If you’re into those twisty psychological thrillers that keep you up way too late turning pages, you probably know the name Freida McFadden. If you aren’t a reader, you may have still heard of The Housemaid series, a movie adaptation was recently released.
Freida released her first book in 2013 (The Devil Wears Scrubs) I’ve read every single book she’s released, some are better than others. If you were looking for a place to start, The Housemaid is pretty good and I’d also recommend either Never Lie or The Teacher. Bonus: Almost all her books are included with a Kindle Unlimited subscription which I also recommend if you read a lot.
Over the years, the popularity of both Freida’s books and Freida herself grew. She is fairly active on social media, often popping up in the Psychological Thriller Readers Facebook group. Something that she has always been upfront about is that Freida McFadden isn’t actually her real name.
For years she’s been writing under that pen name while also working full-time as a doctor who specializes in brain injuries. Freida surprised her fans this week by revealing her identity in an interview with USA Today.
Turns out, Sara Cohen is her actual name and she explained the reason for not using it:
“My whole goal was to keep it a secret until I was ready to step back from my doctor job, so it wouldn’t be like everyone I work with suddenly knew and it compromised my ability to do my job. But I have stepped away from my job. I’m only working like once or twice a month.”
The next book from Freida/Sara will be released on May 26, it’s called The Divorce.
Since we’re talking about books, below are some of my favorite thrillers I’ve read recently:
Almost anything by Noelle Ihli. Run on Red was hard to put down (I think it would be great to listen to on Audible as well) Ask for Andrea is my favorite from her, I read it years ago and still think about it. I’d skip The Thicket though, it wasn’t great.
The Drowning Woman from Robyn Harding who is a Canadian author.
I find Kiersten Modglin books can be a hit or miss but I did enjoy many of them including The Missing.
Another Canadian author I enjoy is Jennifer Hillier. Her books are page turners too along with yet another Canadian author Chevy Stevens.
My current read is You’ll Never Know by Caleb Stephens and it is a wild ride so far.
Happy reading!
