No author quite knows how to grab their readers the way Freida McFadden does. She writes intoxicating mystery/thrillers with believably lifelike, complicated, and relatable characters. She does this concisely and with no trace of pretension. Her novels are so effortless to read that the pages might as well be turning themselves. Fair warning: don’t start one of her books unless you’re prepared to spend your entire day lost in it because there’s a good chance you won’t be able to put it down.
McFadden’s The Inmate is no exception to this. It’s as brilliantly ridiculous, twisty, twisted, and shocking as her celebrated, best-selling Housemaid series. The difference, however, is that this one hasn’t had a film adaptation (yet), so it’s easier to read spoiler-free.
The story centers on Brooke Sullivan, a young single mother who is starting a nurse practitioner job at Raker, New York’s maximum-security prison. She’s recently returned to her hometown after the death of her estranged parents. Her ten-year-old son, Josh, is entering fifth grade. The assistant principal at Josh’s school, Tim Resse, is Brooke’s childhood best friend, and the two of them reconnect and begin a long-time-in-the-making romance. We can’t forget that this is a thriller, however, because while all this is going on, Brooke has repeated interactions with a prison inmate named Shane Nelson. Shane just happens to be Brooke’s first love, and, most importantly, it was her testimony from a decade ago that sent him to prison for life for committing multiple murders. Shane says he’s innocent and that Tim is the dangerous one. Tim, who also testified against Shane, insists that Shane is the dangerous one. McFadden’s typically tantalizing, expectation-toying, and deliciously devious head games begin.
One of the most impressive feats of The Inmate is that it makes you care deeply for all of its main characters. You understand their backgrounds, their hardships, their mistakes, their hopes, and, for most of the novel’s duration, you want everyone’s fate to be positive. You don’t want a single character to be guilty of anything at which the book hints. While you may not want anyone to be the villain of the story, remember once again that this is a thriller and that you will ultimately find that someone is.
Brooke is a sympathetic, intelligent, and well-defined protagonist. She clearly conveys the book’s many mysteries with her internal questioning of the increasingly suspicious events that surround her. Tim is hard not to like, but is almost too perfect not to suspect him of something. Shane is, you will hope, a bad boy with a sweet soul. His suffering is sympathetic, and McFadden makes it easy to see the best in him. You will be as torn as Brooke when trying to figure out whether or not to believe a word of what he says. I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention the elderly Margie, a wizardly cook/lovable babysitter who showers Josh with much-needed affection.
The tension is constant and progressively intensifies until the book reaches its mind-blowing climax. No matter how comfortable you may want to be with certain characters, McFadden sets a stage where just about anything can happen. The further you get into the book, you’ll realize that even the most pleasant and humorous of character interactions have a potential threat looming over them that could come to fruition at any moment.
McFadden’s writing is clean and free of excess. She only relays the bare minimum of what you need to know, making sure that every word, every sentence, and every paragraph efficiently get to the point. Yes, she teases you with intentionally dragged-out action detail in pivotal moments of suspense that will make you so anxious you’ll feel like you just can’t read fast enough. However, there’s always a clear intention to be found in such moments, and you never feel like you are in the hands of a pompous embellisher. With Freida McFadden, you can always trust that what you’re reading is important.
The Inmate is another prime example of what a fantastic author Freida McFadden is. She is in full command of both the thriller genre and of her own individual voice. With a storyline that veers through countless and unpredictable twists and turns and through the use of effective writing that is impeccably crafted with simplicity, The Inmate is a devilishly fun time that never fails to deliver.
GRADE: A
