#Readalong Behind Her Smile by Caroline England

 

Laurie Dunn is forced to move back home when her relationship ends. Returning to her family home causes lots of long-buried memories to resurface, memories Laurie isn't entirely sure are real.

I will admit that the cover of Behind Her Smile by Caroline England didn't appeal to me; what did appeal was the glowing endorsement from one of my favourite writers, M. W. Craven. When an author you love says "In the very top tier of psychological thrillers", you'd be silly not to give the book a go. Hence, I leapt at the chance to take part in the Readalong organised by Love Books Tours.

As the story opens, we meet a disillusioned Laurie, she's completely dumbfounded at the sudden end of her relationship with Nico. At almost thirty, the last thing she expected was having to move back home. This return to the family home brings about lots of possible directions the story could go. Firstly, a failed romance leading to the possibility of finding new love. Unexpectedly finding her father sleepwalking hints at a possible psychological thriller. Unsettling dreams, with hints at sinister events, even make you wonder if we're heading into horror story territory.

What we end up with is an amalgamation of all three, with a little bit of organised crime thrown in. With so many different threads, it takes a little while for the story to really flow, hence I was a third of the way in before I really started to take an interest in what was happening to Laurie.

Laurie's old boyfriend, Finn, is a great character. I really enjoyed his backstory and the way it wove in to what was happening to Laurie. Jules, Laurie's older sister, comes across as cold and unemotional; it was hard to believe the pair are sisters. However, you do begin to wonder if Jules' behaviour is a result of things that happened during their childhood. Laurie's father is a strange character. Obviously intelligent, he is regularly sidelined in the story, despite the knowledge he has of past events.

I enjoyed the way in which the different threads converged at the conclusion. I certainly didn't predict the ending or spot any of the "villains" as I was reading.

Behind Her Smile from Caroline England and Bullington Press is available in paperback and ebook format. My thanks to Love Books Tours for my place on the Readalong.

Author Details

Caroline is the CWA Short Story Dagger shortlisted author of psychological suspense thrillers BENEATH THE SKIN, the best selling MY HUSBAND'S LIES, BETRAY HER, TRUTH GAMES, THE SINNER, THE STRANGER BESIDE ME. Her new thriller, THE RETURN OF FRANKIE WHITTLE, is out 8 Feb 2025. 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!