Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

The Coworker by Freida McFadden

12 reviews

mtoothman3's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Good read. I listened to the whole book in 1 day. Fast read. It keeps you coming back. Lots of twists.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Blood, Grief, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Body shaming, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Grief

Minor: Child death, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

jls6283's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.75

Not my favorite Freida, but in true Freida fashion it’s a fun, twisty read.

However, I think if she would’ve said the word “turtle” one more time, my head would’ve exploded.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Murder

Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, and Sexual content

k8lynn's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

this may have to be my new favorite by Freida. i loved how you couldn't tell which narrator was the more reliable one. as per usual, she kept me guessing the whole time!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

There were parts of this plot that I'm still not totally sure if I ended up with the correct conclusion about. And although the book never says directly that Dawn is autistic, this feels like Ms. McFadden took all of the autism characteristics that she could find and turned them up to 11 and stuffed them into one character. And that felt a little unrealistic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Abandonment

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Chronic illness, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicide, and Murder

bookfulthoughts's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Intriguing and full of twists ✨

“After all, there’s nothing that binds two people like a shared secret.”

I was in a terrible reading slump, and this book got me out of it. I enjoyed how easy it was to get into, and the writing style, twist, and different personalities hooked me. I wasn't sure what to expect because I went in blind, but I wanted to get more into thrillers, and this did not disappoint. 

The plot was well-developed, and the twists weren't predictable! I enjoyed that each character was layered, and pieces were revealed as the story progressed. I was constantly jotting down different theories and explanations to see if I could solve the mystery before it got revealed. I have to admit that I was shocked a few times! This book had me thinking, gasping, and buzzed with excitement to reach the end. 

Overall, this was a solid read. I'd recommend this book, especially to people getting into thrillers☺️! Side note unexpectedly I did learn a lot about 🐢🤣.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cursing, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Grief, and Stalking

booksofautumn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Murder

bookishchaos's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

I liked the direction it was going, but the ending was disappointing. The twists were great (as usual, with Freida Mcfadden, the queen of thrillers). I was just expecting something "more" to happen. I did love the unreliable narration, and how you get to watch the past unfold with strange emails left behind. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Infidelity and Toxic relationship

Minor: Sexual content

rsagarin's review against another edition

mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Infidelity, Blood, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

solnit_and_sebastian's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Just when you think you know what's happening, McFadden spins another surprise into the story! Characters and motives continue to evolve throughout The Coworker, giving mystery fans fodder for guesswork. One thing I appreciate about this author's characterizations is that no one is entirely blameless, lending an element of realism to the proceedings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Infidelity, and Stalking

Minor: Cursing, Infertility, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Blood

spootilious's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

 

Read: September 25, 2023
 Title: The Coworker 

Author: Freida McFadden
 Genre: Mystery
 Rating: 0/5
 Review: 

I’ve been trying to think of something good to say about this book. I really have. The closest thing I can say is that it wasn’t entirely predictable. The ‘plot twist’ wasn’t too surprising and most of the plot holes were tied up…. But that’s as far as I can go with nice things to say. 

To start off, the writing style is extremely immature. It almost feels like I’m reading a fifteen-year old’s first attempt at a thriller novel. I’ve noticed that many people think that it’s due to the main character’s personality and I’m happy that like it, however, with the main characters being so one dimensional I can’t agree. 

Natalie is written like a stereotypical B*mbo (I apologize for my choice of words, but it was the best descriptor I could think of), and Dawn is written like the only autistic representation the author has ever experienced is Rain man. The only personality traits are the Nat is considered pretty and Dawn really likes turtles. Honestly it made me want to vomit. 

Surprisingly enough the only characters in the entire book that didn’t seem one dimensional were the men… and even then, only barely. 

The way the office was written made it obvious that the author has no experience with an office environment and the way the police work was written was sloppy and seemed to have no research done whatsoever (though I may be a bit bias, having worked Law Enforcement). 

Fifteen minutes into this novel and I knew I was going to despise it, though I did my best not to, I haven’t found a decent reason to feel otherwise. Overall, the storytelling was boring and flat, the characters were detestable and dull, and the ‘thriller’ part of the book maybe lasted 3-4 minutes before being utterly ruined by the fact that there is not a single redeeming quality to any of the characters, and the terrible, grotesque, and dehumanizing representation of autism in this novel makes me sick to my stomach. I would have called it quits on this novel but wanted to give it a complete chance and finished it… which only made my distaste worst. 

I feel terrible having to write such a terrible review and giving the lowest (though I wish I could go lower) review I have ever provided but felt even worse as I was reading. 

Minor TW: Death, Self-harm, Vomit, Confinement, Murder, Violence, Suicide, Blood, Ableism, Bullying, Child Death, Emotional Abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Stalking 

 Quotes: 

N/A 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship