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.

The Cowoker by Freida McFadden

 

Synopsis :

Two women. An office filled with secrets. One terrible crime that can't be taken back

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.

This is what I say :

The Cowoker has some interesting plot.  It was really interesting as most POV is from Natalie's POV. However, we later read that Natalie is quite a bully it seems but then in all of Freida's novel, nothing is what it seems.

I didn't really like how the storyline progress.  It kinda lame out in my opinion and nothing much I can say about the ending except that the novel kept me guessing right up to the final page and that's how I enjoy reading Freida's book.

Tips : The dead can become alive. Ops! is that too much of a hint?

The Wife Upstairs by Freida McFadden

 

Synopsis :

Victoria Barnett has it all.

A great career. A handsome and loving husband. A beautiful home in the suburbs and a plan to fill it with children. Life is perfect—or so it seems.

Then she’s in a terrible accident… and everything falls apart.

Now Victoria is unable to walk. She can’t feed or dress herself. She can’t even speak. She is confined to the top floor of her house with twenty-four-hour care.

Sylvia Robinson is hired by Victoria’s husband to help care for her. But it turns out Victoria isn’t as impaired as Sylvia was led to believe. There’s a story Victoria desperately wants to tell... if only she could get out the words.

Then Sylvia discovers Victoria’s diary hidden away in a drawer.

And what’s inside is shocking.

This is what I say :

While it was pretty suspense reading The Wife Upstairs, it was also pretty sad.

Actually, the plot is rather simple.  The story was told from 2 POV, Sylvia and Victoria. Victoria's POV was prior to her accident. Sylvia's POV is present.

The suspense is how the accident came about. It was pretty clear who caused it but then there were some areas that are rather grey too. And because it's from Victoria's POV, we cant really believe it as from what we read of Freida's previous titles, actual happenings can be misleading from one's POV.

And of course, true to Freida's style, she will have something else up her sleeve right up to the very last sentence.

Hint : I started by saying it's also a pretty sad read. That's because one character that I was hoping to be the knight in shinning armor died.

The Inmate by Freida McFadden

 

Synopsis :

There are three rules Brooke Sullivan must follow as a new nurse practitioner at a men's maximum-security:
1) Treat all prisoners with respect.
2) Never reveal any personal information.
3) Never EVER become too friendly with the inmates.

But none of the staff at the prison knows Brooke has already broken the rules. Nobody knows about her intimate connection to Shane Nelson, one of the penitentiary's most notorious and dangerous inmates. And they certainly don't know that Shane was Brooke's high school sweetheart―the star quarterback who is now spending the rest of his life in prison for a series of grisly murders. Or that Brooke's testimony was what put him there.

But Shane knows. And he will never forget.

This is what I say :

In The Inmate, it wasn't a 180 degree twist that Freida did but a 360 degree twist. I was kept guessing right up to pretty much the last few chapters as to what actually happen 10 years ago that put Shane in prison.  Yes, the focus of the whole book was very much on this plot.

The killer is actually Shane or maybe Tim or could there be a third person that has stayed hidden all these while.  Also, pay close attention to Brooke's son.

It was interesting to finally get the truth from Freida and all I am willing to say is that a minor character has become a rather major character.  Also, the apple doesnt fall far from the tree.