The Twilight Wife by A. J. Banner
The Twilight Wife was an intense page turner that kept me up to the early hours of the morning having only started the novel hours ago. Kyra, injured in a diving accident, loses the last four years of her life and wakes up with a loving, but suspicious husband on a remote island, surrounded by people she does not remember, and secrets she cannot imagine. As Kyra begins to have memories or dreams, she begins to question those around her and this perilous journey seems to take her farther from what she knows and, possibly, in more danger than she can fathom. Kyra’s inability to remember the past four years of her life creates an intensely suspenseful climate that results in Kyra’s, and the reader’s, distrust of everything around her. As Kyra uncovers together the truth of her accident, as well as her life before, the ‘truth’ about her life on the island begins to unravel in shocking and disturbing ways.
It is impossible to read The Twilight Wife without seeing similar elements in other current novels, such as The Girl on the Train. However, this status does not detract from the plot, instead plunging the reader headfirst into a familiar atmosphere of doubt and the urge to discover the truth. In regards to characters Kyra is a fascinating example of a woman who is shamed and taught to accept the truth. With a lack of true allies, Kyra’s inability to remember creates feelings of doubt, guilt, and shame. Combined with these feelings, Kyra is taught to distrust her gut feeling. Surprisingly the most complex character, in terms of psychological unraveling, is Jacob. I cannot go much into details about his fascinating character without spoiling the novel, so you’ll have to read for yourself! Additionally, the island is almost a character itself. It represents both the promise and danger of the remote nature.
The ‘truth’ of the novel is even more surreal than I expected – which I think is a true testament to Banner’s ability to surprise the reader. Even though the readers are prepared throughout of the suspicion, the ending still caught me off guard and gives a depth to the title, The Twilight Wife. The choice of a title is a crucial step in the creation of a novel, one that is made with deep thought and love. This makes the cleverness of the title even more important. I found the ending represented a sort of poetic justice that was satisfying.
Kyra’s story is one of reclaimed self-confidence and the power of love. Her journey is not only unique to Kyra, but representative of many women’s struggles to fight against a complicit culture and their necessary battle to follow their own intuition. The strength of this book lies in the plot twists as well as the atmosphere that is created by the minute touches, such as the people in town or the carefully crafted memories. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed The Girl on the Train, books that believe in the power of women’s intuition, and suspense mystery novels in general. The Twilight Wife is released on December 27th and here is the link on Amazon if you would like to read! Additionally if you want to find out more about A.J. Banner check out her website here. Comment below your favorite suspense novel. I want to read them all 🙂
Disclaimer: I received this copy in exchange for a review from Netgalley.
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Ooh I’m intrigued by this book now. Great review! 🙂
Thank you so much!! and thank you for commenting <3
My favorite suspense novel was The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown. It was an awesome read, and my imagination was better than the movie! 🙂
That is such a good choice! It’s a great read