After marine biologist Kyra Winthrop suffered a catastrophic diving accident, her husband Jacob moved her to a small island community to heal. And while her physical injuries have healed, her memory has not. She barely remembers anything about her life before the accident or even the accident itself. But lately, she has flashes of another time, other places and other people - but are they real or imagined? Was Jacob always the devoted husband he is today? Why do some of the townsfolk whisper behind her back? Or is it all in her own mind?
"Why can't I remember four years of my life? Why only four years? Why not everything? Why not just the accident? Why do I keep forgetting conversations? Pieces of time?"
A great premise. I love this current trend of unreliable narrators (memory loss opens up lots of possibilities), psychological suspense and twisty endings.
The Twilight Wife is told through Kyra's eyes and experience. It's a bit of a slow wind-up, full of details that started to make sense to me sooner than they did for Kyra. Banner does a good job of dropping hints and doubts along the way, and had suspicions as to the final reveal long before Kyra did. But hey, she has a brain injury and I don't.
The Twilight Wife was a quick, engaging book that almost read like a movie if that makes sense. Not a lot of depth, but very entertaining. It would be a great beach bag book - especially with all the marine biology trivia included. Read an excerpt of The Twilight Wife.
The audiobook is narrated by Cassandra Carroll, a prolific and award winning reader. I do enjoy her voice - she has a nice tone and modulation. Sometimes though that she over elongates words. I don't know why, but in some books, I do find it a bit annoying. Her interpretation of Kyra does match Banner's words. But it's interesting comparing both print and vocal versions of a book. The audiobook made Kyra seem even more vulnerable and lost. Listen to an excerpt of The Twilight Wife.
You can connect with A.J Banner on her website, follow her on Twitter and like her on Facebook.
I've got this one on my Kindle and intend to read it soon. So far, I think all the reactions I've read have been positive. And it's set in the Pacific Northwest, correct? Fun.
ReplyDeleteIt is Kay!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this review.
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