Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - The Inmate

Spice Rating: 🫑 / 5 🌶️

I've really enjoyed Frieda's books, but this one was the epitome of *meh* to me.

Brooke decided to move back to her childhood home and started working as a nurse in a high-security men's penitentiary. She's not supposed to be friendly with or get to know any of the inmates, but Brooke already knows one of the inmates pretty intimately. Shane is Brooke's ex-boyfriend... and the man she sent to jail 10 years ago for murdering her friends and attempting to murder her. Brooke has kept a secret from Shane all these years: they have a son together whom Shane knows nothing about. As she's reconnecting with Shane, Brooke also starts to reconnect with her childhood friend, Tim, who was also there that fateful night. Tim warns her to stay away from Shane, but Brooke can't help but wonder if she put the wrong man behind bars all those years ago.

The Inmate had one plot twist and then ANOTHER plot twist. That's what really kept me going--I wanted to see how everything turned out at the end.

I felt like some of this was a little unbelievable and that Brooke was a little too oblivious at times, but overall it wasn't a bad read. Definitely not Frieda's best but nothing to turn your nose up at, either.

Content Warnings

scorpireads's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes

4.0

🔪 psychological thriller.
— slow-paced, dual timeline

”sometimes people do exactly what you think they’re going to do, and they still manage to disappoint you.”

another masterpiece from my favorite psychological thriller author, freida mcfadden! the story follows brooke, a single mother who returns to her hometown in the aftermath of her parent’s death. but memories of her past begins to haunt her when she takes a job at the federal prison where shane, who once tried to kill her, is serving a life sentence.

first of all, out of all the books i’ve read so far, this one has the most unique setting. the plot was unpredictable and confusing in the most beautiful way, and i love the fact that i really do not have any idea on what’s going to happen with the story. i did not see some of the twists coming, and the epilogue is what shocked me the most. it was very hard to read the characters’ personalities at first, which adds up to the mystery of the book. plus, i am very pissed off with the fmc—brooke, everything she does is frustrating.

to be honest, the first few chapters of the book were too slow and boring for me, but i kept reading because it’s freida mcfadden’s, and i know for sure that she will not disappoint me. overall, it was really an amazing read and i will highly recommend this book to all psychological thriller readers out there.

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all1_b's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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amberl3af's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I was heavy-breathing through this book from about 50% to the end. It’s everything you’d expect from Frieda McFadden- the good and the bad- and it DELIVERED. I read it in two sittings of 50% each.
I made a grave mistake reading this at night, because my heart is beating fast and I’m probably not getting any sleep.

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jazlynenns's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

The main character is incredibly gullible and trusts anyone who validates her to be around her son. She doubts and gaslights herself throughout the book and completely misses very big hints that things aren’t right. The ending was odd and Josh’s epilogue was the only part that surprised me.

Content Warnings