A. J. Banner

Born in India and raised in North America, A. J. Banner received degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. Her previous novels of psychological suspense include The Good Neighbor and The Twilight Wife, a USA Today bestseller. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and rescued cats.

Banner's new book is After Nightfall, her third novel.

Recently I asked the author about what she was reading. Her reply:

I just finished reading A Noise Downstairs by Linwood Barclay.

Sharply written, suspenseful and intriguing, A Noise Downstairs is a psychological thriller with an unusual premise. Several months after sustaining a head injury when he surprised a murder victim disposing of two bodies, Paul Davis, a college professor, is suffering from PTSD and depression. As a form of therapy, he decides to write about his experience on a vintage typewriter, a gift from his wife, Charlotte, who found the typewriter at an estate sale. Soon, Paul begins to hear the typewriter typing by itself at night. But when he runs downstairs, nobody is there. He’s the only one who can hear the noise. Charlotte doesn’t hear a thing. She thinks he’s losing his mind. Paul begins to believe the typewriter is possessed and somehow connected to the murders from nearly a year earlier. I found myself flipping the pages late into the night, trying to guess the answer to the mystery of the haunted typewriter. The plot twists and turns in surprising directions, hurtling toward a shocking and satisfying conclusion.

Visit A.J. Banner's website.

The Page 69 Test: After Nightfall.

--Marshal Zeringue