In Another Light- Book Review

In Another Light by AJ Banner 

Publication Date: 5th Oct 2021
Genre: Psychological Family Drama, Women’s Fiction  

3.5 Stars 

Phoebe Glassman, a mortuary cosmetologist, lost her husband Logan three years ago. She’s been more dead than alive since then, drifting through days in a haze while completing her job at Fair Winds. On the day of the third death anniversary, a body arrives at the mortuary, changing Phoebe’s life forever. 

Pauline Steele, the dead woman, is around a decade younger than Phoebe and looks like a long-lost twin. The resemblance between them is too striking to ignore. Phoebe is still in shock when she spies a unique butterfly tattoo on the woman’s arm. She knows exactly where she last saw the design. 

Fueled by curiosity, Phoebe digs through the dead woman’s belongings and finds an old faded photograph of herself from a few years ago. Phoebe is now determined to unravel the mystery that binds her and Pauline together. The more she tugs at the tangled threads, the complex things get. It doesn’t help that she’s close to losing her sanity and sometimes wonders if she’s already gone crazy. 

But she fights on and finally finds answers to some of her questions. Does she find peace too? 

The premise and the cover of the book were intriguing enough for me to request it. The beginning is strong, and the narration picks up speed as we read on. There are hints scattered from the beginning to give us a glimpse of the secrets kept hidden from Phoebe. 

There are several twists and turns, doubts, questions with no answers, and whatnot to take the story forward. Phoebe’s emotional state weakens, and that should have made me feel sad for her. Somehow, from start to finish, I couldn’t connect with Phoebe on any level. Sure, I don’t relate to her. Still, I could have empathized with her. 

Sadly, I could feel only a wee bit sad when reading about her pain. It’s a devastating loss on many levels, and yet, it didn’t touch me as I wanted it to. There was a thick glass between us that refused to let us connect. 

It’s only the fast pace and my desire to see if my analysis was correct that made the book interesting. I did get it right, so I would give the author a few brownie points for not bringing a twist I didn’t expect. 

The ending is quite satisfactory, that’s another plus because I like happy endings. There are still some left-out loopholes, but at least the last page didn’t leave wondering about everything. 

It does look like I’m a minority, and most people liked the book (until now). I’m glad for them. Personally, it didn’t offer anything new or exciting.

Overall, In Another Light is a fast-paced story about a traumatic women’s quest for truth while battling her pain and loss. 

On a side note, I don’t why I thought this was listed as a thriller somewhere. NetGalley says it is women’s fiction, and I call it a psychological family drama. Oh, well, it’s not a thriller per se despite the pace and suspense. 

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing.

#InAnotherLight #NetGalley