I thought this novel was extremely fast- paced! I enjoyed how it was a fun, thrilling read. I definitely thought the ending was a bit of a shock! I like how throughout the novel you’re always second-guessing yourself on who actually was the murderer.

3.5 stars. A solid thriller.

This is the 4th book I’ve read by this author. Her books are easy to read and full of suspense.

3.5. I keep going back and forth on whether I liked this one or not.

The plot was captivating, and it did hook me in. It was a book that was hard to put down (one you could def read in one sitting). I HAD to keep reading to find out what happened. The pace and the storyline got me. However, it had so many flaws.

First off, the main character, Brooke. She is as dumb as a box of rocks. She's probably the stupidest MC l've ever read. For real, this girl saw the legs of a dead body. Wanna know what she thought? "Oh, maybe it's a mannequin". BROOKE. She did this multiple times when coincidences arose, she always tried to look for a positive, but in a dumb way.

Next, there were too many coincidences. I get that McFadden wanted you to get confused on who the killer was but DAMN.
Those coincidences were unbelievable (no spoilers).

Then, when she first saw Shane, she wasn't even afraid of him. Keep in mind, this is a man she thought tried to MURDER her and she thought he 100% murdered her friends. And she's happy go lucky? Absolutely not. For example, while examining him, she realizes that he's looking at her cleavage. And what does she think? "Oh, he probably doesn't get to see many ladies, so it's okay". WTF BROOKE.

TW: murder, death, violence, injury detail

Thank you NetGalley for an e-copy for an honest review
I love this author, I love how fast paced these books are.
I don’t know if it because I read a ton of thriller that I figured out the plot twist way before it was revealed. But all in all I will not stop reading from Freida!!

A great thriller as always by Freida!
This caught my attention from the beginning and the twist was not one I saw coming. Thought I had it all figured out and again I was wrong..

Brooke Sullivan, a nurse practitioner, is starting a new job at a maximum security men's penitentiary. She is warned to NEVER become too friendly with the inmates and to NEVER reveal any personal information, no matter how innocuous. But Brooke has already broken the rules. The hiring personnel have no idea that she has a connection to Shane Nelson, an inmate who is serving life for a series of brutal murders in an isolated farmhouse a decade prior. No one is aware that she is the mother of his child, and no one is aware that she survived the attack and it was her testimony that put him in prison. When Shane is brought in for treatment, it's the first time Brooke has laid eyes on him since the trial. He still has good looks and charm, but most of all, he maintains his innocence of what happened that night. Over time, Brooke finds herself doubting the sequence of events that night; after all, she never saw Shane's face; she only smelled his familiar cologne. As she is wrestling with her memory and doubting her intuition, another face from the past insinuates itself back into her life, and now Brooke is truly conflicted.

Thank you to @netgalley and @PoisonedPen for this ARC. Brooke begins work as a physician's assistant at Riker, a maximum security prison. It is also home to a boyfriend she testified against and is now servicing a life sentence for murder. When it finally comes a day that she has to treat him, he swears his innocence. The kicker? She never truly saw the murderer's face. Is he guilty or innocent? McFadden writes another good one! #TheInmate #FreidaMcfadden #PoisonedPen #March2024

The Inmate by Freida McFadden, published by PPen Press Sourcebooks is a story that stays with the reader long after finishing the book.
Brooke Sullivan is a nurse practicioner, single mom of a 10 year old boy who currently moved back to her small hometown to start a new job at the local maximum prison.
What nobody knows, she has a connection to one of the inmates.
Shane Nelson is one of the most dangerous inmates at the maximum prison. Brooke being there too is a recipe for disaster. The former highschool couple, the starquarterback golden boy who was put behind bars by Brooke.
So you're in for ride.
After starting the book, I was intrigued right from the start. The book is excellent written, literally unputdownable. The story jumps between past and present. Normally I'm not a fan of this timetable, but here it's fitting and needed for better understanding.
I highly recommend this nailbiting story, the wonderful book.

OMG this book gave me a mind blowing read and had me thinking I had it all figured out until a certain twist came.

This is the second book by Freida McFadden I read (my first was her book The Locked Door) and I can't wait to read more by her and yet again have my mind spinning and trick me.

The story was as you can figure out really great and her writing amazing.

If you want to read a really great thriller that will have you on the edge while reading then this IS the book for you.

This is my first Freida McFadden book and it did not disappoint.

The main character drove me a little crazy in that she was very much a people pleaser and would constantly make decisions based on how others felt, ignoring her own reservations. But that's what made this story, and also kept you guessing the entire time.

Just when I thought I had it figured out a new twist came. Very fun read!

Thank you to #netgalley and #freidamcfadden for allowing me to be an ARC reader!

Got me out of a reading slump. Would recommend to fans of this genre and non-fans alike. Very entertaining page-turner, from the beginning to the end. The pacing is good. The twists are unexpected.

A great thriller as always by Freida!
This caught my attention from the beginning and the twist was not one I saw coming. Thought I had it all figured out and again I was wrong.

Loved this book. Fast paced thriller. I could not guess the ending. Love Frieda’s books. I read the whole thing in one sitting.

This was my first Frieda McFadden book and I’m happy to see how many others she has because I’ll be adding them to my TBR. I knocked this book out within two days because I needed to know what was going to happen. There were a few scenes with Brooke that I felt like yelling “come on girl, don’t do that!” where I would have loved to have her be a little stronger.

Very entertaining and fast read. I loved the ending and the writing style was great. Awesome popcorn thriller.

If you're looking for a popcorn thriller that's entertaining but doesn't ask too much of you, this might fit the bill--I certainly found it engrossing. But there are much better popcorn thrillers out so I can't particularly recommend this one. The plot was mostly moved along by the main character doing the most colossally stupid thing she could possibly do in nearly every situation. Whatever thing it was that you, the reader, think she definitely shouldn't do, she will almost certainly do it and have some thoughtlessly naive rationale for how it's probably fine. And the explanation behind the final twist was dumb.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the arc of this book. This is my first time reading a Freida McFadden book and I am hooked. The female main character drew me in and I could not put the book down. This books has some good twists and turns and a few I didn't see coming. The book is an easy read and fast paced. This is a spoiler free review but the epilogue wow just wow. I will be ordering myself more of the authors books today.

I really loved the suspense in this one which is one of my favorite things about McFadden's books. I truly didn't know what to believe and what I thought the outcome would be. Quick, twisty read that makes you want to keep turning the pages!

I really enjoyed this and I read it in 2 days.
I had so many theories, but I still didn't guess the full ending.
I absolutely love Freida McFadden's writing and always binge her books.
Fast paced and couldn't put it down. Defenitly reccomend.

This one's good if you want to read (or listen to, which I recommend) a book between your more complicated books on your tbr. To me, this book has not a lot of thrilling factors, mostly mystery. I liked that we get the flip between 'then' and 'now'. It gives context and makes the story more attractive/ gripping in general; we also get the perspective of other characters in the story, which is interesting.
Although I was provided with the kindle version of this book by Netgalley, I also purchased the audiobook, and switched between reading and listening at times. That worked perfectly for me, and I think made the story more interesting, since the narration was done immaculately.

I usually love Freida McFadden's writing and story telling, she has some gripping thriller books and I am a fan of her work. However, here the main character is a bit naive and gullible. Brook starts working as a nurse practitioner in a max-prison where her high school sweetheart (ex-boyfriend) Shane is locked up for committing assault and murders. Brooke's testimony against Shane was the main reason for his imprisonment. Now, here anyone might think Well, Shane will definitely have beef with Brooke, no matter if he was guilty or innocent, but Brooke does not, which was annoying. Others in prison also warn Brooke that she should be careful with whom she trusts and what is shared with the inmates, also all their talks against Shane, but with her it just gets in one ear and out the other...also I guessed some of the twists throughout the book, and I was right about them. If you have been reading thriller/mystery for a while or are a fan of this genre in books and movies, you might guess half of what will happen by chapter 20!

At the same time, Brooke starts to connect with her best friend from high school, Tim, and they get closer. She starts to hang out with him more than she expected at first. Her son Josh also starts to like Tim. Yet again, we can see how Brooke's intuition works at 20% capacity... why? But at this point in the book, you are sure the twists are supposed to be there because the story can't be what you are reading of course, it's a mystery/thriller! So, even though I was bored at times, I kept going. Towards the end (maybe the last 40 pages) the story gets interesting again, and the twists unravel. The book is well written in terms of writing style, but the story needed more to grip the reader in the middle, too; I constantly felt like it was missing something, and it could have been more interesting. So, even though I enjoyed the last part, the story dragged out a bit and I had so many theories that I spoiled the story for myself.