review. Also, I have read another book by this author which was really good so it was disappointing to say the least. Again, I want to thank net galley for this ARC. (less)

This is a psychological thriller, bound to keep you turning the page. I was intent on finding what was going on with Elisa, but the story was as winding as the flowering herbs growing in her garden. This story is focused on a poisonous flower that is deadly. When Elisa, excited about a first anniversary trip with her handsome doctor husband, finds him in bed with a sexy redhead, the questions begin!
No one seems to be excluded from suspicion in this fast paced read, when she becomes convinced someone is trying to harm her. Set on a beautiful island in the San Juan chain, it will keep you guessing. Love, betrayal, fear, suspense is all here! You won’t be disappointed if you’re a fan of this genre!
My thanks to #NetGalley #LakeUnionPublishing for the ARC. Thoughts and opinions are my own!

Talk about a one sitting, binge worthy read! Not only is this on the shorter side making it super easy to breeze through, it’s also incredibly pacey and engaging making it super hard to put down. Throw in a healthy dose of paranoia and a whole heap of secrets and this is one fun read, perfect for this time of year.

While this was definitely full of intrigue and suspense it was on the lighter side of the suspense world, nothing too dark or disturbing but still really juicy and entertaining. The drama was high here and at times a bit over the top, but I love that style and found it added to the story for me. I’ve been a fan of Banner’s books for awhile now and this one was similar in terms of style to The Twilight Wife for me so definitely grab this if you liked that one!