Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book. In Another Light is an exciting read that will keep you hooked. The author develops a relatable protagonist, Phoebe, whose journey unfolds as she delves into her husband's mysterious past. The book is engaging!

In Another Light by AJ Banner is a gripping and fast-paced read that will keep you hooked until the early hours of the morning. The author skillfully develops a relatable protagonist, Phoebe, whose heartbreaking journey unfolds as she delves into her husband's mysterious past. While the book offers an engaging plot, I couldn't help but notice similarities to other works in the genre. Nonetheless, for newcomers to the genre, this book promises surprises and enjoyment. The ending, although divisive, satisfying me!

Thank you to #LakeUnionPublishing and #NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.This book was so good that I read it in one day.

Captivating and Emotionally Charged!
In Another Light is a haunting and gripping novel that follows Phoebe Glassman, a mortuary cosmetologist consumed by grief. When she encounters a woman named Pauline who bears a striking resemblance to her and possesses a photograph of Phoebe, her curiosity is ignited. As Phoebe investigates Pauline's life and death, she unravels surprising connections and shocking revelations about her own past and the people closest to her. This thought-provoking book explores themes of loss, identity, and trust, with a compelling narrative that kept me captivated until the end. 4.5 Stars.

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I really enjoyed reading it the plot was interesting and the characters made me want to know more about them. I highly recommend.

This book took me on such a ride that I honestly didn't know what to expect. I don't know that I found it completely plausible, but it was an enjoyable and engaging read, and I'll definitely continue to watch for more from A J Banner.

I don’t know what it is about this one but it just didn’t do it for me. The premise was good but poorly executed. It was just bland. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for review

In Another Light by @ajbanner1 was a
"read it in a day" book for me. I was hooked and needed to know how it would all wrap up. It has a really interesting and unique plot that kept me guessing. I didn't see all of the twists and turns so I was happily surprised.
My one note would be that this isn't exactly a thriller. I would characterize it as a psychological drama with thriller and mystery elements.
This is my first A.J. Banner book but definitely won't be my last!

A very entertaining murder mystery, with a personal edge for our heroine. Excellent descriptions of the Pacific Northwest, to boot.

Get your copy today at https://bookshop.org/lists/best-fiction-of-2021

This was less a heart-thumping mystery and more a family drama with some mystery. I liked the MC and her career choice. Her being a comotogist at a mortuary, re-making people who are deceased in to a state to be seen again by loved ones. It sounds a bit dark but was actually really fascinating to learn about. But pretty quickly, the mystery hits - the MC is face to faced with a deceased body that looks eerily like her. Like, they could be sisters at least.

Off on the journey to learn both about the MC's own tragedies and guilt but also the deep family secrets. There were a lot of characters and a lot of back and forth about the past as she deep dove in to the family history. I thought the beginning half had a bit more of a consisten flow but I felt like the second half slowed down a bit. I did like the reveals and I did find it interesting, but I didn't love it. It was a quick, interesting read.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

This is billed as a thriller...and in some ways it is. But really it is a story of loss and grief...and trying to find the will to move forward when your world is torn apart and seems meaningless. This one pulled at my heartstrings and is much more emotional than the typical page-turning thriller. This is well written and much deeper than expected---which are all good things. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing a digital ARC for review.

Heartrending. Thrilling. Complex. Suspenseful. Banner manages to propel a fast pace while still taking the reader down deep, deep into emotional charged issues. Recommended!

As always AJ Banner writes another hit. She has a knack for gripping you in immediately on her books. The book was quite emotional and well written. Banner researches her books with passion and tenacity. She is an auto buy in my eyes. I could feel the pain from the MC in this book. Banner is truly talented.

This was very slow burn but it worked for me. Intensely. Perhaps it is because of the grief components done so well. But I would not at all describe this novel as a thriller. And also it is far more emotional than I am apt to enjoy in a "can't put it down sense". But this one, I could not. I actually read a great portion of it while nearly nodding off. Not from boredom, but because it kept me up at night.

The blurb intrigued me, and I wasn't disappointed by the book. Well written and gripping, I read this in one sitting and will be looking out for more from this writer.

Many thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Phoebe Glassman is grieving the loss of her husband, Logan McClary and toddler daughter, Ava, in a terrible car accident three years ago. Since then, she has lost herself in her work at the funeral home where she works to reconstruct dead faces. Her mother, Lidia, an archaeologist, now suffers from Alzheimer’s Disease.

When the body of a 32-year-old woman, Pauline Steele, is sent to Fair Winds, the funeral home in which she works, Phoebe finds herself taken unawares and desperate for answers.

Not only is Pauline a doppelganger of Phoebe’s, though a decade younger, she also has on her arm a tattoo that Logan had a photo of on his phone. And in the dead woman’s purse, Phoebe finds her own photo.

As Phoebe uncovers more and more evidence of Logan’s affair and duplicity, she becomes obsessed with finding out the complete truth. But the truth is at the bottom of an abyss. Will Phoebe find the answers she seeks? Or will she lose herself in the process?



The book is written in the 3rd person present tense PoV of Phoebe. The author does a fantastic job of portraying the character of Phoebe, her grief, her understanding of betrayal and her desperation to reclaim what is truly hers. We feel a sense of pity and compassion for her, at her constant attempts at guessing and second guessing herself, her feeble attempts at investigation.

My heart ached at the thought of a mother missing out on the milestones in her child’s life, not knowing her favourites.

But some things felt forced. Phoebe deleting her best friend Renee’s text without reading it made no sense.


The details about the work done in a funeral home make for interesting, if morbid, reading.

Our heroine has an unusual profession. A trained sculptor, she reconstructs dead human faces for the comfort of the grieving family. She also prepares the bodies of the dead for burial or cremation, embalming etc. As a mortuary cosmetologist, Phoebe knows how much the survivors need restoration of their deceased loved ones’ features to grapple with their grief.

I wondered at Phoebe’s father’s name, Raja. Then learned that the author, AJ Banner, was born in India, and then it made perfect sense.

The writing was beautiful.

Scraping off bacteria like a layer of pond scum.

Protecting the bereaved from the necessary messiness of death.

But now, there is no sign that a marriage once flourished here.

I also liked the character of Mike Rivera, a paramedical employee of the funeral home.

A great psychological thriller that kept me guessing! It is a fast read that I found enjoyable and propulsive. I had to keep flipping pages to figure out what would happen. I will definitely read more by this author!

As someone who has also worked in a funeral home, I knew I had to pick up this book about Phoebe Glassman, a mortuary cosetolgist.

Following the journey of her grief after her husband died three years prior in a car accident, we see her drowning in sorrow - understandably!! She loves her job, but what she loves the most is sculpting—sculpting loved ones' faces to keep them alive and ageing with her, which is questionably troubling as it doesn't allow her to live in the future because she's always thinking about the past.

One significant day, a woman comes into the morgue and Phoebe is taken aback. This woman looks like she could be her husband's twin sister, but he never had one.

An interesting and easy read but I don't think I would class it as a thriller at all!

What first drew me to this book was protagonist Phoebe Glassman’s job as a mortuary cosmetologist, someone who makes the decedent (new word for me!) look how they did in life. That’s something I could NOT do, but I find it fascinating. The funeral home where Phoebe works specializes in “green burials,” the eco-friendly alternative to traditional cemeteries, which is something else I’d recently discovered. Again, fascinating!

When the body of a woman looking exactly like Phoebe arrives at the mortuary, she ends up down a rabbit hole investigating this identical stranger’s past. This book is also about the heavy burden of her grief from losing her husband and daughter a few years earlier. IN ANOTHER LIGHT is a suspenseful mystery and journey of coming to terms with the past. It’s a very quick, engrossing, and emotional read.

Could you ever work in a mortuary or funeral home?⁣
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I could not - but I’m very fascinated by the profession!⁣
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When the body of Pauline Steele comes into the mortuary where Phoebe works as a mortuary cosmetologist, something is very odd. ⁣
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Pauline looks JUST like her.⁣
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For 3 years, Phoebe has been lost in her grief since losing her husband - and is now swept into yet another emotional journey - investigating her doppelgänger’s life and death - and she soon starts to uncover surprising clues of a shared past. ⁣
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But how much is truth - and who can she trust?⁣
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This was a fast and riveting ride that explores the darkness of grief, the devastation of secrets and lies, and is loaded with twists and turns that will keep you guessing til the very end.