Description
Nicci French is the author of the bestsellers Secret Smile, Land of the Living, The Red Room, Beneath the Skin, and Killing Me Softly, as well as two earlier books, The Memory Game and The Safe House, both published in England to great acclaim. From AudioFile The couple writing as Nicci French do a terrific psychological thriller. In this one, Miranda realizes, after a one-week fling, that Brendan is a creep and dumps him. Harboring a psychopathic lust for vengeance against her and those she loves, Brendan invades like an insidious parasite. He's a stalker with a twist. He does it from the inside--dating her sister and ingratiating himself with her family and friends. Anne Flosnik convincingly agonizes as Miranda makes a series of bad choices. Brendan whispers obscenities to her and appears in her bedroom in the middle of the night, yet she tells no one. No wonder no one sees Brendan's evil but Miranda. Flosnik keeps the energy high even when the situations are a stretch, and when Miranda finally fights back, Flosnik makes her strength believable. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
Features & Highlights
- Miranda’s sister, Kerri, has a new boyfriend. He’s a raven-haired, handsome charmer who seems to dote on Kerri. But Brendan isn’t the man he says he is. Miranda should know, because she broke off her own affair with him just a few weeks ago when she found him reading her diary. Now Brendan claims that it was he who ended their short-lived relationship — and everyone believes him. When he and Kerri announce their engagement, Miranda’s parents are thrilled for their shyer, less confident daughter. Then Kerri and Brendan beg Miranda to let them live in her apartment until their new home is ready. Against her better judgment, Miranda agrees. Like a virus, Brendan starts spreading destruction throughout her life. He invades her privacy and disrupts her relationships with her family and friends. And then the real nightmare begins… Like the obscenities he whispers into her ear, his onslaughts are as undetectable as they are devastating. Those closest to her begin to doubt her mental stability and accuse her of the very thing she believes drives Brendan: obsession. When Miranda decides to take off the gloves, fight back, and discover what is behind her enemy’s bemused, secret smile, the consequences will be terrifying.
