I really enjoyed reading this book. I found it easy to read and it kept my attention throughout.
Nora is a remarkable general surgeon, flourishing in a shared private practice with her partner, Phillip. However, she has a secret. Her dad is an imprisoned, formerly notorious serial killer known as 'The Handyman' for the way he brutally killed women. Nora's life is going great until girls start going missing in a similar way to when her father was responsible. Who is responsible for these missing women? Is Nora more like her father than she originally thought? Read this book to find out.
I did not see the plot twist in this book coming. The entire time, I was convinced I knew who the killer was, even up until the moment the killer is revealed. Overall, I had fun reading this book. It kept my attention and surprised me. I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars.

(This review is based on an uncorrected e-galley of this novel)

The Locked Door centers around a woman named Nora who's father was a serial killer when she was a tweenager. Nora had no idea her father was killing women in their basement (or did she......).

Decades later, after Nora's father has been arrested and is serving eighteen life sentences, Nora is a successful general surgeon living a solitary and calculated existence. She has worked hard to conceal the fact that her father was a serial killer, something she intends to keep secret.

However, one by one, Nora's female patients start to disappear. When they're found, they've been killed in the same horrific manner that her father used. Does someone know who she is? Is someone trying to frame her?

This novel reminded me a lot of A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham. I don't want to specify why in this review because it could be a spoiler for some readers. I haven't read any of McFadden's other novels yet, but after reading this novel, I definitely will. I finished this in a day and stayed up way too late finishing it (which isn't something I typically do). If you like thrillers with mostly closeted gore, this is definitely a must read.

📚Advance Book Review 📚

Title: The Locked Door by Freida Mcfadden
Publish date: October 3,2023

⛔️ might contain spoilers

Rating: 📖📖📖📖.5 (4.5/5)

📝 Nora Nierling or Dr. Davis, a surgeon trying to hide her past as the daughter of the serial killer “The Handyman”. Raised by this man who secretively works in the basement and later found out by Nora and tipped the police of his father’s crime. Nora now faces the same crime his father did..but is she the killer?

This book will get you hooked as you wanted to know who is the real culprit.Just unputdownable.It’s mind boggling and well executed. There is a mystery in every character that will make you doubt. The book might be about a crime but the author was able to tone down the gruesome parts that won’t grossed you out or feel icky about it. This book will make you really think, will excite you and will even make you doubt. The remaining .5 rating i didn’t give was for some of the scenes that i felt like were unanswered and how it was a slow start for me as i somehow got confused with the switching of the past and the current..it’s like there was no connection on the present why it suddenly flipped to the past..i might have expected a smooth transitioning

Thank you to Freida Mcfadden and to Poisoned pen press for giving me an advance digital copy


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Nora Davis has spent her entire teenage and adult life trying to hide from her father’s notoriety. Aaron Nierling, Nora’s father, was a serial killer who brutally murdered over 30 girls in the basement of her childhood home. When Nora’s patients start getting murdered in the same way as her father’s victims, Nora must confront her past.

I’m a huge Frieda McFadden fan and this did not disappoint! Kept me engaged the whole way through and I didn’t see the twists coming. Such a good story!

Nora is the daughter of a gruesome serial killer, who has been rightly imprisoned since she was a child. In attempts to rise above her situation, Nora has since become a surgeon. She thinks that the dark past of her father has been removed from her life. But when her patients start dying, she becomes a prime suspect in the case. Is her past really behind her?

Like the rest of Freida's books, The Locked Door is incredibly fast paced. You can engulf this whole novel in one setting. This novel is very plot-driven and will leave you guessing up until the very end! Freida builds up a creepy environment and leaves you wondering who can be trusted. I loved the interweaving of characters. There were just enough characters in this novel that made it hard to guess who the suspect was, but not too many that I had trouble keeping track of who was who.

My one critique for this novel is this: as a medical professional, 99% of what took place in the medical office and the privacy violations (HIPAA) among characters were a bit frustrating to me. I'm all for a good story, but I prefer when details such as these are accurate.

I will continue to be a fan of Freida McFadden's because her books are so easy to devour! If you're looking for a fast-paced, twisty turn-y psychological thriller that will keep you on your toes, pick this one up!

A huge thanks to NetGalley for providing me with this novel in exchange for my honest review.

What a riveting, absolute jaw dropping thriller.

Nora, the daughter of a serial killer, is left unsettled after a patient is found in a similar fashion to her fathers method. Her father in the past before he was caught literally did everything in their family home’s basement, under his families noses. That blew my mind to boot — how did he pull that off?

Nora had changed everything in her life as well as her name. Being her best kept secret, she is kept on edge, as this person is clearly trying to set her up.

The twists and turns kept coming and kept you guessing and sending you down a rabbit hole with an earth shattering end that leaves no end untied. McFadden did a wonderful job misdirecting the reader at every turn, this was an absolutely thrilling read and she is turning into one of my favorite authors to read.

This is my second book by Freida McFadden, and the twist remains a surprise! Somehow I feel there are some unanswered questions in the book, but I love it anyway. Some chapters were really good, like I can feel the darkness around me. Flow is quite good and it's an easy read. Can't wait to read more books by Freida McFadden!

I gobbled this book up in one day. It is a page Turner. It Will make you guess. It Will make you think. Highly recommend it
Thank you to netgalley for letting me read this e arc in exchange for an honest opinion

I don't usually read suspense/thrillers because they haunt me and this one is no different.

Nora has a past. So much so that she changed her last name. No one knows that her father is The Handyman, a serial killer that killed 30 dark haired, blue eyed girls. We learn about her past in a series of flashbacks.

Nora seems to have put that all behind her but a series of events leads her to visit him in prison for the first time, ever.

She has a new/old love interest, her patients and of course the police detective. I was kept guessing until the end.

TW: suicide, murder, torture, blood/surgical descriptions, car accident, false imprisonment & many more

The locked door, is a gripping tale of a surgeon who saves lives for a living and also the daughter of most terrifying serial killer.
When the pattern her dad used to follow 26 years back resurfaces .A notorious killer copies her father's pattern and kills two of her patients.
While the police suspects her ... she believes she is innocent or is she really, after its in her blood and did I mention she chose cutting people's flesh for a living.

Its a true page turner with a shocking plot twists ..

This was a thriller that was filled with twists! The book kept me guessing! It was also extremely hard to put down! Loved it! Will definitely read more from this author! I received an advanced readers copy from netgalley but my review is unbiased.

Serial killer? Another great suspenseful book by Freida McFadden. Nora is a surgeon who has a terrible family past. Her father was a notorious killer of women and Nora's past seems to haunt her. She is a successful surgeon but lacks success in her personal life. A couple of new murders occur with similarities to Nora's father's killings and she becomes suspect.

Nora finds herself in a whirlwind of secrets, suspicions and fear. The book keeps one on the edge of their seats and the twist at the end was quite the twist. I would recommend this novel for those that like thrillers and mysteries. Thank you Netgalley for the chance to review this book.

Sometimes you read a book and the entire time you want to reach in and grab the mc and tell them to wise up. There are so many bad choices made. So many times they can make this all so much easier and so much safer. Times when you wonder how this person has made it this far in life. Nora could have made different decisions at every part of her adult life that would have made so much more sense than what she did..

I can see why the author made this character so unlikable. You are meant to feel a way about her. The big twist, though, seemed like a cheat. A good one you can trace through hindsight because the author worked you to the reveal. A bad was is just thrown in. This is a bad one. I could have looked past a rather ridiculous mc if there had been a decent ending. This was just another OK book.

Love Freida!!! Great book, and per usual a quick and easy read with a great ending!

Thank you NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my review

A quick, addictive read. I completely flew through this, much like the last Freida McFadden book I read. She just has a way with her writing that makes a story go by so quickly. This one was quick paced, mysterious, and kept me guessing and second guessing myself. While I didn’t see the big twist coming, I also wasn’t super wowed by it but I enjoyed the overall story quite a bit. I already know I’ll be reading more of her books soon!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc.

The Locked Door is a masterfully written thriller with lots of red herrings and a big twist that I only partly figured out.
Twenty-six years ago, Nora's father went to prison for abducting and killing as many as 30 young women. Ever since, Nora has avoided personal relationships, dedicating herself to saving lives as a surgeon. Then one of Nora's patients is found dead, a young woman with physical similarities to her father's victims and a manner of death that suggests a copycat, and Nora starts to think she is being framed. But by who? Or does the apple not fall so far from the tree and is she actually guilty? The story is told from Nora's perspective in the present and as an 11-year-old just before her father is arrested. I found the tension palpable and the slow revelations about Nora's character left me second guessing whether she was good or evil right up to the end.

Nora Davis is a successful surgeon with a hidden past. She is the daughter of a prolific serial killer who kept his victims in the basement of their family home right under his family's noses.

This is my first time reading a book written by Freida McFadden, and I am looking forward to reading more of her work in a not so distant future. McFadden's storytelling is truly remarkable as she weaves an intricate web of secrets, mystery, and suspense with seamless precision. The way she expertly builds and maintains tension is absolutely mind-blowing. Every chapter ends with a clever cliffhanger that leaves me desperate to uncover the truth behind the locked door. Overall, I highly recommend The Locked Door to any fan of psychological thrillers. Freida McFadden's exceptional storytelling, intricate plotting, and compelling characters make this a must-read. You will be surprised and ultimately blown away by this novel.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was amazing!! I love Freida McFadden and all her books. This one just kept me so interested and I kept trying to figure out who did it, who is the bad guy, and with the twists, I couldn’t put it down til I finished!! 100% recommend this book!!

Nora Davis is the daughter of a notorious serial killer. Decades after her father’s conviction, she is a successful surgeon and has gone to great lengths to conceal her parentage. However, when one of Nora’s former patients is murdered with the same M.O. as her father, it becomes apparent that somebody knows who she is and is intent to frame her for the crime.

This was my first Freida McFadden book and I flew through it. I liked the short chapters and found it easy to get into. The novel was told from the perspective of Nora and I LOVED the dual past and present timelines. The past timeline primarily focused on Nora’s home life prior to her Father’s arrest, which was super interesting. In fact, I found myself wishing there had been more chapters dedicated to the past. While the premise was pretty compelling, there weren’t enough twists and turns for me and I wished it had been quicker paced. Overall, this was a really good popcorn thriller for spooky season!

I have enjoyed all the books I have read by Freida McFadden and this one is no different in how it pulled me in and kept me hooked until the very end.