Tag: freida-mcfadden

“She is a short read… but a deadly one….” Sheila

Talia Kemper has sent in appeal after appeal – only to be denied time and again to be pardoned from her Death Row sentence for killing her husband. Coming to terms with the inevitable is hard enough, but catching sight of her supposedly dead husband in a visiting area takes her over the top…
With the clock ticking down, Talia knows without a doubt her husband is alive – but who will listen?


Ok. I know, I know, I know. And I know that you know that I know that I said I was on a break from McFadden and not only broke that statement once… but now twice.
I can’t be trusted.
In my defense… I listen to a lot of audio when driving and working outside – often struggling to find my next listen as I am on my way out the door to the next thing. Seeing a new McFadden and knowing it’s going to be engaging – I went for it.

I did not catch when I selected this listen that it was a short story. I am not drawn to short stories – I like to really get to know the players in a book and most likely would have passed on this if I had caught that… but I didn’t and I listened.. and here we are.

Color me impressed. For a much shorter read/listen than your usual McFadden, she was able to put together a fully played out storyline that did not feel rushed, and still left me with that twisty surprise in the end that you expect from this author. As you may know from my review here that she does not always hit the mark – I feel she did this time.
Death Row is the perfect little mini read – enticing, and although a quick listen, it did not feel rushed.

Rated: 3.75 out of 5
Read Author Before: Yes
Read Author Again: Even if I said no, you know I would be lying 😉
Where Read: Gardening
Book Club Worthy: Too short for that, but if you are looking for just a little tie over listen for a drive – here it is 🙂

Can a book be too twisty? I think so. ~Sheila

Cassie is so excited about her new relationship with Joel. How can she be so lucky? Cassie’s life as a bookstore owner is simple, and Joel – well, Joel is a handsome, kind guy, and a doctor. What could he possibly want with a bookish girl like Cassie?

But Joel appears smitten. He takes Cassie to meet his friends, who are not very welcoming. One in particular continues to throw how wonderful and beautiful Joel’s ex was in Cassie’s face.

As the relationship continues… Cassie begins to get calls calling her names – and then the bookstore appears to be broken into…. strange things are happening, and Cassie has to wonder… who is after her? Is it Joel’s ex?

While this book had the elements of what I love about Freida McFadden’s books…. good character development and a catchy storyline… I think I have finally come to terms with the fact that maybe I need to take a break from McFadden’s books.. I am feeling a bit caught in the spider web of McFadden books and looking for that next thriller fix.

I want to say this was better than the last book I read by McFadden, but.. no. Confusing and a whole lot of extra stuff that went… nowhere. Like being led down the wrong rabbit hole but this one for some reason didn’t flow a=or have the delicious shock value of discovering you were wrong and it sufdetly makes sense…. yes, I was wrong on what I was thinking … but it wasn’t the delicious WOW I was hoping for… if anything… I was annoyed and a little lost.
The ending…. hmmm.
I did like the book…. but think perhaps I am getting too critical of this very good author and raising my bar too high.
That said, Freida and I are on a break.

Not this one…. Sheila

Charly McKenna has a wonderful career as a well-respected dermatologist. With a gorgeous apartment that looks over Central Park, and a handsome Lawyer husband… Charly feels like she has it all.
Or so she thought…

Arriving home one evening, Charly encounters someone waiting for her in the dark, and a bullet that goes through her skull leaves her hospitalized, but alive.

But is being alive all it’s cracked up to be? Charly is no longer certain…

Charly has a long road ahead of her. Her speech and memory are infected. She can not walk, and with the brain injury, she also has no sensation or feeling in her left side and can not see anything on the left; this is known as left-neglect. She needs help with everything from washing to getting dressed, to using the bathroom.

With much physical therapy for many months, some things are slowly improving, but Charly still only has fractions of memory of what happened the night she was shot – was it a break-in? Or something much more sinister… and very much premeditated….

It’s no secret that I have enjoyed MANY of McFadden’s books. The twisty good thrillers that are enjoyable to read/listen to, and usually have a twisty surprise as well. But as in all things, they can’t all be winners.

This is the second of her books that I have found the repetition to be grating. Almost like word count filler – the description of left neglected told over and over and over again… pulled me out of the story. The fact that her husband was handsome…yes, you’ve said this. Many times. We get it.
And – Charly felt weak to me… and this gripe, I will own, as admittedly, I do not enjoy books where the protagonist is weak – and I’m not talking weak because of the injury -as Charly’s story unfolds in flash backs of her past as the story builds – there is a weakness in how she handles situations that would have sent me running.

I could rant on – but I’m not going to. There were some likable qualities to the book. I liked the supporting characters more than those who held the front row seats. Jamie was awesome… even when he was a jerk. And some of the staff at the hospital? Loved them.
I finished the book because I did want to know… unlike McFadden’s usual tactic of surprising me when it all comes together… this one did not.

If you want to read a really good book on this subject, read Left Neglected by Lisa Genova.

If you have read this book, I would love to hear what you think. If you are a reader of McFadden, are you also finding good McFadden as well as the not-so-much?

Rated: 2.5 out of 5
Read Author Before: yes
Read Author Again: I am right now (I can’t help myself lol)
Where Read: Listened on audio – bouncing around the house and cleaning out the garage

Yup. She did it again. #blownaway ~Sheila

Millie thought she had found the answer to her prayers when Nina Winchester said, “Welcome to the family – and please, call me Nina.”

After time in prison, Millie is just trying to get on her feet and the job cleaning and a little light cooking for the Winchesters seems to be just the ticket to setting herself back on track. Sure the house is an absolute mess, and their daughter Cecelia is awful, yet Millie is up for the challenge. It doesn’t help that Mr. Winchester is kind and well.. easy on the eyes.

Yet as days turn into weeks, Millie senses something is very very wrong. Nina, or Mrs. Winchester as she has told Millie more than once since her date of hire that they are not friends so not to call her Nina, seems to be… well… a little crazy. She tells Millie to do something and then screams at her that she never said that. She talks down to her every chance she has and often threatens to fire her. Millie knows she is so lucky that she has the job with her record and just needs to keep saving but it gets harder and harder – and the creepy attic bedroom she stays in with the lock outside the door is a bit much…

Do they not understand what she is capable of?

Somehow… in all the books I have read by McFadden, I missed this one, the one, by all accounts it seems, made Frieda McFadden an author to keep an eye on.
It was Jenny who does my hair who mentioned it a few months ago and with all the other books I was reading it didn’t stick to add it to my list. Then, this past week Jenny asked if I had read it as she is now reading the third book, The Housemaid Is Watching.
Well… I knew I was behind so got right on it!

The Housemaid is definitely good. As mentioned before, I am finding this pattern with me and the McFadden books. At some point – something usually makes me mad or feels like she is being too predictable – yet, I have discovered that IMO, she does this intentionally. I believe McFadden loves to throw the reader off – loves to make them think “Oh Frieda, really? That’s a little obvy isn’t it?” And then – she slams on the breaks – puts you in a tailspin and suddenly the book is upside down… what you thought was true was nothing but a bucket of red herrings and in the end….
Your hair is mussed, you are smoking a cigarette (you don’t smoke..) and you have a goofy look on your face.
Yeah… it be like that.

The Housemaid, in all of its glory, has rightfully earned the reputation of readers suddenly taking a closer look at what McFadeen is doing and she continues to create Psychological Thrillers that amaze. I was once again taken in and better for it. The Housemaid, while not perfect, is a book to add to your TBR list – and soon.

I’m already digging into The Housemaid’s Secret….book two.

Rated: 5 out of 5
Read Authro Before: Yes
Read Author Again: I already am 🙂
Where Read: I listen to this on audio at home while cleaning and puzzling… its Minnesota winter after all

McFadden never ceases to surprise me! ~Sheila

Nora Davis knows to keep her eyes open and alert to her surroundings. She learned this lesson as a child when she watched her parents be incarcerated for kidnapping and killing women of a certain age and look.
Raised by her Grandmother, Nora, 26 years later, now a surgeon, keeps mostly to herself, living alone – well, unless you count the stray cat. Which she doesn’t… not yet. Her father remains in prison and will for the rest of his life. And thankfully, no one knows- not friends, not co-workers, about her past or her connection to the “Handyman”, the serial killer who removed his victim’s hands.
At least, she thought no one knew.

When two young women turn up dead with their hands severed AND they just happen to both be women who were Nora’s patients. The Police are knocking on Nora’s door and the similarities between what happened then – and what is happening now are just too great.
Is it a copycat killer looking for the notoriety of the famous Serial Killer the Handyman? Or is it something even more sinister?

It’s no secret that I am a McFadden fan. I was so excited to see a new book had been published and could not wait to be fully engaged in what new creation she has come up with – and for the most part… she did not disappoint.
My only time peeve (and it is a small one) – was the repeating of the description of the women victims too often (like… make a drinking game out of how often it said often)… I get that it was making a point and a connection to the victims of the past to those in the present as well as Nora noticing similar traits in her acquaintances which, in her mind, meant they could be potential targets for whoever was doing the killing…. but – it weighed on me as it was mentioned too frequently.
Other than the peeve, McFadden got me again. When you think you know that they know that you know and… well…. you are completely wrong – that’s a McFadden. The way it all wrapped up left me impressed again and of course… wanting more.

New to McFadden? If you like a good psychological thriller – take your pick:

One by One
The Perfect Son
The Inmate
The Coworker
The Teacher

Rating: 4 out of 5
Read Author Before: Yup
Read Author Again: Oh Yeah
Where Read: Listened to on audio while cooking, cleaning and puzzling

There comes a time when the twists and u-turns can simply just overwhelm the story ~Sheila

Claire Matchett is at the end of her marriage. The magic has been gone for longer than she can remember. Noah and Claire live together with their children, but they may as well be roommates. They barely talk to one another. 10 Years into what Claire thought would be a magical reunion of growing old together has turned into a desire to just be done with it all.

When a hiking/camping trip is planned with two other couples, Claire is less than thrilled. As if her marriage isn’t hard enough in private – now they would be taking it public. Yet, a break would be nice, and really – what could possibly happen in the presence of their friends?
Turns out… anything and everything can happen.

It’s no secret that I have been on a McFadden kick. I like that the books are not overly long, they are engaging, and easy to follow in what is my busier than busy season.
I am a big fan of a good twist and I love to be blown away by a great read with a WHOA ending – yet… there is the possibility of too many twists and turns and rerouting and sidling and … well you get it.

While I enjoyed the synopsis, the convenient settings that allowed for what to happen happen – was a bit too staged feeling. The book left you feeling anyone could be the one behind what was happening and while that can be exciting – I feel McFadden set this one up where honestly in the end – none were likable enough for me to care.

Maybe I’m jaded on the genre.

I will give credit to the alternating chapters with the anonymous narrator. This I liked and as it all played out – my rating is because of these chapters being told by an unknown author. While it didn’t save the book entirely, it certainly kept me going.

I did see a review that compared this book to Friday the 13th (full disclosure – this intrigued me…. (80’s girl who liked scary movies). I disagree with that review… while there were woods, there was no Jason Vorhees (boo!)… and if they would have had a Camp Crystal Lake, they would not have been so thirsty.

Maybe… a McFadden mini-break is due…

Brooke Sullivan is still wondering if taking the job as Nurse Practitioner at the Men’s Maximum Security Prison was the right decision. Sure, it was going to pay the bills, and it is going to help to build a better life for herself and her 10 year old son….
But old memories resurface when she runs into an old friend from school. Not only do they share a past, but they also share the night that Brooke was almost killed by her boyfriend, who just so happens to be in the very prison that Brooke is now working.

Yes… I have been on a McFadden kick. This is the 3rd one this month and this one, only because I realized I had already downloaded it and you know… why not? This one may be my least favorite of the three. Brooke’s decision to work where the man who attempted to kill her as well as be in situations where they are in a room together doesn’t fit for me. Too many things we have to suspend disbelief
1) This Maximum Security Prison did not do a back ground check on Brooke’s past? Wouldn’t knowing an inmate personally and in this way be a deal breaker?
2) Brooke’s consistent naivety in trusting and making poor decisions
3) Shane was put in prison when Brooke could not even identify him – she claims several times she never saw her attacker

Throughout this whole book I felt that the author was being too predictable…. I was sure I had the answer and was just waiting to hear how it would all come together… and then…

I was McFaddened.
The way this book came together was a WHOA….. wait… WHAT???? The ending was actually pretty crazy and I had no idea.
While an impressive ending, even right up to the end Brooke was making crazy half assumptions and I just… could not.

I will most likely read this author again. At Book Club last night several of the girls had read others by her and we overall found her books to be engaging, entertaining, and average reads.

Enjoyably twisted…. just the way I like them. ~Sheila

Dawn Schiff is high level functioning autistic (IMO). She does her job well. She is beyond punctual. She has a love of turtles. She notices things others wish she wouldn’t. She struggles with friendships of any kind.

When the day comes that Dawn does not arrive at work with no phone call stating she is ill… co worker Natalie Farrell is quick to notice and find it odd. As clues begin to fall into place – a startling realization does as well… Dawn has met with foul play – and there are more than a few clues that point right at Natalie and its up to Natalie to clear her name – if she can.

This is my second book I have read by McFadden. Honestly, I read it right after my first book by her (The Teacher) which I read for book club and wanted a more well rounded idea of who McFadden is as an author, rather than basing my opinion on one book.

I believe, while the writing style is similar and I get a real sense of her style of twists and turns, I like this one a bit more than the previous one. Perhaps the subject matter was a little more user-friendly… and of course, my personal opinion. The Co-Worker was a good read with plenty of happenings and twists to keep me guessing until the end. Definitely a lighter mystery, it never felt dark or made me think too hard or struggle to keep track of the main characters.

Enjoyable? yes
Size? About perfect – on audio I like a good 7 to 11-hour commitment unless I know I am in for a real treat and then I am happy to go longer. Book size – standard.

Recommended? McFadden feels like an author everyone should give a try. I have seen a lot of positive thoughts on her books from fellow readers.