Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Release Date: Oct.7, 2025
A big thank you to the publisher for a complimentary arc of this title for review. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.
This review first published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine
In this taut, deadly tale of survival and desperation, #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden explores how far one girl will go to save herself.
Review:
Author Freida McFadden always delivers creepy, astounding psychological thrillers that leave readers reeling while begging for more. Fortunately, the wait is never long as the prolific writer continues to write intense, jaw dropping stories at warp speed. Lock the doors and curl up in your favorite reading spot with plans to burn the midnight oil before cracking open the cover of The Intruder as there's no stopping until the final staggering passage. Casey is a mysterious woman living alone in a remote, rundown cabin in the wilderness with a secretive neighbor’s place a half mile away as the crow flies and a lecherous landlord who often appears on her doorstep unexpected and unwelcome. Her past is a mystery to readers, but it's clear Casey's harboring a dark secret she’s determined to keep buried. As a deadly storm approaches, she scurries around trying to secure things and is startled by a face peering in her window. Or was it a tree branch blown around by the wind? When Casey goes outside to make one last check around the house, she finds a young, terrified girl wearing blood-soaked clothing and clutching a knife hiding in the shed, which isn’t a safe place to ride out the storm. Casey has no choice but to invite the girl into the cabin to spend the night. When the girl refuses to give up the knife or answer Casey's questions, she waits for the girl to go to sleep to snoop through her ragged bookbag, and what Casey discovers sends chills down her spine. How did this girl arrive at Casey's cabin miles from nowhere without a vehicle? Why is she here? The answers could end up costing Casey her life.
The Intruder checks all my boxes for a must-read, spooky psychological thriller including remote setting, increment weather, unknown imminent threat, twisted plot line, dual timelines, and shifting, unreliable narrators. While armchair detectives may reach some conclusions early, McFadden always has a last page, jaw-dropping ace up her sleeve that blindsides everyone in the end, and The Intruder may harbor the biggest one yet. The story is rendered through short, past/present chapters from the dual points of view of Casey and the young girl, Ella. The underlying eerie vibes of danger ramp up page by page, chapter by chapter, with each traumatic tidbit of information revealed setting a scene that's ominous at best and terrifying at worse. Casey and Ella are on a collision course with their past and each other with no way to stop it. Who will survive the night?
The Intruder is one of McFadden's darker psychological thrillers with some heavy themes such as childhood abuse, retribution, and redemption. Characters are realistic yet secretive, strong yet vulnerable. The story comes together piece by piece until readers may think they have it all figured out but wait for it. Remember, we're talking about the queen of last page, jaw-dropping shockers here so read on for the next sordid, mind-blowing twist, and the final no way bombshell reveal. Atmospheric, intense, and spine chilling, The Intruder is a masterpiece in the genre of psychological thrillers. This one would be brilliant playing out on the big screen. Fans of the genre will eat it up.
Synopsis:
Who knows what the storm will blow in…
Casey's cabin in the wilderness is not built for a hurricane. Her roof shakes, the lights flicker, and the tree outside her front door is sways ominously in the wind. But she's a lot more worried about the girl she discovers lurking outside her kitchen window.
She’s young. She’s alone. And she’s covered in blood.
The girl won't explain where she came from or loosen her grip on the knife in her right hand. And when Casey makes a disturbing discovery in the middle of the night, things take a turn for the worse.
The girl has a dark secret. One she’ll kill to keep. And if Casey gets too close to the truth, she may not live to see the morning.
Casey's cabin in the wilderness is not built for a hurricane. Her roof shakes, the lights flicker, and the tree outside her front door is sways ominously in the wind. But she's a lot more worried about the girl she discovers lurking outside her kitchen window.
She’s young. She’s alone. And she’s covered in blood.
The girl won't explain where she came from or loosen her grip on the knife in her right hand. And when Casey makes a disturbing discovery in the middle of the night, things take a turn for the worse.
The girl has a dark secret. One she’ll kill to keep. And if Casey gets too close to the truth, she may not live to see the morning.
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