A review by ogbergerking
The Locked Door by Freida McFadden

3.25

i read this book in one sitting, only about 2 hours. it was an easy read, with good pacing, & simplistic writing. 

i enjoyed nora as a protagonist, & found her complex & almost split personality intriguing. however, she lacked a lot of substance & was quite static throughout. i could see & appreciate mcfadden’s attempt, but felt the execution was lacking. 

none of the characters were super fleshed out in a way that made you as the reader attached. including nora’s herself. brady was a bit… annoying. i knew he was a red herring, but i felt like mcfadden really pushed your nose into it throughout in a way that detracted from the ending & the true villain. 

speaking of, i found the ending somewhat offensive & immensely a cop out. i didn’t like who the killer turned out to be, or the last little portion of the epilogue. as far as i know, this last ditch effort to make nora seem more than a traumatized one-sided character added more questions than answers, & the true killer felt so left-fielded it was rather unbelievable. up until that point, the story seemed just believable enough to be a good thriller. 

i would read another of mcfadden’s work, but i prob won’t read this one again.