I loved this book! The suspense was intriguing and the characters were compelling. Miranda Smith knows how to keep you at the edge of your seat.

Love and trust, they are like Siamese twins. One cannot exist without the other and when you hear rumours, they are just that for you. You know your loved one and you know what they are like, unlike those people spreading those vicious accusations.

Until one day, there is someone who makes you doubt. Someone who manages to destabilise your trust. 

There are two things you can do: pretend nothing has happened and bury your head in the sand or you can confront your other half and shed light on everything.

What would you do and more important, what will Madison do?

There is only one way to find out, because I would not dream of spilling the beans here. ;)

Money makes the world go round until someone puts a stop to it...

I loved this book. Great story line and wonderful characters. Some of them are convinced the world is their oyster where everything is allowed as long as they like it. 5 stars

Thank you

A great read, really enjoyed the twists. I didn't see them coming at all. Great premise and full of tension and suspense. Can't wait to read more from the author.

I enjoyed this one. The twist at the end was good and the story flowed well. I will definitely be recommending this one and I will be checking out more from this author.

This was a powerful and thought provoking thriller and I found that I couldn’t put this down, I also loved the ending

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙈𝙞𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙖 𝙎𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙝

Let me just start by saying, I absolutely did not hate this book, I just wasn’t as excited by it as with other books I’ve read. I thought this book was quite slow starting and not much happened in the first half of the book for me. There just wasn’t enough mystery to reel me straight in and it wasn’t until precisely 79% into the book, that the plot made me sit bolt upright and literally say “what the hell” out loud.

I loved the short chapters- I feel that’s always a winner as you can just keep sneaking another one in without it being a drag. From the first big twist onwards, it was fast paced and gripping but it did feel slightly predictable. I’d definitely recommend this to a friend for whom thrillers aren’t something they’d normally read and they wanted easing into the genre.

Thank you to Miranda Smith and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.

𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ (2/5)

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫 + 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐀𝐑𝐂!

This one was good, but had some problems with pacing. It was very stop, go, stop, go. When it was go I did love it though. It may have just been me though, so I'm definitely willing to read another by this author to give her a second shot. 3.5 stars rounded down.

I’m sorry that I’m so late with this review. I enjoyed it quite a bit. It’s intriguing and all the last and now timelines kept me invested throughout the story. Some very disturbing scenes, many unexpected twisted and interesting characters overall.
Gripping and suspenseful thriller.

This was a very disturbing but good read.

Thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish and could not get enough of.

This is a must read for anyone who enjoys a good thriller!!
Absolutely loved the characters, the plot, the tension - impossible to put it down.
Certainly recommended!

Thank you Bookouture and Netgalley for this and apologies for the delay in reading!
This was a really good psychological story.. Well paced and lots of surprises and twists and turns. I thought I had worked it out but how wrong I was. I definitely want to read more by this author and it is on my recommended list - wish I'd read it when I first received it now! .

I have heard so many good things about Miranda Smith's books. This one sat in my TBR for quite some time, but I am glad that I finally took a chance on it. It was excellent! I love small town settings/mysteries and past high school drama plots/stories. This fit the bill all the way! Great book!

Miranda Smith is a Bookouture author favorite of mine and she'd done it again with another gripping psychological thriller. Way to go, Miranda!

This was a great read , it slowed on me here and there but the twists kept continuing to bring you right on back

Miranda Smith captures the sense of a small town where everyone is linked by their history and everyone knows what happened to Celia. Except for Madison. Blissfully in love with Cooper, Madison is thrilled to move to his hometown where he is taking a new job. Celia was Coopers girlfriend when he was younger and Madison knows she drowned. Now in the present, settling in to her new life she is shocked to discover that many of the townspeople suspect Cooper of killing Celia. Of course she needs to prove him innocent. Oh dear, that becomes. Harder thr more she discovers under the small town charm. Well written, easy to follow until the big reveal at the end..

Straight away the blurb got me , hook, line and sinker. Typical small town secrets, great characters, the pace was good. I couldnt put this book down . Great twists and turns. Very impressed with this book.

Madison is happily engaged to her boyfriend Cooper Douglas when she loses her job in the city and they are forced to move back to his small hometown of Whisper Falls. Upon arrival she learns through the locals that everyone believes Cooper got away with the death of his high school sweetheart Celia. Madison doesn’t know what to believe and continues to plan their wedding and settle in. But soon, secrets start emerging and the Douglas family is anything but normal. Told in alternating chapters from Madison’s point of view, a grieving moms point and during the summer Celia died, this book will keep you guessing! I thought I knew what happened, but the final chapters threw me for a loop! Good, fun read! First time reading something by this author and it won’t be my last!

4 Stars!

YESSSSS!! True to what I have come to expect from Miranda Smith, this books is a scorching page turner! Small town elite family, the Douglas's prodigal son, Cooper returns with his fiancé, Madison. Madison has just lost her job at the newspaper that her and Cooper work at. So, they easily make the decision to move back to his sleepy hometown where he can take over the local newspaper and Madison can finish planning their wedding. Soon into the move, Madison learns that Cooper was a suspect in his high school girlfriend's death, add in a grieving mother plotting to ruin their big day, and small town minds. This is a delicious, tea-pouring novel.

I'm withholding one star because I felt like some of the interactions between the characters didn't seem genuine towards the end. It felt a little rushed.

Please keep them coming Miranda! :)

A special thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture, and Miranda Smith for providing me with an ARC.

Wow, what a fantastic story! I was not disappointed in my first read by Miranda Smith, you won't be either!!

I love him. I trust him… But what if I’m wrong?

Whisper Falls is a fresh start for Madison and her fiancé Cooper. The safe, quiet town on the shores of a beautiful lake is the perfect place to spend the rest of their lives.


But then Madison learns that Cooper’s high-school girlfriend Celia disappeared after a party. Three days later, her body was found in the lake.

And the town thinks it wasn’t an accident.

Madison loves Cooper, but she can’t help wondering. She has to know the truth.

But if she starts asking questions, what other secrets will be revealed? Will she meet the same fate as the woman who came before her?

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. I literally couldn’t put this book down and finished in one reading. Forced to move back to a town with her husband where a girlfriend died and it’s a well known town secret. The wife will do anything she can to find some answers.Amazing character development and integration. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The One Before
by Miranda Smith
Bookouture
Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 04 Nov 2020


I am reviewing a copy of The One Before through Bookouture and Netgalley:


She loves him, and trusts him, but what if that’s a mistake?



Madison and her Fiancé Cooper hope that Whisper Falls will be the new start they both want. Whisper Falls is a safe, and quiet town that’s on the shores of a beautiful lake is the perfect place to spend the rest of their lives.



But before long Madison learns that Cooper’s high-school girlfriend Celia disappeared after a party, and then her body was found in the lake.




The town does not believe that Celia’s death was an accident.





Madison loves Cooper, but she needs to know the truth, did he kill Celia?


If she starts answering questions what other secrets will be revealed? Will she end up meeting the same fate as the woman who came before her?



If you are looking for a powerful, fast paced, psychological thriller, I highly recommend The One Before!



Five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!