PLOT: 3/5
WRITING: 3.5/5
CHARACTERS: 3.5/5
ENTERTAINMENT: 3.5/5
GENRE: Psychological Thriller
“Whatever else you can fake, it’s hard to fake being a genuinely kind person. It’s also exceedingly rare.”
– Freida McFadden, The Coworker
The Coworker, as the name suggests, revolves around two women, starkly different from each other, working in the same office but surrounded by a world of secrets and false pretenses. Their lives are overshadowed by two crimes—one that has shaped their past and one that will change their future.
On one hand, we have Dawn Schiff, a peculiar woman working as an accountant at Vixed, a nutritional supplement company. She’s the office loner—the kind of person no one hangs out with, who has no friends to call her own, who is a social outcast, and who arrives at work at exactly 8:45 a.m. every day. Dawn never quite knows how to behave in social situations and rarely says what others consider “the right thing.”
On the other hand, there’s the strikingly beautiful and effortlessly popular Natalie Farell, a true social butterfly who always manages to charm her way out of anything. She’s the best at what she does—selling nutritional supplements—which is why she has been the company’s top performer for the past five years.
Though they’re not friends—barely even acquaintances—there’s a certain connection between them, strong enough for Natalie to worry when Dawn doesn’t show up to work, ignores emails and messages, and starts behaving in ways completely unlike her usual self.
Things begin to unravel when Natalie starts digging into the mystery. Before she knows it, she’s caught in a web of chaos she doesn’t fully understand, unable to see just how deeply she’s being pulled in.
The dynamics between these two women—and between them and their colleagues—are explored quite intelligently. We see two personalities as different as night and day, yet their worlds are unexpectedly intertwined.
The main characters are both women, with a few supporting ones that help push the story forward. But while the supporting characters add momentum, but it’s the uneasy dynamic between Dawn and Natalie that drives the tension. There are some solid twists, but this one doesn’t pack the trademark Freida McFadden shock factor.
In my personal ranking of Freida McFadden novels, this one doesn’t make it to my top five. That said, it’s still a decent one-time read that shows how personal histories have a way of creeping up and ruining lives, especially when you least expect it— and that revenge can push people to startling extremes.
Can’t wait to read it? Buy your copy of The Coworker using the link below.
