Book Review - The Coworkers by Freida McFadden

Title: The Coworker
Author: Freida McFadden
Genre: Mystery/ Thriller
Published: 2023
 
Description: Two women. An office filled with secrets. One terrible crime that can't be taken back.

Dawn Schiff is strange. At least, everyone thinks so at Vixed, the nutritional supplement company where Dawn works as an accountant. She never says the right thing. She has no friends. And she is always at her desk at precisely 8:45 a.m.

So when Dawn doesn't show up to the office one morning, her coworker Natalie Farrell—beautiful, popular, top sales rep five years running—is surprised. Then she receives an unsettling, anonymous phone call that changes everything…

It turns out Dawn wasn't just an awkward outsider—she was being targeted by someone close. And now Natalie is irrevocably tied to Dawn as she finds herself caught in a twisted game of cat and mouse that leaves her wondering: who's the real victim?

But one thing is incredibly clear: somebody hated Dawn Schiff. Enough to kill.

Review: When Nathalie goes to work one day and sees the cubicle next to her empty, she immediately thinks something is wrong. Her coworker Dawn is punctual and has a very strict schedule. She has never been late, but all her other coworkers think she is overreacting. But as Nathalie tries to find Dawn, something more dark and mysterious is going on.

Freida McFadden knocks out two to three books a year. And is shows. Her books are very easy to read and mostly follow the same pattern. That made this book a bit predictable and I didn’t get any shocking twists. If it is someone’s first McFadden, it probably will be more surprising.
 
I was never invested in the mystery and I hated the main female character. McFadden wrote her to be the one you root for, but I never felt any empathy with her, whatsoever. I felt more sympathy for Dawn, in a way, because people have been so mean to her and making fun of her behind her back. Especially making fun of her obsession with turtles. It’s clear that Dawn is on the autism spectrum and it’s just not okay to treat people like that. So, the fact that we are supposed the be on Nathalie’s side feels wrong.
 
I did not like this book and won’t recommend it to anyone.
 
Rating: 1,5/ 5