Smile for the Cameras by Miranda Smith is a gripping, suspense-filled thriller that evokes the nostalgic tension of I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream, while delivering a fresh and contemporary take on the classic whodunit formula. With a strong sense of atmosphere and steadily rising stakes, Smith pulls readers into a world where the past refuses to stay buried—and someone is out for revenge.

The plot unfolds with precise pacing, keeping the reader guessing as secrets unravel and danger closes in. True to the genre, the question is never if the killer is someone familiar—it’s who and why. Smith masterfully keeps those answers just out of reach until the final, satisfying reveal.

With a cast of well-drawn characters and a tension that builds with each chapter, Smile for the Cameras is a thoroughly entertaining read that balances nostalgia with originality. Miranda Smith continues to prove herself as a compelling voice in suspense fiction, and this novel will leave readers eager to see what she delivers next.

Twenty years ago, Ella Winters became famous as the final girl in the horror movie "Grad Night", but the true terror happened off-screen, a secret she and her co-stars promised to keep quiet. Ella then left Hollywood to care for her mother, hoping to escape her guilt. Now, after her mother's death, Ella plans a comeback, joining a reunion documentary being filmed at the original set in rural Tennessee. However, when cast members start dying exactly like their characters in the movie, it becomes clear that their shared secret is no longer a secret.

While it took a little bit for me to get into this one, once it found its stride, I was HOOKED! The last 25% really packed in the classic horror fun, and there were some twists that I did not see coming AT ALL. This is a great read for anyone who is a fan of the slasher horror movies of the 80's. I do wish that I had a little bit more reason to care about the characters though. I didn't really feel anything for most of them, and they felt a bit YA (I actually thought that this was a YA book, but I can't find anything online that verifies this). Maybe my complaints are a bit nitpicky though, because at the end of the day, this was fun, gorey, and twisty!

Do you love 90s slashers?

Do you like cursed film novels such as Burn the Negative and Silver Nitrate?

Is Jamie Lee Curtis your ultimate Scream Queen?

If you answered yes to any of the questions, then you need to stop what you're doing and go read this book! It's a slashing, dashing good time with plenty of gore, horror nostalgia, and mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one starts with a promising premise: a reunion of the cast of a 90s slasher film that rocketed them all to stardom... but during the filming of which a dark secret event occurred leaving Final Girl Ella wanting anything but to return to the set.

However, despite the alternating timelines, sometimes unreliable narrator and a few good twists, I just never connected to the characters much and never understood why Grad Night had become the hit they claimed it to be--the screenplay excerpts didn't exactly shine.

Still, a quick, easy read if you're looking for the nostalgia of '90s horror films like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Thanks to Bantam Books and Netgalley for the Digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. Expected publication date June 24, 2025.

Smile for the cameras is a horror/thriller book by Miranda Smith. As a horror movie lover, I was intrigued by the plot, and once I started reading, I was not disappointed. I loved the references to all my favorite horror movies; it gave the book a very Scream like vibe. Smile for the Cameras did a very god job of weaving together the past, present, and the screenplay together. I will say I wish Grad Night was a real movie, because I feel like I would be a fan. The author, Miranda Smith does a good job of slowly building the tension and suspense; it kept me wanting to read more and It made it difficult to put the book down. The book kept me on the edge of my seat from the first chapter to the last page. The twists and turns kept it difficult to guess the ending. Thanks NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a gifted copy of this novel.

This is a perfect read for slasher summer! This gives all the vibes of an 80s slasher film with a modern day twist. I read this one pretty much all in one sitting because I really enjoyed the premise behind it. I really enjoyed how the FMC isn’t your typical celebrity, and is more down-to-earth; this made her more relatable to me as a reader. Some of the other characters did seem to be a bit stilted in comparison, however. I also loved the script interwoven with the modern-day scenes, as they converge in a very interesting way (no spoilers!). I also did not see the end coming at all, although I did find it to be believable. Definitely recommend giving this one a read, especially for summer!

Smile For The Cameras
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“We’re testing each other. Who will be the first to break? To shatter into pieces? Who will be the last to survive?”
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Something about slasher movies make for the perfect summer vibe. If you’re a fan of Cabin Fever, I Know What You Did Last Summer, or Scream you may love this book and I would honestly pick it up just based off the cover! Imagine your favorite slasher cast goes back to the filming site 20 years later for a reunion. We know everyone seems a bit hesitant about coming together again, but we don’t really know why and it was a fun, creepy, keep you guessing the whole time journey! It’s single POV and I think sometimes with thrillers that can be a bit boring, but it worked here! I think it played out well because along with present chapters we get past chapters during the time they were filming the original movie and we also get chapters that are laid out in a script form which was fun! I was guessing along the way of who it was going to be and did not guess correctly which I always enjoy and it also had a twist that surprised me, definitely recommend!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
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Thank you @mirandasmithwriter @randomhouse and @netgalley for this e-arc, it comes out June 24th! This is my first by this author and definitely want to look up more books.

As someone who loves going back to rewatch 90's thrillers like Scream or I Know What You Did Last Summer, this made for a great thriller read!

We are going between two different timelines, "then" when the actors are filming the allusive "Grad Night" horror flick and "now" when they are meeting up for the first time in years to film a reunion tribute documentary to the series, along with actual screenplay scripts of the film itself. All the while, we are always reminded of the horrific thing that happened back when they were filming, someone went missing and was never seen again. Likely, presumed dead. Now, with everyone coming together for the reunion, they are having to watch themselves in their interviews to not reveal all of their darkest secret.

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I think this was a great popcorn thriller, nothing super standout to the genre, but definitely a great time for any horror movie lover. The film script was pretty predictable with the ultimate final girl trope being the ending. But with the different time jumps, it kept the pacing going, and kept me wanting to read more to figure out what exactly happened all those years ago. Also, as someone who can sometimes guess plot twists, I did not see this one coming! It was a great twist and I really liked how everything was wrapped up in the end.

*Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing a free copy in exchange for my honest review.*

Another great read by Miranda Smith! A bit of a locked room thriller with a fantastic cast of characters. A roller coaster ride that made it impossible to know who to trust. Non stop thrills and action. Great storytelling.
Thank you NetGalley, Miranda Smith and Bantam Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I have decided that the pacing of this book deserves an A+. We have the present day, the pacing is normal, typical, reminiscing on the past and alluding to something awful that happened. Will something terrible happen again? Then in the flashbacks, the drama comes quicker, with on-set incidents and an understanding that someone we are reading about is going to die. The action happens faster. Then we have the script and book, from the first excerpt we are thrown into the horror and action. It was perfect and meant there wasn't a dull moment while also allowing us to get to know the characters. It's a typical horror story with a great structure. I really enjoyed the different characters, especially the MC. I loved how she stood up for herself and the end, man...I am a sucker for a twist. It wasn't what I was expecting and I loved it.

LOVING this horror - locked room, reunion, friends and creepy people. The past and present narration - as well as the scene summaries from filming give this book an incredibly creepy perspective.
Ella is bullied into returning to the set of her first film - the start of the Grad Night series. Struggling to get her name out there, Ella agrees to participate. And the fun begins. The messy relationships.

3.25 stars!

I really loved the idea of this one and was excited for a good slasher/mystery. It was far from a boring read or a bad one at all, it just felt a bit lackluster for me unfortunately. The characters weren't un-enjoyable exactly but there wasn't really anyone I found myself wanting to root for, up until the very end, where I did find myself hoping for a certain someone (won't name them, for spoilery reasons) to either be the killer and win (a bad sign, maybe) or be the sole survivor.

I knew twists were coming, because the story of what allegedly happened wasn't being hidden at all it seemed, but the first major reveal wasn't my favorite. I will say, the ending really picked up after that though and had me gasping a couple times. Overall, a satisfying enough finale.

The writing itself was good, the pacing was on the slow side but mostly fine, but the execution just didn't quite live up to what I'd hoped for.

This was a fun Summerween thriller! It was definitely slower than expected at first, though. The narrator vaguely tells us that something bad happened in the past over and over, but it doesn’t get fun and slasher-y until about 2/3 of the way through.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This is a good book for someone who enjoys 90s slasher films. While the pacing was kind of slow, I did enjoy the plot twists and the villain at the end did surprise me. None of the side characters were particularly likeable so it was hard to care when they started getting picked off.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Final girl - check. “We did something bad” secret - check. Masked killer - check. Smile for the Cameras is a horror/thriller that feels like a nod to some of the ‘90’s horror movies like I Know What You Did Last Summer. I’m a sucker for ‘90’s nostalgia. Twenty years after the slasher film Grad Night came out, the original cast and crew are reunited in the same location to film a reunion. Not only are all the members of the original cast there but also a twenty year old secret they all share is there as well. Told in a dual timeline, we find out how the cast got along then and how it’s affecting them now. We also find out this secret that has haunted a few of them all for those twenty years. I really enjoyed Miranda Smith’s Smile for the Cameras. I love a good slasher book and this was a good slasher book. The chapters were short and that is always a positive for me, especially in a horror novel. It keeps the pacing fast. Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam for the eARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for- Ballantine for the eARC.

This really worked for me. I loved the dual timelines and the horror on a horror movie set. I liked the way it all unfolded and the complexities of the characters.

I definitely enjoyed Smile for the Cameras. From the beginning, I was drawn to the character of Ella. She felt emotionally believable and layered, and I stayed invested in her journey all the way through. The story balances present-day tension with introspection as Ella processes what happened years ago and what it means to return to the place where it all started.

The alternating structure between past events, the present, and the movie script chapters gave the story a unique voice that kept me engaged. I also loved the isolated cabin setting. It added an eerie atmosphere and built suspense without relying too much on outright horror.

The supporting characters were vivid and distinct, and the mystery of what happened in the past was intriguing. There were some solid twists near the end that took me by surprise, which I appreciated.

Where the book lost a little strength for me was in the climax. Once the killing began and the danger was immediate, it became hard to believe that the characters would stop to talk about what happened twenty years ago instead of focusing fully on escaping. In that moment, survival would realistically take over. That stretch in logic pulled me out of the moment a bit.

Also, I think the official synopsis does the book a huge disservice. It gives away a plot element that doesn’t happen until more than halfway through. Readers are told upfront that people begin dying in ways that mirror the movie, but that doesn’t actually happen until deep into the book. It makes the story seem like a horror-thriller with a focus on unmasking a killer, when in reality much of the book is slower and more reflective.

I think the story would be stronger if readers were allowed to experience that development as a twist.

That said, this was an emotionally engaging, immersive read with a compelling main character and a creative structure. I’d definitely recommend it to readers who enjoy suspenseful, character-driven mysteries with a fresh format and strong atmosphere.

Thank you to both Net Galley and Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read this book early!

The plot had great potential to be amazing. I love the idea of following a woman going back to where she filmed a cult classic slasher movie. I also liked getting the multiple timelines and even the movie script throughout the story.

However, I feel that it didn't live up to it's full potential. The script felt like an after thought. If it was a movie I don't think it would have been at all successful. I found the characters to be one dimensional and at times boring characters.

This was good. I would actually give it 3.5 stars. I think others will like it. This was my first Miranda Smith read, but I think I will read more of hers.

I didn’t quite care for the twist because I don’t think there was enough to have someone guess it. I did like the addition of the script for the horror movie in it. I think it should be read because I don’t think the script would translate well on audio. The ending was a bit choppy, bunt overall, I did enjoy it. I kept reading to figure everything out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this advanced copy. These are my opinions.

As a huge fan of horror movies, I was excited to read this one. A cult-classic, a final girl, and a dark secret? What more could I want?

This book did a lot of things well. I liked how the movie script was interspersed throughout the novel, and the alternating timelines helped keep the plot moving. The ending definitely surprised me, which I appreciated!

However, the characters were pretty one-dimensional and boring, and the scares didn't really work.

This book would be a great summer read if you're looking for something easy but ultimately forgettable.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.