Death Row (No 1 in Alibis Collection) by Freida McFadden

 

Synopsis :

With all hope of an appeal fading away, the fate of a condemned murderess takes a shocking turn in a breathtaking short story.

Talia Kemper is on death row for murdering her husband. She had an alibi and no known motive, yet Talia’s unwavering protestations of innocence have always been ignored. Then one day in the visiting area, she sees a recognizable stranger she’s certain is her husband. It turns out the man she’s been convicted of killing may not be dead after all. But as the days tick away toward Talia’s execution, what will it take for her to be believed?

Freida McFadden’s Death Row is part of Alibis, a collection of stories about lies, truth, and deception. It’s just a matter of what you can get away with. They can be read or listened to in one sitting.

This is what I say:

This is a very short story. Only about 70 plus pages. About 17 chapters. I dont even know where to start.  It's a total flip of story line from what was expected.  

Talia Kemper is on death row for her husband's murder, yet she is certain she saw him alive outside her cell. The story builds intense claustrophobia as Talia races to prove her innocence before her execution date. 

As in all of Freida's title, one must expect the unexpected but still this unexpected is too unexpected to expect.

The Surrogate Mother by Freida McFadden

 

Synopsis:

Abby wants a baby more than anything.

But after years of failed infertility treatments and adoptions that have fallen through, it seems like motherhood is not in her future. That is, until her personal assistant Monica makes a generous offer that will make all of Abby's dreams come true.

Or all of her nightmares.

Because it turns out Monica isn't who she says she is. The woman now carrying Abby's child has dark, twisted secrets.

And she will stop at nothing to get what she wants.

This is what I say :

Here I am once again with yet another title by Freida McFadden. Are you surprised? To be honest, I read this copy towards end of December last year.  It has since waiting for it's turn to be posted here.  I am not done with novels by Freida yet. I have, in my to read list, about seven more of her books so, ya, do expect posts on Freida's title for the next 2 months.

The Surrogate Mother was quite nice.  I knew Monica would be bad news. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to tell Abby.  However, I wasn't sure if husband Sam was bad news too.  At times, Freida seems to give the impression that he is but at time,  Sam seems too good to be true.

But there was an unexpected person (what else is new) and that was really unexpected.

Hint : Hmmm....old is not gold? Old can be bad too?

Dead Med by Freida McFadden

 

Synopsis :

"All I can think about is how pathetic it would be to die in the anatomy lab. The last thing I want is to become one of the dead bodies."

When Heather McKinley dreamed of becoming a doctor, she imagined curing sick kids and sporting pink stethoscopes. She never anticipated the sleepless nights, grueling exams, and endless labs. And she certainly never knew that her medical school earned the nickname Dead Med thanks to the tragic history of students overdosing on illegal drugs.

But Heather would never consider doing anything like that. That is, until her longtime boyfriend dumps her, she finds herself failing anatomy, and her world starts to crumble.

Everyone has a breaking point.

Then, on the night before the final exam in anatomy, a shot rings out through the hallways of Dead Med.

The school has claimed yet another casualty. One of Heather's classmates has done the unthinkable, and before her desperate 911 call even connects, it will happen again.

And the night is just beginning.

This is what I say :

Dead Med is not just about Heather.  It's actually from the POV of a few medical students and also one of their professors.

There's Abe who likes Heather. There's Rachel, Heather's roommate and we also have Mason and Sonia. These are the students and Freida told the story from their POV so that we get to understand each character's perspective.

Nothing much of a twist in this tale.  It was pretty straight forward but in style of Freida McFadden, there's a twist at the end of the last few sentences in the last chapters.

No tips and hints for this title. :)

The Gift (short Novella) by Freida McFadden

 

Synopsis :

It’s Christmas Eve and Stella Hansen is broke.

She is so broke that despite working two jobs, she can’t even afford a present for her husband on their first Christmas as man and wife. But then a mysterious storekeeper at a pawn shop offers Stella an intriguing trade.

Stella wants more than anything to buy her husband the Christmas gift of his dreams. But will it come at a terrible price?

This is what I say :

The Gift is a seven chapters novella.  Very simply, its about Stella who needs to get a Christmas present for her husband since her husband 'seems' to have gotten her a good present.

Stella has no money to get a good present.  But the old lady at the pawn shop requires payment in kind and not in cash.  But the old lady is not who she seems to be too.

The Gift is very much in the style of Freida 'ending twist' and it was a good 5 mins read.