Dear Debbie

by Freida McFadden

A brand new twisted thriller that will have you cheering "good for her!" from the #1 New York Times bestselling and global sensation Freida McFadden, author of The Housemaid!

Sometimes, enough is enough…

Debbie Mullen is losing it. For years, she has compiled all of her best advice into her column, Dear Debbie, where the wives of New England come for sympathy and neighborly advice. Through her work, Debbie has heard from countless women who are ignored, belittled, or even abused by their husbands. And Debbie does her best to guide them in the right direction.

Or at least, she did.

These days, Debbie's life seems to be spiraling out of control. She just lost her job. Something strange is happening with her teenage daughters. And her husband is keeping secrets, according to the tracking app she installed on his phone. Now, Debbie's done being the bigger person. She's done being reasonable and practical. It's time to take her own advice.

And now it's time for payback against all the people in her life who deserve it the most.

From #1 New York Times and international bestselling author Freida McFadden comes a biting, subversive thriller about what happens when women finally choose to take justice into their own hands – with killer results.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Adult

336 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication January 27, 2026

About the author

#1 New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Publisher's Weekly, and Amazon Charts bestselling author Freida McFadden is a practicing physician specializing in brain injury who has penned multiple Kindle bestselling psychological thrillers and medical humor novels. She lives with her family and possessed cat in a centuries-old three-story home overlooking the ocean, with staircases that creak and moan with each step, and nobody could hear you if you scream. Unless you scream really loudly, maybe.

Note that I am maxed out on friends, so I apologize in advance that I can't friend anyone back!

Reviews

[ashlyn]

someone book miss Freida a flight to the Bahamas because my girl needs a vacation

[Nikos Drosinos]

“Freida, honey, you write like you got a deal with the devil and a sponsorship with Red Bull. It’s giving fast fashion but for thrillers.” Said whilst adding it to his TBR!! 🤣

[Laura Lovesreading]

Debbie is losing it!!
Freida is losing it!!
We are losing it!!
😭🥵😭🥵😭🥵😭

*ADDS TO WANT TO READ*

[Geethika]

Freida’s book releases are more regular than our menstruation cycle

[Holly B · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

This was my favorite from the author so far! Debbie was completely unhinged in the best way! 😲

I love a revenge story and Debbie is the Queen of Karma! 👑 Don't cross Debbie!

Debbie writes an advice column for a local family oriented newspaper. People send in questions seeking Debbie's wisdom. Lately, she hasn't been holding back. She may even begin taking her own advice because well, things have gotten out of hand.

I think fans of Freida will love it! Her signature exaggeration plays well with this plot! I had to keep saying to myself, "Oh no she didn't"! The ending also played well! Hoping for a Debbie sequel. 🤞

This was a buddy read with Kaceey and we both flew through it!

Thanks to EW and the publisher for my ARC. Comes out Jan 26, 2026

[Salma | HIATUS until Jan 4th]

Plot twist: Ali Hazelwood and Freida McFadden are the same person.

[Norma ~ The Sisters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy Shooty Balls this one owned me! Viciously satisfying, darkly funny, & jaw dropping from start to finish!

Right away, there was this electric feeling that told me I was in the hands of a thriller that knew exactly what it was doing. Dear Debbie by Freida McFadden is a domestic thriller with claws and unapologetic energy that hooked me completely. I tore through all of it. Debbie kept my devoted interest from start to finish. The voice, the pace, the everything. I devoured it. The excerpts from the Dear Debbie column? I laughed out loud. Absolutely bingeable. And the fact that this is my very first Freida McFadden? I do not know what the heck I was waiting for.

Key Thoughts
📖 Pacing that never dipped. The chapters snapped forward with that addictive must keep reading momentum.
👀 Debbie. Debbie. Debbie. An all time favourite character for me. Her momma bear ferocity, her flaws, and that one moment that had both our hackles raised. I felt every beat of her.
💭 A wicked blend of humour and righteous fury. This is a story fuelled by women pushed past the edge and deciding enough is enough.
🏡 The setting gave me that creeping tension where everything looks perfect on the surface but you can feel something unsettling in the air just beneath it.
🧩 The twists were paced like detonations. One in particular shifted the entire landscape of the story with a single line. I sat back and just said wow.

This book completely wowed me. I am sitting here after finishing and I feel energized by what Freida McFadden just delivered. I am so glad I went in blind and let it hit me exactly the way it wanted to.

Anticipated publication date: January 27, 2026

Thank you so much to Poisoned Pen Press for offering me this DRC which I received via Edelweiss+.

[ahmeeka]

two things in this life are guaranteed: freida mcfadden never having a day off, and death

[Kurryreads (Kerry) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars MAYBE 4.5 honestly - this one hit


Vlog:
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTM2jDCjF/

[manas (NEW YEAR)]

i never learn

[desiree(finally back)]

debbie’s losing it, i’m losing it, we’re all losing it. freida, please. let’s just spiral on into january..😩🫠

[Kim ~ It’s All About the Thrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMGGG!! Get this book!! 🤯 Thank you SO much @poisonedpenpress for my gorgeous gifted copy!! I was lucky enough to grab a copy at Boucheron! 🥰

I had only read one @fmcfaddenauthor .. and now I have read two in a month… I just ordered like umm 12 more...literally.. I am OFFICIALLY obsessed. 🤩 Thanks @poisonedpenpress 😂 Okay I absolutely loved Dear Debbie!! Ten stars ⭐️ people!! Seriously. 👏👏

This book is totally unhinged… crazy and twisted!! Our girl Debbie is my favorite kind of character. She is absolutely cray! 😬 Like scary cray… 😳… Lock 🔒 your doors… don’t make eye contact. 😂 I LOVED her so much!! What does that say about me?😬🤷‍♀️

Debbie’s life is falling apart.. but no worries.. 😉 She has it ALL under control. 🫣😳😂 She’s FINE… She is tracking her husband and kids. You just wait until you read the advice she dishes out in her column.. you guessed it.. Dear Debbie. 😉

That ending!! WOW! 🤯 👏👏 I seriously binged this in a day. I couldn’t stop!! Whew! Okay now go read this so we can talk about how crazy it was! 😂

Pub date: 1/27/26! 🥳🥳

[brittany:)]

I’ve had this arc for awhile now, I’m gonna hurry up and knock it out this week🌷✂️

[Meagan✨]

Frieda?! I just know my girl is tired.

[Dani ˚⊹♡ (catching up)]

I have a feeling that they have my girl kidnapped in a basement writing books without the right to rest.

[Krista✨🪩]

I’m fully convinced this woman never sleeps. 😭

[Casey Reads 🌸]

I am sure I will eat this up! 🖤

[Deanna]

Plot twist: Freida McFadden already wrote another book

[Sandra's Book Nook · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨️ARC REVIEW ✨️
Another great fast read by Freida McFadden!Dear Debbie, she gave her advice in the newspaper column. When her world seems to be falling apart, she's done being pushed around and becomes unhinged. The dark humor, the crazy twist, get ready for a ride! I loved reading this book, and I definitely recommend it!

Thank you, Netgalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Mandy Chahal for this ARC. I enjoyed reading this book, for my opinion.

[Conny Godefroy]

No one in history has ever locked in the way Freida McFadden has locked in since 2022.

[yun with books]

Freida McFadden! the hardest and the most hardcore writer ever.
Seriously, does she even sleep? or rest? or both? 57049204924 books in a year.

[Marialyce]

2.5

Not what I was hoping for.
MTC

Debbie Mullen is an advice columnist. She has heard numerous complaints from women about their husbands and how they are treated by them so Debbie gives them advice.

Debbie's life is on a downhill trajectory. She has lost her job, her teenage daughters are being surly teenagers, and her husband is keeping secrets.

Debbie becomes a do something gal, and do something she does. It's time for those who wrong Debbie or her family to pay the piper. She's a woman with a mission.

[Dallas Strawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I **chokes on my own vomit** actually enjoyed Dear Debbie. I know—I'm as surprised as anyone. I’ve made it very clear that I’m not a Freida McFadden fan; her writing style just isn’t for me, and this book definitely still has that same simple, not-exactly-literary prose.

But Debbie? Debbie is absolutely unhinged in the best way. She’s one of the most memorable main characters I’ve read in a thriller in a long time. This is exactly the kind of protagonist I wish my favorite thriller authors would write: chaotic, compelling, off her rockers, and impossible to look away from.

I also found the twists more believable than in other McFadden books I’ve read, and it made the whole reading experience a lot more fun.

Overall, despite myself… I had a good time with this one.

Don't count on me loving the next one though.

[Stacy40pages · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear Debbie by Freida McFadden. Thanks to @poisonedpenpress for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Debbie has an advice column and has always steered fellow New England wives in the right direction. Lately though it seems like her own life is spiraling and she needs to take her own Dear Debbie advice.

Another hit from Ms. Freida. While this one wasn’t quite as heart pounding as the rest, it had a huge shocking twist that I was not expecting. This was more of a slow build up that you knew would crescendo… and it certainly did! I loved Debbie’s character and how she put on a few different faces. This is another McFadden book not to miss.

“My own life has felt like a mess, but when it came to other people, I always seem to know exactly what they should do. It’s time to start taking my own advice.”

Dear Debbie comes out 1/27.

[❀ leah ❀]

HOW DOES SHE DO IT

[Cynth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m going to go ahead and just say, I think this is my favourite Freida. I loved the character of Debbie and loved that the story was character driven. This felt different and deeper than some of her other thrillers. I would absolutely recommend this one!

[Erin Dunn]

Ooooo I can’t wait!!

[Katy Fann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was unhinged in the best way and I couldn’t get enough! The twists (yes, multiple twists!) at the end totally shocked me —didn’t see those coming at all!

[Evie (Kirill's version)]

at this point i'll read whatever she writes..

[molls]

how much time does this girl have on her hands