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.

The Perfect Son by Freida McFadden

 

Synopsis :

"Mrs. Cass, we were hoping your son could answer a few questions about the girl who disappeared last night..."

Erika Cass has a perfect family and a perfect life. Until the evening when two detectives show up at her front door.

A high school girl has vanished from Erika's quiet suburban neighborhood. The police suspect the worst--murder. And Erika's teenage son, Liam, was the last person to see the girl alive.

Erika has always sensed something dark and disturbed in her seemingly perfect older child. She wants to believe he's innocent, but as the evidence mounts, she can't deny the truth--Liam may have done the unthinkable.

Now she must ask herself:

How far will she go to protect her son?

This is what I say :

The Prefect Son is quite predictable in certain way.  It gives an impression of one perspective and Freida did a 180 degree turn and it's a different perspective altogether. So, if you read the book with that 180 degree turn, then you will be able to figure out how the story goes.

Let me spoilt it for you this round.  Freida will build the expectation that Liam is the killer and that's through the POV of the mum, Erika. But Erika doesn't know everything so what you read is not everything there is to know about Liam. 

When Frieda had enough fun confusing you as the reader, she will then revealed who the actual killer is and it wont be Liam. It will be someone else.  The fun for me as a reader is to figure out who the killer is knowing that it wouldnt be Liam and in this case I was correct.

The hint would be, the killer is someone close.

The Teacher by Freida McFadden

 

Synopsis :

Eve has a good life. She gets up each day, gets a kiss from her husband Nate, and heads off to teach math at the local high school. All is as it should be. Except…

Last year, Caseham High was rocked by a scandal involving a student-teacher affair, with one student, Addie, at its center. But Eve knows there is far more to these ugly rumors than meets the eye.

Addie can't be trusted. She lies. She hurts people. She destroys lives. At least, that's what everyone says.

But nobody knows the real Addie. Nobody knows the secrets that could destroy her. And Addie will do anything to keep it quiet.

This is what I say :

Freida's book will generally start with a prologue.  But the prologue will be vague as in you can't really know who the character is in the prologue.  However, the prologue will be rather captivating as in the unknow character will be doing something incriminating like burying a body or something like that and most probably in a first person narrative.  And that is how Freida reels her readings in and once that happens, there's no turning back.

The is how the story of The Teacher started.  It was quite captivating in that you think you know who all the characters are but then that is a title by Freida McFadden if there's no 'twist' to the story and in The Teacher, I didnt' see this specific twist which wasn't necessary but certainly makes the title more interesting.

Hint : The Teacher should be The Teachers

One by One - by Freida McFadden

 

Synopsis :

One by one, they will get what they deserve...

A night spent sleeping on dirt and leaves is not how Claire Matchett expected to spend her vacation.  She thought this would be a break from the stresses of work and raising her young children. A chance to repair her damaged marriage. A week of hiking and hot tubs with two other couple friends. It sounded like heaven.

Then Claire’s minivan breaks down on a lonely dirt road. With no cell reception, the group has no choice but to hike the rest of the way to their hotel. But it turns out the woods aren’t as easy to navigate as they thought.

Hours later, they are lost. Hopelessly lost. And as they navigate deeper into the woods, the members of their party are struck down mysteriously one by one. Has a wild animal been hunting them? Or is the hunter one of them?

But as more time passes, one thing becomes clear:  Only one of them will return home alive.

This is what I say :

Are you tired of my many posts on titles by Freida McFadden.  Please dont be as I still have about 2 months worth of posts.

I am realling loving what Freida wrote because I am loving how I try to second guess how the story will unfold and I had fun for this title too.  There are 6 characters in One by One so I tried a combination of various characters to see if I am right in my guess.  There's Claire and husband,  husband's best friend and his wife and Claire's best friend and best friend's boy friend.  It could go a few ways.  If I just paired one male and one female, theres nine possible couples. If I disregard gender, there's a possibility of 15 possible couples.  

And then theirs the POV of an unknown person.  

Plotwise, almost non existence but I still enjoyed One by One.

My spoiler : Do not disregard the dead.

Happy Chinese New Year of the Horse 2026

 

Wishing those celebrating Chinese New Year 2026

a Verry Happy Year of The Horse

May you gallop to your dreams and wishing this year

Gong Xi Gong Xi

The Crash by Freida McFadden

 

Synopsis :

Tegan is eight months pregnant, alone, and desperately wants to put her crumbling life in the rearview mirror. So she hits the road, planning to stay with her brother until she can figure out her next move. But she doesn’t realize she’s heading straight into a blizzard.

She never arrives at her destination.

Stranded in rural Maine with a dead car and broken ankle, Tegan worries she’s made a terrible mistake. Then a miracle she is rescued by a couple who offers her a room in their warm cabin until the snow clears.

But something isn’t right. Tegan believed she was waiting out the storm, but as time ticks by, she comes to realize she is in grave danger. This safe haven isn’t what she thought it was, and staying here may have been her most deadly mistake yet.

And now she must do whatever it takes to save herself—and her unborn child.

This is what I say :

Nothing much to say actually.  The Crash is entertaining. Tegan is frustrating and annoying but then that's not the issue here.

Like all of Freida's title, the cherry on top of the cake is the twist at the end and not just one twist but multiple twists that you don't see coming. 

I am going down the list of her titles so she'll be here for a while. if you're not keen about Freida's titles, you might want to check back in a month or two.

My tips/spoiler to you :  Those whom you trusted can hold grudges against you and betray you.