Buried secrets are dangerous.Unearthing them might be deadly …

Laurie Dunn has returned to her childhood attic bedroom and her old nightmares have come rushing back. Terrorised by a client-related mugging, her job as a criminal solicitor causes more problems than solutions.

Finn Ballentine yearns for a fresh start, but even the glossy façade of his new law firm can’t protect him from the past he’s running from.

After a disturbing remark by her confused father, Laurie joins forces with Finn to uncover dark truths. But the long-buried secrets they unearth are laced with danger for them both.”

‘In the very top tier of psychological thrillers.’ M W Craven

Tense, disturbing and clever, Behind Her Smile is perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell and Claire Douglas.

My Review

I was definitely attracted to Behind Her Smile because of the cover. It’s everything it should be – creepy, spooky and unsettling. Just like the book.

I thought it started as quite a slow burn, but then the pace ramped up and it became more exciting and twisted with every page. It revolves around two main characters. Laurie Dunn is a lawyer with buried secrets from her childhood. After her relationship with boyfriend Nico broke up, she returned to her childhood home to live with her dentist father Dr David Dunn, who appears to be showing signs of early dementia, and her cool, controlled sister Jules, also a dentist. Their mother died in childbirth, which means Jules – nine years older – must remember her.

Finn Ballentine is also a lawyer. He had a brief fling with Laurie all those years ago when they were at university and Nico is his best friend. Finn was very fond of Laurie, but he still married his childhood sweetheart back in Ireland and has been with her ever since – until now. He left Ireland to find a new life in England.

It’s obvious that Laurie and Finn are still attracted to each other, but their path to happiness is fraught with danger, lies and intrigue. And the more they discover, the more dangerous their situation becomes. By the end there are so many twists that it made my head spin. Another great psychological thriller from a brilliant author.

Many thanks to @lovebookstours for inviting me to be part of the #BehindHerSmile readalong. It’s been great fun.

About the Author

Caroline is the CWA Dagger shortlisted author of psychological thrillers Beneath The Skin, My Husband’s Lies, Betray Her, Truth Games, The Sinner, The Stranger Beside Me. She also writes Gothic-tinged psychological thrillers as CE Rose – The House of Hidden Secrets, The House on the Water’s Edge, The Shadows of Rutherford House, The Attic at Wilton Place.

Caroline writes multi-layered, dark and edgy ‘domestic suspense’ stories that delve into complicated relationships, secrets and the moral grey area.Drawing on her days as a divorce and professional indemnity lawyer, she loves to create ordinary, relatable characters who get caught up in extraordinary situations, pressures, dilemmas or crime. She admits to a slight obsession with the human psyche, what goes on behind closed doors and beneath people’s façades. She also enjoys performing a literary sleight of hand in her novels and hopefully surprising her readers!

Watching Horsepats Feed the Roses and Hanged by the Neck are her dark, twisty short story collections.

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