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

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

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

taci

 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! 😆 

A typical thriller with too many unpleasant characters

My dogged trudge through my backlist TBR continues. I’ve seen McFadden recommended by a lot of people, so I gave 

The story is about Nora Davis, the daughter of a convicted serial killer. Now grown up, working as a doctor, and trying to hide her connection to her father, her new life quickly crumbles when one of her patients is murdered in the same manner her father used to kill women.

First of all, I listened to the audiobook and I did not care for the audiobook narrator at all. She sounded too immature, and her voice was grating.

The story is told first person, present tense with flashbacks to her childhood. I really hated the sections from her childhood. They may have provided background information, but it felt like they were only there for shock value of showing a psychopathic child. There were a lot of elements to the story that felt like standard Thriller tropes. I’m so tired of Thrillers that focus on unlikable characters and unreliable narrators. 

 heavily features both. I didn’t like a single character in this book. And the unlikeable aspects of the characters are played up for the sole reason of providing red herrings about who the killer is. But I need to have at least some investment in the characters to enjoy a book. That was entirely lacking, so even though the plot kept me guessing, I wasn’t impressed with the book overall.

Characters and Character Development: 2 Stars

Colleen

A typical thriller with too many unpleasant characters


My dogged trudge through my backlist TBR continues. I’ve seen McFadden recommended by a lot of people, so I gave The Locked Door a try.

The story is about Nora Davis, the daughter of a convicted serial killer. Now grown up, working as a doctor, and trying to hide her connection to her father, her new life quickly crumbles when one of her patients is murdered in the same manner her father used to kill women.



“My father is an incredibly dangerous man, who has done unspeakable things. He has committed evil, terrible acts, without even the slightest twinge of remorse. He’s the sort of man you wouldn’t want to run into in a dark alley. Or the street. Or anywhere.”


First of all, I listened to the audiobook and I did not care for the audiobook narrator at all. She sounded too immature, and her voice was grating.

The story is told first person, present tense with flashbacks to her childhood. I really hated the sections from her childhood. They may have provided background information, but it felt like they were only there for shock value of showing a psychopathic child. There were a lot of elements to the story that felt like standard Thriller tropes. I’m so tired of Thrillers that focus on unlikable characters and unreliable narrators. The Locked Door heavily features both. I didn’t like a single character in this book. And the unlikeable aspects of the characters are played up for the sole reason of providing red herrings about who the killer is. But I need to have at least some investment in the characters to enjoy a book. That was entirely lacking, so even though the plot kept me guessing, I wasn’t impressed with the book overall.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 3 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 2 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 2 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars