Freida McFadden

When one of her surgery patients is found murdered, Nora realizes the manner is eerily similar to her father's serial killings decades earlier.

The Locked Door

taci

But our father is wrong about Nora. He has no idea. I've seen her do things. I remember when that man, Arnold Kellogg, came in with his wife after his hernia surgery. The wife had a black eye, and it was so obvious that he gave it to her. The wife came back the next day, and I heard her talking to Nora in her office. I heard the wife crying, saying she could never leave him, that he would find her and kill her. She was desperate. Then Nora left the office. I watched her take a vial of the calcium gluconate that we had in the supply room, as well as a syringe. Then I followed her back to her office and pressed my ear against the door. attack. He won't wake up. had died from a heart attack. Inject this into him while he's sleeping. Everyone will think it's a heart Then a week later, Mrs. Kellogg returned to tell us that her husband I know what Nora did. She killed that man. Or at least, she's responsible for his death. And it didn't bother her at all. Not even a little bit. So you see. She's more like us than anyone knows. I never told the police what I knew about Arnold Kellogg. I kept her secret. After all, she's my sister. And you never know when information like that will come in handy.

"Hi!" the woman says. "May I interest you in a sample of Baker's Maple Syrup?" "Sure," I say. As the woman tips a little maple syrup into a sample cup, she hums to herself. I squint at her, trying to recognize the eleven-year-old girl who I found crouched on that hiking trail on the way to her house, nursing a sprained ankle. Marjorie?" I say softly. But she's too focused on her task and she doesn't hear me. It doesn't matter. I know who she is. Marjorie hands me a little cup of amber liquid. "Now give that a try I tip the cup back and swallow the contents. It's delicious. Just the right amnount of sweetness.

But thanks to Ruby, she's stuck with the name Meowsie. I felt bad for the cat, but I couldn't say no to Ruby. Anyway, the cat has a pretty good life. And it turns out I don't hate kids. 

"What about Harper?" I ask. "The girl is in custody," he says. “Once your partner ratted her out, she confessed everything. Killing those two women. I heard part of it. It sounded like she was proud of it." I'll bet she was. But if the circumstances were different, she would have been all too happy for me to take the fall for everything she did.

"He's alive," he finally says. "But I heard he's not in good shape. Luckily for you, he came around enough to tell the police that you weren't the one who did that to him."

 "I.. I'm sorry I freaked out at your house. Mrs. Chelmsford's niece told me you didn't have a daughter, andI thought..." He ducks down his head. "Oh.. uh, I'm not going to lie to you.. things are tight for me financially now and it would have meant paying extra rent if I told her Ruby would be staying with me. So I wasn't entirely honest with her."

"Brady." My voice is shaking think my speech might be slurred. I can't even tell anymore. "She did this. She tied him up down here and she... she drugged me." My voice cracks. "You have to believe me. You know me. I would never..." I can see the hesitation on his face. There's so much more I want to say, but I don't know if there 's any chance he'll believe me. And my brain feels like mush. I want to keep fighting, but I'm not sure I can. But then Brady swivels the gun and points it at Harper. "Get back down on the floor." Me?" she squeaks. "But Nora is the one "I said qet down." He shakes the gun at her, and her face turns pale. "I already called the police and they'll be here any minute." Harper gets down on the floor, and so do I, because my legs won't support me anymore. I get on my hands and knees, my vision swimming in and out. "Brady," I mumble. And then before I can get out another word, I lose consciousness.

"Oh Christ," he gasps. He takes a couple of deep breaths, obviously trying not to lose his lunch. "Brady..." I'm realizing now how this must look. It looks exactly the way Harper wanted it to look. There's a man tied to a chair in my basement with a hand missing, and I'm the one choking a girl on the floor. He notices the gun on the floor and reaches for it. I have a feeling he's never handled the gun in his life, based on the way he fumbles with it, butI believe he's capable of shooting it if he wanted to. And now he's pointing it at me. "Get up," he orders me. I do what he says. But whatever Harper gave me is hitting me hard. I feel like my legs can't quite support me. It takes me three tries to get to my feet.

You know what's sad?" Harper says. Your whole life, you kept yourself from following your natural instincts. I can see it in your eyes. And now you're going to go to jail for it anyway. Ironic, isn't it?" I take a slow controlled breath, pushing away the dizzy sensation. "Who says I never followed my natural instincts?" She snorts. "Please. You're a little Miss Goody Two Shoes." "Right. That's what everybody believes, isn't it?" I gesture at the other end of the basement. “You never took a look around here, did you?" She narrows her eyes at me. "What are you talking about?" You never looked at what I keep in that crate over there." I nod at the wooden crate pushed up in the corner behind her. "If you had, you wouldn't be saying those things about me." I stare into her blue eyes. Another blinking contestmy specialty. Harper is first to break her gaze away from mine to look over at the crate. What's in there?"

"I.. I don't have a sister." My father couldn't have knocked anybody up in prison, could he? "Oh, but you absolutely do." She smiles at me. "I guess nobody ever told you that our mother was five months pregnant when you called the police on our father. That's why she killed herself, you know. After she found out the truth, she didn't want to bear any more of his children. But unfortunately for her, I survived. And she didn't."

"He told me," Harper hisses. “You think he didn't know what you did? He trusted you, and you betrayed him. He knew. And he will never forget." I reach out for something to grab onto, to keep from collapsing, but my hand touches only air. "Who knew? Who told you?" She blinks at me. "Our father." "Our..." I shake my head, but that was the wrong thing to do. I feel so dizzy all of a sudden, I fall to my knees. “Oh God." Harper bends over me, smiling. She lowers her gun slightly, probably because she doesn't think I'm a threat. "I see you ate the soup I made for you. I wasn't sure you would. That's going to make this all so much easier for me."

"Liked him?" She gives me a scathing look. "Please. Philip is an arrogant prick. The only man I care about the only man I ever cared about is Sonny. And you took care of him, didn't you?" "Took care of..." I shake my head, which makes the dizziness wOrse. "What are you talking about? I barely even know Sonny." She shakes the gun in my direction. "Sonny is lying in the ICU thanks to you! Why do you think I was crying that day? He would never have broken up with me. He was trying to help me. I asked him to keep you busy so I could get into your house." That's when I remember a little tidbit Harper mentioned about boyfriend he was named after his father. So to avoid confusion, everyone called him Sonny. The name of the man in the ICU: William Bennett Jr.

"Nora..." The voice sounds very far away. All I can focus on is Philip's body, tied to the chair with rope. He's slumped forward, unconscious. Or dead. But no, I heard that moan. He must be alive. Also, his left hand has been severed. "Nora..." I somehow manage to rip my eyes away from what's in front of me. I swivel my gaze, and there she is. She's not lying dead somewhere. She's not tied up or bleeding. She's fine. Better than fine. She's got a gun in her right hand and it's pointed at me. "Harper," I say. I feel like I'm choking. “What are you doing?"

"Are you sure you're okay, Nora?" she presses me. I clear my throat, trying to work up the nerve to ask the question I've been thinking about all morning. I've got to ask. I can't stop imagining that scared blue eye staring out at me. I need to know. "Is Mandy Johansson still alive?" I blurt out. Officer Varallo looks taken aback by my question. It's probably the last thing he thought I would ask. He scratches at his neck again and drops his eyes. "No," he says. She's dead. I was too late. And then I burst into tears.

comprehend what I'm looking at. I'm only dimly aware of the gun pointed at my chest. I should have called the police when I had the chance. And now it's too late.

It's only when I get to the last step that I hear a sound. I expected a meow, but this is something different. This isn't a feline sound. This is a human sound. A low, horrible moan. I look to my left, behind the stairs, and through the darkness, I can just barely make out a body tied to a wooden chair. A body covered in blood, which has leaked around the chair, forming a considerable pool on the floor. I clasp my hand over my mouth, my knees trembling beneath me, unable to

why did the niece said he didn’t have a daugther?

I was completely wrong, Brady isn't some psychopath loner who was stalking me, that's for sure. He most definitely has a daughter. There are multiple pictures of him with that cute little girl he showed me on his phone. Pictures of him grinning at the camera with the girl and his parents at some park. A fifth birthday party with a dozen little kids. Nobody could fake this. His landlady is crazy, just like he said. Brady is for real. That locked room was really his little girl's room, not a torture chamber. Which means…

But what I don't understand is how he even knew I had the appointment. How did he know where to call to cancel? The only person who knew I had that appointment was... Philip. I gulp down a spoonful of soup, an uneasy feeling in my empty belly. Philip is the only one who knew I had that appointment. And Philip also had access to another piece of information that Brady wasn't privy to: he could search my patient list. With a few clicks of the mouse, he could find out all of my female patients in the right age range.

looks suspicious but I don’t think it’s him

I hit the button on my key fob to unlock the door. Brady is rounding my vehicle, having recovered from being pushed. I should have kneed him in the groin. Well, it's not too late. you?" roughly. I slam the door shut and hit the locks. It's only after the car is Nora!" he yells. "For Christ's sake, Nora! What the hell is wrong with I yank the car door open. He tries to grab my arm, but I shake him off locked that I can breathe again. Nora!" He bangs on the window with his fist. “Come on!" When I start the engine, he realizes I mean business. He backs away from the car, and I take off, leaving him behind in the dust.

Brady appeared in my life at exactly the time that the murders started Coincidentallyor so I thought. He was working as a bartender, even though given his computer skills in college and his degree, it seems unlikely he wouldn't be able to find work in Silicon Valley. Brady devoured horror movies when we were in college. I remember the fascination on his face as he watched those girls get bludgeoned to death. He loved it as much as I did. He admired my father so much, he had a mask in his closet with Aaron Nierling's face on it. That man who followed me after I left the bar-the one who got in the terrible accident. Brady must have known him and told him when I arrived.

"Maybe she's hearing Brady's daughter," I suggest. The niece cocks her head to the side. What?" "I mean," I say, "when Brady's daughter is visiting, she probably makes a lot of noise and maybe your aunt thinks it's screaming." She gives me a strange look. “Brady doesn't have a daughter." He... what?

Except when I open my email, there's another message from the security company: Sorry you had to reschedule your appointment! This is a confirmation that we have rescheduled you for Monday morning at 8 AM. I stare at the email, my head spinning. Is this some kind of joke? I didn't reschedule the appointment!

Uh, yeah." Callahan's face fills with confusion. “I am okay, but I haven't been in a car accident in years. Not even a fender bender." He adds proudly, T'm a great driver." My father may have been a great liar, but I'm willing to bet Henry Callahan isn't. He sounds like he's telling the truth. And it's hard to deny that he does not look like somebody who was in critical condition only a week agohe appears perfectly healthy, without so much as a scratch on him. "I... I thought I read about it in the newspaper. You drive a blue Dodge, right?" He arches an eyelbrow. I drive a blue Ford. Maybe it was another Henry Callahan you read about?"

Freida really knows how to keep you guessing!

Lili

In the middle of the book but just want to rant a bit, the mc is so fucking annoying i mean come on...she is a hypocrite like all of the things she had done in her childhood. Then as a grown women she claims that she has changed and all but she is so shitty to brady i mean brady is such a nice guy. Nora has no problem having sex with him, but doesn't have the guts to have a proper conversation with him. It's irritating. I understand her past, or trauma, or whatever, the book never explained it well how she became a saint from her past self or never explored her dark side, so it is hard to build a connection with her as a reader. Otherwise, there are many good examples of flawed mc's. I feel so bad for Marjorie, but the ending was so good; she deserves all the happiness. I skipped many pages as it was boring. The final twist was not that much shocking, or the execution was bad, but still a decent read.

prachi priyadarshini

I will always speed my way through a Freida McFadden it seems. She knows how to write a page turner alright. 

This fell a bit short. I liked it but something was missing for me. I think the main character got on my nerves a bit. She could have saved herself a lot of hassle with how she went about things but like if she just didn’t lie to the police from the start but I digress. I also think she treated Brady like shit and was accusing him of things that even I (as the reader of a thriller where EVERYONE IS A SUSPECT) didn’t suspect him of. 

I thought the ending was fast paced and entertaining but felt it came out of no where a bit. Still I gave three stars because I was entertained and it was kind of what I was looking to read. Fast paced, not confusing, one and done.

Eimear O'Connor 

I will always speed my way through a Freida McFadden it seems. She knows how to write a page turner alright. 

This fell a bit short. I liked it but something was missing for me. I think the main character got on my nerves a bit. She could have saved herself a lot of hassle with how she went about things but like if she just didn’t lie to the police from the start but I digress. I also think she treated Brady like shit and was accusing him of things that even I (as the reader of a thriller where EVERYONE IS A SUSPECT) didn’t suspect him of. 

I thought the ending was fast paced and entertaining but felt it came out of no where a bit. Still I gave three stars because I was entertained and it was kind of what I was looking to read. Fast paced, not confusing, one and done.

Kate W

Jessica Roberts

Serial killer's daughter!? I was drawn to the book just based on that but ended up really disappointed it got boring not much of a plot for me. 😭. 

Edna Aviles

she’s her father’s daughter, after all.

shiya

Brittany Peterson

Quick easy read 

Sort of predictable for me 

I did not like this. I felt nothing for or about the main character and honestly her POV and inside her head was so boring. It took 30% for anything to even happen plot-wise and that time definitely wasn’t spent character building. Near the end this had some randomness thrown at the reader but without that adrenaline type feeling I look for when I read thrillers it felt like just that- random. There was a pretty interesting concept fleshed out at the veeeery end but it was still left incomplete and too little too late. 

Narration: I read this via audio and I did not like the narrator. This did not skew my opinion of the content because at least sped up how I normally read the narration wasn’t as grating. I felt like this narrator was over-acting and then not even staying consistent with those tonal changes

Abigail

I did not like this. I felt nothing for or about the main character and honestly her POV and inside her head was so boring. It took 30% for anything to even happen plot-wise and that time definitely wasn’t spent character building. Near the end this had some randomness thrown at the reader but without that adrenaline type feeling I look for when I read thrillers it felt like just that- random. There was a pretty interesting concept fleshed out at the veeeery end but it was still left incomplete and too little too late. 

Narration: I read this via audio and I did not like the narrator. This did not skew my opinion of the content because at least sped up how I normally read the narration wasn’t as grating. I felt like this narrator was over-acting and then not even staying consistent with those tonal changes

The ending caught me off guard, and did not expect It. Great character development and a quick read! 

Lacee Foutch 

kenzie

❤︎ NETGALLEY REVIEW ❤︎

thank you to netgalley, poisoned pen press and frieda mcfadden for this arc for free in exchange for an honest review.

i genuinely enjoyed this book. i have only read the housemaid by her. this book was fast paced, had short chapters and kept me intrigued, definitely didn’t disappoint. i really loved the flashbacks too. it had a great plot twist that I did not see coming.

sooo good. kept me hooked the whole time. I totally wasn’t expecting the plot twist and can we please talk about the Harper’s pov?!? I don’t think that I belive that, I this Harper is totally pscychotic and hears thinks that don’t exist

 i read the locked door in about a day!! this was a really solid book, easy to read, an absolute page turner. i was hooked so quickly even though i don’t think it tops ‘never lie’ for me, i did enjoy it all the same. the dual timeline was really nice and i felt like we really get to know the main character nora and her backstory. i did not see the twist coming. at. all. twisty endings is something that mcfadden does excellently.

Gemma McCarthy

 i read the locked door in about a day!! this was a really solid book, easy to read, an absolute page turner. i was hooked so quickly even though i don’t think it tops ‘never lie’ for me, i did enjoy it all the same. the dual timeline was really nice and i felt like we really get to know the main character nora and her backstory. i did not see the twist coming. at. all. twisty endings is something that mcfadden does excellently.



Another fun one that Freida wrote. This was a journey and was on the edge of my seat to see how it all panned out. I may have accidentally spoiled it for myself a little bit when flipping through the book, so most definitely my fault there😂 but I was so shocked when I did and think it surprised me more from spoiling it then it would have when reading it. Freida’s books are just so quick and easy and just can’t help but have a good time while reading them. Not my favorite that I have read buts it’s up there. 

Priscilla Stanfield

I LOVED this book. One of my favorite Freida books (nothing will top the housemaid, ok)!! 

Jillian Roberts

A totally thrilling story! I was hooked from the beginning! 

Kaitlyn Davis 

** spoiler alert **
           This is the 2nd book I've read from Freida, I love her fast-paced style of writing, and the endings are always surprising me! Wow👌


**Spoilers** 


I don't understand what nora was doing with margaery, though? Did she want to hurt her?... she told herself that she saved her??

h a z e l * ੈ✩‧

** spoiler alert **
           Enjoyable i guess. I had at least 4 stars in mind for this book, but then the ending happened. The 'plot twist' is just straight up lazy, imo. It lacks foreshadowing, especially the 'secret sibling' part. Could've been mind-blowing if done right, but oh well.

Ximena Calvo

Estuvo nice pero no me gustó tanto como otros de ella 

Valeria 

Lauren Piper

jess larry

** spoiler alert **
           2.5

that ending ruined everything like c'est beaucoup trop tiré par les cheveux, nothing makes sense

i will give freida props for the writing style tho, she really succeeded to sell the image of the tormented daughter who can't stray apart from her dad's path until the little revelation (i was kind of seeing it coming but still)

but again the whole harper thing is stupid, novelas type of plot twist

not a bad book, really nice premise but badly executed. imagine she was just delusional all along and actually the killer ? much more interesting. 

because her 360° from having des tendances psycho/socio to just being a friendly surgeon makes less sense. you know what maybe the author actually did too much of the "serial killer daughter persona" bc im realizing it really makes 0 sense. fallait plus de subtilité

Such a thrilling read! Frieda never disappoints! 

There were several moments while reading that I thought I seen something from the corner of my eye because the story kept me on edge. 

Nora is a surgeon with some dark family secrets. While she has managed to keep this secret to herself for 26 years it seems the past is catching up to her. When two of her patients turn up dead Nora becomes suspect number one. Who can she trust when she hasn’t had a friend in decades? Who would want to ruin the life she’s worked so hard to build? 

Nora finds herself reconnected with an old lover from college by the name of Brady who makes the most perfect Old Fashioned drink and seemingly enjoys her weird company. However he has some secrets of his own so Nora can’t bring herself to fully trust him. 

Charmingly handsome Dr. Philip Corey is Nora’s business partner. He’s flirty but dedicated to his work and respects that Nora shows just as much dedication to the job. He can be rather reliable when it comes to helping out his partner but can’t keep juicy information to himself. Therefore he probably can’t be trusted either.

Then there’s sweet Harper who is the best receptionist. Nora feels protective of her and wants to see her truly happy in life. Offering encouragement and words of wisdom while convincing Harper to steer clear of the ladies man type. Poor girl is on the rebound and her longtime bf didn’t make the proposal.

Angry patients. Stray, hungry cats. Letters from dear old dad. Everyone seems sketchy! 😆 

Christa Bell

Absolutely thrilling!

There were several moments while reading that I thought I seen something from the corner of my eye because the story kept me on edge. 

Nora is a surgeon with some dark family secrets. While she has managed to keep this secret to herself for 26 years it seems the past is catching up to her. When two of her patients turn up dead Nora becomes suspect number one. Who can she trust when she hasn’t had a friend in decades? Who would want to ruin the life she’s worked so hard to build? 

Nora finds herself reconnected with an old lover from college by the name of Brady who makes the most perfect Old Fashioned drink and seemingly enjoys her weird company. However he has some secrets of his own so Nora can’t bring herself to fully trust him. 

Charmingly handsome Dr. Philip Corey is Nora’s business partner. He’s flirty but dedicated to his work and respects that Nora shows just as much dedication to the job. He can be rather reliable when it comes to helping out his partner but can’t keep juicy information to himself. Therefore he probably can’t be trusted either.

Then there’s sweet Harper who is the best receptionist. Nora feels protective of her and wants to see her truly happy in life. Offering encouragement and words of wisdom while convincing Harper to steer clear of the ladies man type. Poor girl is on the rebound and her longtime bf didn’t make the proposal.

Angry patients. Stray, hungry cats. Letters from dear old dad. Everyone seems sketchy! 😆 

The Locked Door

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