The cold temperatures of wintertime limit outdoor activities, leaving many stuck inside. The perfect way to stay busy during the cold winter months is to grab a good book.
Author Freida McFadden has written many mystery books, the most loved being “The Housemaid,” “The Locked Door,” “Never Lie” and “The Inmate.” All of these books follow the psychological thriller and suspense theme. McFadden writes in her free time all while taking care of her two kids and having a demanding job as a physician specializing in brain injury.
These books have so many twists and turns, making readers think one thing and then hitting them with the opposite. That's what makes these books amazing. They make you want to keep reading to figure out the truth. McFadden does an amazing job with all her writing and is a lovable author more people should know.
“The Inmate” follows Brooke Sullivan, who moves back to her hometown and starts working as a nurse at the maximum-security prison a little out of the area while her 10-year-old son starts at the school in the town. This book jumps back and forth every few chapters between present-day Brooke and 11 years prior, giving readers a lot of backstory as to why she decided to move back and why she had moved away to begin with.
Brooke Sullivan is holding a secret, though, breaking one of the prison rules. She has a connection from her past with one of the prisoners, Shane Nelson, who is serving life for a series of murders, and Brooke's testimony is what put him there. While she tries to stay away from her past with him, he continues to bring up what happened that fateful night, turning the blame on someone else.
“The Housemaid” follows Millie Calloway, a young woman who is down on her luck and is offered a job as a housekeeper for a wealthy couple, Nina and Andrew Winchester. Nina hired Millie on the spot, moving into their mansion and living in the attic bedroom. She thought it was a fresh start because, before this, she was homeless. This book is the first in its series, the other books being “The Housemaid’s Secret” and “The Housemaid is Watching.” It is also supposed to get a movie adaptation around the end of this year.
“The Locked Door” follows Nora Davis who carries a horrific secret from her past. She hasn’t let anyone close enough to find out who she really is, and what her father did. While 11-year-old Nora was in her room, no one knew what her father was keeping in the basement, but the girls kept going missing. Nora changed her last name to Davis after her grandma, who took care of her after finding out her father was the one murdering those young women. She later became a general surgeon co-owning an office with Philip, another surgeon.
Keeping her secret to herself she starts to notice her young female patients have been going missing, ending up murdered the same way her father used to, but Aaron Nierling is still in prison. Being questioned by police, she grows weary because they think she's just like her father, unable to keep her urges to herself.
“Never Lie” follows newlyweds Tricia and Ethan on the hunt for their dream house. They visit a remote manor that belonged to a now-missing Dr. Adrienne Hale, a psychiatrist who vanished four years earlier. Tricia and Ethan become trapped in the manor due to a winter storm. Tricia searches for a book to keep her entertained when she finds a secret room filled with audio transcripts from all of Dr. Hale’s patients. She starts listening to them and learns of the terrifying chain of events that led up to Dr. Hale's mysterious disappearance.