I'm officially joining the fan club of Freida McFadden, devouring everything she releases, including her post-it notes with shopping lists! I'm ashamed of myself for not making extra time to binge-read the Housemaid series, which is slowly drowning in my ever-growing to-be-read list. As a honest confession, this is my first book by the author, but I can guarantee it won't be my last! (I still plan to sacrifice sleep and read more until my contact lenses decide to dive into her previous works on their own!)

But let's set aside her popular books and previous works for a moment to discuss "Co-worker": a fast-paced, mind-bending, nail-biting, nerve-wracking thriller that can easily be devoured in one sitting, leaving you with numb legs and a pounding headache! The unreliable characterization keeps you guessing until the end: which woman is telling the truth, who is the villain, or could they both be angels targeted by someone sinister?

The big twist revealed at the end of part one was somewhat predictable from the beginning, but the second and third twists unveiled at the end of part three and the epilogue were brilliantly executed.

The plot revolves around two polar opposite coworkers who share neighboring cubicles. Natalie Farrell, the golden girl of the sales team, exudes a Margot Robbie Barbie-like appearance with her shiny blonde hair, blue eyes, and stylish clothes. She possesses genuine and friendly manners. On the other hand, there's Dawn Schiff: a strange, shy, possibly on the spectrum young woman. Dawn is socially inept, detail-oriented, an accountant obsessed with turtles, and she dresses in shapeless clothes that are two sizes too big. Her shapeless haircut and tortoiseshell glasses give off a nerdy-meets-weird vibe.

Dawn is always punctual, scheduling every aspect of her daily life, including the color of her food, bathroom breaks, and lunch breaks. However, Natalie becomes worried when Dawn is not at her cubicle one morning, which is unusual, especially after leaving her an important message. Natalie sends the same message to their boss, who is already tired of Dawn's antics.

Natalie's worry intensifies when she answers an office call and hears Dawn whimpering for help before the call abruptly ends. Intrigued, Natalie decides to stop by Dawn's place to ensure she's okay. However, upon entering the unlocked door and witnessing a horrific scene in the living room, Natalie lets out a scream!

Has something happened to Dawn? What has Natalie stumbled upon?

As we delve into the correspondences between Dawn and her only friend Mia over the past six months, Dawn paints a horrifying portrait of Natalie, accusing her of bullying in the workplace and suggesting a possible motive for harm. When we read Natalie's point of view, where she seems to be on the verge of breaking down from the mounting pressure, she appears flawed with high ambitions and questionable choices. She vehemently denies mistreating Dawn. Was she truly innocent? Could she have violent tendencies concealed beneath her seemingly benign exterior? And what about poor Dawn, who has suffered enough? Whose narrative should we believe: Dawn's emails or Natalie's perspective? You'll have to grab a copy to find out!

The romantic aspect of the book was slightly frustrating, especially during the climax where major revelations unfold, but the ending was satisfying, despite needing a few more explanations to address some small plot holes.

Overall, I couldn't put "Co-worker" down and thoroughly enjoyed the wild ride, even though the characters themselves weren't particularly engaging. The riveting pacing, mind games, and the thought-provoking exploration of topics such as cerebral palsy, bullying, suicide, and being on the spectrum made for a compelling read. I can't wait to go blind (figuratively, of course!) and explore more of the author's works in the near future.

A heartfelt thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with a digital reviewer copy of this unputdownable thriller in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Super fast paced, twisty thriller! I couldn’t put it down. Some things were a little predictable to me, but I still enjoyed it and was definitely still surprised by some twists.

Dawn is an oddball in her office. She keeps to herself so no one really KNOWS her but everyone knows she’s weird, absolutely obsessed with turtles, and never late for anything - she shows up to work, goes to the restroom, takes lunch, and leaves every single day at the same time down to the second. One day she didn’t show up and her coworker Natalie became concerned. She fears something awful has happened and starts investigating. It quickly becomes clear something awful has happened to Dawn… but who would have a reason to harm her?

This was such a fun read! I read it every free chance I had and finished it in about 24 hours. I had a million different theories while I was reading and wasn’t sure who or what to believe until the very last page.

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, Mandy Chahall, and of course Freida McFadden for the opportunity to read this ARC! I love Freida McFadden’s books and I have been looking forward to this book since she started teasing it with Sheldon on her Facebook group (RIP original Freida McFans page). I definitely wasn’t disappointed. 10/10! Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Freida McFadden for the chance to be one of the first to read her new book! I am a very big Freida McFadden fan I love every book I've read of hers so far! This book was good with many good twists! It was a quick read for me! I really enjoyed this book however it is not my favorite by her. I believe the McFans will love this book!

First off many thanks to Mandy and the team at Poisoned Pen Press and to Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Typically at this stage I am usually blethering on about trying to be as unbiased as possible because I’m a die hard Freida McFan, however this is the first time and hopefully the only time I’m 4 starring it for Freida.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story Dawn is the weird coworker that we all have had and loved her character! I don’t know what it is but there was just something missing for me. All of Freida’s other titles I have talked about for weeks after and forcing people to read them but there’s just something that wasn’t there. It could possibly be that I knew what was coming early on in the story and didn’t really feel the shock factor of the usual twists in the plot of Freida’s books and had it figured out and haven’t had that with previous titles.

All that said I would still recommend this book!

Frieda does it again! She’s my go-to author and this book is yet another that will have you racing through the pages to find out just what exactly it going on. As usual with Frieda’s books, it’s not what you expect. Our heroine Dawn is having a tough time at work - showed through a series of emails to her friend. But there’s a whole lot more going on in that office and in the private lives of our cast of characters. Another five star read!

Just finished The Coworker by Freida McFadden…I couldn’t put it down. I haven’t slept and don’t even care. It was so good! I liked Ward D, but this was much better. I thought for SURE I had it figured out by the end of part one. Boy, was I wrong! Also, I’ll never look at turtles or collagen quite the same again. Keep your eyes out for this one!

Thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned pen press for the widget

Another amazing book from Freida McFadden ! I don't even know where to begin. I've been reading it every single minute I could ! The twists in this book left me speechless !! I didn't see it taking the turn it did, at all.
When came the part 2, I thought it was the end and I got it.. But noooo, another twist at the end.. Totally recommend this book !

First off I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for allowing me an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.
So this is my first taste of Freida McFadden. And I am impressed. A Facebook book group I belong to sings her praises so I thought I would try one. I am so glad I did!
No one was really what they seemed to be. Everyone has secrets right? A past? Some things you can't make up for. I don't want to say too much and give anything away. Once I got about a third of the way into the book I couldn't put it down. I had to see what happened next. I will be checking out more of Freida McFadden.

Freida McFadden has become an auto-read author for me. I loved her housemaid books, and this was even better I had hoped. Perfect summer/fall read!

Natalie arrives at the office one morning and quickly realizes her coworker Dawn is not at work. Dawn is always on time and is never absent, so Natalie reports it to her boss and goes to Dawn's house to investigate. At Dawn's house, Natalie finds a large pool of blood and calls the police. What started as a simple check-up quickly turns into a missing person search for Dawn, with fingers pointing at Natalie.

Freida McFadden is one of my go-to authors right now. Her quick moving plots and popcorn thrillers always help me get out of a reading slump. I was able to read this book within a few hours and it did not disappoint. A big thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and Net Galley for this ARC.

Thank you so much netgalley for the chance to read this one early!! I have always loved freidas books and her humor in her writing. I’m always looking for all her books to read right away. The writing in this definitely was different than I was thinking it would be but I enjoyed the twists throughout the book. I read this one in one sitting and was so confused until the end as to what and why all this was happening. It wasn’t my favorite book by freida but I still enjoyed it!

The Coworker by Freida McFadden Dawn and Natalie, oh my, the author can create wickedly twisted characters, Wavered between feeling sorry for, being disgusted with, to liking then disliking to hating the characters at various points in the story. It was quite an emotional seesaw. A fast paced and gripping physchological thriller and the ending was unexpected.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Deep? No. Thought provoking? Absolutely not. A rollicking good time? Abso-fucking-lutely. Like, I haven't enjoyed a "thriller" this much in recent memory.

The Coworker
Freida McFadden
Pub Date: August 29, 2023
Poisoned Pen Press
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
I have been a dedicated fan of McFadden after the Housemaid. Fast paced and thrilling book.
I love McFadden books because they are filled with twists, I highly recommend this book and author.
4 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book was a page turner and I finished it in one night. It was absolutely gripping. All of her books are extremely fast paced and easy to follow. You jump right into the story which is incredible for a thriller like this. It is a quick page turner that leaves you wanting more. Such a great page turner!

Solid 4 star thriller!

I received an advanced reader copy of this book for my honest review.
One day Dawn doesn’t show up to work. Her CoWorker Natalie is worried because Dawn is always punctual. Noone else seems to even notice. Dawn’s phone rings and Natalie answers. All she hears is a voice saying Help me! Is Dawn in trouble? Natalie feels she has to look into this because no one else seems to care. She finds blood and from there a slippery slope of a ride begins. Is Dawn dead? Who did it? Why? It’s a mystery from start to finish hard to put down.

THE COWORKER by Fredia McFadden publishes August 2023. We spend over 75% of our lives at work. Sometimes our coworkers are bullies, narcissists, liars or even killers

Sorry, but this was the worst book I’ve read by the author. At this point, I think she’s focusing too much on quantity (getting books out more frequently) rather than quality. There are several of hers I’ve enjoyed, but the last few have just been disappointing.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.