This book was very confusing to me. When I saw it on NetGalley, it was due to be published on October 3, 2023, which led me to believe it was Freida McFadden's newest book. There were many high ratings for its publication back in 2021, dating from one to two years ago. The high ratings from Goodreads and Amazon and a strong premise enticed me to request the ARC. New favourable ratings are starting to come in on NetGalley, so I am definitely in the minority. Very strange, as I thought I was reading an ARC for a new book.

I admit it was fast-paced and suspenseful, with short chapters and simplistic writing that kept me reading. It can be classified as a character-based thriller. I found the narrator, Nora, extremely unlikeable and rude. She made impulsive decisions, rushing from one situation to another. Still, when urged to act for her own safety by having a security system installed, she kept postponing it. She behaves and speaks like a much younger person, not what one would expect from a surgeon. She leads a solitary existence, away from her work as a successful surgeon. She is overly protective of a young office worker, Holly. She seems interested in a bartender, Brady, whom she dated briefly in university and who is now devoted to her. She mistreats him, and it is one of the biggest mysteries why he puts up with all her insults and dismissive behaviour.

We are subjected to her inner, muddled dialogue. Her father is a notorious serial killer. When Nora was eleven, it was discovered that he kept women victims in the locked family basement, where he killed and mutilated them. He is now locked up in a high-security prison, charged with killing eighteen young women. It is thought the number may be as high as thirty killings. Nora's mother committed suicide. Nora lived then with her grandmother, who had her name changed.

Nora dreads that the public will learn her true identity as a serial killer's daughter. Two of Nora's patients with the same physical appearance were murdered in the same way as her father's victims. Nora knows the perpetrator cannot be her father locked up in prison, so it must be a copycat, but who? Someone is planting evidence of the new crimes in Nora's basement and car.

Clues pointing carefully to three possible killers are carefully laid out. The conclusion and revelation are fast and frantic, with a huge twist that feels like a cheat. It seemed to come out of nowhere.
I should recommend this book to the many fans of Freda McFadden.

Another winner from Ms. McFadden! I'm always surprised by the twisty endings and I enjoy her writing, this was no exception.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)

Another hit by Freida McFadden!

Nora is a successful surgeon with a hidden past - her father is a serial killer called the Handyman who brutally murdered women in their basement when Nora was a child. Now an adult, Nora has moved and changed her name, but two of her patients end up dead and somebody clearly knows about Nora’s past and is trying to pin it on her.

I loved the short chapters and the fast pace! I thought I had the twist figured out but like usual, Freida got me again!

I love that all of Freida McFadden books are all so different, and she really knows how to keep a reader hooked. There were just a few totally unrealistic parts, and I didn’t love Nora’s character. I get that it’s a psychological thriller, but for her being a smart and established surgeon, she made some pretty questionable moves.

Overall a great read that I would highly recommend. The older version came out in 2021 and this version comes out October 3, 2023!

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Freida McFadden for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

this was such a good thriller that kept me on my toes the entire time. i couldn't put the book down, it was so enthralling.

thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher

Nora is the daughter of a serial killer. He has been in prison for 26 years and she has never visited him. She has changed her name and tried to go on with her life, becoming a successful surgeon.

Two of Nora's patients were killed the same way as her father's victims and Nora is the prime suspect. Is she the murderer, or does someone know that she is the daughter of a serial killer and is setting her up.
I do not want to give too much away, but this one was another Frieda McFadden that had me guessing and I really enjoyed this one!

Thank #NetGalley #PoisonPenPress and #FreidaMcFadden for the copy of The Locked Door

Nora Davis is the daughter of a notorious serial killer dubbed "the handyman." Her father told her he was working in the basement, but he was actually killing women in their basement. She has since moved on, become a surgeon, and changed her name, hoping no one knows that she is related to a deadly killer imprisoned for life for his crimes. Her world is rocked when a copycat killer begins killing women she has seen in her medical practice in the same manner of her father.

Like Freida McFadden's other books, this was a fast read. The Locked Door is told in two timelines. Readers get to know Nora as an 11 year-old girl, living with her mother and father. The rest of the book, shows her as a successful adult. There is a big time jump with little mention of what happened in between. As a child, Nora does something disturbing and I was left wondering about her nature.

I enjoyed trying to figure out the identity of the copycat killer. I wondered who knows Nora's true identity? Why is someone replicating her father's horrific murders now? Although, this was a fast read which held my attention, I did not find it as enjoyable as the other books I have read by McFadden. It was missing that little bit of something to push my rating to a higher level.

I found this to be an enjoyable read with a shocking reveal. I did not see it coming out all! Freida McFadden does excel at shocking twists and reveals!

The story follows Nora, a successful surgeon, who tries to escape from her traumatic childhood. When she was only eleven years old, her father was sentenced for life in prison for likely killing at least thirty women. Nora changed her name, went to medical school, started a new life, but the events that happend twenty-six years ago still haunt her to this day. When one of Nora’s female patients is found dead, her life starts to fall apart like a house of cards. The MO seems too similar to her father’s who is STILL behind the bars. Who is the new killer and who is trying to ruin Nora’s life once again?

This was THE perfect escape! Such a gripping story right from the start. Have you ever dropped your kindle? I have. I dropped it when the most insane plot twist came.

I immediately became a keen of Nora. I loved seeing how much she has grown. She decided to become a surgeon so she could save people, unlike her father. This was not my first thriller by this author, and as always she completely caught me off guard. I had a possible scenario in my head what might going to happen (I was wrong as always) and when the author revelead the truth, my head could not stop spinning.

There is literally no one who can write better plot twists like Freida McFadden. Her books will haunt you for days. You should definitely add this book to your wishlist. It does not matter if you are an avid thriller reader, or you have just discovered your passion for reading thrillers, this book is fitting for everyone who seeks psychological thrillers full of suspense and plot twists.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and the author for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Ok, I love Freida. My second book by this author and I absolutely flew through it. It was easy to read but kept my attention. Great story and great twist.

I requested this book on Netgalley because I absolutely loved The housemaid by Freida McFadden.
She writes great thrillers and I will defenitly read more of her books.

I liked the housemaid more than this, but I still really, really liked this book.
I guessed the twist right before it happened and I was so proud of myself. I had so many suspisions and theories!
Once I got into the story around the 50ish page mark, I had a really hard time putting this book down.

I have to be honest, this wasn´t the best thriller I have ever read, however this book was very fast paced and I would defenitly reccomend it if you are in the mood for a thriller book or if you like Freida McFadden´s books.

i really enjoyed it. it was my first freida mcfadden book and i can’t wait to read more of them! there were so many plots i did not expect and the ending got me completely i was sure who it was but i was completely wrong! i would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a fast paced thriller full of plots! i also really liked the writing because it was easy to understand but still very good writing.

Entertaining thriller with a decent twist but not as unique if a storyline as I had hoped. Still an easy read with a very likable main character. Worth reading if you enjoy thrillers!

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for allowing me to read an electronic copy in return for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher.

I'm a huge fan of Freida McFadden and this story did not disappoint. It was a really fast paced read with great characters.

If you're ever in a reading slump then pick up a McFadden book.

I genuinely don't know how she releases so many books that are all so brilliant to read.

I've seen this authors work being talked about a lot recently mainly on tiktok and booktube, so I was excited to finally read something by Freida and wow talk about addictive! This book had me in a chokehold, I couldn't put it down! There's twists and turns galore. I LOVED the Serial Killers daughter kinda vibes, and I found her unreliable narration such a great asset to the plot. Dr Nora is a great surgeon, but is she a great person?
How messed up would you be if your father is out here killing 30 women?
Overall, I did really enjoy this one! There's red herrings thrown in for suspense, and like I said, it's super addictive. My only criticism was that sometimes I thought the characters made decisions that didn't really make sense. But it's a fast-paced, entertaining read, and actually sometimes that's what we all need!

FREIDA HAS DONE IT AGAIN. Just when I think that she has outdone herself, she come out with another hit.
Nora’s father is a terrible man. He was charged with the murder and torture of over 30 women. Behind bars, he try’s to connect with his daughter, who simply wants nothing to do with him. Nora is a surgeon who has decided to rid herself of her fathers legacy by changing her last name. However when crimes resurface with her fathers MO, the police start to look at her for answers. I mean after all, does the apple fall far from the tree?
I enjoyed the duel story lines in the book. We got to really become one with the mind of the child of a serial killer. Really played up the idea of wether we can grow out of the evil taught to us at a young age. In addition, the ending… I would have never guessed that. I love a thriller that can truly make me question how I could have missed that. I just love how descriptive Freida is, she immersed me into this world of Nora’s and I could see every bit of this story. I love that about her writing, it’s so well done that I can create a whole movie in my head.
I want to thank Freida McFadden for allowing me to review this amazing book as an ARC on Netgalley.

Such a great thriller. This one will keep you guessing right up to the end. A bingable book you won't want to put down. I highly suggest to thriller/ mystery readers.

From the first paragraph I was hooked! I was invested in Nora and felt bad for her lot in life and having a murderer for a father. There were just enough twists and turns to keep me on the edge of my seat and doubting everyone’s motive and involvement in the storyline; without it being cheesy or outlandish. I’m not a fast reader but I flew through this book. I thought the ending was a little far fetched but this is likely because it wasn’t what I anticipated.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance review copy in return for an honest review.
Another fun thriller from Freida McFadden. This one was fun and fast paced like all her others but it still lacked the depth that I wish her books had. It’s still a very fun book to read, you just have to go into it knowing it’s just a surface level easy read!

The premise sounded so good (someone else mentioned the television show Prodigal Son that was on Fox and I was getting those vibes too) but it all kind of went downhill. There's a lot of red herrings thrown in and I knew one character was going to play a bigger role but it turned out to not be what I thought (though honestly there's no way you could have seen that twist coming anyway so meh). This went really fast (I wonder how many pages this was in real book form). Also (super minor spoiler) but the cat is never harmed. I was so anxious about it the whole time.

2.5 stars, rounded up.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A literal locked door psychological thriller at its finest! I devoured The Locked Door over two days.
Dr. Nora Davis, a successful and respected surgeon has a secret from her past. Her father is in jail for life for committing heinous murders. Nora was a child when he was caught from an anonymous tip about his crimes. She has spent much of her life in her new identity, so as no one would recognize her as the daughter of a monster.
But, when murders of women who were her patients start happening, she becomes the suspect because of who she is.
This was such a fast-paced, suspenseful, character driven book. I loved reading Nora’s inner dialogue, and moving between the past and the present was written seamlessly.
The best thriller I’ve read this year!

Good psychological mystery that kept me guessing. This is my first book by Ms. McFadden, I have seen a lot of buzz online about her other books and will likely check those out.