Q&A With Natalie Banks 

I’m delighted to be doing this Q&A with Natalie Banks whose upcoming mystery suspense thriller novel Between Friends that was released on August 28^th! Her other novels are The Dark Room, House Of Lights, The Canary’s Song, The Water Is Wide, & The Moments Between. 

Q: Natalie, welcome to Book Notions! Would you like to give a short description of each of your books beginning with your upcoming release Between Friends? 

A: Between Friends
They thought they buried the truth. But the truth remembers.
After a decade away, Madison Andrews returns to her hometown, one she’s spent years trying to forget, when her mother dies. Her past is stirring, and so is Imogen, her former best friend who once held Madison’s life in the palm of her hand. Years ago, the three of them, Madison, Imogen, and Olivia, were beautiful, untouchable girls. Until Olivia vanished after a party in the woods, leaving rumors, silence, and questions behind. Madison thought she had erased those memories. But now, fragments begin to surface. As she pieces together what she buried, she realizes that secrets don’t die, and someone is waiting for retribution. Between Friends is a haunting psychological thriller of girlhood, guilt, and the weight of silence.

House of Lights
Some neighborhoods are there to keep you safe. This one wants to keep you prisoner.
Kate Harris thinks moving to River Falls is a fresh start for her family. It’s a pristine, gated community until the rules, the unspoken expectations, and strange disappearances begin to surface. Beneath its manicured lawns, the town hides secrets, and Kate finds herself entangled in a web of deception, betrayal, and growing danger. Escaping might be harder than she ever imagined.

The Water Is Wide
Sarah Avery has spent years rebuilding a life shattered by the drowning death of her husband, Thomas. Then one day she spots a man in Wilmington who looks exactly like him. She convinces herself that this must be Thomas, but he bears no memory of their shared past. As Sarah falls toward him again, she’s haunted by doubts and questions about identity, grief, and guilt. He harbors shocking secrets of his own, secrets that threaten to rip them apart.

The Canary’s Song
Grief has unraveled Juliette Bennett’s world. Already wounded by personal loss, she clings to the love she has left in her husband, who seems to be slipping away. In a last attempt to save them, she retreats with him to a remote mountain cabin. But when disaster strikes, she’s stranded alone in a wilderness filled with danger. As the shadows of her past rise, Juliette must choose: succumb to pain, or fight to reclaim hope.

The Moments Between
Six months after the tragic death of her husband, Claire DuPont wakes to him alive, in their home, on a day that’s three months before his accident. At first, she dismisses it as a vivid dream until events unfold exactly as she dreamed before. Racing against fate, she tries to rewrite the tragic future. But can she change what seems inevitable? This is a story of time, love, and the fierce will to hold on.

The Dark Room
Anna Walker, straight-laced and careful, finds herself drawn into an affair with a noir film photographer, Alec Prentice. When she tries to end it, she’s haunted by his obsession, by the escalating stalking, and by a secret she fears to expose. As a hurricane bears down on their coastal city, Anna must confront danger, deception, and the darkest parts of herself.

Q: Where do your ideas for stories and characters come from each of your books?

A: In a lot of ways, I feel like my characters are real, and they tell me their stories. I just happen to be the one lucky enough to write them down. Inspiration comes in many forms. Sometimes it’s a single image, a woman standing in the rain, a letter left unread, an empty house that feels like it remembers. Other times it’s a fragment of conversation, a place I pass on a drive, or a fleeting emotion that refuses to leave me alone. I’m endlessly fascinated by the secrets people keep, the gray spaces between love and guilt, and the quiet moments that change everything. Each of my books began as a whisper, and I followed it until it became a world.

Q: Are there any messages and emotions you hope readers learn and feel once they finish reading your books?

A: I used to love those “moral of the story” assignments in grade school, and in many ways, I think I’ve carried that with me. In every story I write, I try to weave a strong arc of growth for my main characters. They don’t leave the story the same, and neither will my readers. I believe deeply in the power of transformation, forgiveness, and the quiet resilience of the human heart. I’m also a firm believer in happy endings, though I do love surprising my readers along the way. You might be caught off guard by the twists in a Natalie Banks novel, but you will always close the book feeling good and hopeful, satisfied, and maybe just a little changed yourself.

Q: What are some works in progress you are currently working on right now? 

A: Right now, I’m working on two novels that are especially close to my heart. The Blindness is a psychological thriller about love, illusion, and the ways we sometimes see only what we want to see. It’s haunting, emotional, and layered with truth and deception in equal measure. Then there’s The Second Death of Lucy Darwin, a deeply romantic and otherworldly story about life, loss, and the kind of love that survives even death.

And there’s a surprise project that began as a short story and has quietly been turning itself into a novel. It’s based on a tale that meant a great deal to me as a child. It is one filled with wonder, courage, and a feeling of home that feels both timeless and new.

Q: If Hollywood were to get the rights to Between Friends (or any of your books) which actors do you want to appear in the film or tv series versions of your books?

A: I love the idea of Hollywood bringing Between Friends to life, but it’s always hard for me to choose an actor to play any of my characters because they’re all so real to me. However, I’ve heard from readers that they would love to see a cast featuring actresses like Florence Pugh, Ana de Armas, and Jessica Chastain bringing the story to the screen. They each have such incredible range and emotional depth and could capture the beauty, tension, and heartbreak that lives inside these women perfectly.