Наемателката

by Freida McFadden, Фрида Макфадън, Цветана Генчева (Translator)

Опасността живее у дома!

Блейк Портър има добра работа и готино гадже. Неочаквано го уволняват от поста вицепрезидент в маркетингова фирма. Вече няма достатъчно пари, за да плаща ипотеката на новата къща, в която живее с годеницата си. Отчаяно се опитва да свърже двата края.

Тогава се появява Уитни. Тя е очарователна и си търси стая под наем. Точно каквото му трябва. Но дали наистина е така?

Нещо определено не е наред. Съседите на Блейк започват да се държат различно. Миризма на гнило превзема дома му и никакво чистене не помага. Странни шумове го будят посред нощ. Скоро Блейк започва да се страхува, че някой знае дори най-черните му тайни...

Опасността е в дома му и когато Блейк разбере истината, може да е твърде късно. Капанът вече е заложен.

Фрида Макфадън, авторка на бестселъри от класацията на „Ню Йорк Таймс“, чука на вратата ви със завладяваща история за отмъщение и тайни, които объркват всичко. „Наемателката“ е тук.

Genres: Thriller, Audiobook, Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Book Club

320 pages, Paperback

First published May 6, 2025

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

[Laura Lovesreading · Rating 3 out of 5]

What in the Limonene!!??... huh!??... EXACTLY!

Freida never sleeps McFadden is back again with her newest release The Tenant. In this book we are following Blake who has been fired from his job and is struggling to make ends meet with his fiancé Krista. They both decide that they need to welcome in a roommate to help with paying the rent in their Brownstone home. Here comes Whitney. She is bright, spunky and beautiful. The perfect fit right!? Well, when the neighbours start acting funny towards Blake, there are bump bump noises in the night and Blake feels like his secrets are about to be exposed. Has he just allowed the wrong one into his home?

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

It’s got to the point now where I have learned not to expect too much from Freida. I mean she is releasing more books than there are Bank holidays and with the thriller genre there is only so many plots and tropes that can be used to entertain your audience… I guess.

PART ONE

Part one of the book started of interesting and it was nice reading about a couple who were not completely idiotic and were trying to find means to help their dire situation. With that said that doesn’t mean I found them likeable or entertaining either. Blake’s constant whining was giving me the major ICK and I really wanted to put him on mute. I found Krista to also be an irritant and she just felt like an inconvenience character being there for there sakes. The switch up with the roommate Whitney gave me whiplash and felt all too sudden but hey o it kept the story moving…I guess.

YOU KNOW WHAT DIDN’T KEEP THE STORY MOVING?....

A whole two chapters dedicated to a damn Goldfish! Now listen I know Goldy was mentioned here and there and was the unit keeping that little family afloat (get it😏) but TWO freaking whole chapter’s solely speaking about a fish is WILD!

Limonene. One thing Freida will always do is introduce you to a word you might not be familiar with and never let you hear the end of it. My goodness the constant mention of it has me now thinking I have an allergy against it too.

The back and forth with Blake and Whitney had its entertaining moments but also felt like a drag. I have read this scenario SO MANY TIMES… I get it… Lets move on.

THE TWIST

And so, we reach part two and we get our twist. Ok Freida, touché you are remaining in your traditional formulaic ways … Fine, I’ll remain interested… now tell me more. ACTUALLY DON’T. Because when I was giving the Why, Where, How and Now of it all I was absolutely flabbergasted. The convenience of it all is absolutely laughable.

I FEAR FREIDA HAS RUN OUT OF TRICKS AND TWISTS IN HER THRILLER BAG

It just didn’t make no sense. No scrap that. It just wasn’t warranted. I rolled my eyes at the absurdity and silliness of it all. This plot has been done before, and I wanted something new and exciting. The whole book after part two was just pure ridiculousness and had bouts of unnecessary fillers when ultimately it was evident how it was all going to end.

So with everything said, I will say that I did enjoy it more than her two previous releases and it was more digestible. No, it wasn’t an absolute phenomenon, but it was a quick read and gave me some chuckling moments.

THE EPILOGUE

Should’ve just stayed in the drafts.



2.5 ⭐




------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
⋆｡°✩pre read⋆｡°✩
FREIDA JUST STOP ALREADYY!!!!

*proceeds to add to ‘currently reading’*

😭😭😭

[desiree(finally back) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ll start by saying I personally think this is one of her better recent books—definitely an improvement over the last couple.
Not a top favorite, but still enjoyable enough to finish.

Part 1… Blake and Krista were, surprisingly, one of the more "normal" couples to emerge from Freida’s world—not necessarily the best or most likable, but yeah. Blake had his fair share of whining, which wore thin quickly, and Krista didn’t bring much to the table beyond her intense love for her goldfish and an almost compulsive cookie-baking habit. Whitney, on the other hand, was… intriguing, to say the least. The back-and-forth between her and Blake was entertaining at times, though it occasionally dragged. Still, things can only get more interesting from here—hopefully.

Part 2… The twist is revealed. Interesting… I guess. Not exactly earth-shattering. I wanted to love the whole when-where-why-how unraveling—but let’s be honest, I didn’t. That’s the thing with the thriller genre: there are only so many plot twists and tropes you can cycle through before it starts feeling like déjà vu with slightly different characters and a fresh coat of paint. But hey, I’m still here for the pure, ridiculous entertainment of it all. Maybe one day I’ll actually be caught off guard again — a person can dream. Still, I had a good laugh. That said, we definitely could’ve cut a few chapters without losing anything crucial. They didn’t really add much to the story.

And now Part 3… just a chaotic mess, honestly.

Finally, we’re at the epilogue. They’re usually hit or miss anyway—this one was fine, just didn’t feel all that necessary.

p.s. further exposure to limonene, fruit flies, or goldy the goldfish may result in emotional distress.

⇉ 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳, 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘵’𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦. ⇇

↯

the cover? i like it.
the sypnosis? intriguing.
will it disappoint me? probably
will i still read it anyways? she seems to have me in a chokehold so yes, yes i will.

[❀ leah ❀ · Rating 3 out of 5]

the devil works hard but freida works harder

[manas (NEW YEAR) · Rating 1 out of 5]

the fish is the only normal character.

[Alyssa Nieves · Rating 1 out of 5]

Goldy was the best character in this book and she was a fish.

If Freida won’t take a break from writing her books then I’m taking a break from reading them. I can’t anymore.

[Kyrah Stewart · Rating 1 out of 5]

I need a level 10 hug after that.

[shanayaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must say, Frieda truly redeemed herself with this one! 🙂‍↕️🫸🏻

[ashlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn’t anything ✨life-changing✨ but FREIDA, girl, what are you lacing these books with? Because I physically could not put this down. Like… I had things to do. Responsibilities. And yet there I was, glued to the couch, eyes burning, fully invested in Blake Porter’s downward spiral.

Being a Scorpio and reading this? Oh, it’s personal. Everyone in this book dragged my sign through the mud and I took that personally. Like damn, let us breathe for ONE second.

Also… I LOVE watching men lose their minds. Blake unraveled so fast and I was living for it.

This was definitely better than her last one. Freida, you’re messy for this and I thank you. I was stressed, gasping, suspicious of everyone, and living for the chaos.

[Clace · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.00!

I don’t know how to feel—like, I don’t understand why I’m able to enjoy her previously released books more than her newly released ones. Like, just before this book, I read The Coworker by her, and I actually ended up enjoying it. But this?? I don’t know which category to put it in because I was invested, but not to the extent where I binged it in a day. Like, even though The Boyfriend and The Crash were not the best books by her, I don’t know why they were so enjoyable and addicting that I could not stop. Like, I just kept on reading, it was laced with crack. This, on the other hand, made me a bit bored occasionally, so I had to put it down and go study (:(((((() That’s the main problem for me. I did, however, enjoy the plot and the twists it brought out, and I had mixed feelings about the characters, so I feel like putting this book at three stars is perfect. Also, she needs to take a break because preferring quantity over quality is really hurting her books.




SPOILERS!
SPOILERS!
SPOILERS!




The characters in this book were frustrating but also well thought out. Whitney—the real one, aka Krista—yeah, that scene was shocking for me because I was not expecting that. Or maybe I just had my mind on mute, so I didn’t really see it coming, but I’m glad it caught me off guard because it made me enjoy the book more. And omg, she was truly such a psychotic woman—like, she didn’t hear any explanation. She thought her husband was cheating, so she resorted to psychological torture and murder of him and anyone complicit in it. LMAOOO.
Amanda, or the woman cosplaying as Whitney, was dumb as fuck… or so I thought. At first, she was such a bitch, but I believed something was off. And then when it was revealed that Krista set it up, I was like, omggg, she is soooo dumb—like, why is Amanda doing this? And then the epilogue hit and damn, she was working all this time.
Blake was so eugh, he was so pathetic—like, he was the worst. Umm, when Amanda moved in, he would constantly look at her body, and it was weird asf. And then when she starts being mean, he remembers he has a wife who he’s obsessed with, and that obsession literally leads to him still wanting to live with Whitney even after he discovers her plans to kill him.

The plot was done well. I feel like the mysterious nature was the only thing that kept me going because I so desperately wanted to know what was going to happen next—and I’m so glad for that. Otherwise, it would've been rated very low. The twists were done well, and the whole exploring-the-past bit was done well too. I just feel like sometimes Freida just drops some stuff in the epilogue that, when you think about it after reading the book, doesn’t really make sense—so yeah, that was weird. But all in all, the plot was good.

Overall, a pretty average book!
___
I got the audio for this and I'm sooo excited to start this! (Even tho the past two new releases by her were disappointing) But I almost am done with the coworker and Im loving it! So excited for this 🤭

[Maddy ✨ ~The Verse Vixen {AFK brb}]

Dear Freida-
You, my dear, are in desperate need of a year of rest and relaxation… RTC!!

[Yana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ this was interesting but I guessed the plot about half way through

[T.S]

Freida Mcfadden: '''You thought I was done?''

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was the funeral for a gold fish for me

[♥︎ Heather ⚔ (New House-Hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Standard Freida thriller imo. The FMC was wild in this one lol. Fun in a dark way. Full review maybe soon


Major slumping going on still. But this is usually when I enjoy Freida’s books the most so here I go! 🤞🏻❤️

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, this is officially my third favorite in the glorious chaos of McFadden mayhem! She reigns as the queen of sarcasm, master of jaw-dropping twists, and undisputed empress of those deliciously unhinged WTH endings. This book is completely addictive—an unputdownable rollercoaster that’s the perfect way to supercharge a long weekend! It’s the kind of read that has you gasping, biting your nails, jumping out of your seat, and flipping pages like your life depends on it. Freda McFadden is, without a doubt, a thriller-writing machine, and I absolutely adore her relentless, brilliantly twisted mind.

As soon as I hit "submit" on this review, I’m diving into her short story Death Row—because once you start reading her work, you just can’t stop. She turns readers into speed-reading thrill seekers, and I’m proudly one of them!

Now, onto this wild ride. It all starts with Blake Porter, a rising star who just landed a coveted VP of marketing promotion—only to have his world implode within a week. Accused of corporate sabotage, fired, blackballed, and left jobless, Blake finds himself scrambling to save the beautiful brownstone he just purchased with his loving fiancée, Kristin. She suggests renting out their spare room to ease the financial burden, a plan Blake reluctantly agrees to while he prepares to take over his father’s old hardware store back in Cleveland.

Enter Whitney: a seemingly harmless, friendly waitress in their age range who moves in—and turns their world upside down. Blake begins noticing strange things. Arguments over cereal and shampoo quickly spiral into creepy thumping noises at night, unexplained messes in the kitchen, and growing paranoia that starts eating away at his sanity. But when Kristin dismisses his suspicions, and the law is on Whitney’s side, Blake realizes he’s trapped in a nightmare—one that could cost him far more than his home. The question isn’t just who their tenant is—but how far she’ll go, and how much Blake stands to lose.

Overall: This book is sharp, suspenseful, and so entertaining I literally laughed out loud during the tenant interviews! The twists are pitch-perfect—clever, unexpected, and oh-so-satisfying. This is my go-to comfort read when I’m craving mystery with just the right bite. Freda McFadden has absolutely earned her crown as the queen of darkly addictive domestic thrillers. The Housemaid may have introduced us to her brilliance, but “Tenant” proves she’s just getting started. This deserves to be shouted from the rooftops—and yes, it should absolutely top the New York Times bestseller list!

So what are you waiting for? Grab your copy, turn off your phone, cancel your plans, and prepare for a fabulously unhinged ride!

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[brittany:) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Happy Release Day!!✨

4.25⭐️

FREIDAAAAAAAAAAA GIRLLLLLLLLL
She ATE down with this one!!🩸

The stakes are high immediately — our MMC loses his job out of nowhere and has to figure out how to cover bills for himself and his fiancée. So what do they do? They decide to get a tenant to help with expenses… and enter Whitney. 🏠

From the jump, issues arise. Blake is clearly attracted to her, which causes instant friction. 🔥

I love when a psychological thriller has the main character being gaslit to insanity by the so-called villain, while their partner is just aloof and oblivious to the chaos unraveling around them 🧠💥. His descent into madness had me spiraling with him — like is the fiancée really just clueless? Or is she lowkey in on it?? The way Whitney gets in her head and turns her against him had me screaming 😱.

I was side-eyeing everyone the whole time 👀. It had me questioning everything and texting my friends like “NO WAY.”

And when the twist happened? Oh, it most definitely twisted 🔪— I was geeked!! That reveal had me clutching my Kindle like a madwoman 🐧🐠.

This is 100% a redemption book for me — a full-on BANGER!

I can’t speak too much on the details without giving spoilers but trust me when I say: this is a must-read. If you love psychological thrillers that make you feel like you’re the one losing your mind and questioning everything — this is it. I was screaming into the void and needed a straight jacket 🩸.

*Thank You Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC*

[Emna · Rating 2 out of 5]

can cringe be addictive?????


This book was… a cringe-filled experience. Honestly, I went in with very low expectations, because the author’s most recent books have been a complete mess for me. And while this one wasn’t great, I have to admit: I devoured it. I couldn’t put it down. That addictive quality is the only reason it’s getting 2 stars instead of 1.

Let’s get it straight—the characters? Absolutely unbearable. Cringe to the max. There’s even an entire chapter dedicated to the funeral of a goldfish… and I swear that scene is burned into my memory forever (for all the wrong reasons). I disliked every single character, and that’s me being kind.

Then there were the flashbacks. Supposedly they were meant to help us understand the whole story, but they added nothing. Everything was already so obvious, and dragging us through those scenes just made it even worse.

And another thing: a lot of the scenes felt like déjà vu. I kept thinking, haven’t I read this exact moment in one of her older books? Girl, I get it—you publish multiple books a year—but please give us something fresh. I don’t need recycled flashbacks and recycled scenes. I want something new, something different. Is that really too much to ask?

The plot itself was so fucking Predictable. The “twist” was presented as though it were some shocking revelation, but really, it was obvious from early on. Still, I’ll give credit: I was briefly surprised, mostly because I wasn’t sure which cliché the story would settle on. Thankfully, the ending wasn’t the one I dreaded most, so I’ll call that a small mercy.

Despite all of this, I can’t deny how compulsively readable it was. It felt like a nightmare I couldn’t look away from. And the frustrating part? I know I’ll probably read more of this author’s work, because no matter how disappointing, her books are addictive. Maybe one day she’ll deliver another hit. Until then, The Tenant remains, in my eyes, nothing more than a letdown.

[kayleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

↠ 3.5 stars
i’m not convinced freida has ever had a real, human conversation before because all of her dialogue sounds like robots learning to speak for the first time. anyway, this is definitely one of the best of freida’s new books. it actually feels a bit more like her old ones, which was a nice change of pace after the boyfriend and the crash being pretty disappointing. i almost want to give it four stars, because she did surprise me and that’s rare in thrillers, but blake’s whining went on for entirely too long. it was fun, though, despite everyone being so insufferable – and the twist was a good one. i think this reignited my love for her books, which has been gone for a while.


↠ preread who is holding freida hostage and making her do this

[Fairuz ᥫ᭡. · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️.5 / maybe like a weak ⭐️⭐️.75? idk let’s not overthink it

Okay but—I’m kinda tired of expecting more.

So, I picked this one up the day before yesterday right after one of my exams (barely read 20 pages in that night before I crashed). But the next morning, I literally didn’t even get out of bed, finished it in 2-3 hours, and then… just sat there like… huh. That’s it?

It’s the same Freida formula we’ve seen before.
Three parts. Big twist. Epilogue that’s supposed to go BOOM but instead had me like “…oh.” Yeah. That was the vibe.

So what’s the deal?
Blake’s life is falling apart—he gets fired, he’s broke, his fiancée Krista is just there, and they end up renting a room to this super chill-seeming girl, Whitney. Cute. But then weird stuff starts happening—bad smells, shady neighbors, creepy noises, and secrets that start scratching at the surface. Classic setup, right? I was intrigued ngl. But not hooked.

Was it readable?
Yeah. I mean, I did read it all in one go. Fast-paced, short chapters, that whole popcorn-style Freida energy. But did it hit like her older stuff? Nah.

The twist??
It did shock me, okay, but not in a “WOW” way. More like a “wait…seriously??” kinda way. Didn’t love it. Felt kinda silly and thrown-together. Like plot over logic, y’know? I don’t mind suspending belief for thrillers, but I need to feel something. This didn’t give that.

The vibes:
✧ Blake was annoying. Like bro, stop whining.
✧ Krista was basically an NPC.
✧ Whitney had potential but she just… existed for plot.
✧ The whole thing felt like a watered-down remix of her better books.

The epilogue?
Let’s just say… it should’ve stayed locked in the drafts.

I guess I expected more because even though I know Freida’s been on this quantity-over-quality streak lately, I was still hoping she’d hit me with something like The Housemaid or Inmate again. But instead, I got this lukewarm thriller that tried to be twisty and creepy but ended up being just… fine.

Still better than The Boyfriend, but that’s not saying much.

Tropes / Themes:
🏚️ Unreliable narrator
🧩 Mysterious new tenant
🏚️ Secrets in suburbia
🧩 Slow unraveling of sanity
🏚️ Domestic Thriller
🧩 Twist Ending

Final thought?
I’m not mad. Just mildly disappointed. Like biting into a cookie thinking it’s chocolate chip and finding out it’s raisin. Still edible. Still sweet. Just… not what I wanted.

Will I read her next release?
...sighs deeply yeah probably.
I have no self-control.

Bye.
off to add another mediocre thriller to my “read” shelf while questioning my standards
😭📚💀

[TheConnieFox · Rating 3 out of 5]

❥ My Thoughts & Rating ❥

This is the 6th book that I have read from the author Freida McFadden. Do I think this was one of her best books? No. It is not in my least favorite Freida books either. I found it to be very entertaining and had mysterious vibes. I read it in one sitting, because I wanted to see how this book was going to end. I did not get the thriller vibes that I wanted from this book. It is a mix of plot and character driven and came with a lot of unlikable characters. A lovable pet was a character I did like!

It is a fast paced, easy to read book that comes with some unusual characters. I really like the fish in this book. One of the female characters becomes completely unhinged. Like in other Freida books, this one does come with a doorknob theme to it as well. A few of the minor characters stood out to me, especially Quillizabeth. I will forever look at my laundry detergent differently now, after reading this book. The setting fits the story and I did enjoy the twisty parts. I kept changing the star rating as I was reading it and ultimately decided to give this one a 3 out of 5 stars. I really did have fun with this book, there were just a lot of parts in it that I could not take seriously. It made me laugh, which is always a good thing. Now I want to go buy a fish tank!!

❥ Who I think would enjoy this & Content Warnings ❥

I think that someone that is looking to read more of a mystery vibe, along with some suspense and humor, would enjoy reading this book. Content warnings include murder, death, grief, animal death, blood and infidelity.

Right now, this book is free with the Kindle Unlimited subscription!

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

The fish!!!!!! 🐟 An unhinged woman????? 💁‍♀️💅 Another door knob?!?! 🚪 Quillizabeth???? 🤣🤣🤣☠️

3/5 stars! Review to come. I had fun reading this book!!

[Deepak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for free and I Want my money back 🤨

[Joey R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 stars— It had been awhile since I ventured into ‘Freida McFadden World’, but after seeing the mostly positive reviews regarding her latest book, “The Tenant”, I knew I had to read it. I always feel like when I begin a Freida McFadden book that I have a general idea what to expect: short clunky sentences with a lot of questionable choices by main characters and a lot of ridiculous coincidences that have to be overlooked in order to be enjoyed. But, after saying all that, ‘The Tenant” was all that and more. It was very fast paced, enjoyable and had a plot twist 2/3 of the way into the book that would have Alice Feeney taking notes on how well it was executed. Don’t go into “The Tenent” expecting lengthy character studies or narratives that slowly build tension in setting a scene, that isn’t McFadden’s style. Instead, expect to be entertained without having a clue of what the author will throw at you next. The story begins with Blake getting fired from his job. Due to financial difficulties that arise from his unemployment, he and his fiancé, Krista, decide to rent a room in their home to a tenant. After finding what appears to be nice young single woman, Whitney, to rent their room; the book then goes into hyperdrive, and the fun and craziness begins. If you were expecting a knockoff of the Bridgette Fonda movie “Single, White Female” this isn’t it. In fact, it is hard to describe how crazy and ridiculous this story gets, but I was there for it. Sure there were a lot of stupid parts and things that would never happen in a million years, but I was so entertained by this train wreck of a situation, I enjoyed it until the end. This one Is definitely one of Ms. McFadden’s most entertaining and original books yet. I highly recommend it despite its noticeable flaws.

[Katie Rodgers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Frieda and Poisoned Pen Press for gifting me an ARC of The Tenant. Ms. McFadden!! You have done it again. This story had me hooked from the beginning. I liked that the POV was a bit different from her other books. I was hooked the entire story and finished reading within 1 day. @poisonedpenpress

[kim ౨ৎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

—— 2 stars 🗝️ ᝰ.ᐟ
this book was mid. the ending was so anticlimactic tbh. i don’t think her thrillers are for me anymore, i loved her old ones but the new ones don’t do it for me unfortunately 😔💌

[JanB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy cannoli, pop the popcorn and jump aboard this crazy train!

I rate according to genre so 5 stars it is!

Blake has lost his job and is on a downward spiral as he and his fiancée, Kristen, are forced to take in a tenant to make ends meet.

Enter Whitney, stunningly beautiful, and a dream come true…or is it a nightmare?

Strange things begin to happen. Things that go bump in the night, an infestation of fruit flies and a rotting odor permeating his apartment. To say his life is circling the drain and spiraling downward is an understatement …

Just when I thought I figured out what’s happening the author threw in a new development that had me questioning everything I thought I knew.

I finished this one in record time, unable to stop listening. If only life had not interfered. It was a fun buddy read with Marialyce, as we chatted about our theories (spoiler alert…we were wrong, which is so fun!)

Kudos to the author and the narrators, Will Damron and Christine Lakin who did a phenomenal job.

[Enita · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wonder how good of an author Freida would be if she took more than 2 days to write a book. This was the most nonsensical, convoluted, hot garbage I've read all year. And it wouldn't have even been so bad if it didn't sound like it was written in 2 days. Is she contracted to put out 10 books a year or something? I don't get why she's okay with putting out trash and being known as a bad author.

[Jenny ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 ☆'s — How can I put this? This one felt rather…cheap. From the moment the concept of “level 10 hugs” was introduced, to the appearance of characters like Quillizabeth and, ultimately, Goldy—the fish who, arguably, serves as one of the book’s central figures and is even given a ceremonial funeral complete with references to sensing her spirit—it all felt overly dramatic and lacked true depth. The last two books I’ve read by Freida have been disappointing. That said, I do still intend to continue reading her work going forward, but perhaps with slightly lower expectations.

[⋆˚୨ৎ˚⋆ Kim ⋆˚୨ৎ˚⋆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

જ⁀➴ 2.5 stars (rounded down to 2)
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It's been a hot minute since I started AND finished a book in a single day, so I give this book props for keeping me out of a reading slump! I also give it props for getting me my last Kindle Spring Reading Challenge achievement! Unfortunately, the only likable character in this entire story was Goldy. Goldy's a fish.

Blake Porter should be at the top of the world. He owns a nice brownstone in the Upper East Side, he just got promoted to a vice president position at his company, he's engaged to the love of his life, Krista, and with their pet fish, Goldy, everything is perfectly fine in the world. When he gets fired from his job and can't make the mortgage payments, he and Krista decide to rent out one of the rooms in their house to get by. Enter Whitney Cross. She's kind, quiet, and seems like the ideal roommate, but when eerie things start happening around the house after Whitney moves in, Blake starts to wonder if there's more to Whitney than what's on the surface.

So, let's get into the biggest reason why I rated this book as low as I did: Blake Fucking Porter. If you've read my reviews, you know I rarely ever swear. I believe this is a rare exception. Now, I will say that this is my first Freida McFadden book, and I've been told by and heard from multiple people who said that a lot of her main characters are either stupid or meant to be unlikable. Whether or not that's based on subjective opinions or if this is just an objective fact, I have no idea and I can't speak or attest to that. However, if this is just factually true, then congratulations to Freida McFadden for creating the biggest tool in the history of all fictional men (that I know of so far)! I've never hated a main character more than I've hated Blake Porter, and that says a lot because there are a lot of fictional characters that I loathe, abhor, despise, whatever your preferred adjective is, but I don't think any of them top Blake Porter. He deserved everything that was coming to him, and I'll admit I had so much schadenfreude watching him suffer.

No, seriously, I read the first chapter and I almost DNF'ed it. If you ALSO know me, I NEVER DNF a book. The majority of the book is written from Blake's POV, and in a way, Freida McFadden did both an amazing and horrible job at creating the biggest asshole I've ever read about in a book. Blake was so arrogant, rude, and a massive fuckboy. He spent a majority of the time commenting on how good OTHER women's bodies looked and whether or not he could see their nips through their shirts and how short their skirts were. Like, boy, you have a whole ass fiancée and you're out here checking out other women? What a massive shitbag. I CHEERED when he got fired. I cheered when all of the events of the book were backfiring on him. He deserved everything that was coming to him, and I'll admit I had so much schadenfreude watching him suffer.

That being said, let's get into the plot. The book lost a good chunk of stars from me because of Blake, but also because I was able to guess most of the plot twists. The book gets the extra 1/4 star because there was one thing I didn't see coming, but the major plot twist I managed to figure out pretty early on. I think it's just because I read an ARC of a different thriller earlier this year in February that had quite a similar premise and a similar plot twist, so I was like, "Hm, wouldn't it be really weird if X happened? Y character's acting a little suspicious." and then...it happened. Obviously, I'm not out here accusing one author of copying the other, but it was just a random, wild guess theory I had that turned out to be true.

As for the ending, I felt it was so anticlimactic. I thought there was going to be more action, higher stakes, and the plot was building up to some big conclusion, but none of that happened! I thought it was going to be more dramatic and action-packed, but I was disappointed when that big, crazy ending we usually see in a lot of thrillers never happened. The epilogue didn't do much to add to the fallout and the aftermath of the main events of the story, and was also just as anticlimactic.

Here's the breakdown of my rating:

﹒⭒ 1 star for Goldy
﹒⭒ 1 star for the fast pace of the book
﹒⭒ 0.25 stars for the one plot twist I didn't see coming, but all the other ones I saw coming from a mile away
﹒⭒ 0.25 stars for the fact that Freida did her research on some medical stuff and was actually correct about it all, so I'm happy that the medical details are actually accurate

Overall, this was a massive flop, in my opinion. Will I read another Freida McFadden book in the future? Maybe. But it's safe to say that this is not a good first impression for me. Maybe thrillers overall just aren't my genre, considering I've been able to correctly guess most, if not ALL, of the plot twists in most of the thrillers I've read, but I can see how major Freida McFadden fans would love this. It just wasn't the book for me.

P.S. I am so sorry to the other members of the book club I'm in who are going to enjoy this😭
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Trigger/content warnings (these were provided by Freida McFadden on her website!): murder, death of an animal (not graphic)

⋆˙⟡ 𝒫𝓇𝑒-𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹: This is my first Freida McFadden book! I’m reading this because 1) my last read is about to put me in a reading slump and I’m hoping a fast-paced thriller will get me out of it and 2) I’m trying to complete the Kindle Spring Reading Challenge and I think this qualifies for the “Parasol” bookmark since it’s the last achievement I need to get lol.

(It’s also a complete coincidence that this is my book club’s bonus read for July😂)

I’ve heard a lot of good things about her thrillers so this better blow me away!🤞🏼🍀
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#justiceforgoldy

[Geethika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before read:

There’s speed of light and there’s the speed at which Freida releases her books😭

After read:
I have mixed feelings about this book ngl😭 out of the three parts in the book last two were good. God the part 1 was so damn slow. I saw the first twist coming but ofc i didn’t think the second twist would be that😭 many of the things were really unbelievable. It’s as though the character in it had some sixth sense or something. And it’s annoying me so much that the character got away easily with so much without anything tying back to them until the end. And god did i mention how dumb Blake actually is? How hard is it for him to find a lawyer and get his name cleared. This whole book is like a butterfly effect seriously. Omg and the writing wasn’t good either. The dialogues gave me the ick😭 like i get the author wants it to be a easy read but this aint it sorry. One single mistake and hell broke lose😭😭 lastly i wanna mention that even though Blake was annoying he deserved better than this😭 oh also the IT guy in the book deserved better. My man’s fatal flaw was being in love with a psycho😭 anyway overall it’s a okay book. This somehow felt like a twisted mix of Freida’s older works, like, the boyfriend and the housemaid for example

[Stevie]

why do you write like you’re running out of time…?