cover image After Nightfall

After Nightfall

A.J. Banner. Lake Union, $24 (256p) ISBN 978-1-5039-0081-3

Marissa Parlette, the narrator of this gripping psychological thriller from Banner (The Twilight Wife), is upset to see Lauren Eklund, her best friend from childhood with whom she’s had a fraught recent past, blatantly flirting with her fiancé, Nathan Black, at Nathan’s 40th birthday party at his clifftop house in Tranquil Cove, an upscale community on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. The next morning, Marissa is shocked to find Lauren’s body at the bottom of the cliff. When Lauren’s death is ruled suspicious, Marissa begins looking for who might have had motive to push her off it. Marissa soon becomes suspicious of just about everyone connected to Lauren, including Nathan. She’s frustrated when the lead detective refuses to share with her information germane to the investigation, or to provide feedback on the information she shares with him. At her peril, Marissa persists in searching for the truth. Well-laid clues allow the reader to sleuth along with the dogged Marissa. [em]Agent: Paige Wheeler, Creative Media Agency. (Aug.) [/em]