The Crash

Author Freida McFadden returns with another highly atmospheric thriller with the coming January 2025 release of The Crash. The highly acclaimed author of The Boyfriend wastes no time in giving fans what they want—another intense, breathtaking, twisted thriller with a shocking ending no one will be able to predict. This book is a one-seater, so find some alone time and settle in for a bumpy ride.

Eight months ago, Tegan went out with friends, met a charming, handsome stranger, and made her first mistake. A few short weeks later, she’s surprised to learn she’s pregnant, and after contacting the man from that night, she learns two things: the father, Simon, is a wealthy, married man who wants nothing to do with her or the baby, and he’s willing to pay a ridiculous amount to keep her quiet in exchange for a nondisclosure agreement. The money will solve her financial woes, but something still nags at her about that night. Why can’t she remember? Eight months later, when Tegan and Simon meet for the final signing, his presence triggers vague memories of that night, driving her to refuse the money and make plans to seek refuge at her brother’s house a couple of hours away.

It’s late when she begins the trip, and soon a blinding snowstorm causes her to lose control of her vehicle before crashing into a tree, stranding her in a deserted area in the freezing cold with a broken ankle and no way to go for help. When a man in a truck stops to offer help, her relief is short-lived as his size and demeanor frighten her, but she’s out of options if she and her unborn baby are to survive. Hank takes Tegan to a cabin hidden away deep in the woods, where she meets and bonds with his wife, Polly, a former nurse. With promises to take her to a hospital in the morning when the roads are clear, the mysterious couple settles Tegan in a bed in their basement. As time passes, Tegan begins to suspect that all is not right in this secluded cabin in the woods, and she fears for the life of her unborn child. Has she made her second and potentially fatal mistake?

The Crash is a complex, gut-wrenching, locked-room style thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. Through past/present chapters of before and after “the crash,” readers are drawn into a deadly situation where it’s impossible to figure out who can be trusted and who has ulterior motives. From beginning to end, all elements combine to set a deadly scene, driving an insanely suspenseful pace to a final unbelievable reveal. McFadden has cemented her place in the thriller genre as a writer who pushes characters and readers to the edge… before pushing them off with a shocker they never see coming. Support characters provide a choice of red herrings with motive, who may want Tegan and her child out of the picture permanently. Readers are charged with deciphering the clues to figure out who the villain is before being blindsided by the truth.

Intense, mesmerizing, and heart-stopping, The Crash is author Freida McFadden at her best. Fans are going to devour this one in one sitting as I did. Highly recommended to fans of locked-room mysteries and suspense thrillers