Fantastic!!! This is my first Freida McFadden book and it won't be my last! Have you ever read a book and you get to a part where your mouth just drops open? Well that's going to happen to you several times in Freida's books. I have heard so much about this author on Instagram and Tik Tok and I have to say the hype is real. This was the first book that I have read in months that had me unable to put it down. I cannot wait to read more Frieda McFadden books!
If you love a fast paced, gritty murder mystery with surprising twists, look no further!

Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book early. Unfortunately it was a DNF for me. I got about 20% in listening via audio. I just couldn't with all the turtle-ness. I enjoyed The Housemaid and The Housemaids Secret but this book wasn't it for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape media for the free ALC in exchange for honest review. I loved the previous book by the author however the narration and story did not work for me at all. I found alot of the book uninteresting and repetitive. Hope the next one ia a 5 star.

Thank you to @netgalley for this audio arc in exchange for an honest review!

I love Freida books! They’re some of my favorite thrillers. I liked this one though it wasn’t my favorite. Positives… the story was quick and entertaining! I did not see the twists coming and it was a great twist! I love how Freida writes her books and navigate the story. You may see one twist, but typically you don’t see them all! Negatives…I did not like the narrator…and that made it tougher to listen to. Overall, it was a good book!

If you are looking for a binge read you can’t go past thriller author Frieda McFadden. All of the books of hers that I have read have been compulsive and so much fun to read. After reading quite a heavy book, I was looking for something a bit less dark and messed up, but still enjoyable. The Coworker fit the bill and ai listened to it in a day at work.

Dawn Schiff is an accountant and she has her routine. Always at work at exactly the same time, bathroom breaks at the same time… in fact you could set your watch by her day. She is obsessed with turtles and doesn’t really have any friends. She sits next to Natalie, the top sales person and probably the only person in the company who puts up with her. But one day, Dawn isn’t at work in time, in fact she doesn’t turn up at all. And so begins the search

If you have read this author before then you know that you are in for a roller coaster ride and won’t know what to believe. Both main characters were unlikeable in their own ways, but it absolutely worked for this story. The narrator was fabulous and really brought the story to life.

With a shocking ending, you don’t want to miss this fast paced, addictive thriller.

Thanks so much to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for my advanced listening copy. Out in August 29th.

I listened to the audiobook and was not a fan of the narrator. I didn’t really enjoy the premise of the story, I found the characters insufferable, and the plot mostly predictable. This was not my first Freida McFadden book, but it was the first I didn’t enjoy.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC of this book.

Freida’s books are consistently bingeable. While this wasn’t my absolute favorite by her, I still enjoyed it. It’s almost like I saw where it was going, but I didn’t, but I did.. Dawn, as a neuro-divergent/ASD character, was very likeable, and McFadden did a nice job using her quirks to fuel the plot.

I got this book today, and finished listening to this book today as well. I've been a long time lover of Freida McFadden's work and recently joined her Facebook group. She is highly active in that group which is so incredible that an author who has had so much success still cares to interact with her fans. Well, there's this turtle Sheldon that she talks a lot about and while the turtle in this book was not named Sheldon, I chuckled every time I read about the little guy.

The Co-Worker is no exception and is an excellent thriller that you truly can read in one day. My favorite part of any Freida book is the epilogue where she wraps up all her books beautifully. This one was a fun one that had me guessing till the very end. I definitely trusted the wrong characters.

Quick Summary:
Two women work in an office filled with secrets, the biggest one being a missing person.

Natalie is an excellent sales rep who all her co-workers love. Dawn is the total opposite of Natalie and everyone finds her strange and purposefully excludes her from work events. Dawn also is set in her routine and arrives promptly at 8:45 AM so when one day Natalie sees that Dawn is not at her desk she starts to worry. Plus Natalie receives an anonymous call saying "help me." It is clear to Natalie something is going on so she goes to the police who quickly decide she is the number one suspect. Natalie must work to solve the disappearance of Dawn and why she is being framed for Dawn's disappearance.

Dawn isn’t well-liked by her coworkers, she’s socially awkward and keeps to herself. The one thing she is good at is her job, showing up early every day – until she doesn’t. Coworker Natalie is Dawn’s polar opposite, popular, pretty, and kind, at least on the surface. When Dawn doesn’t show up for work, Natalie is concerned; until she gets a phone call that changes everything. Told from both women’s perspectives, readers will be left wondering which character is the real bad apple

Oh Freida...you did it again!

Twists, turns, shockers, and MORE pretty much sums up "The Coworker" by Freida McFadden and is one of the reasons why she is one of my fav thriller authors!

I was confused, then delighted, then shocked, then confused again, relieved and then THE END and my heart couldn't beat faster as my mind reeled about all I thought I knew about the book.

Can I say more? No.
Should you read it yourself to find out why? Yes!

I did the audiobook and while I loved how she narrated overall, I was a tad annoyed with Dawn's voice but understood why she sounded the way she did. Very methodical!

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC of this book!

The Coworker by Freida McFadden was such a fast paced thriller! I loved it, and finished it in one day. I like the alternating points of view between Natalie and Dawn, and being in both of their heads. As with all of her books, there was such an amazing twist that will leave you speechless. A must read for anyone who enjoys suspense and thriller novelsThe Coworker by Freida McFadden was such a fast paced thriller! I loved it, and finished it in one day. I like the alternating points of view between Natalie and Dawn, and being in both of their heads. As with all of her books, there was such an amazing twist that will leave you speechless. A must read/listen for anyone who enjoys suspense and thriller novels. The audio version is great!

4.25⭐️

Well this was entertaining. Definitely a read-it-all-in-one-go sort of thriller. Once I started I got caught up in the story and the characters and the twists. All. The. Twists.

Dawn is an outsider. Clearly a quirky character, most likely neurodivergent. Unpopular at work due to her awkward and off-putting interactions with coworkers and supervisors. When she goes missing, her home a crime scene stumbled upon by her coworker Natalie, we don’t know what happened to her, or who did it. As we learn more and more, we don’t know who to trust. The puzzle pieces are there. But the odds of anyone putting them all together correctly before reaching the conclusion are slim at best.

I must say I enjoyed this more than much-hyped The Housemaid. The Coworker seemed to go in more unexpected directions and was easy to fly right through.

Alyson Krawchuk did a great job with the audiobook narration.

Thank you Freida McFadden, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for providing this ALC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Coworker was something I enjoyed listening to like I enjoy watching horribly cheesy Lifetime movies. Part of me understands the hype of Freida McFadden. She is great for people getting back into reading, great for people exploring what psychological thrillers have to offer. She’s great at marketing for herself and she has built an empire, all by herself. But it pains me at the same time, because her writing is … lackluster. I’m trying to be kind. But there is a lot of unnecessary filler that adds nothing to the story except for a higher word count. The Coworker was not entirely original and not written well, but at the same time? I binged it in two sittings. So, my review is conflicted. Is the writing good? No. Is the plot good? Also no. But is there something laced in this book, and her other books, that make them binge-able and additive? Yes. I might not always seek out her books, but on the off chance I do find myself spending time with them, it isn’t entirely unpleasant.

Great book! Freida does a wonderful job of taking Natalie from an innocent co-worker to someone who really could be guilty. I like how she introduced different tid bits here and there to make the reader think that perhaps there is something going on behind the scenes that Natalie wants hidden. I enjoyed the different memos back and forth from Dawn to Mia etc. It just took different formats and put them all into one book. There was a lot of suspense! Probably my favorite book by Freida so far!

I loved this book. I read it within one day. I finished it yesterday and I’m still thinking about it. This book has bullies, workplace drama, and a lady (who appears to be on the spectrum) obsessed with turtles. Full of suspense. Such a good read. Loved the audio.

4/5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was my 3rd book I listened to by this author and still doesn’t disappoint. I thought I had the end figured out but still didn’t see all the plot twists this book had. Another great triller & narrators made the book enjoyable , can’t recommend this enough!

Aw, Freida McFadden will be the death of me. As will Goodreads with their insistence that half stars do not exist in this timeline.

I would have liked to have given this one 4 stars simply for the ending - I won't discuss it, this isn't a 5th grade book report. You can see the plot by looking up the publisher description but I will say, I saw some of it coming. Then I didn't. Then I did. Then I didn't. A real head turner.

This was an audio arc so narrator performance plays into the experience, and I was not in love with this narrator. For some of her characters the performance felt like a performance. There were pauses that made me realize an actress was reading the lines. I hate that. I'll contrast that to longtime favorite narrator Scott Brick who BECOMES every character in the book. Flawless. I had to go check and sure enough, Alyson Krawchuk has read several other McFadden's and I had the same criticism of her on those books. In future, I must remember to get the paper vs. audio if the narrator remains the same for future novels.

Now, why the 3 stars? One of the main characters in the book, Dawn Schiff, is neuro divergent. No label is applied, but as the parent of a 30 year old Asperger's adult, it was pretty clear that at a minimum, Dawn is Aspie adjacent. I am all for the world getting to know these adults. I want my son to be understand and accepted. Even acknowledged for how far he has come in a society where sameness is the goal. Dawn is used by the author in a way that is unpleasant and uncomfortable for those of us who live in the world of autism. I wish I had known going in and I would not have read this book.

THIS IS A MASTERPIECE. Queen Freida you’ve done it again. One million stars. I devoured this book in less than 10hrs.

Thrillers actually often make it difficult for me to become emotionally invested - so far none has managed that, except this one. There were moments in the evening when I felt unsafe in my flat because the protagonist also felt uncomfortable in her flat and the story just swept me along. Lots of love for that!
I think what cought me the most was the way the book was structured.
We experience the story from Natalie and Dawn’s perspectives, with Dawn’s timeline taking place in the past and gradually working its way into the here and now. This slow coming closer of the past gave me goosebumps, as it was also only told through letters / emails and was therefore even more opaque. In my opinion, an incredibly good way to build up this thriller.

I also found the characterisation of Dawn very well-done and she was the character who probably grew on me the quickest. Her character was so matter-of-fact and natural, while in Natalie’s parts you could see how irritating Dawn was for her. I liked that!
Then the ending made me wrinkle my nose a bit and I didn’t know if it killed the plot for me or not. I was unsure if that twist seemed realistic to me - I’m still unsure now either. But what completely won me over was the very last twist, which made me laugh in disbelief. Brilliant in my opinion and another great in-character view. <3

I really enjoyed the audiobook, read by Alyson Krawchuk. I liked the different readings she established for Dawn and Natalie and also her vocal variation in general.


I would recommend this thriller and also the audiobook to friends of the genre. <3

Freida is the queen of twists, and just when you think you’ve finally got it, you’re probably still wrong. I’d read her grocery list at this point. Absolutely phenomenal, as always!