Audiobook Review: The Coworker by Freida McFadden
The Coworker
Author: Freida McFadden
Narrator: Alyson Krawchuk
Published: August 29, 2023
Audiobook: 8 hours 12 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: September 20-22, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book 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.
Jessica’s Review:
This is McFadden’s newest book and I listened to it on audio. We have two very different narrators who tell their side of the story: Natalie and Dawn Schiff:
We have Natalie, the office place ‘golden girl’ who can do no wrong. She’s a beautiful blonde, knows it and uses it to get what she wants (which she always does). She’s also the top sales representative for the company. Her best friend Kim and boyfriend Craig also work for the company called Vixed.
We also have Dawn Schiff who is a complete 180 of Natalie: She is plain, awkward, extremely observant and a stickler for being punctual: You can know exactly what time it is based on when Dawn does certain things like eat and even using the restroom. Dawn Schiff seems to have signs of the Autism Spectrum but McFadden never says if she actually is.
Oh and… Dawn really loves turtles. This love is to an extreme. Turtles are constantly mentioned throughout the book. If you made it a drinking game and took a shot every time turtles were mentioned, you wouldn’t live through to make it to the end of the book! I do say this with humor. I knew turtles were mentioned a lot before I listened to it, but damn it really was a lot! It didn’t bother me though since the love of turtles is part of Dawn’s character. Just be prepared for extreme turtle usage!
This time around McFadden takes on the office workplace and deals with office bullying. We see both sides of what is happening through both Dawn Schiff and Natalie’s narrations. Dawn’s perspective is given through emails to her longtime best friend who writes her back.
Dawn is always at work at 8:45 am and Natalie just kind of comes in whenever she wants. I know where I work that would just not happen! But I also work with the public and we have those set hours. One day Dawn doesn’t come in and Natalie is surprised, and maybe just a little worried about her. Then she answers a phone call where the caller says ‘help me’ and hangs up. This starts with a roller coaster that Natalie can’t get off of and it just keeps going and going! And not in a good way either!
For most of the book it was going to be a three star for me: I wasn’t really attached to either character and it was just really an average read for me. Once it does get moving, I was really into it over halfway. I had a theory and I was actually mostly correct with it! Usually, I hate when I figure out a big twist but this time around, I actually enjoyed it because there was still more to figure out as I didn’t have the smaller details figured out. At about 65% in I was fully invested. Of course, we do have a final twist that I wasn’t shocked with it.
The narrator Alyson Krawchuk did a good job with this one. I have now listened to three of McFadden’s books and all of the narrators have northern accents which make me think this is where the author lives. I did enjoy The Coworker and plan on reading or listening to McFadden’s complete book line up. Her books are quick reads/listens so they can be finished quickly. I just wish I had the time to read her books in one sitting!
Audiobook Review: Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney
Good Bad Girl
Author: Alice Feeney
Narrators:
Katherine Press
Stephanie Racine
Published: August 29, 2023
Audiobook: 9 hours 21 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: August 25-30, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 3 stars
Book Description:
Twenty years after a baby is stolen from a stroller, a woman is murdered in a care home. The two crimes are somehow linked, and a good bad girl may be the key to discovering the truth.
Edith may have been tricked into a nursing home, but at eighty-years-young, she’s planning her escape. Patience works there, cleaning messes and bonding with Edith, a kindred spirit. But Patience is lying to Edith about almost everything.
Edith’s own daughter, Clio, won’t speak to her. And someone new is about to knock on Clio’s door…and their intentions aren’t good.
With every reason to distrust each other, the women must solve a mystery with three suspects, two murders, and one victim. If they do, they might just find out what happened to the baby who disappeared, the mother who lost her, and the connections that bind them.
Jessica’s Review:
Good Bad Girl had promise for me, but it is less of a thriller and more of a slow burn domestic drama dealing with complicated mother/ daughter relationships. We have two crimes that occur twenty years apart that are somehow connected: a kidnapped baby and a murder at an assisted living facility. We have 4 main characters that are the focus on Good Bad Girl. Alice Feeney knows how to write: “This is a crime with three suspects, two murders, and one victim.”
For me the title could have been different: Can we please drop the ‘Girl’ in book titles, especially when we don’t even have a ‘girl’ in the story? All the characters were grown women. ‘Girl’ is in just too many titles these days for thrillers. Especially when the book is less thriller and more domestic drama.
For me the audiobook did not really work: This is a book where I need to actually be sitting down to actually read it and not worry about driving. Because of this I had trouble following the book and keeping the characters straight. The two narrators were very similar in their voices, so I know that did not help me either. I would be willing to pick up a physical/kindle copy to see if I can end up with a differing opinion of this one.
Many thanks to the publisher for granting me a copy to listen to and review.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Audiobook Review: Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough
Insomnia
Author: Sarah Pinborough
Narrator: Sarah Durham
Published: March 30, 2022
Audiobook: 10 hours 9 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: July 27-August 2, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Audiobook Description:
Emma Averell loves her life—her high-powered legal career, her two beautiful children, and her wonderful stay-at-home husband—but it wasn’t always so perfect. When she was just five years old, Emma and her older sister went into foster care because of a horrific incident with their mother. Her sister can remember a time when their mother was loving and “normal,” but Emma can only remember her as one thing—a monster. And that monster emerged right around their mother’s fortieth birthday, the same age Emma is approaching now.
Emma desperately wants to keep her successful life separate from her past, so she has always hidden her childhood trauma. But then she’s unable to sleep, and now losing time during the day, also one of the first symptoms her mother showed. Is the madness in her blood, just as her mother predicted? Could she end up hurting her family in her foggy, frenetic state? Or is she truly beginning to lose her mind?
Jessica’s Review:
This is a book with unreliable narrators, and we know how those can be for me. But I went in suspecting that was going to be the case and it was. But I actually enjoyed this one. The big twist wasn’t really a twist for me, it was more of a “Yeah. Ok. I see that!” I felt that there was tension with Emma. Is she becoming a monster like her mother did when she turned 40? 40 is a big enough birthday and I had some issues with it, but to add this to the mix? That alone is enough to make someone go crazy!
The narrator was Sarah Durham who did a good job! I will look for more of her narrations.
I’ve only ever read Behind Her Eyes, which was amazing! I’m definitely adding more of her books to my tbr!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK