The Locked Door
Thriller
Suspense
Mystery
Twisty

I really enjoyed this book! It was a fast paced thriller the kept me reading on! I liked the dual timeline and thought it meshed the story together well! This book kept me guessing up till the end and was full of twists! The ending caught me by surprise!
Thanks to Net Galley and Poisoned Pen Press for this Arc!

5/5 stars. I am obsessed. What a thriller this was. Horrifying, thrilling, gory, heart pounding, goosebumps, drama, a little romance. This one had it all. This is my favorite read of 2023 so far. 🤯 Similar to my last review, I don’t know how this is my first Freida McFadden novel I’ve read but now I need to read everything by her.

This book had me hooked from the very first chapter and I literally could not put it down. I especially love it more so that it’s a medical thriller because of my personal healthcare background. I dove head first into this and loved every single second. The characters, the growth, the pacing, the TWISTS. What’s behind the locked door you ask? Do yourself a favor and find out for yourself. Read this. 😍🚪

Huge huge thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and the author for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. This book will stick with me for a very long time. 😳❤️

- Pub date: October 3, 2023 -

4.5 stars out of 5

Wow, this book was really good and filled with twists and turns. Freida McFadden has become a go to author for me. I found this book to be a real page turner and kept me guessing all throughout the book. I was not excepting the twist at the end of the book either. The duel point of view really tied up the past and the present and was done very well.

In The Locked Door we follow Nora who is a surgeon. Her father is a famous serial killer who was caught and put behind bars decades ago. Then 2 young women turned up dead the same way her father would kill his victims and it looks like someone is trying to frame Nora for the murders, but who? Or did Nora do it?

If you haven't read this book yet, put it on your list! I highly recommend it!

Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Freida McFadden has become one of my go-to authors. Her books are page turners and always a good read. The Locked Door features Dr. Nora Davis, a California surgeon, and the daughter of a serial killer. There are lots of twists and turns. Recommend this fast paced book and all of McFadden’s books!

Do I want to avoid unfinished basements even more from now on? Yes!

This thriller kept me on my toes, I kept thinking I knew who did it, but nope! I enjoyed the short chapters, pacing and character development. I would have like to learn more about Nora's childhood.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Another addictive read by McFadden!

I really liked how the main character, Nora, was a general surgeon and since McFadden is also a physician all the medical knowledge and jargon was accurate. It's a huge pet peeve of mine when a book either describes or portays anything medical inaccurately and I could easily tell this was writing by someone with a medical background. As always with her books, you never can guess how they are going to go or end and they make for quick, enjoyable reads.

**Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy of this book and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion. I am posting this review to my Goodreads account immediately and will post it to my Amazon & Instagram accounts upon publication.

The Locked Door centres around Nora whose father was a serial killer. Two women are found murdered in the same way as her father’s victims and someone is trying to frame her for the killings.

As usual for Freida McFadden books, this was extremely fast paced and very easy to get through in large chunks. In general I thought the mystery was interesting and there were so many plot twists which I didn’t see coming. I thought the dual timeline was done really well and both narratives were exciting and engaging to read about.

However I found that I didn’t connect with the characters at all and found myself not really caring what happened to them. There was a romance subplot which felt forced and I didn’t feel any chemistry between Nora and Brady.

Overall this was a fun, fast paced thriller however like the other Freida McFadden books I’ve read I didn’t enjoy the characters so the story lacked any depth.

I LOVED THIS!!!! It had the same feel of the other Freida McFadden books I’ve read, quick pace and short chapters (most of which ending on a cliffhanger making it so hard to put down!) I love how you end up questioning every character and that there’s always a little extra plot twist at the end because even if you have a vague idea of what’s going on that extra little twist always shocks me

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

Every Freida McFadden book I read gets better and better. This one definitely did not disappoint and had me guessing wrong every time from the very beginning. She is such a master of twists on twists on twists. I loved the dual timelines in this book, every time it switched you were left on a cliffhanger which made the book unable to be put down! If you haven't read this one, go get it now!

Thank you to NetGalley, Freida McFadden and Poised Pen Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝐬 𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄.
𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲! 🧿

Dr. Nora David is a general surgeon at Corey and Davis Surgical Associates, not a Phlebotomist like her father Aaron was or a housewife like her Mom Linda…
She grew up in a home which was quite different from the others in their nieghbourhood as we find out very early on in this Book.
Nora tries to leave her childhood in Oregon behind and live a peaceful life in her home in Calfornia.

These Days Nora works closely with her surgeon partner Philip Corey, medical assistant Sheila and their new secretary Harper and has a weakness for old-fashioneds.
Outside of work she keeps to herself, is lonely and only the new bartender, Brady Mitchell, at her special bar Christopher’s seems familiar to her.

After a little while young women keep missing in the Bay Area and they seem to be connected to Nora in more than one ways. She gets involved with the police, namely Detective Ed Barber, who believes that Nora might continue with her father's hobby after he went to jail for it 26 years ago.

The only real friend she seems to have, might be a stray cat which Nora feeds every night at her backdoor.

Is Aaron Nierling really the Handymanand did Nora know as a Kid what was being so fishy about their Home?
Is a copycat killer out there, stalking girls with black hair and blue eyes?
How are Amber Swanson & Shelby Gillis connected to Nora?
Will Philip be able to leave Harper the F*ck alone? Or is he just a brainless manwhore? 🤣

¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦

So, wow… as soon as I started reading this Book I couldn't put it down.
𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚐𝚘 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚝!

I went though the Chapters like racing through a NASCAR lap after another.
This book was pleasant to read, even though it had a few points here and there, that made me go "𝑁𝑎ℎ… 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦!?".

But there were a few red herrings strewn about, and I have to say that I eagerly went after them… like a good little Puppy.
There were moments I didn't trust anyone, not even the Detective!

At first I wasn't entirely sure if Nora knew or not what her father did back then and I had a hard time empathising.
We see, that the day her parents were taken to prison caused a childhood trauma in Nora.
Her past never leaving her mind, and effectively controling the way she operates as an adult. (Her general distrust and cautiousness towards everyone, close to her or not.)

She and Brady, they both irritated me though. The way they handled their affaire, vay anam... no bueno!
I wanted to slap them more than once… they're lucky this is just a Book.

I genuinely liked the black stray/feral cat Nora kept feeding. It verified some of my assumptions… yet the whole time reading I really was afraid, that something might happen to the four-legged Cutie! 🥰

That Twist at the End!? Magnifique!
This was my first McFadden Book and if the next one is such a scorcher, I might truly get hooked on her works.

It will be released on the 3'rd of October 2023.

𝑴𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒈𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝑷𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒇 𝒊𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒔𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒑! 𝑺𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒘𝒂𝒚, 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕?

Wow! This was good!

The Locked Door is the second book I've read by Freida McFadden. The first one was The Housemaid which my husband and I listened to in the car last summer - nothing spices up a marriage like a thriller where either the husband or the wife is the guilty party and the twists keep on coming while you're stuck inside the same car for hours on end... 😬😄

But back to The Locked Door - reading this book made me realize how much I have missed reading a good mystery novel! I just couldn’t put the book down and the way the writer first led you one way and then the other was absolutely brilliant. A perfect autumn read, when you are inside reading by candlelight and it's raining cats and dogs outside while your cat is snoring on the couch next to you - I'm really happy we don’t have a basement in our house, though!

Nora is the daughter of a serial killer and when girls start being killed in the same signature way over 25 years later, of course all fingers start to point at the daughter of the infamous killer. Now with a name change, Nora has a flourishing surgical practice of her own and lives a somewhat reclusive lifestyle to avoid getting attached to anyone who many discover her true identity. The book rotates back and forth between present day and 26yrs later when her father was captured. The flashbacks definitely help to plant the seed of doubt in Nora and make you wonder, what is she capable of? How much of her father’s “evil” has been passed on to her through genetics.

I wouldn’t say this was one of Freida’s best books. The main character was flawed and the supporting characters weren’t very developed. It is clear to me that Freida rights for shock value and plot only and hopes that she can keep you guessing until the very end. Which she did and I didn’t guess the twist at all! But the Epilogue did giveaway a reveal that I felt was coming through the entire book so that part didn’t shock me at all.

I couldn't have finished a book faster than this .I am now officially addicted to Freida McFadden.
This book was fast paced with interesting plot I just wanted to know what is happening in the story.
There are few stupid decisions protagonist take which has affected my ratings and the ending twist is little overwhelming and seems farfetched but still it was a lot of fun to read.

I love FM books.

I was definitely hooked, throughout the whole book. I am usually pretty good about figuring out the bad guy, but not this time. I was shocked when they were revealed! The ending has me hoping for a book 2!

This is my second time reading this book, and it's just as good as the first time. As always, Freida delivers a heart stopping, hair raising, twisted plot. Full of plot twists that you will NOT see coming, this book will have you on the edge of your seat and unable to put this book down.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book! Below is my honest review.

Summary of the plot:

Nora Davis is a surgeon who lives alone by herself and has sworn off relationships. Why? Because her father is a serial killer, and she was the one who helped put him away when she was a child. Her father would lock women up in his basement and kill them. His signature move was cutting off their hands. The locked basement always smelled like lavender, a scent that Nora is triggered by every time she smells it. One day, the dead bodies of patients that she served start to pop up--with their hands cut off. Naturally, the police think it's her due to her association with her father. So Nora tries to figure out who is framing her and why.

Thoughts on the book:

I enjoyed how the book flipped between Nora's current life trying to figure out who the serial killer is and Nora's past where she discovers her father's murderous secret. I think the chapters in the past could have used more pages. For example, I wish we got a scene where Nora calls the police to report her father or a scene where Nora goes down into the basement again. But I do like how the past chapters build up Nora's character because she tries very hard to not be like her father, even though she thinks that she has his murderous traits.

The plot twist... Man, I did not enjoy it. If you hate the "surprise, you have a sibling" trope (like me), don't read this book. In hindsight, I can see how the author planted seeds early on that would explain the whole "surprise sibling" thing. However, I didn't quite enjoy it. The surprise sibling claims that they were saved in the womb after their mom committed suicide at like five months into the pregnancy. Is that... possible? (Also, did the mom know what the dad was doing in the basement? I don't think it was clear.) Either way, I don't really think the sibling had a good enough motive to become a serial killer and frame Nora for the murders.

Overall, this was a quick and easy read. There were times that I felt a little on edge. For example: Nora has a habit of saying "Honey, I'm home" when she gets home even though she lives alone. I was waiting for someone to say something back. I just wish we got a little bit more about the father and how it all went down the drain for him.

Such a good book - I flew through it in a few hours because I couldn't put it down. It's Freida McFadden at her creepiest and my favorite of her so far. Definitely will be recommending it!

Okay. Finished this in 4 hours. Literally could not put this down. I was literally in like fight or flight mode. This was perfectly written ! Did not predict the plot twist AT ALL.
The characters all seemed sus and I was driving myself crazy trying to piece it all together !

How come I hadn’t read this book before? Yeah, okay, I know, there are way too many books out there (and I want to read them all), but there is only one me living my life and I don’t have a time machine. Yet. So, I haven’t read EVERYTHING.
This one is not a brand new one – it was self-published by Freida a while ago, and now Sourcebooks are taking over, and it is being re-released. There is a new cover, maybe some minor edits (or so I have heard), but the story is the same one that was published previously.
Either way, it is almost here. The new version of this book.
If you know Freida’s books and enjoy them, and haven’t read this one yet, then I’m telling you that you should read it. It will not disappoint.
It is entertaining, it is twisty, it is engrossing. And, it has a happy ending. A thriller filled with crazies and with a happy ending. It is slightly graphic, and there are some details that will stay with you long after you finish reading it. Like, you WILL look suspiciously at anything that smells like lavender, guaranteed.

Originally published in 2021, The Locked Door is being released with Poisoned Pen Press on 3rd October 2023, and I was lucky enough to receive an arc of this edition via NetGalley.
I've had my eye on Freida McFadden for a while and have several of her books downloaded from KU, her books are always highly recommended to me.
Whilst reading The Locked Door, the suspense that has been created in the writing is very immersive. I really felt the paranoia of the main character, Nora. It is very creepy and because of the short chapters, it feels very fast-paced which has your heart racing.
The twists in this book, wow! I can tell this is the appeal for this author's work. I completely didn't see the ending coming.
However, I think my main problem with The Locked Door is there were many plot holes and loose threads that left a lot of questions unanswered. I think the book needed more development and could have been a higher page count to fully tie up the story.
I think if you're the type of reader to read a book in one sitting, this thriller is definitely for you. I enjoyed my time reading this book and I'm looking forward to reading The Housemaid duology soon, which will be my next read of Freida McFadden.
⭐⭐⭐ 3/5

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and Freida McFadden for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy.

Review posted to Goodreads and will be rated on Threads and Instagram Stories. Review to be posted on Amazon and Waterstones on publication date.