This book is so interesting. The characters are great and you love to hate some of them. This is ond of those books that you hate to get interrupted while reading it. I would love for this one to be made into a movie. The storyline is amazing and I was so intrigued by everything. AJ Banner did a remarkable job on researching and writing this book and it shows. Can not recommend highly enough

The Poison Garden by A.J Banner
Thanks @ajbanner1 @netgalley and @lakeunionauthors for my ARC
Publication date 22nd October
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Firstly I need to say how much I love A.J Banner. The Good Neighbour was one of the first psychological thrillers I read and her other books The Twilight Wife and After Nightfall were outstanding. So here we have her new novel, The Poison Garden.
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My expectations were high for this book and I was not disappointed. I literally read this is one night. Such an interesting and clever story and as always in a beautiful setting. I loved it.
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When Elise decides to come home early surprise her husband Kieran she makes a shocking discovery that will turn her life upside down. This story was intense and exciting and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. Absolutely nothing is as it seems on this beautiful little island. Fabulous book. I recommend every book by this author. Five stars xxxxx

I love a domestic thriller with a questionably reliable narrator, so I was excited to read this novel, and I was no disappointed. The author keeps the story short, avoiding the trap of boring the reader by dragging out plot points or giving too many instances of potential paranoia. The novel is well-paced, and the attention to character development makes the protagonist’s actions believable. Even if she is making a decision the reader knows is foolish, her reasons and thought process are clear, so she avoids becoming infuriating. I was enthralled as I tried to determine the truth of what was happening and who should be believed, and the ending was expertly crafted.

The Poison Garden started out strong for me, gripped me from the start. However, I have to say once things really started moving it was almost too much going on all at once and it felt a little too rushed. Too many twists and turns, it got to be a little farfetched for my taste. I wish there had been a little bit more in the ways of character development, I didn't feel like I had a chance to get a real understanding of any of the main players.

With that said, I still did enjoy it overall. It's an easy and engaging read and I must admit, I thought I had figured out the twists pretty early on but it still surprised me by the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Kieran and Elise are to be celebrating their first wedding anniversary. When Elise arrives home with gifts for Kieran, she finds that he is not alone. He is with Diane Jasper in the master bedroom. Elise listens to what they are talking about before she walks in on them. Kieran, a self-absorbing doctor, tries to explain this all to Elise but she is not biting.

We find out that Elise has acquired a proficiency at plant therapy from her late mother. A cottage and intricate garden is where she works on potions, salves and other remedies.

Chantel, Elise's closest neighbor, has a hidden yearning for Kieran, herself, although she does assist Elise in obtaining information about him. People go missing and accounting for them is essential. Is there a plot against Elise so her husband (deeply in debt) can acquire her 5 million dollar inheritance?

Very fast-paced and quick. An excellent book to hold the reader's interest!

Many Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for a quick, excellent read!

Eh, I liked the premise but not the execution so much

These are some detestable characters and their actions were a bit crazy. It started ok and I enjoyed it for a while but then it just started to twist and turn so much so that it became almost silly.

The writing style was fine, good even. I just think it was too much, and once it started it didn’t let up until that ending. There are so many mysteries and thrillers that I know it’s hard to come up with something new and different and I admire anyone that even makes the attempt. I think this could have been quite good if it was scaled back a bit, less is more.

Would I try more by this author? Maybe, we’ll see

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Lake Union Publishing for a copy in exchange for a review.

Thanks net galley for giving me the opportunity to read this short but quite interesting story.
Elise had everything, a husband who was a doctor, a beautiful home and lots of money.
But on her return to her home after a business trip she found her husband in her bed with another woman.
Elise then wanted a divorce, and her first husband arrived on the scene to help her.
But all was not what it seemed and then everything turned into lies and danger for Elise.
The story was a bit silly but was short and read the book in an evening.

The book had a strong start, too bad it didn't continue in that sharp vein, it was interesting but also predictable, lots of "bad guys" I would give it a 3.5

This book was an incredibly fast read but I found myself thoroughly unimpressed. It was predictable and full of so many of the typical domestic thriller tropes that I couldn't wait for it to be over.

The ending, however, was what kept this from getting a lower rating. I really wish that there would have been more from Chantal's perspective as her story seemed far more interesting than Elise's.

I think if you are just getting into thrillers or if you're a fan of really basic domestic thrillers then this would be a good pick.

A taut, dark read. It was fast paced and kept me riveted. The twists and turns in the story kept me guessing right until the very end. A great psychological thriller that's hard to put down.

Can anyone's life ever be perfect? Elise Watters seems to have it all: a beautiful home on a north Pacific island; an interesting job running a herbal shop inherited, like her house, from her mother; a happy second marriage to the community doctor; friendly neighbours... But her idyll threatens to unravel and she begins to question who she can trust. Is she paranoid, as her husband suggests? Or is everybody out to get her? Who can she trust? And why is everything going wrong? If it all sounds rather histrionic, that's because it is. However, there is plenty of suspense and many twists to keep the thriller-seeker satisfied,

Dazzling and at times frighteningly real, this eloquently written domestic suspense is a deceptive hall of mirrors experience.

After beginning with a bang, the tension continues to ramp up until the reader, like Elise, is questioning everything. Elise Watters has the perfect life. She returns to her perfect home to celebrate her first wedding anniversary with her perfect husband, only to have her world come crashing down. And then she finds something from her deceased mother that makes her question everything. But is she being paranoid, or should she really trust no one?

A thrilling, fast-paced read, The Poison Garden is compelling and thoroughly enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Elise Watters is a woman who has her life together, or so she thought. Elise arrives home early to surprise her husband for their first anniversary and can't believe what she finds. As her life falls apart, she has to decide who she can trust - her husband, the neighbor, an ex? This book will keep you guessing! Thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

#ThePoisonGarden #NetGalley #LakeUnionPublishing

A great thriller which gripped me from the first page. Elise had it all money and family, a Victorian house surrounded by lush gardens. She was living her dreams and working in her herbal boutique.

On the eve of her first marriage anniversary, she discovered that her husband was tangled in lies, and everything overwhelmed her. Her doubts overrode her well being, and she didn't know whom to trust. Overhearing a plot to get rid of her got her paranoia working overtime.

My first book by author A. J. Banner, I was shocked by the layered plot line. The characters were colored with gray as doubts coated them. The author has detailed a web where intrigue played a heavy hand, and everything felt poisonous. Lies and loss, investigation and revenge soon led me down the merry road of suspense and mystery.

A fun fast story with a twist at the end made it a satisfying read

Wow, what a great book! There are so many twists and turns that I didn’t know who the murderer was until the very end. Elise, the main character, is a very unreliable narrator, which always add to the intrigue of a story. All of the characters are well written, and the story is unique and fast moving. I can’t wait to read more books by this author.

A terrifying and twisted tale of a poisonous garden, both literally and metaphorically. Filled with twists and turns, the reader doesn’t know what to believe until the very end, and even at the end, I wasn’t quite sure I knew exactly what had happened. I think the moral of the story is don’t believe what you see or think, and, trust no one.

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley.

This could just be the case of this wasn’t for me but I really could not bring myself to enjoy this book.
The writing is okay, very simplistic but almost too much so. It’s weak mostly and the conversations the various characters hold unbelievable. I found myself laughing in the beginning because the author had Elsie and her husband just shouting at one another for a good chapter.
The characters are not likable but most of them aren’t meant to be. Where there is a plot it’s fuzzy and muddled. 50% in and I still had no idea where the novel was going. The cover however is beautiful.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest and fair review.

five out of five stars for The Poison Garden by A. J. Banner. i loved this thriller and it kept me guessing until the very last page!! highly recommend.

many thanks to the publisher and netgalley, who provided this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I really liked this book. There were a lot of twists and turns in this. I read it very quickly because I really wanted to know what was happening. The characters were interesting and the plot was good.

This was a standout thriller for me. In a world where thrillers are endless, this is a good one! You will be asking questions and guessing right up until the very end.