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A review by stephanieluxton
The Inmate by Freida McFadden
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This book is about Brooke, a young woman who is moving back to her hometown with her son after she inherits her childhood home. She gets a job at a maximum security prison as a nurse practitioner. Her high school boyfriend is an inmate there and the more time she spends with people from her past, the more she questions her memories of what happened 11 years ago that made her leave town and put her boyfriend in prison.
I really enjoyed the first half of this book. The structure of jumping back and forth between 11 years ago and present day reveals the mystery at a pace that makes you want to binge the book in one sitting. The writing is simple and easy to read. It works.
Holy shit, what a terrible ending. This book tries so damn hard to have a mind blowing twist that it ruins the entire book. In attempt to create some twists, the author basically needs to make sure Brooke only has 3 combined brain cells. Shane and Tim both feel super inconsistent in their behaviors. I need to complain and spoil everything.
In end end it's revealed that Josh's babysitter is actually his biological grandmother and she's the mastermind behind all the bad things that had happened. In the past, she had an affair with Brooke's dad and when he decided not to leave his family for her, she devised a plan with her son, Shane. Shane would make Brooke fall in love with him and then murder her at their farmhouse and blame Brooke's childhood friend, Tim. What teenage boy would agree to this? Especially Shane, who's aiming to get a football scholarship and rise up from his humble beginnings to be successful? So Shane murders a girl that Tim went out with a couple times and times to plant the seed that Tim could be involved. Then the night of the gathering at the farm house, Shane murders the rest of their friends. This entire scenario gets more and more ridiculous as we see the party play out. It does seem like Shane genuinely likes Brooke. In the scenes of them alone together, he's super kind, gentle, and compassionate. Why wouldn't he just kill her during that scene if he was a murderer? Also you mean to tell me that Shane's mom was creeping through the pitch black night in a creaky old house and able to kill three people without making a scene? Brooke is so dumb when she starts to doubt her "best friend", Courtney, who suggests they stay locked in a room together until morning. If she didn't leave the room, her friend might have lived. Why would Shane try strangling Brooke with her necklace when it genuinely would have been easier with his hands - and easier if he had done it while they were alone together. Also, Courtney was absolutely certain that Tim was the killer and that Shane was totally innocent so that's a weird detail to include. Makes no sense. Also it's weird that the grandma would take the time to deliver this big exposition dump instead of just shooting Brooke before she has time to understand she's even in danger.
It's also revealed in the end that Brooke's parent hid her pregnancy and kept her away and secret from the world because the didn't want Shane's mother (Pamela?) finding out because she's crazy. The Pamela found a photo of Brooke online and decided to make her parents get in a car accident so that Brooke would inherit the childhood home and she could infiltrate their lives. Why wouldn't Brooke's whole family just move away? If they knew Pamela was so psychotic, why wouldn't they tell Brooke this - especially after she was almost murdered by Shane. It's a lapse in communication just for the sake of the plot and not common sense. Also, Shane is all confused when he finds out he has a son. Is he faking the confusion? Because I'm pretty sure Pamela would have told him and showed him photos already.
Tim's character also makes no sense because why would he gift Brooke the same necklace she was nearly murdered with. He testified in court so he would have known that she had nearly been strangled to death with it. Why would Tim lie to Brooke about how many dates he went on with Kelli after she disappeared. He was just coming off as suspicious for no reason. Same with when Brooke finds the scarf in his couch and he says it must be hers or his mom's. Obviously Brooke would know if it was her own scarf so what a dumb thing to say. If he genuinely didn't know where it came from, I feel like he would have acted a little more confused.
Brooke's triggers are so weird in this book. She freaks out over Tim giving her the necklace and him wearing aftershave that's similar to the one her attacker wore, but she's more than happy to spend time with Shane (who was her attacker) at the prison and being near him doesn't trigger her at all.
Pamela uses the key Tim gives Brooke for his house to break into his house and plant Kelli's body. I feel like this plan required too many coincidences to work. This is an old woman. Did Kelli not have a car that would have been parked near Tim's house? (I actually can't remember how that played out. So much happens all at once in this book).
The very end was super annoying. Shane literally could have played his cards right and had a happy little family but he decides to punish Brooke for putting him in jail (rightfully so, for a crime he did commit), even though she got him out of jail, likes him, and is bending over backwards to help him. I don't understand why he would want to commit another major crime so soon after getting out when having a nice life is the other option. I saw it coming that the author was going to switch gears at the end and make Josh a killer too. I didn't like this. Police would be able to figure out if someone died via icicle landing on their head vs being bludgeoned to death with an icicle. Earlier in the story, Brooke says she had always kept an eye on Josh watching for violent or psychopathic tendencies but never saw any, and that he was a good kid. I think if Josh was going to kill someone, it should have been to save his mom in the moment, not just because Tim told him Shane was dangerous and might hurt his mom. If Josh and Shane look super alike, I feel like Josh would have also figured out he was his dad and that would have nullified the warning Tim gave because Josh has always wanted to know his dad.
I think one of the worst things about this book is that the crimes don't match the motive. Pamela is a mistress and is upset that Brooke's dad doesn't leave his family for her, she she crafts a plan to kill his daughter and blame the nice boy who lives nearby, is willing to kill multiple other innocent teens as collateral damage, and is willing to make her son (who's future seems bright) into a criminal. When the motive was being revealed, I thought she was going to tell Brooke that Shane is her half brother and that's why she was so mad that Brooke's dad abandoned them to a life of single motherhood and poverty. That would have been a gross revelation, but would have made a little more sense. THE SEVERITY OF THE CRIME DOES NOT MATCH THE PUNISHMENT. Sorry, I'm mad at this book.
Anyways, that was an absolute disaster in the end. This is the kind of book that's fun while you're reading it, but the more you think about it after, the worse it is.
I really enjoyed the first half of this book. The structure of jumping back and forth between 11 years ago and present day reveals the mystery at a pace that makes you want to binge the book in one sitting. The writing is simple and easy to read. It works.
Holy shit, what a terrible ending. This book tries so damn hard to have a mind blowing twist that it ruins the entire book. In attempt to create some twists, the author basically needs to make sure Brooke only has 3 combined brain cells. Shane and Tim both feel super inconsistent in their behaviors. I need to complain and spoil everything.
It's also revealed in the end that Brooke's parent hid her pregnancy and kept her away and secret from the world because the didn't want Shane's mother (Pamela?) finding out because she's crazy. The Pamela found a photo of Brooke online and decided to make her parents get in a car accident so that Brooke would inherit the childhood home and she could infiltrate their lives. Why wouldn't Brooke's whole family just move away? If they knew Pamela was so psychotic, why wouldn't they tell Brooke this - especially after she was almost murdered by Shane. It's a lapse in communication just for the sake of the plot and not common sense. Also, Shane is all confused when he finds out he has a son. Is he faking the confusion? Because I'm pretty sure Pamela would have told him and showed him photos already.
Tim's character also makes no sense because why would he gift Brooke the same necklace she was nearly murdered with. He testified in court so he would have known that she had nearly been strangled to death with it. Why would Tim lie to Brooke about how many dates he went on with Kelli after she disappeared. He was just coming off as suspicious for no reason. Same with when Brooke finds the scarf in his couch and he says it must be hers or his mom's. Obviously Brooke would know if it was her own scarf so what a dumb thing to say. If he genuinely didn't know where it came from, I feel like he would have acted a little more confused.
Brooke's triggers are so weird in this book. She freaks out over Tim giving her the necklace and him wearing aftershave that's similar to the one her attacker wore, but she's more than happy to spend time with Shane (who was her attacker) at the prison and being near him doesn't trigger her at all.
Pamela uses the key Tim gives Brooke for his house to break into his house and plant Kelli's body. I feel like this plan required too many coincidences to work. This is an old woman. Did Kelli not have a car that would have been parked near Tim's house? (I actually can't remember how that played out. So much happens all at once in this book).
The very end was super annoying. Shane literally could have played his cards right and had a happy little family but he decides to punish Brooke for putting him in jail (rightfully so, for a crime he did commit), even though she got him out of jail, likes him, and is bending over backwards to help him. I don't understand why he would want to commit another major crime so soon after getting out when having a nice life is the other option. I saw it coming that the author was going to switch gears at the end and make Josh a killer too. I didn't like this. Police would be able to figure out if someone died via icicle landing on their head vs being bludgeoned to death with an icicle. Earlier in the story, Brooke says she had always kept an eye on Josh watching for violent or psychopathic tendencies but never saw any, and that he was a good kid. I think if Josh was going to kill someone, it should have been to save his mom in the moment, not just because Tim told him Shane was dangerous and might hurt his mom. If Josh and Shane look super alike, I feel like Josh would have also figured out he was his dad and that would have nullified the warning Tim gave because Josh has always wanted to know his dad.
I think one of the worst things about this book is that the crimes don't match the motive. Pamela is a mistress and is upset that Brooke's dad doesn't leave his family for her, she she crafts a plan to kill his daughter and blame the nice boy who lives nearby, is willing to kill multiple other innocent teens as collateral damage, and is willing to make her son (who's future seems bright) into a criminal. When the motive was being revealed, I thought she was going to tell Brooke that Shane is her half brother and that's why she was so mad that Brooke's dad abandoned them to a life of single motherhood and poverty. That would have been a gross revelation, but would have made a little more sense. THE SEVERITY OF THE CRIME DOES NOT MATCH THE PUNISHMENT. Sorry, I'm mad at this book.
Anyways, that was an absolute disaster in the end. This is the kind of book that's fun while you're reading it, but the more you think about it after, the worse it is.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
Minor: Bullying, Sexual content, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy