New Releases by A. J. Banner

A woman''s investigation into her past reveals family secrets and lies in this novel of discovery, redemption, and the mutability of memory by the bestselling author of The Good Neighbor and In Another Light. Astrid Johansen swore she would never return to Heron Bay, Washington. In that idyllic coastal town, her little sister, Nina, drowned in a reflecting pool under Astrid''s watch seventeen years ago. Though guilt has kept her away, Astrid can''t ignore her aunt Maude''s urgent plea to come back. Maude claims to have found a letter that will change everything about the past. When Astrid arrives in Heron Bay, she finds Maude unconscious, perhaps the victim of an attack. As Maude lingers in a coma, Astrid uncovers alarming evidence that Nina''s drowning that tragic night was no accident. But in a town rife with secrets, and in a family still fractured by grief, who knows the truth? Astrid''s investigation leads her down a trail of dark memories, lies, and betrayals that will shatter her perception of everyone she thought she knew--even herself.

The death of a look-alike stranger leads a grieving woman down a troubling path in this riveting novel by A. J. Banner, bestselling author of The Poison Garden. Three years ago mortuary cosmetologist Phoebe Glassman lost her husband in a tragic accident. No longer the hopeful wife and mother she once was, Phoebe is disappearing into her grief and into the quietude of her job--restoring to the dead the illusion of life. Then the body of a woman named Pauline Steele arrives in the mortuary, and for Phoebe, everything changes. Pauline is unmistakably Phoebe''s mirror image and bears an alarmingly familiar tattoo. Even more startling is that among Pauline''s effects is a faded photograph of Phoebe. Aided by an eccentric colleague, her curiosity sparked, Phoebe investigates her doppelgänger''s life and death--and uncovers surprising clues to a shared past. Phoebe''s emotional journey soon leads to shocking revelations about those closest to her...and even herself. When she''s driven to the brink, how much of what she discovers can she trust?

"[A] sharply written and taut psychological thriller..." --Seattle Times A woman''s idyllic life becomes a deceptive hall of mirrors in a thriller of exquisitely constructed psychological suspense by A. J. Banner, bestselling author of The Good Neighbor. Elise Watters seems to have it all--a blissful marriage, a gorgeous Victorian home surrounded by lush gardens, and a dream job running her late mother''s herbal boutique. But on the eve of her first wedding anniversary, Elise makes a shocking discovery that turns her life upside down and casts doubt on everything she thought she knew--about her marriage, her friends, and even herself. As she treads into dangerous territory, Elise is forced to wonder: Is her whole future at stake? Or is paranoia getting the best of her? If she is to believe what she sees, Elise has every reason to fear for her life...

From the bestselling author of The Good Neighbor comes a gripping thriller about an engagement party gone fatally awry. Imagine your closest friend utterly betraying you. Years later, when she seeks forgiveness, you invite her to your engagement party as a gesture of reconciliation. But seething hostilities rise to the surface, ruining everyone''s evening. After an awful night, your friend''s battered, lifeless body is found at the bottom of a rocky cliff. Newly engaged Marissa Parlette is living this nightmare. She should be celebrating her upcoming wedding, but she can''t shake the image of her friend lying dead on the beach. Did she fall? Was she pushed? Or did she take a purposeful step into darkness? Desperate for answers, Marissa digs deep into the events of the party. But what she remembers happening after nightfall now carries sinister implications: the ugly sniping, the clandestine meetings, the drunken flirtations. The more she investigates, the more she questions everything she thought she knew about her friends, the man she once trusted, and even herself. Bestselling author A. J. Banner keeps readers on a razor-sharp edge in this intricately plotted novel of psychological suspense...in which nothing is as it seems.

This is a dazzling new novel of psychological suspense in the vein of S.J. Watson''s Before I Go to Sleep and Mary Kubica''s The Good Girl that questions just how much we can trust the people around us. Thirty-four-year-old marine biologist Kyra Winthrop remembers nothing about the diving accident that left her with a complex form of memory loss. With only brief flashes of the last few years of her life, her world has narrowed to a few close friendships on the island where she lives with her devoted husband, Jacob. But all is not what it seems. Kyra begins to have visions--or are they memories?--of a rocky marriage, broken promises, and cryptic relationships with the island residents, whom she believes to be her friends. As Kyra races to uncover her past, the truth becomes a terrifying nightmare. A twisty, immersive thriller, The Twilight Wife will keep readers enthralled through the final, shocking twist.

"Thirty-four-year-old marine biologist Kyra Winthrop remembers nothing about the diving accident that left her with a complex form of memory loss. With only brief flashes of the last few years of her life, her world has narrowed to a few close friendships on the island where she lives with her devoted husband Jacob. But all is not what it seems. Kyra begins to have visions--or are they memories?--of a rocky marriage, broken promises, and cryptic relationships with the island residents, whom she believes to be her friends. As Kyra races to uncover her past, the truth becomes a terrifying nightmare"--

Sarahs Leben ist perfekt: In dem verschlafenen Städtchen Shadow Cove arbeitet sie als Kinderbuchautorin, hat einen liebevollen Ehemann und ein schönes Zuhause. Alles, was ihr zum Glück noch fehlt, wäre ein Baby. Doch eines Nachts fängt das Nachbarhaus Feuer, und Sarah riskiert ihr Leben, um das einzige Kind ihrer Nachbarn zu retten. Auch Sarahs Heim fällt den Flammen zum Opfer - und sie wird das Gefühl nicht los, dass sie das eigentliche Ziel der mutmaßlichen Brandstifter war. Sie will um jeden Preis herausfinden, was hinter dem Tod der Nachbarn steckt, und stößt dabei auf Abgründe und Geheimnisse weit jenseits ihrer Vorstellungskraft. Schon bald weiß Sarah nicht mehr, wem sie vertrauen kann. Oder was die Wahrheit ist.

Named by Harper''s Bazaar as a book that could be the next Gone Girl. From a phenomenal new voice in suspense fiction comes a book that will forever change the way you look at the people closest to you... Shadow Cove, Washington, is the kind of town everyone dreams about--quaint streets, lush forests, good neighbors. That''s what Sarah thinks as she settles into life with her new husband, Dr. Johnny McDonald. But all too soon she discovers an undercurrent of deception. And one October evening when Johnny is away, sudden tragedy destroys Sarah''s happiness. Dazed and stricken with grief, she and Johnny begin to rebuild their shattered lives. As she picks up the pieces of her broken home, Sarah discovers a shocking secret that forces her to doubt everything she thought was true--about her neighbors, her friends, and even her marriage. With each stunning revelation, Sarah must ask herself, Can we ever really know the ones we love?