The Coworker by Frieda McFadden
Published: August 29, 2023
Poisoned Pen Press
Pages: 349
Genre: Psychological Thriller
KKECReads Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.
Freida McFadden is a #1 Amazon, USA TODAY, and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author and practicing physician specializing in brain injury who has penned multiple bestselling psychological thrillers and medical humor novels. Freida’s work has been selected as one of Amazon Editors’ best books of the year, and she has been a Goodreads Choice Award nominee. Her novels have been translated into over 30 languages. Freida lives with her family and black cat in a centuries-old three-story home overlooking the ocean, with staircases that creak and moan with each step, and nobody could hear you if you scream. Unless you scream really loudly, maybe.
Dawn Schiff is strange.
At least, everyone thinks so at Vixed, the nutritional supplement company where Dawn works as an accountant. She never says the right thing. She has no friends. And she is always at her desk at precisely 8:45 a.m.
So when Dawn doesn’t show up to the office one morning, her coworker Natalie Farrell―beautiful, popular, top sales rep five years running―is surprised. Then she receives an unsettling, anonymous phone call that changes everything…
It turns out Dawn wasn’t just an awkward outsider―she was being targeted by someone close. And now Natalie is irrevocably tied to Dawn as she finds herself caught in a twisted game of cat and mouse that leaves her wondering: who’s the real victim?
But one thing is incredibly clear: somebody hated Dawn Schiff. Enough to kill.
“After all, there’s nothing that binds two people like a shared secret.”
Dawn likes turtles. And things to be in order. She knows she isn’t “normal,” but she accepts that. She is smart and pays attention to the details. Natalie has always been beautiful. And she has always been a mean girl who hid behind a nice girl facade. No one expected these opposites to be entangled.
HOLY. BUCKETS. This book was addicting. The build-up was on a steep and steady incline- until you plummeted toward the ground at breakneck speed.
Dawn was not neurotypical. I found her representation of mental illness respectful and well done. The hyper fixation and obsessive-compulsive tendencies all helped create the chaos inside of this character.
Natalie was a reasonably typical queen bee mean girl. She gave off strong Regina George vibes- beautiful, intelligent, blond hair, blue eyes, charming. She was a chameleon, presenting whatever she needed to manipulate whoever she wanted to.
Surprisingly, I guessed one of the twists! I could figure out one element, but boy, oh boy, did the other twists make my jaw drop. I love how Frieda can write a storyline that is so engaging, fast-paced, and shockingly twisted that your head spins.
The way this story was told was so fantastic. The brilliance was spot on, and I am ready for my next Frieda book!