This was entertaining but overall it felt silly. Really unbelievable plot which I could overlook if the protagonist wasn’t so horribly dense. I rolled my eyes a lot while reading this one.

“𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚’𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖.”
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Thanks #NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review
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This is my first Freida McFadden's book and I'm so excited when I received an e-mail where my request was approved bcs I keep hearing her books are good and were recommended by my moots.

The book follows Brooke who went through a traumatic event at the past and she has returned to the town and work as a nurse in prison, where she meet her first love, Shane, who got jailed bcs of her.

Soon Shane confess to Brooke that he didn't commit the crime he was accused of.
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The book is page turning, I devoured the book on my five and a half-hours journey on the train..

This book has dual timeline, present day and 11 years ago, when Brooke's trauma happens, it makes me guessing the theories that can possibly happen & its correlation of present day.

Idk if I like the characters lol the protagonist is sooo unreliable and it frustated me. Instead of the protagonist, I like the protagonist's son, Josh, a lil bit more bcs he's cute and innocent.

The twist and turn is pretty good, especially the twist in the epilogue, it's way more unexpected.
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Overall, it's pretty good start to know Freida McFadden's book. I think I'll check another book by her. I heard her other books are no less awesome.

Thank you NetGalley and Frieda McFadden for the eARC!

HOLY COW! Freida McFadden does it again. This woman cannot write a book that I won’t absolutely DEVOUR. My heart was RACING as I read this book. Not to mention staying up way too late to finish it 🫣 This was so freaking good. I enjoyed every bit of it. I honestly kept going back and forth in my head about who actually did it, but oh my gosh, I could not have predicted that ending. And THEN in comes the epilogue! Holy cow. Read this book. That’s all I have to say.

The setup of this one was interesting. Told through the POV of Brooke Sullivan in the past and the present, this story is ripe with clues and red herrings, leaving you questioning what really happened the night Brooke was almost murdered as a teenager. As per usual for Freida, this book was filled with twists and turns and the last two I definitely didn't predict but loved. I can see why this book has a high overall rating. I really enjoyed it,

One of my favorite FM books! So many twists with this story. I enjoyed from start to finish. It was an easy quick ready. It was dark but not too dark that it makes you not want to read it. I recommend FA to most friends who want a fun and easy psychological thriller!

Freida McFadden has me in a chokehold. I was so invested the whole time I read this book. I tried to guess the ending and I never do. One point I was believing it was Shane, the next I was thinking it was Tim. I even thought it was both of them. Then, I got to the last chapter! Was not expecting that. Five star read!

Thank you NetGalley, and Hollywood Upstairs Press for the free arc in exchange for my review.

I enjoyed the book overall. Although the main character bothered me with by being rather stupid. The ending did tie everything together nicely, especially the epilogue

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Plot:
Brooke Sullivan, a nurse practitioner, moves back to her hometown with her child and lands a new job at a men's maximum-security prison. Accidentally, she ends up solving a murder case from 10 years ago.

My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed the story; it gave me Lifetime Movie vibes. I found myself searching for clues throughout, thinking I had the plot figured out within the first few chapters, and boy was I wrong! The twists and turns surprised me and kept me on the edge of my seat. The ending and plot were mind-blowing—my jaw was on the floor. Though I found Brooke to be a frustrating character at times.
overall this was great. I highly recommend it if you love fast-paced thrillers

I really, really liked The Inmate by Freida McFadden. This is my second book by this author, and once again, I was captivated the entire time and blown away by the ending!

Here are a few things I enjoyed about The Inmate: (1) a dual timeline bringing the story together, (2) a strong female main character, (3) unreliable characters, (4) plot twists I didn't see coming (one I did... I was so proud of myself!) and (5) THAT EPILOGUE! OH MY GOSH!! I will be recommending this book to all of my friends. It was that good. Frieda McFadden is quickly becoming one of my auto-buy authors!!

Many thanks to #NetGalley and @poisonedpenpress for the eARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

This was an entertaining and fast read, but I felt the twists at the end came too late and didn’t get the full share of voice they deserved. The end also seemed a little far fetched but could’ve been more believable had it been spread out. Overall the story was easy to follow and makes you wonder… I think the reader catches onto the killer before our main character Brooke. Would recommend for a flight or beach read.

Another 5star review for Frieda! There hasn’t been a book of hers I haven’t loved yet. Read this in a day and couldn’t put it down. Just when you think you have it figured out she comes in with a surprise! Highly recommend!!

A quick read. I enjoyed the book, but it did drag on in parts. I will say Frieda does know how to keep me guessing. The main character irritated me, she was so quick to trust people even after almost being murdered as a teen.

Great read
This was a fast, enjoyable read. A young woman was almost killed while staying the night at her boyfriend’s. Two friends were killed and two others injured. There was a storm going on and it was apparent that one of the survivors was the killer was it her boyfriend or her lifelong best friend? She recognized the after shave scent of her boyfriend, so she went along with her best friends who was allegedly stabbed by the boyfriend, and the boyfriend was sent to prison. She wound up getting pregnant the night of the murders and moved away from her home town. Eleven years later, she returned and got a job at the prison where the boyfriend was incarcerated.

The story wasn’t perfect and might have been improved by a little tightening, but it kept my attention right from the start. The ending was a nice twist, but not an outlandish one.

hm….
this book *was* engaging and kept me wanting to figure out what was going on
but it also dragged
so
oooo
oooooooooooo
oOooOooOoO
much
i was almost like… exasperated … like get on with it….
didn’t see the reveal coming that’s for sure, and that epilogue…. +*+*strong family genes+*+*+

My Honest Review
Wow, this book had me on the edge of my seat. I thought I knew the resolution about 30% in then again at 80%, and I was wrong both times. McFadden has a way of making you think you know exactly what’s going to happen, then she throws a curveball at you and you’re guessing all over again. McFadden also provides readers with great character development. While the characters were static, their true characters/personalities are revealed as you read, which provide some shocking twists you might not be expecting. Speaking of not expecting, THE ENDING!! The ending absolutely made the entire book for me. It was a wild twist that I would not have guessed at all…even after the twist at the end, I still wasn’t expecting the true ending at the end (you’ll have to read to find out what I mean).

One frustration, which is common for me when I read thrillers, is that the female main character Brooke was dumb in certain moments. For example, her supervisor at the prison Dorothy told her not to give away any personal information, and on her first day, Brooke shares some personal information with an inmate. However, you can’t blame her, and I felt bad for her; she’s a single mom, who wants to do the absolute best for her son, and you can see how much she loves and is proud of him on nearly every page.

Why This Rating?
I gave The Inmate a 4.5 rounded down to 4. While I loved the ending, it seemed far-fetched. The motive and the extremely thought-out plan seemed so wild that it almost wasn’t believable. With that said, the ending left no strings untied, so there were no loose ends for readers to decide what happens on their own. McFadden also used the typical cliches (or maybe classics?) of a thriller: a stormy night, a power outage, no cell service, etc. Do think these are thriller cliches or thriller classics? Personally, I find them to be classics that I love to see used in the latest thrillers.

Do I Recommend It?
Absolutely! Thrillers will forever be my favorite genre to read. I love the fast pace, the crazy plot twists, and the hopefully surprise ending I didn’t see coming. The Inmate did not disappoint! It was a fast-paced thriller with a story I hadn’t read before that keep me invested till the very end. If you love Freida McFadden or a very intriguing mystery, I highly recommend. This was my first Freida McFadden book I’ve read, and she’s already become an auto-buy author for me.

the perfect thriller! freida mcfadden hits again! freida knows how to write a good book and that is that!

freida mcfadden is the queen of a suspenseful thriller and the inmate checks those boxes. when brooke starts as an NP in a prison, she is given 3 rules to follow but before even starting, she broke the cardinal rule. don’t get too close to inmates. this book had great twists and turns

Flew through this! I truly had to know what happened to Brooke and her friends in high school. Was Tim who he said he was? I didn’t see the twist coming. A great thriller like the other Frieda McFadden novels!

I have loved every book I have read by McFadden and this one fits right in with the rest.

Brooke reluctantly takes a job as a nurse practitioner at a men's prison. Not exactly the job she wanted, but you take what you can get. She is surprised to find she actually likes the job. Except for the fact that the man who tried to kill her years ago is an inmate there.

Brooke seemed a little too trusting at times considering her history.

Lots of twists as is usual for this author.

I love how easy McFadden's books are to read and they still pack a punch. Most books are either one or the other.

The epilogue is the perfect touch at the end.

Thanks to netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the arc.

“Oh yes. You can tell a lot about a man from his eyebrows. Nice eyebrows mean he’s wise.”

The Inmate by Freida McFadden


QUICK SUMMARY
Brooke has just moved back to her hometown and took a job she didn’t want to take but has no other option. She’s the new nurse practitioner at the Prison. The only thing is the man she put away for trying to kill her ten years ago is there serving his sentence.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Thank you NetGalley & Poisoned Pen Press for this copy of The Inmate.
This is my first introduction to the author and it wasn’t a bad one. The book was a pretty quick read, I almost thought I wanted more then I was getting until the story came together and I understood why it was done the way it was.
I love when I am surprised and this one handed me a surprise on a a silver platter.