The Poison Garden by A. J. Banner is a slow paced story with so many twists and turns and suspenseful moments that will keep readers easily engaged.

Elise Waters is happily married to a local doctor, just about to celebrate their wedding anniversary and she decides to surprise him by coming home early from a business trip, only to find him in their bed with another woman.
Devastated by his betrayal she throws him out of her house only to have him reappear again. She asks her ex husband, who is a contractor working on a next door neighbor's house to change the locks.
Elise keeps having this blackouts where she doesn't know what she's done and where she's been.
She thinks her husband is trying to kill her an inherit her money, but the local policeman isn't able to help her out without any evidence.
Lonely, scared and utterly confused she is trying to find her way out of the dangerous web she's found herself in but it's immensely hard as no one and nothing is what is seems.

I have to say that at times the book was so confusing that it was really hard for me to follow. There was simply too much of everything and it was spinning out of control. Everyone had secret agenda but it was so convoluted that it was impossible to follow the story.
There were twists and turns and twists and turns on top of twists and turns.
Some things were simply left unexplained.

It is a good idea but the mystery was not well presented.
I liked that it was very suspenseful and dark.
The end was not surprising but that didn't ruin the story for me.

THE POISON GARDEN is a book that has a twisted and fast-paced plot. It is a suspense tale about a woman who is married to a man who is unfaithful. Returning from a trip to the mainland, Elise inherited a small fortune from her mother when she died and married her mom’s physician Dr. Kieran Lund. Ready to celebrate her first anniversary, Elise is caught unaware when she walks in on a very disturbing scene. She continues to run her mother’s herbal remedies garden and pharmacy while dealing with the infidelity of her husband and his pleas to be accepted again. This is a domestic thriller like no other! It will keep the reader up late trying to find out what Elise decides to do about her marriage and her life in general. There are other very important characters, including Elise’s neighbor and friend Chantal and her ex-husband Brandon. All play an extremely important role in bringing this book to a satisfying and surprising conclusion. Fans of domestic suspense with some psychological drama thrown in will love this book! I know that I did! It is basically a clean read, although there is some violence although it is not graphically described so it is not off-putting.

Thank you to NetGalley, A,J. Banner and Lake Union Publishing for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Elise Watters seems to have it all; a loving marriage, a large beautiful house with lavish gardens and a dream job running her mother’s boutique. But one Elise’s first wedding anniversary, she discovers something that will turn her life upside down. She begins to doubt everything and everyone that she knows and she is forced to wonder if paranoia is getting the worst of her.

I needed something to keep my attention after my latest book slump and I’ll tell you that this one definitely did. Right from the beginning there are shocks for the main character and you are left feeling terrible for Elise and wondering what she did to deserve this. I loved how she lived on a little island in the cutest little house and I could just picture the boutique and the gardens! I loved the many shocks that we receive throughout this novel and I wouldn’t have been able to guess most of them! Definitely another page turned by Banner!

Out October 22nd!

Too much of a soap opera to be a real thriller, but a good beach read. Nice island atmosphere, stock characters.

eARC provided by publisher.

Linda's Book Obsession Reviews "The Poison Garden" by A.J. Banner, Lake Union, Oct. 2019

WOW! A.J. Banner, Author of "The Poison Garden" has written an intense, intriguing, captivating, suspenseful, and page-turning novel. The Genres for this novel are Psychological Thriller, Psychological Suspense, Mystery, and Fiction.  There are twists and turns, betrayals, danger, and murder. This is a thought-provoking novel and has some gaslighting moments. The timeline for this story is in the present and goes to the past when it pertains to the events or characters. The author describes her dramatic characters as complicated, complex, manipulative, and psychologically unbalanced.

Elise Watters is a pharmacist that has taken over the responsibilities of her deceased mother's herbal gardens. Elise is extremely comfortable and wealthy.  She is now married to a doctor, who is her second husband. For her first wedding anniversary, Elise gets quite an unexpected traumatic surprise. Elise now questions everything and everyone. Somehow, Elise manages to sleepwalk and is not aware of her actions and activity. The people closest to her try to convince her that they are there to help her. Do you really believe that?

I would highly recommend this thrilling and chilling novel for those readers who enjoy a psychological challenge!

A really interesting, highly gripping thriller, with fascinating characters and a fast pace. My heart was pounding as I read, desperately trying to work out what was going on.

I own every book by A.J. Banner and yet again this is why. A very well written thriller that keeps you guessing. Obsession, deception and an unputdownable domestic thriller that will be a one sitting read because of the fast paced and captavating ride and a satisfying ending. Bravo. Loved it.

The Poison Garden is a fast-paced, compelling and chilling book. When Elise catches her husband in bed with another woman, it sends her life and her psyche spiraling out of control. Add in an obsessed ex-husband, a mysterious journal left written by her deceased mother, and a deadly plant, and you get a twisty, heart-pounding story. The setting adds an unsettling atmosphere as we follow Elise on a roller coaster of emotions, devotion, paranoia, and revenge.

The Poison Garden was so well-written and impossible to put down. Just when I thought I had things figured out, A.J. Banner added another twist. The main character, Elise, has so many complicated relationships that it made her character relatable--- I couldn't help but root for her. Overall, a fantastic read!

ALL THE stars. Absolutely loved this book! The story flows, the characters are fascinating and I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend.

Pageturner alert!
This book is so good I finished it in two sittings.

Elise abruptly breaks up from her husband after he has done the unthinkable. But he won't let her go. Protected by another ex and a seemingly goodhearted neighbour, she stuggles to find her feet. But soon the husband mysteriously disappears and the ex becomes a creepy stalker. And where does the neighbour fit in?
Meanwhile Elise suffers from sleepwalking. What's the dream, what's real?
And how does her mother's diary explain what is happening, what role does the herbal garden play?

This is one heck of a story, having me on the edge of my seat. Fast paced, realistic writing and good dialogue. With only four main characters to concentrate on, the reader feels trapped in an eery environment.
Psychological thriller at its best. Too bad the end is quite predictable.

Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC.

This was disappointing to me overall. It started off great but then basically fell into mediocrity quite quickly. I am sorry it just was not my cup of tea. The characters were undeveloped and unbelievable as was the story line.
I would not recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and give an honest review.

My second AJ Banner book and I guess I have to say this author is just not for me. Zero character development, bare bones plotting, no surprises (after all there are only 3 people who can be the possible suspect) and the whole thing is rushed. The main character has little reason to believe such horrible things about her husband, but in the space of 24 hours jumps from the fact he is having an affair to the idea that he's plotting multiple murders just to get his hands on her money. Motives are basic and the entire book ignores the basic writer's tenet of "show don't tell." Banner's work is not without imagination, but really best served to older teens as a bridge between YA and well-written adult suspense. (Even then there's YA better constructed than this, see Sadie, Wilder Girls, The Cheerleaders.)

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this with me, but I'd advise others take a hard pass.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Lake Union Publishing for an arc ebook. I will be providing a brief review in exchange.

This book was a huge let-down. The novel is billed as a psychological thriller. IMHO a psychological thriller needs to have-

-psychological congruence , psychological depth, believable twists and turns and plausible motivations for intrapersonal desicions and interpersonal actions
-the book failed on all four counts......by the end my eyes actually hurt from eye-rolling and my tummy hurt from acid reflux

-Overall this was a very and I mean very poor reading experience. I only finished it because I needed to find out how it ended and not in a good way.

-The one star is for some really lovely descriptive sentences describing the landscape of the Pacific Northwest Island. Also a really lovely book cover.

Creepy and atmospheric with lots of twists and turns this is one unputdownable thriller! Elsie's hunt for answers and the secrets revealed kept me turning and turning the pages I wanted so badly to unravel the secrets behind her what had seemed perfect life. Reminded me in ways of girl on the train in the fact that I wondered frequently if I could trust Elsie as narrator and her version of events a wonderful thrill ride that's a super fast read and great for the fall season!

Twisted and creepy! Great fast paced story that keeps you guessing. Nothing and no one is as they seem! My favorite of AJ Banner's so far!

It’s my first book by the author and although I enjoyed it, there are many things I couldn’t get into it as much as I wanted.
I love a psychological thrillers any time before anything else but this one was so predictable and the writing gave me pause at times.
I still finished it because I rarely do not finish a book but I’m still unsure about my feelings and whether I should recommend it to my bookish friends or not.

Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. I am already a fan of A J Banner's books so I was delighted that this was in my To be reviewed pile. Elise thinks she has the perfect marriage and life..all is not as it seems....Elise works from home as a herbalist and knows what plants can harm/kill people. Elise notices things keep seeming not quite right at home and aren't as she left them. Is she sleep walking again or getting paranoid? A mesmerising plot I was captivated from the first chapter. #ajbanner #netgalley #litsy #tea_sipping_bookworm #kindle #amazon#kindle

After Elise catches her husband cheating (basically on their wedding anniversary no less) she starts to question her sanity and who to trust.

I was absolutely swept away into the anxiety ridden mind of Elise. I didn’t know if she herself was reliable in addition to everyone creepy and sneaking around her. I can’t imagine what it would be like to go through what this woman goes through in the span of a few days but AJ Banner does an incredible job of making me feel all the emotions along with Elise. I read this book in just a few sittings, but probably could have finished all at once if it weren’t for pesky life getting in the way!


Thank you netgalley for this advanced copy to read and review!

The Poison Garden by A. J. Banner is full of plot twists and a unexpected ending.

I had a hard time continuing but plowed through.
Sometimes it was too detailed.
I was disappointed in the main character and felt like a lot of the plot was unbelievable.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.
#netgalley #ajbanner
#thepoison garden