I have very mixed feelings about this book. Whilst reading it I went through the emotions of: love, hate, love, hate, actually it is not that bad, wow did that just happen?, love, hate.

This is the second AJ Banner book I have read with the first one being The Twilight Wife and I'm sorry to say that I just can't seem to throughly enjoy her books. However I will probably pick up another one of her books. Third time lucky eh?

The Poison Garden was a book I was very excited to devour, plot looked good, cover design was brilliant and I was instantly attracted to the title. However the book fell flat for me and left all the action until the end of the book.

The characters were not fleshed out enough. I would liked to have known more about Elise's mum and where her love of plants came from and not just "The Juliet" and "The Slumber" which are repeated constantly in the latter part of the book.

When action finally occurs the author starts cross cutting the narrative between suspense and Elise's and Brandon's past relationship, likewise with Chantal and Kieran.

The characters were not very likeable as they were not constructed and developed enough for the reader to feel any emotion towards them.

There is too many twists and turns which would have been good if executed better and not left all to the end of the book. I feel like the ending was rushed and I was finally getting my teeth into some action and then found myself reading the epilogue.

I guessed most of the twists and plot developments before they even happened which is disappointing.

There was some good edge of your seat moments and at times I did feel myself tearing through the pages but like I said, this was short lived and was all at the end.

I would say overall I did like this book and I really feel AJ Banner tried to do something different which is fresh and original however I feel the book was very short, rushed and left me feeling a little flat.

The Poison Garden is filled with amazing unexpected twists and turns! I loved the character of Elise and getting in her head! Many times while I was reading I had to pick my jaw off the floor as it was left with a big Wow I didn’t see that coming! A.J. Banner is quickly become one of my must read Authors! Fans of hers will not be disappointed with this book! Highly recommend!!

I received an advanced readers copy, all opinions are my own.

THE POISON GARDEN by A. J. Banner is a gripping psychological thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. I loved her last book, AFTER NIGHTFALL and couldn’t wait to read her new book. Only days before celebrating their first anniversary, the main character, Elise, returns home from a work trip a day early to find her husband, Kieran in bed with another woman. From this point on, a tangled web of dark secrets and lies are revealed that have Elise questioning her own sanity as well as the intentions of everyone around her. Is there anyone she can trust? There are so many twists and turns in the story and I never guessed the shocking ending. The writing is excellent and the descriptions are so vivid, I felt like I was right there with the characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this fast-paced and suspenseful book and highly recommend it. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for chance to read and review an early copy.

Fast-paced psychological thriller with almost too many twists and turns. Happily married Elise comes home from a trip early, just in time to catch her handsome doctor husband in bed with another woman. She suddenly realizes that her whole marriage is a lie and she begins to think her husband is trying to murder her, and perhaps has already murdered before. Or has he? It gets a bit confusing and the plot line is sort of all over the place, but it was an interesting read that would be fun to take on a weekend beach trip.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ecopy for my Kindle.
A women's psychological thriller with a few twists and turns- some were easy to figure out and others were very surprising. I've read several of her books, but this one was a little to unrealistic for me and also a little too "dark."

Elise returns home a day early to surprise her husband, and the surprise is on her when she catches him in bed with another woman. And this is just the beginning of the plot. A page turner with so many twists and turns you won’t put it down.

A fast paced book that grabbed my attention from the start!! It was a hard to put down book! It kept me guessing to the very end! Thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union publishers for the early copy

I sadly struggled through this book...it was all over the place! The plot line was insanely far fetched, and the author tried to throw in way too many twists. I didn’t connect with any of the characters, and the “sleeping potion” plot line felt a bit silly and random. Simply didn’t love.

Thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a nice short thriller. It kept my interest and I like that the author didn’t try to stretch the pages out by adding much to the story. It was great as is.

Kept me guessing right up to the end!

A.J. Banner does it again and hooked me from the get go!

I loved loved loved this book! It had my head spinning and me googling flowers & potions! Just when I thought I had it figured out, nope- wrong again!

Such an original premise surrounding what could be ordinary flowers and herbs- but are snitching but - this thriller doesn’t disappoint!

I highly recommend this for your TBR list ASAP!
Anxiously awaiting her next book already and this one isn’t even on the shelves officially yet!

Thanks for the early copy in exchange for an honest review! I won’t forget this one anytime soon !

I absolutely loved The Poison Garden. Elise Watters is an interesting character and found myself rooting for her.
This book kept me on the edge of my seat with quite a few oh's and ah's. A.J. Banner did it again with her great writing style and storytelling. I thought I had it figured out boy was I wrong and that's the kind of story I love.

I received an ARC of The Poison Garden in exchange for an honest review. I highly recommend this book, if you love suspense and great writing, this is the book.

This book was fast paced and had me screaming at the characters for poor decisions. The decisions made were realistic and not at all far-fetched and yet as the reader we seem to know so much more than those "living" it. I was impressed with the twists and turns, seeing how someone can go from cherished to enemy back to cherished to ...well, you get the idea. No one is who they seem in this thriller- which was easy to come back to time and again to figure out what is going on. The characters had motivations that were realistic, every character was independent of each other and the setting was well placed and well written. I would wholly recommend this for a book club, it would be interesting to see as chapters go by what everyone is taking away from the story and what their suspicions are.

Elise has a good life. She is coming home early from a conference & tomorrow she is going sailing with her husband to celebrate their first anniversary. She has wonderful house inherited from her mother with a shop and herb garden. All is perfect until she arrives home.

I felt that this was a very poor book which seemed to dissolve into a farce at various points. The plot is dreadful. There are 4 main characters – Elise, her neighbour Chantal, her ex-husband & her current husband. There are more than six attempted murders of Elise & her two husbands each by another main character. At one point there seemed to be murder on the same person attempts missing each other by seconds! It isn’t normal to want or attempt to kill anyone making these characters rather worrying.

The characters are poor and cardboard. Apart from their murderous desires there is little character to them. Yes, there are hints when one is unveiled as a stalker and another rather controlling but that shows little of who they really are, how they feel & why their personalities have sunk to such levels.

A lot of the murder attempts centre around a flower in the herb garden called the Juliet. Elise’s mother has warned against it saying that the right amount can kill but no one really knows anything about it. They don’t even know its proper name, its properties or how much harm it does & how – apart from the very convenient fact that it kills without leaving any trace in the bloodstream – really?????? Isn’t it a shame that there is no way of looking up herbs on a central database to get all the information about it – something like the internet!

This was a poor book with bad characterisation & a dreadful plot. The language was quite simple & the description was poor. I shall certainly be avoiding future work by this author.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

What a page-turner! Elise finds her husband in bed with another woman and thus begins a series of twists and turns involving Elise, her husband, ex-husband and her neighbour.
Elise is a herbalist and the poisonous properties of the plants in her garden take centre-stage.
Well-crafted, this is where gothic horror meets literary fiction - the setting a fictional island that feels suitably claustrophobic.
Occasionally I couldn’t keep up with the plot ducking and diving, but the characterisation was strong enough to carry me along.
I liked the way the author left me guessing whether Elise is going mad or - because of her sleepwalking - herself the perpetrator.
Recommended if you like an easy-to-read thriller.

The word 'atmospheric' has been used a lot lately, perhaps overused, but it's the best way to describe the island where we find our main characters. Away from the hustle and bustle of Seattle is an island in the Pacific Northwest, with a close-knit community - and so many secrets.

Our first-person protagonist, Elise, discovers one of these secrets when she comes home a day early - to her philandering doctor husband, Kieran, in bed with another woman. They are talking about getting rid of Elise - but how? And when?

What began as promising was followed by somewhat jumbled story lines. We had Elise and Kieran, Elise's ex-husband, Elise's neighbor Chantal (who got a few of her own chapters in the third person). There was also Elise's deceased mother and Chantal's daughter, who committed suicide by drowning a few years prior. The other main character was the Juliet plant - a potentially deadly plant grown in Elise's mother's - now Elise's - shop of potions.

There were some twists and red herrings in the book, some fun and some a little far-fetched without more information. In the end, everything was pretty much spelled out for the reader. Which is understandable, considering there were times when the reader did not know who would stay dead and who would pull...a (Romeo and) Juliet.

The writer definitely gives the feel of being moored on the island and the pages do keep turning; I have heard great praise for this author so I may just have to try another before making a decision on whether I am a fan.

Elise is thrilled to be coming home early from her business trip. She's celebrating one year with the man of her dreams, lives in her childhood home, and is building a solid career. But instead of the happy reunion she had planned, she's the one in shock when she returns to find her husband in bed with another woman. And worse, their conversation sounds suspiciously like they're planning to get rid of her. Sometimes inheriting $5 million dollars comes with more problems than it's worth.

Elise is sick over everything, literally. Turns out she's also pregnant. Despite the issues she's facing in her marriage she decides to stick it out at least until the baby's born. When her ex shows up offering desperately needed support, Elise doesn't know what to believe. She's been sleepwalking and he seems to be the only one who understands her.

But when she finds him dead in the garden, she begins to question her own sanity. Could she have killed him?

This is a page turner that will keep you guessing throughout. The twists and turns will keep you on your toes and you'll find yourself cheering for Elise and questioning everyone around her. This is one of only a few books I've read that held the secrets until the very end.

This is a great read for anyone who enjoys well rounded characters, fast pace, and skillful plotting.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Poison Garden by AJ Banner! Elise is married to a doctor and runs a small herb shop behind her house. One day she comes home early from a trip out of town and her world is turned upside down. I won't say how so I won't spoil anything. You won't know who to trust and who not to trust. AJ Banner does a great job in all of her books of creating ordinary characters thrust into dangerous and mysterious circumstances. This was a very quick read and I couldn't stop because I had to read "just one more chapter". I think fans of women's lit and mysteries will be very pleased with this book. Thanks to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for the copy of this book for an honest review. (4.5 stars)

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to.

Another amazing book by A J Banner! I would read anything she writes. This was a quick read for me...could not put it down. Our library will definitely be purchasing! Thank you for the advanced copy.

The Poison Garden is a very fast paced book, I read it in just a couple of days. This book has many twist and turns and I was surprised by the ending. Definitely want to read more books by this author. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.