Rating: 
Summary: IDEAL PAIRING OF VOICE AND STORY
Review: What can one do when something evil is happening yet you cannot speak of it because when you do your family and friends begin to doubt your mental stability? You're left alone to try to fight for your life and defeat the unthinkable that masquerades as kindness and charm.
That's the situation Miranda finds herself in as Nicci French (a husband/wife writing duo) roll out another spellbinder. An ideal pairing of voice and story are found in British native Anne Flossnik who gives an over the top performance as Miranda, a London based artist.
Life was humming along quite well for Miranda until the day she met a handsome fellow calling himself Brendan Block. At first she's taken in by his charm, his attentiveness and they embark on a brief affair - which comes to an abrupt end when she finds him reading her diary.
Imagine her surprise when sister Kerri pops up with a new boyfriend and it's the handsome, congenial Brendan. It's easy to see why Kerri, a rather shy miss, will believe every word he says, but the sisters' parents are also taken in. When he claims to have broken off with Miranda rather than the other way around, all believe him. It's not too long before Kerri and Brendan are engaged.
Although she knows better, Miranda agrees to let Kerri and Brendan live in her apartment until their home is ready. Bad move. Very much like an alien being Brendan is suddenly everywhere in Miranda's life, poking into her very private affairs, and turning those closest against her. She's repelled by the things he murmurs in her ear, and frightened of his debilitating contrivances.
As always, Nicci French delivers prime suspense laced with surprises.
- Gail Cooke
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Summary: Chilling Psychological Thriller
Review: Author French (LAND OF THE LIVING) chills readers with her latest psychological thriller when a love affair goes bad with alarming repercussions. Miranda is a house painter living in London and enjoying a new relationship with boyfriend Nick when she learns that her ex lover, Brendan Block, and her sister Kerry are now a couple. A true charmer, Brendan has won over Kerry's parents and claims that Miranda is still having trouble getting over him.
Brendan's continued presence in Miranda's life disrupts her relationship with Nick. When Miranda allows Brendan and Kerry to stay in her flat while they are house hunting for their own home and planning their upcoming nuptials, disturbing incidents have her questioning her own sanity as Brendan burrows further into her life. Though Miranda becomes suspicious of Brendan's role in the death of a family member, he is able to convince her family and the police that her behavior towards him is obsessive.
Twists and turns fill the pages of this expertly penned thriller. Fans of true psychological thrillers will be pleased at the unexpected outcome revealed with the breathless conclusion.
Rating: 
Summary: this just may the best thriller of the year
Review: Almost as soon as she'd slept with Brendan Block, Miranda Cotton realised that their liaison was a mistake -- too many things about Brendan annoyed and irritated her, and he had started to push their relationship along far too quickly. And then she catches him reading her old diary. For Miranda, that's just the last straw and she quickly (and irrevocably) ends things with Brendan. And when, a few weeks later, her elder sister, Kerri, breaks the news that she and Brendan have begun dating seriously, Miranda doesn't know what to think. What is Brendan up too and why is he dating Kerri? Miranda's parents like Brendan, and are over the moon with happiness that their elder and less confident daughter is in a serious relationship with so nice a young man. But Miranda has her reservations. And when Brendan begins to harass her insidiously, Miranda knows that Brendan is up to no good. The thing is that no one believes her because Brendan has told everyone that it was he who ended their relationship, and has led everyone to believe that Miranda is still feeling depressed, fragile and bitter about their falling-out. Slowly, Brendan begins to drive a wedge between Miranda and everyone she's close to; and while Miranda may have believed that she'd just have to cope with the situation, everything changes when tragedy strikes. For now Miranda understands that she's the only one who can stop Brendan before he harms anyone else...It's true: nobody can write the urban thriller quite like Nicci French. Dark and spine tinglingly chilling, the basic plot premises are always deceptively simple; and if you're a fan, you can almost guess when things are going to explode violently, and where the plot twists may be -- and yet, prepared as I was for what would happen, I was still taken unawares by the tragedy and how Miranda's problem was resolved. Cleverly plotted, Nicci French does an excellent job of fleshing out the story, the characters involved and the level of tension. Swiftly paced and incredibly suspenseful, my one advice, aside from "READ THIS BOOK ESP IF YOU'RE A FAN OF BRITISH THRILLERS" is that "Secret Smile" should not be started if you're not planning to finish the book in one sitting. Because, believe you me, you'll not be able to put this book down once you've started it.
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Summary: Great creepy psychological thriller
Review: First Ihave read from this author (authors?)..whatever. Could not put it down...the mounting tension just keeps building...am checking out the previous,ones at the library--- read it, you won't be sorry!.
Rating:
Summary: Nicci French's best and creepiest thriller to date!
Review: I have loved Nicci French's work since Killing Me Softly. I recently found out that Nicci French is in fact a pseudonym used by a British couple. Well, they write awesome novels and I couldn't wait to pick up their latest work. Secret Smile is their best written and creepiest novel since Beneath the Skin. Miranda Cotton couldn't be happier with her life. She is a building contractor in London and her dating life is just as she likes it. But then an ex-boyfriend resurfaces, prepared to ruin her ordered life. He manipulates his way into her family's life to the point that she is not trusted among them anymore. To make matters worse, her friends and family are in danger and no one believes her when she tells them that Brendan Block is a raving psychopath. There are many twists throughout the novel.
I couldn't put this book down. The scenes are so palpable that they gave me goose bumps. The plot is executed in such a clever way. There were times in which I thought that Miranda was indeed delusional and that Brendan was not as bad as she made him out to be. The novel's conclusion is one of the best I have read in a long time. The characterization is excellent. Brendan's behavior is believable in that in real life there are people who play mind games not unlike the ones he played. I hadn't read thrillers in a while because the genre had become stale. Nicci French has satisfied my craving for a dark, intelligent thriller. Secret Smile reads like a twisted chick-lit. It's incredible and I cannot recommend this gem enough.
Rating: 
Summary: NOT HER BEST WORK
Review: I LOVE HER STYLE OF WRITING, I HAVE READ EVERYTHING SHE HAS WRITTEN. THIS IS DEFINATELY HER WORST BOOK. THERE WERE SO MANY THINGS ABOUT THE PLOT THAT WERE JUST PLAIN STUPID. IT WAS LIKE SOMETHING FROM JERRY SPRINGER. THREE WOMAN WHO ARE CLOSE TO EACH OTHER ALL GO OUT WITH THE SAME GUY. TWO OF THEM AGREE TO MARRY THIS GUY IN A MATTER OF WEEKS. THEN THE MAIN CHARACTER MIRANDA GETS TALKED INTO LETTING THIS PSYCHO MOVE IN WITH HER. WHEN THINGS GET REALLY BAD SHE DOESN'T EVEN TELL THEM TO MOVE OUT SHE IS THE ONE THAT MOVES. OK SO SHE FINALLY GETS THIS GUY OUT OF HER LIFE AND WHAT DOES SHE DO. TRACKS HIM DOWN AND PULLS HIM BACK INTO HER LIFE!! THEN THERE IS AN INCIDENT IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM WHERE THE POLICE LET THE LAWYER OF THE ACCUSED INTO HER CUBICLE TO YELL AT HER ABOUT WHAT A LIAR SHE IS. THAT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN. IT GOES ON AND ON. ALMOST EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PLOT IS RIDICULOUS. IF YOU WANT TO READ A REALLY GOOD BOOK BY HER GET "KILLING ME SOFTLY". I WOULDN'T BOTHER TO READ THIS ONE.
Rating: 
Summary: success sells
Review: I rank mystery writers into three classes: I'll check the book out of the library; I'll buy the paperback; I'll spring for the hardback. With Nicci French, I just crossed over into category 3 and ordered Secret Smile.
It's about a plausible psycho who infiltrates a woman's life. Wait, no, that's The Safe House. There's a police officer who (maddeningly) won't take the woman's peril seriously. Oh, gee, that's the first third of Beneath the Skin. OK, a London woman has a terrifying experience and none of her friends believe. . . . Sorry: Land of the Living. Well, there's a seemingly loving guy who only the main character really sees for what he is and the book's called Killing Me Softly.
Right. All the Nicci French books are great. And this is all the Nicci French books rolled into one. And less. Even if you are a fan, take my advice: get it from the library.
Rating:
Summary: fantastic psychological suspense
Review: Miranda is the pretty self-confident one that most people envy because she has her life together dating whom she wants and working at a job she loves. At a party she meets Brendan Brock and they go out together eight times before she decides to end it because there is something about him that makes her uneasy. One night she comes home to find him in her room reading her diary; she ends their relationship right then. A few weeks, Miranda's sister Kerry asks her to meet her for lunch. At the restaurant Kerry tells Miranda that she is in love. Brendan enters and tells her they are a couple and not to be angry with him because he broke up with Miranda. She lets the conversation slide and the next thing she knows the two of them are moving into her apartment until they could find one of their own. Miranda realizes that Brendan is obsessed with hurting her because she dumped him but even she doesn't know that he will turn her whole family into believing she is crazy person. Or that he will kill those she loves and nobody will believe her. SECRET SMILE is the story of a sociopath who insinuates himself into the life of a fairly happy family and destroys them because one of the members rejected him. Readers will find him scary and at times so convincing they will question their own sanity. Nicci French is brilliant at creating characters one loves to hate and pity but she also excels at telling a story that is frightening in its normalcy, a key theme for a fantastic work of psychological suspense.
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Summary: A page-turner of the highest order!
Review: Miranda thinks she has met the perfect man...Brendan is smart and handsome with a charming personality, but what Miranda doesn't know is that there is dark-side to Brendan. After dating for a few weeks Miranda catches Brendan reading her diary and then kicks him to the curb. Several weeks after the break-up Miranda receives a phone call from her sister Kerri announcing that she has a new man in her life and she can't wait for her family to meet him. Miranda arrives at her parent's house for brunch only to be shocked in finding out Kerry's new boyfriend is Brendan. Miranda pretends everything is fine until she learns that Brendan is lying about their relationship and the true reason they broke up. As Miranda tries explaining to Kerry about Brendan she is accused of being jealous and quickly written off by her sister. Weeks after the awful brunch, Kerry and Brendan announce their engagement and beg Miranda to let them stay in her apartment while they house hunt. Miranda agrees and then the trouble really starts. Brendan has a sick game he wants to play with Miranda...he starts out by telling lies to her family and friends and then things turn deadly when someone close to Miranda is murdered. When no one will believe her, Miranda begins her own investigation to prove that Brendan is a monster, but just as she discovers a shocking secret from his past another person close to her turns up dead and she stands accused of being a stalker. Now, Miranda must race the clock to prove her innocence and stop a killer before she is the next victim. 'Secret Smile' is a page-turning psychological thriller that will keep readers up all night. Filled with razor sharp suspense, the plot shocks with each new twist until the final surprise is revealed. Nicci French has crafted another masterpiece with strong characters and a chilling premise that will fly up the bestseller lists and prove she is a master storyteller. A great summer beach read! Nick Gonnella
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Summary: Scariest of All Her Books
Review: Partly because Miranda, the decorating heroine of SECRET SMILE, is in some ways more vulnerable than this writing couple's previous heroines. She's a little bit rough and tumble and also feels loved less than her other siblings. She's vulnerable when Brendan meets her, and vulnerable when he next takes up with her sister. When Brendan does something terrible to her little brother, Troy, her anguish knows no bounds. You have to love her! Especially when she starts showing some gumption and begins, slowly at first, to fight back against the face of evil. It's always good when they start fighting back, especially when this involves putting one's clever hat on and going back to investigate the secret past of the enemy. In Brendan's case, there is no end to the horror of his being. But by this time Kerry is wise enough to deter the serpent . . .
It's amusing to see some of our Top 100 reviewers accidentally revealing themselves with this book. As anyone who has read the book knows, the name of one of the main characters is misspelled on the book jacket copy. Some of our reviewers, well, it doesn't look like they've read the book at all because guess what? They discuss the part of the plot that was on the book jacket using the wrong spelling of the name! Oh well, what do they say, "marry in haste, repent in leisure."
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