Por Cada Sorriso Falso

by Dorothy Koomson, Carla Ribeiro (Translator)

A terapeuta e profiler Kez Lanyon fica chocada quando encontra um bebé no banco de trás do seu carro, com um bilhete anónimo a pedir-lhe que tome conta dele. Kez sabe bem quem é a mãe – só não sabe em que tipo de sarilhos se meteu para chegar a esta situação.
Deverá Kez simplesmente tomar conta do bebé, como lhe foi pedido, ou arriscar a segurança da própria família para ir mais a fundo na questão?
Da autora bestseller de A filha da minha melhor amiga, um dilema intenso e um thriller brilhante.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Book Club, Ebooks, Adult

368 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2024

About the author

Hello, my name's Dorothy Koomson and I'll try to make this bit that's all about me as interesting as possible.
I wrote my first novel called There's A Thin Line Between Love And Hate when I was 13. I used to write a chapter every night then pass it around to my fellow convent school pupils every morning, and they seemed to love it.

I grew up in London and then grew up again in Leeds when I went to university. I eventually returned to London to study for my masters degree and stayed put for the following years. I took up various temping jobs and eventually got my big break writing, editing and subbing for various women's magazines and national papers.

Fiction and storytelling were still a HUGE passion of mine and I continued to write short stories and novels every spare moment that I got. In 2001 I had the idea for The Cupid Effect and my career as a published novelist began. And it's been fantastic. In 2006, third novel, My Best Friend's Girl was published. It was incredibly successful - selling nearly 90,000 copies within its first few weeks on sale. Six weeks later, it was selected for the Richard & Judy Summer Reads Book Club and the book went on to sell over 500,000 copies. Oh, there I go again, this is meant to be about me, not my novels.

Okay, back to me. I recently spent two years living in Sydney Australia, and now I'm back in England. But I can't say for how long I'll be in the UK for because I've been well and truly bitten by the travel bug

Reviews

[Ceecee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve been reading this author’s books for a long time now and I usually really enjoy them but this one didn’t work as well as her others because it’s so disjointed. There’s also repetition - one scene keeps reappearing and it’s virtually the same as before. Requires some suspension of disbelief too.

[ReadAlongWithSue ★⋆. ࿐࿔catching up · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Give him to me by Dorothy Koomson this book has almost the same characters in it and we meet Brandee who poor kid was followed by her mother who filmed everything as she had a presence to keep up online. Brandee went on to meet a guy and fall head over heels in love

We meet Kez again from Give him to me….the twisted plots were great. I listened to this on audible and before I realised it had ended. I was engrossed in the book.

I love how the author brings to life her characters even if there’s some you love to hate…just like real life

This starts with an impacting event and letter Please take care of my baby. But don’t try to find me. You’ll put him in danger. x

[crίѕтίŋα•●Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ●• · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Breathe, I tell myself.
Inhale.
Exhale.
I look in the mirror. I force myself to stare.
Nothing.
Nothing there.
Nothing is coming.
I might be safe tonight.
Tonight, I might be free to sleep.”
- Kez

——

“I am having some truly elite times. But you know what? Not everything is as it looks. Sometimes even the smiles are fake cos you’ve got to put them on to get through. You shouldn’t always believe everything you see.”
- Brandee

——

“I don’t know. I just don’t know.
Few people know how the terror of maybe having made the wrong decision walks with me every day of my life. That inside, I am a scared little girl who wants someone to scoop her up and tell her that she made the right choice. That there was nothing else she could have done.”
Kez

[Susan Atkin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I cant believe I am giving one of my fave Authors 1 star. This was a complete mess with a nauseating main character who reminds us on every chapter she is black.
Of all the people in the world, she manages to be counselling a couple with whom the husband she had a one night stand with years ago. What are the chances of that happening?
The sex scenes were laughable and then repeated again in the exact format later on! Back and forth it went with no real structure. Brandee's chapters were just bad, repetitive and senseless. The whole book was fake and did not read like a Koomson book at all.

[Linda Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Smile You Fake is fantastic. It’s terrifyingly authentic, twisty and compelling. I loved it!

My full review is on the My Weekly website.

[Sarah Musgrave · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Por cada sorriso falso” de Dorothy Koomson é um thriller psicológico.

Neste livro, vamos conhecer Kez Lanyon, uma conceituada terapeuta e profiler.

Alguém deixa um bebé no seu carro com um bilhete a pedir que cuide dele e que não vá à sua procura, pois corre perigo de vida.

Kez vai debater-se entre deixar-se ficar a cuidar do bebé e tentar descobrir o que está por detrás daquela situação.

Ela conhece a mãe do bebé, mas desconhecia que estivesse grávida.

O que irá fazer?

PONTOS FORTES:

- escrita fluída

- leitura viciante

- drama familiar

- suspense crescente

- história original

- mulheres fortes

- final imprevísivel

PONTOS FRACOS:

- nada a registar

Devorei este livro. Devo dizer que é um dos favoritos da autora. Gostei muito da Kez e da sua força e do final totalmente imprevísivel.

Cotação: 5 estrelas

[Jackie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m clearly an outlier here, but this did not read like a thriller at all to me. Most of the book was just backstory about Kez’s marriage and old job, and we didn’t really get to know Moe or Brandee very well. Also Brandee’s posts gave me secondhand embarrassment 😬 And Kez was always mad at the people around her. It was marketed as a “heart-pounding novel” but it was a snooze fest for me unfortunately.

[Debbi Barton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this author, the type of one that you don't need to read the blurb, just go in blind because you trust her.

Twenty odd years later, she is still producing 5 star books. What I find incredible is that she keeps coming up with unique tales, thus keeping it fresh.

This book ticked so many boxes for me:

Mental health issues ✔️
Sexy love scenes ✔️
Interesting plot ✔️
Psychological thriller ✔️
Black issues ✔️

Dorothy continues to educate me on issues that I'm ashamed to need to learn about, but make me feel better for learning about them.

I can't praise this author enough, and did I say I met her once at a book signing, and she is 100% a great down to earth fabulous human!

Not a biased review, then? Lol

[Joana Alves | Juca Mindscape · Rating 3 out of 5]

Foi uma leitura interessante e com muitas reviravoltas até ao final, gostei da abordagem ao estudo comportamental mas senti que a autora quis abordar muitas temáticas e isso acabou por tornar a leitura um bocado confusa e aleatória.

[WhatMichaelaReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Fátima Filipa (Mimodoslivros) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esperava muito mais deste livro .
Comecei entusiasmada no início do livro , para saber de quem seria aquele bebé que apareceu no carro da Kez com um bilhete alertando para não ir à procura da mãe, nem fazer perguntas porque corria perigo.
Estava aqui os ingredientes perfeitos para um bom thriller, mas perto de meio do livro o enredo tomou um rumo onde foi perdendo o entusiasmo pela história.
Senti-me perdida com a ligação das personagens, a história não conseguiu envolver-me e perdi o interesse.
No final esperava que o enredo volta-se a envolver mas não consegui simpatizar com o livro .
Embora o livro fale de temas atuais tais como os perigos das redes sociais e da sua exposição não foi para mim o livro que esperava.

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not her best to be honest..the ending was obvious but also unbelievable. Just expected a little more from a great author.

[Dipali Patel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow what an amazing book, really had me hooked. So many twists that I didn’t see coming. This is one of Dorothy’s best yet!

[Karen Chong · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 / 5.0


Overall, I think the plot is Unique, it has all the ingredients to make a banger of a book but I felt the execution of the plot and the delivery lacked. It’s there but it’s a tad too over complicated and that’s where it drops down a star for me. Nevertheless, I have enjoyed her books and still intend to read her latest ones.

The book follows Kez Lanyon a profiler and therapist when she finds a baby on the backseat of a car with a note attached for her specifically to take care of the baby. Catch is, Kez knows who the mother is Brandee who is from a troubled background that once lived in Kez’s home. The thing is, Brandee deactivated all her social media and rumours began swirling about her whereabouts. Kez knows that Brandee is in real danger, and is torn to either take care of the baby she has been asked or whether to use her contacts from her government job to save the young woman.

I have to admit the plot is very unique, one that will keep you guessing on your toes. It’s just a shame, that it did feel a tad convoluted- but it got there in the end. But I have to say I did enojy my read, maybe didn’t live up to the expectations I had for it. But still worth the read!

[Jo Oakins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was ok, bit repetitive in places.

[Ana Ávila l Livros, Lifestyle e Cenas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Opinião completa em vídeo em https://youtu.be/ZKfXzoZbKlA?si=3mM8G...

[Kerryrosalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really imaginative plot in traditional Dorothy Koomson style! I listened to this as an audiobook and it worked really well.

[Tracy Fenton · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s been ages since I have read a Dorothy Koomson book, despite have ALL her back catalogue on my kindle, and having been invited to the launch party of Every Smile You Fake earlier this year, I finally managed to start this book.

This is the story of Kez, she is now a therapist and her previous role was as a criminal profiler. After a book event she returns to her car to find a baby in the backseat with a note asking her to take care of the baby. Almost immediately Kez realises she knows who the mother is. It’s Brandee (two E’s) a young women who lived with Kez and her family and is now missing.

Despite Brandee’s request to not coming looking for her, Kez is NOT someone who does what she’s told or expected to do. She will ALWAYS do what she thinks it the right thing regardless of her own safety.

The book has 2 main narrators; Kez who does NOT suffer fools gladly or take any sh*t and Brandee who is sharing her side of the story through Social Media and Videos.

It’s refreshing to find a female, middle-aged character who is strong, intelligent and likeable. Kez’s relationship with her husband Jeb displays her vulnerable side and her relationship with her step-son Moe and foster daughter Brandee show her compassion and unconditional love, but it’s her ability to read people that make her such a force to be reckoned with.

The story covers some very topical issues which I don’t want to give away, but needless to say it’s an original and twisty and clever story which I thoroughly enjoyed and definitely recommend.

[Sarah B · Rating 3 out of 5]

As soon as I saw there was a new Dorothy Koomson book I was excited to read it, knowing that she always delivers. Unfortunately this was not like previous books of hers, I struggled to get into this one. I did enjoy the last quarter of the book when the action kicked in and plots started to tie up, which gave it the extra star.

[Tommy Thacker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t go anywhere, some shock moments but also was quite predictable and boring. Ending was a bit rubbish

[Sofia Granja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apesar de adorar esta escritora, este livro demorou a entrar no meu sistema. A história é um bocadinho rebuscada e bastante previsível. Desiludida por não ter sido como costumam ser os seus livros.

[Sonya B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a while to get into it, but got better by the page!

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

When Kez finds an abandoned baby in her car with a note, she knows someone she loves is in danger. Dedicated to finding out what’s happened and to save someone she calls family, Kez unpacks a series of events that lead to this baby being left behind…

I didn’t like this book, and that’s really hard for me to say. I always try and give a book the benefit of the doubt, but Every Smile You Fake was really not it for me. It disguised itself as a thriller when I purchased it at The Works, but didn’t read as a thriller at all. I found it to be extremely repetitive, and almost rolled my eyes when I thought I got to the end only to find out that there’s another part.

Though the plot had some promising moments, I didn’t overly enjoy it wholeheartedly. I wanted more and every time it just failed to hit the mark. I didn’t enjoy the characters, which also didn’t help.

The switch between past and present was interesting to begin with, giving you further insight into Kez’s life, but it soon became clear that her past was the reason she was in this conundrum, with the ending becoming quite obvious quite quickly.

I almost DNF’d this book multiple times, but I pushed through hoping it would get better but unfortunately it just missed the mark for me.

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise behind this, the rise of social media, sharpening and AI, is definitely a topic worth exploring - do read the author's notes at the end, some frightening stats there.
I enjoy a Dorothy Koomson novel, and was keen to reach the end of this to see how things panned out.
The reveal at the end about Dennis, however, seemed just a step too far.
I note there's to be another Kez novel so perhaps he'll get just desserts then??

[Kirstie Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone that is a fan of Dorothy Koomson's books, know that her books are in a different league and I never know what sort of genre they fit into.
This book felt a little darker, and hit a little different than all of her others.
This isn't necessarily a negative as I still really enjoyed the book, but to be honest it felt like it was written by a different author than I know and love.
Would recommend as it's still a great read.

[Bukola Akinyemi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Smile You Fake
By Dorothy Koomson

A griping phycological thriller that will have you considering how you use the internet.

Themes include deepfakes, inter-parenting, motherhood and how blood doesn’t necessarily make a good mother.

Captivating right from the start to the end with loads of plot twists. I see why Dorothy Koomson is called The Queen of the Big Reveal.

This was a fast and enjoyable read for me even though it was reflective. I loved the main female character Kez, she was such a strong and principled woman although you may not think so when you first meet her.

[Hannah Jay]

I enjoyed this even tho Kes gets fingered three separate times lmao 😭 once was enough, Dorothy. I forgive you bc I love u tho. Anyway am eager to return to book 2 now that I’ve read book 1 xxxx

[abi ⁠✿⁠ ⁠♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

dorothy koomson is a way of life for me at this point and i would not have it any other way.

as usual, i hurdled myself over every obstacle (the living room sofa) so i could get my grubby little paws on this book once the post arrived. upon opening this book, i was transported into a world of dorothy magic.

dorothy's books are always incredible. they leave you wanting more and more, and i often find myself staring open-mouthed at how the story has panned out - she's not the queen of the big reveal for nothing. this one in particular is very in tune with the times of today which makes it terrifying in a new way.

dorothy tackles the dangers of deepfakes and how artificial intelligence is not just for the self checkouts in sainsbury's (other supermarkets are available). deepfakes are slowly becoming our reality and we are finding it harder to differentiate; the destruction this can cause is shocking. she has dedicated a character to the rise of parents who choose to share every aspect of their children's life - not their life with their children, their children's lives - and how this can become debilitating for the children as grown ups. and, of course, she noted the uproar that the misogynists online are creating with their poison and their power.

each aspect of this book is incredibly terrifying - but dorothy does a wonderful job.

dorothy's writing is, as always, immaculate, character-focused, and plot-filled. she has once more created characters that come alive and could easily be the people you know in real life.

dorothy has stunned once again in this brand new novel and i could not get enough of it; a thoroughly enjoyable read which draws you in deep and her talent truly makes you care about the characters she has so lovingly created for us.

[Suzi]

DNF @ 52%

Honestly I kind of hated this and can't bring myself to continue.

I really liked the opening chapter - the way Kes ripped the guy apart by profiling him and calling out his bullshit was good, but honestly that was the only thing I liked. I thought we would have more of Kes using her profiling skills, but it wasn't mentioned again (at least in the half of the book I read).

All of the 'Brandee' video were cringy and repetitive, I just started skipping them as what they covered was just regurgitated in the next Kes chapter anyway so they were pointless.

I didn't like whole backstory of Kes and Jeb - the way they met on a one night stand then he and his wife just happened to come to her for counselling. And the sex scenes were unnecessary and felt completely out of place in the story, as well as them being practically copied and pasted from one to the next.

My breaking point was the whole flashback chapters to Kes starting her 'government job' and the testing/harassment by Dennis. It was just so badly written and unbelievable.

I looked up some spoiler reviews to see how this panned out and I'm happy to DNF this one, it sounds like it just gets more ridiculous as it goes.

It's a shame as this was a first from this author but I'm now so put off trying anything else from her.

[Kim Snaith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first book by Dorothy Koomson, and it certainly won't be my last! I've been utterly gripped, and while I wasn't *fully* sold on the last act, it was certainly action-packed, thrilling and fascinating - just perhaps not entirely believable.

This is predominantly the story of Kez, a profiler and therapist with a difficult professional past. You'll find out what she's been through over the course of the book, but it's harrowing. You'll also learn about Brandee, a young woman who Kez considers to be her adopted daughter, someone she's been caring for for years.

Without warning, Kez goes back to her car after work one day to find a small baby in the back, along with a note to take care of him. She knows the baby belongs to Brandee - and she knows Brandee must be in some kind of danger. Cue Kez trying to figure it out, and becoming tangled in a world of fake social media, influences and a criminal network more dangerous than you could imagine.

This book GOES PLACES. I've been listening on Audible and have been absolutely hooked to every word - helped by the excellent voicework. You'll learn about Kez and her husband, their relationship integral to the story in more ways than you can imagine. You'll learn about Brandee, about her awful mother and tumultuous upbringing. There's also a few very spicy scenes! 🌶 As I've mentioned, the story comes together in a way that's not altogether believable (at least based on my worldview!) but it doesn't stop it being utterly thrilling. Highly recommended to any thriller fan, and I can't wait to pick up another book by Koomson. 🙌