I will never view a locked door in the same way! Nora Davis, 11 years old, lives with her ordinary parents in an ordinary house in an ordinary town - until she finds a secret hidden in her dad's basement "workshop" (that was usually locked). Decades later, with a new name and a new career, the past seems to be catching up with Nora. I thought I had figured it out several times - only to be met with another twist. A compelling mystery that kept me guessing!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hollywood Upstairs Press for the advanced e-copy of this book. I also listened to this book and enjoyed that format.

4.5 stars

Nora’s dad has a secret…a secret that gets him sent to prison forever. Years later, Nora finds herself a suspect of a couple of murders. The victims were found in the same manner her father liked to kill people. Someone knows who Nora is, and someone’s trying to frame her.

This was my FIRST Freida McFadden and I completely understand the hype around her books. This one was super intriguing, fast-paced, and twisty. I can’t wait to read more from her!


Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this advanced readers copy.

Aaron Nierling is a man who is known as an “upstanding citizen.” He is arrested by the police as it is discovered that he is a serial killer. Someone told the police. Who told? Nora was 11 years old when her father was arrested for murder. The police found that he had killed a number of women and realized he was a serial killer. Her father plea bargained into life sentences. Her mother kills herself before going to court. He writes letter to Nora but her grandma doesn’t tell her. She tears them up and throws them in the trash. Her grandma has her last name changed to Davis. They move away.where no one knows she is the daughter of a serial killer. Nora grows up and becomes a successful surgeon. Suddenly someone is copying her father’s method of killing which brings the police to her home to ask her questions. The first time she answers questions but then realizes that after the second time she is asked that they think she may be the killer. She decides she needs an attorney by her side the next time she is asked question. Meanwhile Nora has been having strange things happening to her. She is followed by a car at night but loses him. Another night she finds a pool of blood in her basement. The next time all her tires are slashed in the parking lot of her office. She doesn’t understand why this is happening to her. One night she hurries home to find in her basement her colleague tied up in a chair with one of his hands cut off. To her horror, she finds the receptionist in the basement with him. She tells Nora that she is going to kill her too. Why?

The author has written a suspenseful mystery that kept me hooked so that every time I could, I sat down and read. It is a book that had so much mystique and yet gives one enough that I didn’t want to stop reading it. I wondered if a daughter of his could turn out to be just like him. The author wrote a surprise ending that did really amazed me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Freida McFadden for an ebook in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Wow oh wow! I loved Freida’s books and this one did not disappoint. Kept me on the edge of my seat! The writing was great also.

This is the second book I have read by Ms. McFadden that caused my eyebrows to raise. I thought it was going in a very obvious direction, and then I was dragged somewhere completely different. Highly recommended for fans of thrillers!

I absolutely loved this one. When you start off with a bone chilling gruesome crime that happened in the past but connects to a present character you know you are in for something special.
This one had my heart racing from the very start. I loved the main character. The story was full of twists and turns.
You know the story is going to twist but nothing can prepare you for the way this one slides as smooth as silk from one crazy twist to the next.
Your heart will pound, your palms will sweat and you will keep reading page after page deep into the night to finish this incredible book!

The Locked Door
By Freida McFadden

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Nora Davis is a successful surgeon with a dark family secret she's kept hidden for 26 years.

Growing up, the basement door in Nora's house was always locked. Her dad claimed to be woodworking but wouldn't let Nora down there to see. A chance twisitng of the basement door knob, finds it unlocked. Once Nora sees what's in the basement, she can't unsee it.

Nora hasn't spoken to him since, at the age of 11, she called in the anonymous tip that led the police to her house and both of her parents being arrested. Her father is spending the rest of his life in prison because he is the serial killer known as the Handyman.

But someone knows Nora's secret. They are committing copycat murders and trying to frame her. But who? And why?

This book had me hooked from the beginning. Nora isn't a very likeable FMC but that doesn't matter, because the twists and turns in this book have you rooting for her anyway. Once I picked up this book, I couldn't put it down. And I finished it in one day, chores be damned and life outside the book just had to wait.

Thanks to @netgalley and @poisonedpenpress for a copy of the book. It was my first Freida McFadden book but it will definitely not be my last!

This book was great! I was NOT expecting the twist at the end! I would have really liked some more information, specifically about everything the MC was struggling with and some of the actions she referenced but didn't go into further detail. I will definitely be checking out more books by this author.

Oh my this book was amazing. I couldn’t put it down. Not my first book by this author. I have loved every book I have read and I can’t wait to read what she writes next. These characters were great, the twists and turns were great. Me. McFadden is an automatic buy for me.

Super quick read, very fast paced! Loved how it kept you guessing to the very end. One of my favorite authors!

Thank for the advanced copy read of "The Locked Door" Netgalley. Freida McFadden has become an automatic must-read author for me. I love how quick and easy her books flow into each twist and turn. "The Locked Door" definitely did not disappoint. There were twists and turns I never saw coming and I loved every minute.

I love a thriller! They have become one of my new favorite authors! I think everyone should read this book if they are looking for a quick read

This was very predictable. I wish they had changed the plot to have it not be the secretary, it was super obvious.

Riveting psychological thriller!

Dr. Nora Davis was 11 years old when she turned her father in to the police. Seems he was a phlebotomist by day and a serial killer by night. He kept his victims in the basement of the family home. Nora has come a long way in the past decade or so and has become a successful general surgeon. She's changed her name and kept the secret of her true identity. No one knows that she is the daughter of Aaron Nierling and he is safely tucked away in prison serving multiple life sentences.

Her lonely but satisfying life disappears on the day she hears that one of her patients has been murdered and mutilated in the same way that her father used as his signature. Suddenly it looks as if someone is trying to frame Nora and she's desperate to find out who is the copycat.

This was excellent writing and quite satisfying. I liked the main character and could empathize with her confusion. There were a couple of times that I thought Nora made bad or dumb decisions, but the narrative had plenty of red herrings to keep me guessing. It's definitely a book that begs to be read in a single sitting as it's hard to put down. This author is fast becoming one of my favorites.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.

This book is awesome. Full of twists and turns as are most Freida McFaddens books. I love that it was quick to read with shorter chapters. It is told from multiple pov’s. It grabs your attention from the very first chapter. Definitely a must read!!

DNF - Freida just isn’t doing it for me anymore. Too predictable and cringey! Reads like a YA book when it isn’t

This was a very interesting book and I liked the concept at the start. It’s a classic case of the murderer is in prison still and a copycat has started up. But in this one, the murderers daughter is being framed and implicated in the new murders.

This was an extremely strong start, really gripping and it was very vague on if Nora had that dark streak in her too or not. Unfortunately, the middle of the book started getting very slow and I was a bit disappointed by the ending. The murderers started up again and they were quite close to home for Nora which made you suspicious of every other character in this. Admittedly, I didn’t guess who the murderer was, but I was disappointed by who it was 😂 it seemed like all the hints were for nothing!

The writing in this was good and I did enjoy the story overall. The main character was not that likeable and I didn’t get attached to any of the other characters. This was a good thriller but it was missing something for me.

This was the first Freida McFadden book I read and I read it in one sitting. It was twisty and turns and creepy and everything I absolutely love about a thriller. So many twists I did NOT see coming, she definitely had me guessing til the very end! Thank you so much to #NetGalley and #PoisonedPenPress for allowing me a copy to read for an honest review. Five stars.

I can’t believe that prior to this year, I didn’t know of Freida McFadden! Now I am addicted to her books. I am slowly getting through her older books while eagerly awaiting anything new like this one, The Locked Door. I already can’t wait for her next novel!

This one was suspenseful and dark while also being creepy and nerve-wracking. And I could not put it down. Its the right combination of giving you chills without totally terrifying you like a horror novel.

Here’s the plot:

While eleven-year-old Nora Davis was up in her bedroom doing homework, she had no idea her father was killing women in the basement.

Until the day the police arrived at their front door.

Decades later, Nora’s father is spending his life behind bars, and Nora is a successful surgeon with a quiet, solitary existence. Nobody knows her father was a notorious serial killer. And she intends to keep it that way.

Then Nora discovers one of her young female patients has been murdered. In the same unique and horrific manner that her father used to kill his victims.

Somebody knows who Nora is. Somebody wants her to take the fall for this unthinkable crime. But she’s not a killer like her father. The police can’t pin anything on her.

As long as they don’t look in her basement.

Whew! What a book! This is out now.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are entirely my own..

Freida McFadden cannot do no wrong! This is a wonderful , thrilling, page turning , do not put down book that will drive you crazy. The book follows Nora Davis whose father is a notorious serial killer but the apple fell far from the tree . Nora is an esteemed surgeon but one day she finds out that one of her patients was killed in the same way as her father did. Nora has to figure out why someone wants her to take the fall and who knows who her father was. Thrilling, fast-paced and wonderfully written.