Too silly to be thrilling.
⭐️⭐️
The blurb
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…
The Review
I previously read and reviewed another of Banner's books, back in 2018 - After Nightfall. That, I felt, was a pretty decent thriller. This, I'm afraid, just isn't.
One of the things that seems hardest to get right for a good thriller, is to have a plausible plot. After all, its a hard line to tread - you need something exciting and intricate enough to be entertaining, yet something that doesn't push the boundaries of real life. You lose your readers, if you leave them eye rolling and saying, 'yeah, right - that sounds believable'.
That for me is the biggest problem with this book. Too many times I was lifted out of the story because something ludicrous happened, or too many spurious coincidences took place. You can only ask your reader to suspend their disbelief for so long, before they lose patience.
Some of the decisions these characters make are questionable at best, and mostly laughable. And the author seems so keen to hide who the culprit is that red herrings and seriously weird behaviour are thrown in at every turn. It's a real shame actually, as the bare bones of the plot promise something much better.
This book is getting some real mixed reviews, so if you're after a thriller that won't really take much attention, you can skim read on holiday and leave behind in the air bnb, then go for it.
The Poison Garden was released on 22nd October 2019 by Lake Union Publishing.
Big thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
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