Freida did it again with this fast paced thriller. I could not put it down and devoured it in one day. Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen, I was completely blindsided.

Natalie is the #1 sales rep in an office that is filled with secrets and lies, she is loved by most everyone that knows her. Dawn is an awkward, turtle obsessed accountant that is obsesses with cleanliness and numbers. Without fail, she always arrives to work by 8:45 every morning, until one morning when she doesn't. Natalie becomes worried when Dawn's phone starts ringing and when she answers it what she hears startles her.
Natalie goes to her boss, Seth, alarmed that Dawn still hasn't arrived at work. When he doesn't take her seriously she goes to Dawn's house and what she finds could change her life forever.

Freida McFadden’s “The Coworker” is an edgy, creepy, and satisfying thriller.

The story centers around two employees, Dawn Schiff and Natalie Farrell, who work together at a company called Vixed. The two women are very different, Natalie is popular, Dawn, is well, weird, really weird. However, Dawn, is always punctual, does her job quietly and is a solid employee. That is why Natalie, finds it a bit unsettling and unusual when she enters the office to find Dawn not there. When Natalie realizes that Dawn did not take a sick day she begins to really worry. No one else seems to be worried and they don’t seem to care that Natalie thinks something is wrong.

This leads Dawn to take matter into her own hands and she goes to Natalie’s apartment. When Natalie arrives She doesn’t find Dawn, but she does find blood? A copious amount of blood. When you find that much blood what do you do? You call the police…. BIG mistake, because in doing so Natalie becomes the number one suspect.

Further string of events make Natalie look really bad, and not only that she is being harassed by an unknown voice on the phone.

Is Natalie innocent? Why does Dawn have emails describing how bad Natalie treats her? And where is Dawn?

Freida, writes with a fast and thrilling flair. This story moves quickly and just as you think you’ve figured it out, it takes a turn…

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC, in exchange for an honest review!

I am really torn about whether to give this book 3 or 4 stars. Let’s start with the positives. It was a very fast paced thriller that kept my attention to the end. There were twists and turns, some which I anticipated and some that I did not. I can definitely say that I enjoyed this book. Now for the negatives. I did not love or really care about the characters; I stuck around to see where the story itself went (solving the mystery, for example) instead of to see what happened to the characters out of my love/care for them. The first 70% of the story seemed to drag a bit, while the last 30% seemed to fly by too fast. If the first half was shortened and the last half included a bit more, I would have enjoyed it more. This last negative may just be because it was an electronic arc, but some of the email portions were written out of order. It would start as “Dear ___,” but the next line would start in the middle of a random sentence, and then after that paragraph was the email’s opening line. It was quite annoying to jump back and forth through the pages to get the full point of the emails. While I love Freida McFadden’s writing, this book simply did not meet my high expectations that ‘The Housemaid’ and ‘The Housemaid’s Secret’ set. I will continue to read more from her in the future!

Ommgggg this book! I think this is my next favorite Freida book next to Ward D. Freida has definitely done it again! Once I was hooked I couldn’t stop! All the twists and turns had my head spinning but it was FANTASTIC!! Definitely ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Thank you for creating such interesting and crazy stories!!

I think it’s safe to say that I’m a McFadden fan. I enjoy her books, they provide mindless entertainment (usually). This book however, seemed to tackle a couple of heavy topics along with the thrills. I’m usually left feeling overly excited after having just read one of her books, this one not so much. Maybe I resonated too much with our main character Dawn? Maybe I’m too familiar with characters like Natalie? Either way, I think I was hoping for something a little different…

This story starts off with Dawn Schiff not showing up for work one day. This is very odd as Dawn is always very prompt, meticulous, and never misses work. Natalie, her coworker decides to go looking for her. Natalie seems very worried about Dawn, and insists that she was always kind to her while other people in the office were not. However, Dawn has emails that she wrote to a friend that prove otherwise…

I can see where McFadden was going with this book, as we are all tired of bullies. We are tired of bullies getting away with everything with no repercussions, while the those of us who get bullied continue to suffer. Where is the justice?!

This is book is divided into two parts. I really enjoyed Part I, but Part II- not as much. It did have some nice twists, but they just didn’t “wow” me like I thought they would. All in all, this is a fun read- and I will be looking out for more from McFadden in the future!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and the author for an ARC of this book which I had the pleasure of reading. All opinions are my own. Publication date: August 29, 2023.
Genre~ Mystery & Thrillers

This was my first Freida novel, and boy! I definitely was not disappointed. I loved the storyline, characters and all the plot twists, I even felt a little sorry for some of the characters! This will definitely not be the last Freida for me. Absolutely loved it xoxo

The Coworker by Freida McFadden is a compelling novel that delves into the intricate dynamics of workplace relationships and the blurred lines between truth and deception. The story centers around Dawn, a new accountant at a vitamin company, as she attempts to forge a connection with Natalie, the company's leading sales agent. Despite their stark differences, Dawn is drawn to Natalie's charismatic personality and success in the workplace.
However, when Dawn suddenly goes missing, the narrative takes a chilling turn, unveiling a dark underbelly of workplace bullying and manipulation. As the story unfolds, the troubling accounts of mistreatment and psychological torment come to light, leaving both the characters and readers questioning what is real and what is fabricated.
The novel skillfully weaves together elements of mystery, suspense, and psychological tension, creating a page-turning experience that keeps readers engaged from beginning to end. The author expertly explores the complexities of human relationships, the power dynamics in a professional setting, and the impact of psychological trauma.
Throughout the narrative, the line between fiction and reality becomes increasingly blurred, challenging the characters and readers alike to discern the truth amid a web of conflicting accounts and hidden agendas. The unraveling of the story exposes the depths of the characters' motivations and the lengths to which they are willing to go to maintain their façades.
The Coworker is a gripping page-turner that offers a thought-provoking exploration of workplace dynamics, the consequences of bullying, and the fragility of perception. With its captivating plot twists and well-developed characters, this novel is sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats, eagerly turning the pages to uncover the unsettling truths that lie beneath the surface.

If you’re looking for a fast pace binge read that will keep you wondering who done it, you’ve picked up the right book!

Ever have that one coworker that just drives you to the point of breaking? I’m sure we all have.

This is the case for Dawn or is it? All Dawn wanted was to go to work make friends and be apart of a great team even though she was the weird accountant and not on the sales side of things. Natalie was the popular sales girl that everyone loved until Dawn goes missing and all fingers point to her.

This book is a fast paced thriller with many twists that will keep you guessing until the end.

My only complaint was the use of turtles. Even though I learnt a lot about them in this book including how to identify which type is which. I feel it was filler to the book. We could have understood Dawns character without the overuse of this.

Solid 4⭐️ read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poison Pen Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Spoiler-free ARC review: 'The Coworker' by Freida McFadden || Release: August 29th

★★★★☆ + 🐢 (if you know, you know)

|| tw: bullying, suicide ||

First of all, thank you so much @poisonedpenpress for providing the arc via @netgalley !

I actually binged this book in a day. I have to say, that I don't usually gravitate that much towards thrillers, but Freida may have changed that slightly.

Throughout the whole thriller, I had quite a few different theories, some closer to the reveal than others, but none managed to quite hit the whole story. As someone who adores morally questionable characters, I found the unfurled secrets incredibly satisfying.

If you are affected by my previously mentioned TWs, you might want to be careful around this one. A few passages hurt quite a bit, and I'm not even easily affected.

Only 4 stars because while I did love the turtles, they did get a bit much at times which unfortunately pulled me out of intense scenes.

But all in all, incredibly done.

I screamed went I was approved to read this!
Fast, Action packed mysterious thriller!!
Nat & Kim are best friend coworkers.
Caleb web designer, coworker and Nat’s new bf.
Seth the married boss having an affair.
Dawn the company's accountant suddenly goes missing
then her desk phone rings and the unknown caller says ‘Help me’ and hangs up.
It sounded like Dawn.
Affairs, Work Bullies, Scandals, Crime, Murder
and Great twists only like Freida can do.

The coworker by Frieda McFadden was such a interestingly woven story about revenge and just how far you would go to get it!
Dawn and Natalie work together, and they couldn’t be more different from one an other. Natalie is beautiful carefree and makes friends easily, Dawn is strange, awkward and never says the right thing.
One morning Dawn doesn’t show up to work and the events that unfold have Natalie wondering who Dawn really is and how far she’ll have to go to uncover the truth.
I could not put this book down! It had me hooked from the first page and left me wanting more.

I received an early copy of this book from NetGalley, Freida McFadden, and Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! I am a HUGE Freida fan!!

Dawn is a punctual and meticulous employee of Vixed, always at her desk by 8:45 a.m. However, when Dawn fails to show up one day, her colleague Natalie begins to worry. Despite others in the office remaining indifferent, Natalie decides to delve deeper into Dawn's disappearance and finds herself becoming the prime suspect.

Having enjoyed Freida's previous work, I was eager to read her latest release, The Coworker. (I'm always like a child in a candy store waiting for her next book, lol.) Unfortunately, I struggled to connect to the story and found the characters difficult to warm up to. I kept putting this book down, when I can normally
read her novels in 2 nights. While the ending had some unexpected turns, I just found some parts of the book too wordy, if that's possible? Maybe that was just Dawn's character that I couldn't relate to?

However, the story is well written and there are no holes in the story; it's very solid. At the end it's packaged up with a big red bow. It left me with no more questions.

This is one of Freida's best books yet! I loved how fast-paced this book was and all of the twists completely shocked me. I would definitely recommend this book.

I received an advanced copy from Net Galley. I just have to say Wow! Freida you have done it again. You will think this is too easy to figure out then of course Freida throws all those twists and turns and boom, everything you though was all wrong!!

Natalie, Dawn and Kim are all co workers. Natalie is the pretty, popular #1 in sakes and all around favorite in the office. It she’s also a bully. Kim is Natalie’s work best friend and just goes along with her. Dawn is the quiet, plain Jane co worker who is at the end of all the bullying. Then one day Dawn goes missing. Everything points to Natalie, but did she really have something to do with Dawn’s disappearance?? Only time will tell.

Another 10/10 for Frieda!! This one is probably my favorite!! There is twist after twist, and the ending will have you feeling….. torn. This is an absolute must read for fans of psychological thrillers

This was a fast paced and binge worthy book. The pace and suspense kept me engaged from beginning to end. I liked the use of Dawn's e-mails to show insight into her character and provide backstory, We follow the POV of Natalie and Dawn. True to McFadden's writing style, the plot felt predictable only to be blind sided with a surprising twist for the last part.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book! Below is my honest review.

This book is full of drama! When you pick up and read this book, make sure you got an empty cup with you because the tea is HOT. At first, the main character Natalie seems all innocent as she's the one who notices that Dawn, who is notoriously at her desk at the same time every day, is missing. No one else cares that Dawn isn't at work, so Natalie takes it into her own hands to find out what happened to her. Little does she know that she's in for a real treat when the cops start looking at her.

I wouldn't say this is my favorite mystery book ever, but the twist at the end was definitely very interesting and it made a lot of sense. (I hate plot twists that literally come out of nowhere and isn't related at all to the plot.) I will say though that I wasn't a huge fan of the ending since I envisioned it going in a different direction (if you know, you know), but this book was enjoyable nonetheless.

Would I recommend this book? Yes!

The Coworker by Freida McFadden

"It wasn't right of me to ask him to lie to the police. That's not the kind of thing you ask your boyfriend of less than two months to do for you. That's more of a six-month relationship request."

Natalie and Dawn work for the same company and share the same cubicle space. Although Dawn has some quirky habits, Natalie does her best to be cordial and inviting to her new cubicle mate. One morning, Dawn doesn't show up for work which is extremely uncharacteristic of Dawn. Natalie begins to stress about her new friend when she receives an anonymous phone call that changes everything....

Freida has become an instant read author for me. She is so talented in hooking readers in within the first few chapters. This book was no different! I was once more transfixed with the storyline and where it was going to go.
I had to know what happened to turtle girl Dawn. (That's my new nickname for her because she is OBSESSED with turtles).

The turtle talk did feel a little daunting sometimes. it made the plot feel like it was developing slowly, but it also strengthened the perverseness of Dawn's character for me. I love feeling immersed in the mind of the characters and that was for sure delivered to me with this book.

Thank you so much for allowing me to be an ARC reader for this book!

You will enjoy this book if you are into:
+ mysteries
+ slow burn thrillers
+ turtle facts LOL
+ twists and turns

Thank you for the ARC! This book started out a little slow. I can't say I cared too much about it until around 60%. But once it got good, it got GOOD. The twists just kept coming and you didn't know what to believe until the last page. The twists were really well done!

My concern with the book is that Dawn is supposed to be an Autistic character, but she presents as a caricature of Autism. It's possible to make Dawn a "weird person" without venturing into that territory. I was pretty uncomfortable with this characterization, it feels ableist.

This book starts off with a mystery… Where is Dawn? Dawn is the accountant at Vixed, a nutritional supplement company. She is never late to work and would most certainly never miss a meeting. Dawn is obsessed with turtles. She is odd and doesn’t have any social abilities, which is completely opposite of Natalie. Nat is the beautiful saleswoman that works across the cubicle from Dawn. Natalie is the mean girl of the office. Natalie’s life seems to be crumbling around her, and it all starts with the disappearance of her coworker. She has to find out what happened to Dawn!

The way Frieda’s mind works is just different. Every time I try to guess the twist, it’s never what I anticipated. Her books are so fast pace, which keeps the reader intrigued. This book has mystery, workplace drama, romance, and revenge.