The Boyfriend

I didn't like the story and I couldn't care less about the characters. Too many “Daisy” in my opinion

Better than the other book by McFadden I read, Never Lie, but still not a super great book. I think I'm just hard to please when it comes to mysterious thrillers.

We have two points of time represented in this book. Present day Sydney who broke up with her ex- and has been trying to put herself out there on a dating app and be not single because her biological clock is ticking, her mom is harping at her, and god she doesn't want to be old and single is the main focus. The story opens with her matching with Kevin, a creep who misrepresented himself on the app and keeps insinuating himself into Sydney's life, despite being kneed in the manlybits and not taking a hint from there. She has two friends, Bonnie whose scrunchies are part of her identity and nobody else on the planet wears scrunchies except Bonnie, and Gretchen who has an art exhibit at a museum and is dating the weird handyman in Sydney's apartment.

We also have past Tom in high school, who has a weird bug-obsessed friend named....something (I can't recall his real name, was it ever mentioned?), but everyone calls him Slug because he eats bugs. Tom has a crush on classmate Daisy, has an alcoholic and abusive father, and a weak mother who puts up with it all. He's also strangely obsessed with and gets excited by blood. We get chapters about Tom navigating his crush on Daisy, them becoming something adjacent to boyfriend/girlfriend in a clean hand holding sort of way, and Slug being awkward, while drama at school about a missing classmate escalates and makes Tom a person of interest.

Honestly I was way more invested in Tom's past chapters than I was in Sydney's chapters. I thought Sydney was an idiot who managed to surround herself with people waving all manner of red flags for a multitude of reasons. The degree she blinds herself to what's going on around her for the sake of sex with a Hot Guy is mind-boggling, actually, and the mental gymnastics she goes through to rationalize things after the fact is rather amazing. I realize most of what's going on around Sydney is the author's love of misdirection, but I feel like the main character should at least be mildly concerned about any number of things she doesn't seem to care about. It's wild.

Also, as a person who proudly wears scrunchies in the Year of Our Lord 2025, I'm rather offended at Sydney getting so hung up on the concept of people wearing scrunchies in today times. Everytime she came across one in the story, only Bonnie could have worn it, because Bonnie was the only person who would ever wear a scrunchie. It's inconceivable anyone else would, really. They're so dated. Jeez.

I thought the twist was unexpected though, even if the ending to it all was hard to believe. And it did keep me reading, so it's an entertaining read, if you can get past the main character being so dense.

4.5/5 stars

Spoilers ahead!!

Frieda Mcfadden IS JUST AMAZING- This book is one of her most fast-paced and gripping reads yet!! Compared to many thrillers I've read, this book kept me hooked from start to finish. The pacing was PERFECT- Not a single chapter was wasted.

Out of all of Frieda's books which I've read- this had climbed its way into my top three! Possibly even the best after Never Lie!! And I've read many of her books, so I'm just SO AMAZED AT HOW WELL SHE PLAYED THIS STORY.

I really expected Randy to be revealed as slug or even Tom to be the serial killer- BUT GRETCHEN BEING DAISY?? GODDAMN IT THIS AUTHOR IS AMAZING. I had to stop reading and breathe a little to process that twist!!

Frieda Mcfadden's writing is nothing short of amazing. From the way she builds the tension and to how she ties the past and present together is a masterclass in psychology thrillers!! This book is one that I'll highly recommend :))

Sydney has clearly never listened to My Favorite Murder

That was obvious..

Matlab kuch bhi?

Exceeded my expectations. Still bums me out that this is in the same genre category as The God of the Woods and All the Colors of the Dark in the Goodreads Choice Awards. Mystery and thriller should get their own separate categories.

This is one of the best books I read this year, I truly truly love it. The plot twist the characters everything about it is perfect
I finished it in one set and that's mean how good is it
Fully recommend

Okay MISSSSS FRIEDA
I really thought I had this one figured out but nope not even close

Oh, it was good. It was sooooo good! I didn't guess the epic twist at the end... Did you?

There is a serial killer on the loose... You don't know who the suspect is and there are many all as plausible as the last....

I like Freida's writing. She weaves an uncomplicated thriller with twists. I'm rarely disappointed but I also don't go in expecting Shakespeare!

I loved it. I listened to the whole thing in one sitting.

4 stars!

Freida nearly got me this time. It took me a little longer than usual to figure out the plot twist. This was fascinating and garnered my attention, so I finished it quickly. The characters were well-developed, and the story was interesting. I believe if you are a fan of hers, you will enjoy it. If you are not already a fan, you should be.

Sydney Shaw tidak beruntung dalam berkencan di masa lalu. Dari aplikasi kencan, dia bertemu dengan pacar sempurna, akhirnya dia mendapat jackpot, pikirnya. Pacar barunya terlihat sempurna, memikat, tampan dan seorang dokter di rumah sakit lokal.
Sampai terjadi pembunuhan brutal seorang gadis muda. Tersangka utamanya adalah pria misterius yang berkencan dengan korbannya sebelum menghabisinya.
Sydney seharusnya merasa aman, dia berkencan dengan pria impiannya. Namun entah kenapa dia tidak bisa menyingkirkan kecurigaannya, pria sempurna kemungkinan tidak bisa sesempurna kelihatannya.
Misteri utama berpusat pada Tom, yang identitas dan masa lalunya terungkap secara bertahap, menunjukkan keterkaitannya dengan pembunuhan tersebut. Buatku Ini novel pertama McFadden yang kubaca dan menurutku penulis berhasil membangun ketegangan sepanjang novel, dengan berbagai kejutan. Dengan bab pendek-pendek dan gaya menulis yang mudah diikuti, aku cukup menikmati novel ini.
Aku merekomendasikan novel ini bagi penggemar thriller dan misteri.

4.5 stars!

I feel like this definitely wasn't your average Freida formula book. There wasn't many twists and turns. I love crime and Freida so there was only so many events that could have happened...

BUT BOY! The gasp in which I gusped. Holy Moly. This was insane and I LOVED IT! I loved all the characters in my own creepy way. This was great. Props to you again Freida!

This is an entertaining read. It's easy to get into just like other McFadden's books. However, I think The Housemaid is still her best work. This definitely is a step up from The Coworker. I can still remember those turtles. Lol.

While the plot is nice, the twist became predictable. I don't know if it's because I've read a lot of her books so I kind of have a grasp of how she thinks. Nonetheless, it's a quick and easy read. Will definitely be something to get someone out of a reading slump.