dual POVs; double crime investigations; police/detective procedural crime mystery; very suspenseful; the number of characters & situations all happening simultaneously made it a little too complex & hard to follow at times, but once I got a handle on everything it only added to the thrill, making it a real page-turner

Special thank you to Poisoned Pen Press, Freida McFadden, & NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Another fast-paced popcorn thriller from the Queen of fast-paced popcorn thrillers- Frieda McFadden.

POV Your “odd” coworker turns up dead and you become suspect number 1 after accusations of serious bullying emerge.

Told through multiple POVs and old emails we learn that the deceased, Dawn, has autism and is being bullied by coworkers. And that her beautiful “perfect” coworker, Natalie, is sleeping with her married boss and may have been embezzling money from the company.

An extremely twisted web of information is slowly revealed throughout that will have you wondering who is telling the truth and what really happened to Dawn.

In typical Freida style, the end will have you second guessing things- although I think I may have finally figured out her formula and guessed most of the ending (took me long enough 😆). Even so, it was a quick page turner that I ended up giving 4 stars.

Even though there were very uncomfortable talks of bullying, I was able to keep reading because my suspicions were high that something was amiss with it

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an advanced read of this thriller. All opinions are my own and unbiased/unpaid.

first ever Freida book and i understand the hype completely. her writing is phenomenal and keeps you on the edge of your seats. every little detail matters and you start to think you know what’s happening but she turns it around so quickly you realize you had not a clue!

i cannot WAIT to read more by her!!

also reviewed on goodreads, tik tok. and instagram


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5777812170

The Co-Worker, Freida Mc-Fadden's soon-to-be-released psychological thriller, is as twisty as they come! McFadden tells a lot of the story through emails; the correspondence is mainly between Dawn, a socially awkward accountant who writes long narratives to her only friend, Mia, who doesn't always reply. When she does, the replies are a fraction of the length of what Dawn wrote. That got me thinking...what is up with Mia?
Meanwhile, the core of the narrative is told through first person point of view. Our protagonist, Natalie, is a salesperson and office-mate to Dawn. But while Dawn is strange and unpopular, Natalie is the queen bee, proving that some people don't change a lot since high school. Still, it's Natalie we're rooting for, right? Because when Dawn goes missing, it's Natalie who looks for her, finds a pool of blood in her home, and slowly falls under suspicion for Dawn's disappearance, especially with the police detective, who was bullied as a kid.
This is my fourth McFadden novel, so I assumed that whatever I thought was going on was probably inaccurate, and I was right! This author never disappoints when it comes to jaw-dropping twists, and The Co-Worker was a lot of fun! It will keep you guessing for sure.

Two women working for a nutritional supplement company are thrust into the center of a mystery that is full of twists and turns and will leave you second guessing yourself.

Dawn Schiff, an awkward accountant that is viewed by her coworkers as weird, suddenly goes missing one day. Natalie Farrell, the top sales person for the company is beautiful and popular and is concerned when Dawn is late for work one day. Trying to uncover the mystery surrounding her coworkers disappearance, Natalie becomes suspect #1.

Full of suspense that Frieda McFadden is known for, this book kept me guessing right up until the big reveal.

This is the 3rd book by Freida McFadden I have read this year (the first two were the Housemaid and the Housemaid's secret), but this one solidified for me that McFadden is one of my favorite authors for Psychological Thrillers. I was genuinely excited to discover this author and to find that she is quite prolific with many books for me jump into.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of the E-book in exchange for an honest review.

Another wonderful, thrilling book by Freida! I would first like to say thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my ARC of The Coworker.

This book follows the story of two very different women. Natalie is beautiful, popular, and has it all. She is successful at work and is the top seller of the company.

Dawn is a strange, particular character with an unhealthy obsession with turtles. Dawn is the new accountant of the company. She has no friends and is an outsider in her personal and professional life.

Then suddenly— Dawn goes missing. Natalie receives disturbing phone calls and finds herself caught in the mix of the crime.

This story was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read for me. Absolutely thrilling and captivating. I loved the double timeline of the story. The story grabs you from the first page and doesn’t let go.

The Coworker was a juicy little thriller. Gotta love an unreliable narrator! I did not see the the twists coming, which was quite excellent! I will definitely be looking for more from this author!

I was able to get an ARC from NetGalley of this and WOWWWWW. It was really good. I was able to figure out one of the twist at the very end but not the first twist towards the middle of the book. Once again, Freida has wrote and great thriller!

In this book, Freida McFadden, employs her fast-paced and detail-oriented narration style along with her signature twists and turns throughout the novel. Despite these components and my ability to read the novel quickly, it wasn’t great. I’d give it about a 2.5 stars.

The basic premise of the story is as follows: Natalie is a popular, successful saleswomen at a nutritional supplement company called Vixed. Dawn works in the next door cubicle as an accountant, and unlike Natalie, she is an outcast at the workplace. She is strange - she has an obsession with turtles, has trouble forming relationships in the workplace, and her schedule runs like clockwork. One day, Dawn disappears and noticing this unusual shift in her coworker's schedule, Natalie decides to check in on her.

In the novel, Dawn is clearly neurodivergent though this is not explicitly stated in the story. I did see how McFadden may have been highlighting how society and individuals outcast those who are neurodivergent and expose the harmful effects of this treatment. However, I feel that this message may not have hit home because Dawn’s character was perceived by every other character as just “weird” or “quirky.” I just wish that Dawn's being neurodivergent was more explicit in order to be able to properly tackle the challenges she has to overcome. In general, this representation was poorly done. Additionally, I felt that the plot was in some ways underwhelming compared to the Housemaid, it just didn’t have the same consequences attached.

Freida McFadden does employ smart details and twists within her plot such that as a reader, you are constantly searching in McFadden's writing for answers. This leads the book to continue with a steady cadence, and I blazed through the entirety of the novel. I also love to base my opinions of thriller novels on whether or not I can guess the plot twist, and in this case I did not.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

McFadden does it again!

This ARC was my most anticipated read of the year, I discovered Freida a few months ago and I have binged all her books, I love plot twists and intriguing books that have me guessing throughout the whole thing.

With that being said this one didn’t disappoint, I was immersed since the first chapter trying to pinpoint what had happened and how it was going to be solved but again…I had no idea what I was getting myself into, the plot twists left me with my jaw wide open and I devoured this book in a day.

Freida McFadden can do no wrong in my opinion. This book is everything you want it to be.
Twist after twist. A great story line and side characters. The ending was done incredibly well.
I love the way the whole story intertwines and by the end, everything makes sense.
Some parts were a little slow for me but other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This book had me spinning in circles trying to figure out who was telling the truth about what happened. There were so many twists and turns in this story & I didn’t predict ANY of them. I genuinely had no clue what what going on, up until I completely finished the book. It had me on the edge of my seat questioning everything. I loved this book!

Freida McFadden does it again! When you think you have figured out the major twist, think again! This story took a turn I didn’t see coming! I loved how the book wrapped everything up and mostly ended in a happy ending too! Would highly recommend- five stars ⭐️

Freida McFadden does it again. I thought I was going to be able to predict the twist and I was so wrong. Out of the 5 other books I’ve read by her, this was my 4th favorite book (housemaid duology and never lie taking 1st, 2nd, and 3rd). I loved this book and she has quickly become an auto-buy author for me.

This book comes out August 29th!! Go read it!

I completely ate this book up. I could not put it down. I HAD to keep reading to figure out what happened and what was going to happen next. Just when I thought I figured it out, Freida does it again and my jaw is on the floor. I felt so many different emotions for each character. It was a rollercoaster ride. Highly recommend this book! If Freida's name is on the cover, I'm going to read it, and you should too!

Thank you to Netgalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Freida McFadden for an ARC copy for an honest review. My review can also be found on goodreads.

Freida really outdid herself with this story. She grabbed me from the very first page and did not let go until the very last page. The dynamic between Natalie and Dawn was one that I have witnessed many times in the work place, very unpredictable.

The use of emails throughout the story was unique and effective! I liked it!

Once again, thank you Freida for the absolutely amazing story, you are the best!!!

5 stars!!!!

What can I say?? Freida McFadden has once again blown me away with a great story, twist and characters that will give you all kinds of emotions.. Fast pace book that you won't want to put down.. So happy I was chosen to read early for a honest feedback...

Thank you to NetGalley, author Freida McFadden, and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

I've seen McFadden's book, The Housemaid, practically EVERYWHERE; I haven't read it myself yet, but I was intrigued by the premise of this book and figured it would be fun to check out her work. This was, unfortunately, just okay to me and pretty much a miss overall. I can see how people like her writing style, as this was a very fast-paced mystery/thriller. There was a lot happening at a quick speed and the reader never had to sit too long in one space before something else was revealed. My biggest complaint was just that everything was so predictable. There were a couple of twists that I didn't quite see coming, but for the most part, I was able to see the major twists from the very beginning, which was disappointing! I also found both Natalie and Dawn extremely annoying in many ways. The characters felt flat, but there wasn't enough unique about the plot to remedy that situation. I'm still curious about The Housemaid, and I'm willing to give McFadden a shot in the future, but The Coworker was not the book for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. While it was a quick and easy read, the story was so ludicrous at times it was laughable. I do enjoy a good thriller, but this was nowhere near as good or complex as other thrillers I have read. The characters were silly and downright ridiculous at times and the plot was just not believable.

I have been a big fan of Freida McFadden for a while now ever since my mom bought me some of her books for Christmas. I was so happy to be able to read early (as I don’t have the patience to wait.) The Coworker was so good!!! Just when you think you know what happened BOOM a twist. I will be buying this for my mom to read. 👏🏼 She did it again.