Review: The Twilight Wife by A. J. Banner @AJBanner1


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Release date: December 27, 2016

Publisher: Touchstone Books

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Blurb: 

From bestselling author A.J. Banner comes 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. 

Review: 

I’ve always found memory loss morbidly fascinating, so when I saw that this book was based on a woman who lost four whole years of her life, my interest was piqued. Can you even imagine losing that kind of time? For me, I would remember my oldest daughter being four, my middle daughter being one and I wouldn’t have any memories of my son at all. That’s insane, right?! Though Kyra doesn’t have any children, she still had a full life before her accident and these missing years are unnerving her in a major way. She also struggles with her short term memories as well, so the only thing she can fully trust is everything before she even met her own husband. They live on a remote island with a small population so unfortunately for Kyra, she’s entirely dependent on Jacob’s guidance alone. As much as she wants to have faith in him, it’s clear there is more than meets the eye in terms of their marriage.

This could have easily been a one sitting type of read for me but life got in the way. It’s less than three hundred pages, easy to devour in a weekend. There is something effortless about the way this story unfolds, the pages just flew by. Though there is an unsettling sense of dread throughout the book, things really start to heat up once Kyra begins to put the puzzle pieces of her life back together. I loved figuring out what had really happened both before her accident and during as she unraveled the mystery herself. It helped enhance my connection with Kyra, I could feel her confusion and frustration easily.

The setting was haunting, this isolated island was the perfect backdrop for the story. Alongside a slew of unreliable characters you had an unreliable living situation as well as Kyra didn’t even have a functioning internet connection and the one ferry off of the island was breaking down constantly. 

I’ve seen some complaints about the ending being a little bit too neat and tidy, but I love that, I hate loose ends in books. As things for Kyra spiraled out of control towards the end, there was a pretty killer twist and in hindsight I could definitely see how some could have possibly guessed what it would be, but I truly did not see it coming, which always impresses me and leaves me a satisfied reader.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the author for my review copy, I greatly appreciate it!

20 thoughts on “Review: The Twilight Wife by A. J. Banner @AJBanner1”

  1. Books, Vertigo and Tea says:
    Reply

    I agree that loose ends are not always great. I have come to expect a few, since fantasy reads are more often than not a series. But I enjoy a good tidy ending when it happens.

    I suffered a very small amount of memory loss that was never regained after an injury when I was young. Ever since, I have often wondered how this affects others. This sounds like a fascinating read!

    Liked by 1 person

  2. luvtoread says:
    Reply

    I just finished this book and totally didn’t see that twist coming!
    I thought the book was actually a bit too short – I wanted a few more chapters at the end. It seemed like the buildup was a bit repetitive, so that could’ve been trimmed a bit and more added at the end.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Melissa @ BookNerdMomo says:
    Reply

    While I was reading the synopsis I was all “Yay! A book with a character who has lost part of her memory!” and then I read the first sentence of your review and it made me smile. I love books that deal with memory loss too. It’s always been an interesting albeit scary topic. I couldn’t imagine losing the last four years of my life. I’ll definitely have to give this a read in the future. Great review, Amy! 😊

    Liked by 1 person

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  6. Annie says:
    Reply

    Just today I got denied this book of Netgalley (I requested it on August lol) It looks great but at the same time Im almost relieved I don’t have another one to add to the pile hahaha

    Liked by 1 person

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