This book was a great suspense book and kept me on my toes trying to figure out the mystery. Kept me guessing. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me preview this book early.

Fantastic! This is such a gripping story.... I was immediately caught up in the action and lives of these characters. I usually am pretty good at figuring out "who did it" but this story completely shocked me!

I definitely recommend this book to all mystery/thriller lovers.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While I have heard of AJ Banner, this is the first time I've had a chance to read one of her novels. What a great one to start with. It's a quick read because you are turning the pages trying to find out what happens next. It is so relatable because most everyone has dealt with at least one back-stabbing friend in their lives. A great beach read. I highly suggest it.

A really gripping thriller. A story of murder with great suspense. Based on friendships, betrayal and many secrets. Was it murder or suicide? A great read with a variety of characters to suspect. All leading to a fantastic ending which I did not see coming.

4.5/5

I’ve read and enjoyed all three of Banner’s books but I have to say, After Nightfall is my favorite to date. It’s the perfect summer mystery, it’s not too heavy and is on the shorter side making a quick read that you could devour poolside, yet it does have enough darkness and depth to give it some bite making it the ideal vacation read and yet another book I’m recommending you add to your summer TBR.

I mentioned before that it’s on the shorter side which means Banner wastes no time with filler and you get right to the heart of the story almost immediately. Stories of female friendship with a dark edge always intrigue me and the relationship between Marissa and Lauren seems at surface level ordinary enough. But it’s quickly apparent that there is a tense, awkwardness bubbling underneath the surface that had me hooked.

That’s as far as I’ll go in terms of the plot, but I was surprised by how many surprises there were in this one. It’s a straightforward enough story told solely from Marissa’s point of view, no detectives perspective muddling things up, just a regular woman on the hunt for answers about her frenemies death. Besides the fun twists along the way to keep me engaged it also had an well executed turn in the end, I absolutely loved how things worked out and was so satisfied.

After Nightfall in three words: Compulsive, Astonishing and Suspenseful.

After Nightfall is such an extraordinary psychological thriller; a compelling page turner that had me speculating "who done it" at almost every page. Each time I thought I had it figured out someone or something, a new clue cleverly crept into suspicion. Marissa is engaged to Nathan and on the eve of her engagement party she is shocked to see her old friend Lauren flagrantly flirting with Nathan and clearly had way too many drinks. The night ends in a terrible tragedy, as Lauren is found at the bottom of the cliff lifeless. Marissa is on a mission to find out what happened, and she seeks out answers from Rianne, Anna, Jensen, Keith, and Hedra and Nathan...all who are not really who they seem to be. Marissa doesn't know who to trust as she finds herself in hair raising dangerous situations time and again. This book had me holding my breath, till the very surprising ending...I thought I knew who...but I did not, this was brilliantly written!

After Nightfall was a fast, fun, twisty thriller that kept me turning pages until late at night. Were it not such a busy time of year for my family, I would have easily devoured this book in one day. Perhaps because of its relatively short length (251 pages), there were no parts that dragged. Something significant happened on almost every page. And while I might be setting myself up for humiliation by admitting this, I was guessing and changing my mind all over the place until the reveal... and even after that A. J. Banner threw me for yet another loop, and I loved it! Anyone who feels like he/she is in a reading rut should add After Nightfall to the top of the reading list. It is just the right type of book to stoke the fires!

Thanks to A.J. Banner, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for an advanced ecopy of After Nightfall in exchange for an honest review.

Beware of friends with secrets…

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.

--My thoughts. This is my first book by Banner. I was so delighted from the first words, the dinner party that seems totally off kilter from the beginning. An engagement party should be a happy time, but this one just seems wrought with anxiety and no one is really happy. Lots of different side stories to make it a great who dun it! You have Keith and Hedra, odd couple; the brother and his wife. Then Lauren and Jensen, another couple that you really wonder what is going on. There is a mystery as to what happened to make Lauren and Marissa's friendship crack, which is such a mystery for awhile I couldn't wait to open that secret!

Then there is Nathan, and his daughter Anna with her mom, Rianne. Such a great cast, I really liked every single thing about this book. The big mystery of who killed Lauren, or was she unhappy with her life and choices perhaps, dove off the cliff, or perhaps it was just an accident.

Marissa is a great heroine, as she isn't whiny, you feel as if you are her at times. My heart was beating so fast when she went back to her house after the death, with the flowers on her doorstep. So creepy! Preorder this, you wouldn't want to miss out on a mesmerizing thriller would you??!!

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Being betrayed by your dearest friend is hard enough, forgiving them is even worse. An engagement party a time of love and celebration is a perfect way to reconcile. Yet the unexpected happens and she discovers her best friends body, dead on the beach. Now she is consumed with figuring out if she was pushed, jumped or slipped. Was this intentional or one big coincidental accident.

Death of a friend. Themes of jealousy and obsession among those who you know and love. Who can you trust?

Enjoyable book. Good characters. Kept my interest. Intriguing whodunnit! Definitely a page turner.

I loved this story. From the first page to the last. So many twists and turns, didnt know what was next.

A story of a lost friendship and how the characters had gotten to this point. What happened in the past to make them no longer be the close friends they once were?

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing for an ARC of this title.

I read “The Good Neighbor” by A.J. Banner semi-recently, and enjoyed it. I was very much looking forward to reading this one! I enjoyed it, very fun read. When Lauren is found dead the morning after a dinner party with her friends, everyone is a suspect. I found that element very fun and engaging. I stayed up late the first night reading it because I couldn’t put it down, read 50% in one sitting.

My only criticism is that some of the storylines don’t end very neatly, and the ending felt a little rushed. I did like who the antagonist ended up being, but when I was finished there were some loose ends that I felt dissatisfied with. For example, what was Lauren going to tell Marissa about Nathan? What did Keith mean about Nathan’s character and history when he spoke to Marissa at the hospital? Was there an affair going on? More than one? All in all, a well-written murder mystery that I sped right through, which is always a compliment to the author because I just can’t stop reading!

<i>Thank you NetGalley, the author and the publisher for my free ARC in exchange for my honest review.</i>

I read A.J. Banner's The Twilight Wife a little more than a year ago and quite enjoyed it.

So when I saw she had a new book and I received a copy of it early, I was ecstatic. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite as good as I had hoped.

After Nightfall is from the perspective of Marissa, who is recently engaged. She is also working on repairing a fragile friendship with Lauren, who she had a falling out in college (reasons explained about halfway through). Marissa discovers Lauren at the bottom of a cliff and from there, attempts to find out exactly what happened.

<i>He lured me in, so how was I to know what he would do?</i>

I was intrigued in this story for sure. However, I found Marissa to be a difficult character to like at times. She made some very poor and confusing choices, but could other times be a great friend and mother-figure for her fiance's daughter.

I enjoyed the reveal at about the 92% mark, but the final ending left me frustrated and a bit confused. It's definitely not a clean ending and makes me wish for more closure to the situation.

<i>Can a person be good and bad? Even me? Even you?</i>

Wow, this book had me on the edge of my seat, nail biting with the intensity and desire to find out who done it.

Marissa and her childhood BFF are back in each others lives and trying somewhat to regain the friendship they had and lost years ago. After a dinner get together at Nathan's, Marissa's fiance, Lauren heads out to get her daughter. She is insistent as she leaves that there is something of utmost importance she must talk to Marissa about and eludes to Nathan. Sadly Marissa isn't to have that chat with Lauren as she discovers her body on the beach beneath the cliff where she lives next door to Nathan the very next day. What follows is a very alarming look at all the characters and how things can be viewed in a sinister way when some parties are kept in the dark. Now Marissa is determined to unravel the pieces and reveal the truth as to what transpired to cause Lauren's death. Was she pushed and murdered, did she accidentally fall or did she commit suicide? Marissa won't rest until she uncovers the truth.

Oh the twists and turns had me turning the pages at a breakneck speed. I started this at breakfast and read during every break at work and finished it after dinner as I just could not put it down.

**Received an ARC from NetGalley. Voluntarily reviewed**

Absolutely wonderful! I had the pleasure and opportunity of getting to become a member of the authors street team and csnt wait to share eith others. From the story line to thr characters i couldnt put it down

A definite page turner with a unique cast of characters. Was not crazy about the ending but applaud the author for doing something different. Would definitely read this author again.

I received a copy of this novel from Lake Union Publishing in exchange for my honest review. Having devoured The Good Neighbor, I was very excited to see she had a new novel coming out. But honestly, I was kinda disappointed.
The book is about Marissa, a speech therapist that falls in love with one of her student's fathers. On the night they announce their engagement to friends, Marissa's ex-best friend falls off a cliff and dies. Everyone starts questioning, was it suicide, homicide, or did she fall? When Marissa's fiancee starts disappearing late at night for "work calls" she starts questioning him and their family and friends.
I will admit the ending did get me, I was not expecting that. But the rest of the book failed to keep my attention, it was almost boring to read and it took me longer than normal to finish.

After Nightfall grabbed my attention from the start and held it to the finish. The writing is taut and engaging and the mystery clever. I am a character-driven reader and I felt Marissa was a strong one, even though some of the others felt a bit underdeveloped. This was my first book by AJ Banner, but I don't think it will be my last!

3 1/2 Stars
I liked this book, but it just didn’t wow me. The dinner party (which was the first scene in the book) was by far the best part of this book. The storyline had a lot of potential, but the characters came across stilted and their backstories were not fleshed out as much as they could have been. Much more of a mystery than a Psychological Suspense, but it did keep me reading until the end, which left me a bit unsatisfied.