This book pulled me in from the beginning. The main character, Brooke, begins working as a nurse practitioner in the penitentiary where the father of her son, Shane, is incarcerated. As soon as the scene is set, the story jumps back 11 years earlier to the night that sealed Shane’s fate. The story is told from both present day and the past. While it’s full of twists and turns, I found this book to be mostly predictable. There was a twist at the end that surprised me, but this book didn’t have the same suspense as others I’ve read by Frieda McFadden.

Freida never misses. This is the first one I guessed half of the twist but I still was extremely taken aback when all the bombshells were revealed.

The FMC was slightly annoying and judgmental in my opinion but I enjoyed listening to her try to unfold her memories from that tragic night.

A solid mystery read that I can count on to cleanse my pallet when I’ve been reading a certain genre for too long.

3.5 stars

Brooke is working as a NP in a maximum security prison, where her ex Shane is serving. A very long sentence. In fact, Shane tried to kill Brooke at one point. However, Brooke has fuzzy memories of the night of the attempted murder, a night where three other people died. Was it Shane that really tried to kill her? Was it the boy next-door, Tim?

I didn’t guess the ending of this one at all. So that was fun. The writing is a little bit simple, but overall it was a pretty entertaining book. My first read by Freida McFadden.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book.

Finally, a book that I didn’t hate! It has interesting plot, that’s a plus! I finally don’t hate this story but I am not sure if I love this. The way she writes is straight to the point which I don’t particularly hate but meh. The plot twist for me was predictable but okay. It wasn’t shocking but i read this few hours so it says something. Brooke is stupid but i like it. Anyway, it was fun and predictable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance release copy in exchange for an honest review.

Frieda McFadden always suspenseful and full of twists, and this book is no different. I struggled with the believability at times. Still a fun, easy read.

I'm a Frieda fan. I enjoy the easy read of her books. I felt I knew this ending way too early but appreciated the way she tells a story.

This was my fourth book by Freida McFadden and honestly I expected a little more. I recieved this book as an ARC on netgalley. My first one 🥹
At the beginning I didn‘t know where the story was supposed to go which wasn‘t necessarily bad. I even found it interesting.
I liked the plot and the overall idea of the story however I missed McFadden‘s captivating style of writing and developing a story. I expected the plot twist at about 70% through the book which disappointed me a little since I always loved the author‘s mind blowing plot twists.
I was still entertained by the story and it wasn‘t necessarily bad. I guess my expectations were just a little to high.

McFadden keeps outdoing herself with every book she writes! Do NOT stop reading this book halfway through assuming you know who the murderer is and the story doesn't end when the murderer is revealed....the ending will leave you speechless. Thanks for the advance read!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book for an honest review.

In this story we are following a woman named Brooke who has just moved back to her home town with her son following the death of her parents. She begins working at a local prison where the father of her son/ ex boyfriend is currently serving a life sentence for going on a killing spree while they were teenagers. We get to see what really happened the night that the murders took place in flashback chapters and as things develop in the current timeline. I really wanted to love this story but it just became too unhinged for me. There was twist after twist and I found myself spinning in circles but not in a good way unfortunately. I found the main character to be such an unlikeable character and just found so many of the choices she made while working at the prison unrealistic and just plain dumb. It was an easy read which was nice but overall it wasn't something that I loved.

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.

Full disclosure, I like most of Freida's books. With that being said, this one had so much potential, but there just wasn't enough gas to get up the hill. The MC was very naïve. Clearly, she is intelligent considering her profession as an NP, however she just has no common sense. Her naiveté amped up the "cringe factor." On the plus side, it was a quick read with the usual twist. The ending twist didn't do much, could have done without it.

3 stars

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for sending an ARC of this reprint in exchange for an honest review.

Brooke Sullivan has returned to her hometown and has accepted a job as a nurse practitioner at a maximum-security prison. What she doesn’t disclose to anyone is that she knows one of the inmates, Shane Nelson…not only does she know him, she dated him in high school and she’s also the one that put him behind bars.

While some people may not remember what happened all those years ago, Brooke hasn’t forgotten and neither has Shane.

There were times in the story when I kept thinking to myself, “how can Brooke be so stupid”, but in the end karma finds a way to ensure that all is right with the world. I really enjoyed this novel and did not see some of the twists that happened right near the end. Great book and will be recommending it to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for allowing me to read an ARC of this novel. #NetGalley #TheInmate

I have always loved reading Freida’s book but this one wasn’t it for me. I loved the beginning of it, loved her working at the prison but then it just fell flat for me.

Thank you for a copy of this thriller by an author I always enjoy! This tells the story of Brooke who works in a prison after returning home after a long while away. A huge tragedy/horror filled night drove her from town, and her ex boyfriend is now in the prison for the murder of several of her friends. He is also the father of her child. Of course all these things will collide as the story is slowly revealed. Lots of fun twists to this one, some a bit far fetched but overall this was a good, can't put down thriller. Very Frieda!

The Inmate by Frieda McFadden: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶 None
Tropes: Slow-burn Romance, Murder-Mystery, Thriller, Small Town Feels(-ish)

I absolutely love Frieda McFadden’s work, so I JUMPED at the chance to read an ARC by her. However, this book fell short for me. I thought the concept of this book was so interesting and immediately pulled me in for the first half of the book. Brooke is a nurse practitioner at a men’s maximum-security prison. Her testimony from ten years ago put one of the inmates, who was her high school sweetheart and baby-daddy, there for life.

Now let me preface this review by saying, I did not hate this book, but it is not one that I will pick up again and I unfortunately focus more on the bad than the good. It was waaayy too much information within such a short book that stuff should have been cut out so other things could have received more detail, or just lengthen the book to elaborate more on everything.

I won’t recap the silly details like the nanny and the necklace since other reviews do a good job of it, but those and Brookes's lack of brain cells are really what turned me away. Anything that Tim does just reminds Brooke about the night of the murders, and anything Shane does makes her think he is this wonderful and innocent guy. There is zero thought about him being upset that she accused him of murder and gave a testimony to put him in prison for ten years AND that she had his son without HIM KNOWING ABOUT IT?? But yeah, he is cool with it, it is fine now that he is out.

I wish there would have been a larger presence in the prison setting since it is emphasized. Although the whole reason why she was working in the prison is dumb. She did not get a single call back from any medical offices in the area because of one disgruntled patient that could have been lying? Sure, because references do not exist.

Like other reviews, I agree that the twist in the book was good (so glad Tim was truly a good guy) but was not exciting enough for me to feel anything because the build-up was not there at all compared to McFadden’s other books. The ending was so ridiculous, I wish the concept would have been thought through more or just different. The reasons for the murders are so damn petty it was laughable in the worst way possible. Also, the epilogue was so unnecessary and cringe-worthy, unless she plans to write another book about the son.

Thank you so much to Net Galley and Hollywood Upstairs Press for the Arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

This Author is known for the many many twists, turns, and flips… this book was no exception. It pulled me in immediately from the start and I knew as soon as we got a small piece of Brooke’s story things were going to go wayyyy sideways and boy did they. I can’t give too much away, but after one bomb exploded I questioned everything I thought I knew and the messiness (in the most entertaining) way possible just kept coming. I did start to suspect SOME of the ending but not everything that came out. My jaw hit the floor!
It is definitely a quick read. I read this in one afternoon.
3.5

Wooow woow another shocking and addictive thriller by Freida McFadden. She is just amazing at writing a fast-paced, wild ride thriller with a lot of twist and turns. That ending though, wooow you didn't see coming at all. I love all of her books that I have read by now. Nobody can write a thriller like her. You need to grab this book rightaway. All the stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

FM strikes again. Blowing my mind per usual with her writing style. Honestly, I never want to read a thriller that isn’t written by her. 5 stars. Will recommend to everyone.

An absolutely amazing read! Freida McFadden never disappoints. This book has so many twists it will have your head spinning. An absolute must read that you won't be able to put down.

I had a difficult time getting into this as I had no sympathy for Brooke. I decided to stick it out and was glad that I did. The story was a bit far fetched, yet entertaining. This was the first book I’ve read by this author and I find that I’m looking forward to the next one.

One of my favorite Freida reads to date!
She was has a way of making you think you have it figured out, then at the end she proves you wrong!
As someone who enjoys anything crime, loved the setting of this book.
If you are contemplating on if you should give it a read, or try Freida's books... THIS IS YOUR SIGN!