Intense psychological drama

Phoebe Glassman works in Washington state as a mortuary cosmetologist, preparing bodies for viewings. She is not prepared when she uncovers a body one day and finds a double to herself, albeit about ten years younger, a woman she knew nothing about.

Already in a precarious mental state, after losing her husband and daughter in an accident three years previously, this discovery starts Phoebe on a dark search that has her questioning all aspects of her life and has her mental state spiraling out of control.

I enjoyed this dark psychological drama with its twists and turns and liked that it ended up with a very satisfying ending. I highly recommend it.

I received this book from Lake Union Publishing through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

The Story: Mortuary cosmetologist, Phoebe Glassman is still grieving over the deaths of both her husband and daughter who died tragically in an accident three years ago. Her days are mundane and perfunctory until the body of Pauline Steele arrives at the mortuary one day. Not only did Pauline look like her, she also has a tattoo that look very familiar to Phoebe.

My thoughts: This was my first book by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it! The plot was really interesting and so mysterious! You do not know who to trust as it seemed that everyone has a motive or are they conspiring against Phoebe?? This had me turning the pages for sure!

There were some twists and turns and it went to a direction that I didn't expect but a good one!

Phoebe was an endearing character and I could feel her grief and sadness. And her job as a mortuary cosmetologist is really interesting! I enjoyed reading about how she does her job.

Overall, this was a quick, engaging and multi-faceted mystery that will have you hooked from the first page!

Pub. Date: Oct 5th, 2021

***Thank you Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for this gifted review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.***

I finished In Another Light by AJ Banner yesterday and I loved it. I think this story is best approached completely blind. I am not sure how to even categorize this one- I would say its Adult Fiction but there were so many moments of mystery and much of the pacing felt like a thriller. Regardless of categories- this was a good, twisty, and often heartbreaking read!

Phoebe is an artist, working at a local mortuary. Using her sculpting skills, she redesigns faces of those who have passed, to give their loved ones some comfort. It is an interesting line of work to be in as Phoebe lost her young daughter and husband a few years prior in an awful car crash.

To Phoebe’s utter shock, a woman ends up on her table who is her doppleganger. And the worst part? She’s seen this woman before… on her husband’s phone. The same woman she suspected of having an affair with her husband. Phoebe tries to unravel the mystery of who this woman is, and begins to understand the truth of her marriage. But maybe some truths should be buried with the dead.

My heart ached for Phoebe from the beginning. Her grief is palpable. To experience this type of loss and have the image of your husband in constant jeopardy would be devastating. Banner’s use of an unreliable narrator worked so well here. And really, the whole cast is unreliable- causing both Phoebe and the reader to not know who is trustworthy. This book worked for me from start to finish- a mysterious, thrilling story about those who are lost to us.

I really wanted to like this book but it isn't at all what I expected. I feel like it wanted to be a thriller but having finished I'm still not sure. It was very slow to start but picked up about halfway in when it started to get exciting. After that it started to go all over the place, almost ended but then picked up again and I felt like we were going round in circles. Good premise but in my opinion could have been executed far better.

This was a delightfully unique and well-written thriller with all the twists and turns I have come to expect from this fantastic author. The story was riveting, suspenseful, emotional, touching, compelling, fast-paced with lots of surprise revelations – everything I love in a psychological thriller. Congratulations to A. J. Banner for another great read. I highly recommend it! Many thanks to the author, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me an early copy of this book. All opinions are my own and are given freely.

Thank you so much to Lake Union Publishing and Get Red PR for the opportunity to feature on Instagram!

Attached is a link to my review -

https://www.instagram.com/p/CUvLkirrhiM/

In a Nutshell: Read this as a psychological drama and not as a thriller. Then you’ll like it better.

Story:
Phoebe, who used to be warm and friendly and outgoing a few years back, is now just a shell of her former self. After losing her husband in an accident three years ago, she is merely existing, not living. However, her work as a cosmetic mortician leads her to a surprise: the latest corpse is a dead ringer for Phoebe herself, though she’s a complete stranger. Phoebe starts digging in the available information and soon finds that there are many clues that point at a shared past. Where will this dead newcomer lead Phoebe? Is her picture of her happy past going to be shattered?

What I liked about the book:
✔ The author’s writing skills in terms of language are pretty good.
✔ Phoebe’s mental struggles are nicely depicted. The way the book highlights mental health after grief was surprisingly well-written.
✔ This is a decently quick read if you know what to expect. It was good but not always “unputdownable”.
✔ Many chapters ends on a minor cliff-hanger. So if you're the kind who thinks "I'll go to sleep after this chapter", not gonna happen every time! Pick your ‘keep-aside’ point wisely.
✔ The cover is gorgeous! 👀


What I found ‘okayish’:
❌ It starts off very well. After all, if you were working in a mortuary and found a dead body who was your doppelganger, wouldn’t you be intrigued? But very soon, things become unnecessarily convoluted and illogical. While the ending was a little bit of a surprise, it didn’t cause me to open my eyes wide and go “Wow”. All I could manage was a “Huh” and a shrug.
❌ You could label this book as having an unreliable narrator. But honestly, that label works only if you believe the narrator and later find that they were mistaken/misleading. In this case, anyone with enough common sense could see that Phoebe was going down the wrong path. Except for the ending, everything else just went down the predictable, formulaic track.
❌ There are way too many coincidences for the plot to be enjoyable.
❌ For a supposed psychological thriller, the thrills are quite meagre in the first half. The real action begins only after 50% but by then, logic goes for a toss. The book didn’t keep me wanting more.


Overall, I guess this book would better suit novice thriller readers because it does spring a few surprises that are otherwise predictable for thriller buffs. Also, it would be better to read this as a psychological drama than a thriller because your expectations would match what the book delivers. I was under the impression that this was a thriller (The quote by Lisa Gardner that is right at the start of the Goodreads blurb is to be blamed for this.) So I ended up slightly disappointed. I don’t regret this read much, but it would be a strict one-time read for me, and definitely not a must-read.

3 stars from me.

My thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited to read this book at first but a few chapters in, I felt that it was beginning to become to wordy and long winded. It became a DNF for me about 30% in .

I was given an advanced copy of this novel by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This was a confusing book which was highly disappointing. Banner seems to have a good grasp on writing, but this book just did not hook me. On to something better.

#InAnotherLight #NetGalley.
Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for this advanced copy!

Phoebe had a horrible loss, her husband and daughter both died in a car crash and she is still grieving 3 years later
She works at a mortuary doing restoration which she finds rewarding until one day a person who looks just like her comes in the mortuary for restoration . This sends Phoebe on a mission that leads her on a mental and emotional spiral to hell
This book had me captured and entrenched from the beginning and I just couldn't put it down
I really thought I knew where it was going but still couldn't put it down it was so.good
I was surprised to see.i was.wrong the ending was not as expected.
This was masterfully written
I would give this a 5 ++++ if I could
Absolutely loved it!

This was fast paced and twisty! The main character is a mess; I felt sympathy for her situation but also annoyance at some of her actions. I'm not sure I really bought all of the ending but it wraps up nicely.

Really well written, I thought I knew what was happening and then came the twist, and if that wasn't enough, there was a second twist. My first by this author but, I'll definitely will read again.

Awesome Book! I am a big fan and it was nice to get a new book from A.J! I highly recommend and you won’t be able to stop once you start!

A psychological ride within a funeral home backdrop. Phoebe's loss and unique career suddenly presents an unexplainable mystery that catches us all by surprise and doesn't let go until the end. A great suspenseful read with a main character you want to catch a break.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley for my honest opinion.

I enjoyed A.J Banner’s After Nightfall and looked forward to reading In Another Light. I was immediately drawn to Phoebe who has a background as an artist but works at Fair Winds Funeral Home where she uses her artistry to make the deceased presentable to their families. It is the third anniversary of losing her husband and and daughter in a horrible car accident. She is taken back when the body of Pauline arrives. She looks like she could be a younger Phoebe. How could this be? At this point, I am turning pages quickly on my Kindle as this mystery psychological thriller develops. I kept thinking this thriller is going to be a five star ride for me. Some place after the half way point, everything fell apart for me. Unreliable narrator? Too many twists and turns? Did I mistakenly open another book on my Kindle? The second half and ending just did not work for me. My thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley fir an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

Happy Publication Day to A.J. Banner for In Another Light! This was my first read from the author, but most certainly will NOT be my last. I whizzed through this book like you would not believe. At around 250 pages, the shorter length definitely helped, but my gosh, the writing style held my attention from start to finish. I enjoyed the steady pace, mysterious aspect, and constant suspense. My finger was tap, tap, tapping away on my kindle! Domestic thrillers appeal to me because they generally have strong themes of marriage, motherhood, and friendship. This new release checks all of these boxes and then some. I’m going to check out Banner’s backlist ASAP. In Another Light is currently free to read and listen to on kindle unlimited, so definitely take advantage if you’re a subscriber! Banner’s latest gets 4/5 solid stars from me!

Loved it!! There were so many twists and turns. At one point the book took a complete turn and I thought something else was going on. It was a great mystery. I couldn't wait for Phoebe to discover the truth about Pauline, Logan and Mel. The one thing I was sure of throughout the book was that Logan was a creep and a horrible husband. Not sure if he ever told the truth in his life. So many people were hurt by his lies. Would Phoebe ever have learned the truth about everything if the tragic accident never happened? The ending was so emotional when you learn about the night of the accident. Then there was Phoebe's fixation on Mel. I knew something bad was going to happen. She wouldn't listen to anyone. She kept thinking everyone was keeping secrets from her and helped her husband. Loved the story because I never knew what was going to happen.

Definitely recommend the book. Enjoyed the characters, story and writing style. Look forward to reading more books by the author. Loved the cover of the book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Lake Union Publishing through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I really liked the premise of this one, the idea that everyone has a doppelgänger is so interesting and I haven’t read many books about the subject, so I was hooked right away. As usual with the author this was a binge worthy read, I never want to put her books down once I start them and always finish them in just a few sittings and this was no exception. She does such a great job at conveying a sense of dread and paranoia in her books and Phoebe had so many reasons to be suspicious and paranoid which just heightened the intensity. She also always manages to throw these curveballs at the reader in a sly way where I tend to wonder if I had been paying closer attention maybe I would’ve figured it out but she’s just so damn good at NOT saying things that make you assume something and then when other things are revealed you’re like, Oohh you sneaky thing you got me! I know that probably doesn’t make sense but iykyk, just know she has this quiet, subtle style that sneaks up on you. A definite page turner written in such a compelling way!

From my blog: Always With a Book:

This is the third book I’ve picked up by A.J. Banner and she definitely has a knack for delivering a domestic thriller that keeps you guessing right up to the very end. While this book is on the shorter side, it still packs a lot in and keeps you completely engaged throughout.

I love books about look-alikes and so I was immediately pulled into this one. I can’t imagine finding out there someone out there that looks just like me, never mind finding them on a cold, gray slab where you cannot ask them anything about themselves. Now you have to dig into their life without having the benefit of talking to them directly…but that’s exactly what happens here and so the mystery begins. Just who is this woman that shows up in the mortuary where Phoebe works? And why does she have a photo that links her to Phoebe?

I loved that throughout this book, as Phoebe is determined to get answers about this mystery woman, we also get the sense that we might have an unreliable narrator here due to some past trauma. Is she bringing her own heartbreak into this and seeing things that just don’t really exist? Is she hoping for something that really can’t be true? Her character is so relatable and you can’t help but feel for her as she tries to navigate all that is happening.

This book really takes you on quite the emotional ride and I could not break myself away from it. There were so many questions to be answered and at times I thought I knew where it was heading, only to be thrown by secrets that were finally uncovered.

I really enjoyed this book and loved how it tackles some heavy topics – grief and loss and even mental illness – in such an authentic way. I think it’s a book that will appeal to most anyone that enjoys a good domestic thriller as it really keeps you guessing with some great twists and turns. I definitely recommend this one!

This book will definitely have you all in your feelings. A.J. Banner wrote this book in a way that makes you feel all the pain and anguish that Phoebe feels after loosing her husband and daughter. Seeing her doppelganger dead in the mortuary she works at only opens doors that sends Phoebe's life into another whirlwind. After she starts looking into who this woman is, Phoebe uncovers painful secrets that she does not see coming. Get ready for a wild ride as A.J. Banner takes you on a journey that questions mental stability, are people hiding things, and are certain people really dead?