Tag: Freida McFadden

November 2025–Part Three:

December 1, 2025

Book #86:

The Intruder by Freida McFadden (292 pages).  I listened to this one on audio. It’s a super-fast listen (I can even listen to this author’s books at 1.5 speed which I appreciate) and it’s easy to follow the plot, even on audio. The premise here is a single woman living in the middle of nowhere in a decrepit cabin, discovers a young girl covered in blood outside of her window in the middle of the night during a storm. There is a parallel story about a young girl living with her abusive hoarder mom. As always with the author’s novels, the writing is serviceable. You read these for the escapist plots, not the writing. There are a few twists. I did guess the main one right away because I’m familiar with the author’s favorite tropes, so that was a bit of a bummer. It’s a fun book to listen to while doing something else (puzzling, walking, hiking, etc) so I’ll give it 3 stars.

Book #87:

A Duke Never Tells by Suzanne Enoch (Length: 363 pages). This novel has such a fun premise: Meg, a young lady promised to a duke she’s never met, and her aunt/companion, Clara, decide to hide their identities in hopes of finding out about who the duke is before the wedding. But the duke and his right-hand man of business switch their positions unbeknownst to the women. The duke has been away from his ancestral home for years thanks to his failed relationship with his father, and the castle is in great disrepair, ultimately causing Meg (and Clara) to be stuck in the castle for a fortnight. Chaos and a lot of fun ensue. I enjoyed reading about the castle being put back to rights, the writing is solid, and the chemistry is believable on the page. This is closed door if that matters to you. 5 stars!

Book #88:

The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia (Length: 341 pages).   I don’t recall where I first learned about this domestic thriller, but my library hold came in, and I started reading it right away. I then had a difficult time putting it down, which is always a positive sign for me. Two women both want to escape their lives, for different reasons. This novel has endless twists and turns throughout and the narrative is advanced via the perspective of several of the pairs’ coworkers and friends, which is a bit unique. There is lots of vengeance, a little bit of murder and so-so writing. The plot is definitely propulsive and that’s what made this a fun, quick read. 3 stars from me.

November 2025–Part One:

November 12, 2025

Book #76:

Kill For Me Kill For You by Steve Cavanagh (351 pages).  This mystery author comes highly recommended by sources I trust, and I was excited to finally read this novel (of perfect length!). Well-constructed with an interesting premise, this novel is about two women who each want some killed, and who agree to kill the other’s target, giving the other a perfect alibi. This is a such a fun read! It’s propulsive, well-written (because bad writing is distracting in mysteries, let’s be honest) with people to root for. There are some great twists I didn’t see coming–the final twist really floored me, given a particular detail the author hid. A solid 5 stars from me and I’ll be recommending this in person from now on for a good, well-written mystery. (For true literary mysteries, my go-to recommendation is Louise Penny’s Three Pines series of course).

Book #77:

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower (Length: 265 pages). Yes, Emma is back. These wonderful novels are entirely addicting, and it takes great willpower for me not to read them all in order. (There are 8 so far in the series–25 total are expected–and I have the next 3 waiting in the wings on my Kindle). This particular installment is set in the fall through to New Year’s Eve. The focus is still on Emma’s deepening platonic friendships with 3 men: Pierce, the boarder in her attached guesthouse, Duke Islington and the young Vicar Hawkes. I loved Emma’s handmade Christmas gifts she gave to these three, and again, so many clever bits of conversation and laugh-out-loud turns of phrase here. Emma isn’t a perfect character or human being but she’s a total delight and her resilience is admirable. 5 stars from me. Once again.

Book #78:

What the Dead Know by Barbara Butcher (Length: 289 pages).   This is a non-fiction account written by a medico-legal investigator with New York City’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The author’s job is to determine the cause and manner of deaths at scenes of fatal accidents, suicides and homicides. These accounts are disturbing, graphic, depressing and scary but are also well-worth a read as the dead deserve our attention to their stories. The author has personal battle scars of her own and is honest about her past addiction. Her background colors her accounts of how she handles the crime scenes and her clients and the writing is top-notch here. These stories are memorable, and this is honestly difficult to put down. I absolutely recommend this one. 4.5 stars.

Book #79:

The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham (428 pages).  Boarding school and campus novels are my jam so I had to pick up this new novel written by Elin Hilderbrand and her adult daughter which is set in the imaginary Tiffin Academy in New England. Rich kids behaving badly plus faculty making questionable life decisions set in a gorgeous stereotypical boarding school experience (with gourmet meals to boot) make this a really fun read. This novel is told from various perspectives: the female headmaster, the new girl (a junior), a few teachers and the student body itself. Nothing too serious happens but there is a bit of a plot and book two (about senior year) is en route. I do want to read about what happens to these students and I’ll definitely check it out. 4 stars.

Book #80:

Do Not Disturb by Freida McFadden (Length: 327 pages). I listened to this one as this is one of my favorite authors to listen to when I want an easy-to-follow, psychological mystery/thriller. This particular novel (as is the case with most of this author’s novels) is not well-written. The premise here is interesting on its face: a woman kills her abusive husband and then hides out in an out-of the-way dilapidated motel, named the Bates Motel. There’s a profile of a woman sitting in the window of the house behind the motel, surprise, surprise. The plot IS propulsive, and I kept picking this one back up, so there’s that. The resolution of the story is pretty straightforward, but apparently the author isn’t sure we understood it so she has a character walk us through the resolution step by step, in case we didn’t get it. The twists are fun here, if not a bit obvious. Don’t expect too much with this one but I’ll give it 3 stars for its entertainment value.

July 2023–Part Two

July 27, 2023

Thank you for joining me here!   I hope you enjoy this series and I’d love to hear from you about what you are reading these days.

Book #1:

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix (Length: 410 pages) This is the second book by this author that I’ve read. (I reviewed Horrorstor--his horror novel set in an IKEA a while back). Like that novel, this one is a WILD ride. This is a mystery/thriller/horror novel which features Patricia Campbell, an ordinary housewife in a true crime book club in Charleston, when a charming stranger moves into town. He’s sensitive to sunlight and happens to be on the scene of a few disturbing abductions. Patricia suspects he’s up to no good but he’s so charming that everyone else loves him. There are some very disturbing scenes in this novel, but it’s very well-written and the plot is compulsively readable. All in all, while this is quite odd in terms of content, it’s very memorable and I would recommend if you aren’t squeamish.

Book #2:

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden (Length: 336 pages). I think this is the third psychological thriller by this author that I’ve read, and apparently this one is her most popular. I read this one instead of listening to it as I did with the previous two. The premise of this novel is a young woman named Millie Calloway is grateful to take a job as a live-in maid for a wealthy couple with an odd daughter as Millie was recently released from prison. The set-up is creepy right off the bat, and there’s a big twist halfway through. It’s very predictable if you’ve read any psychological thrillers but I do enjoy this author’s writing and I just enjoyed the ride here.

Book #3:

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano (Length: 390 pages). This gorgeous family epic featuring the four Padavano sisters is my book club’s August book. Set in Chicago in the 1960s through the 1980s, this is beautifully written. So well-written that I often stopped to re-read certain phrases. The chapters alternate among 4 main characters, and the 4 sisters are very similar to those in the classic Little Women. I absolutely adore this novel and will remember certain plot points for a long time. I predict this will be in the top 3 books of the year for me for sure!