The Crash by Freida McFadden
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Crime
Pages: 384
Published By: Poisoned Pen Press on 28th January, 2025
Format: Paperback
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Book Synopsis:
The nightmare she’s running from is nothing compared to where she’s headed.
Tegan is eight months pregnant, alone, and desperately wants to put her crumbling life in the rearview mirror. So she hits the road, planning to stay with her brother until she can figure out her next move. But she doesn’t realize she’s heading straight into a blizzard.
She never arrives at her destination.
Stranded in rural Maine with a dead car and broken ankle, Tegan worries she’s made a terrible mistake. Then a miracle she is rescued by a couple who offers her a room in their warm cabin until the snow clears.
But something isn’t right. Tegan believed she was waiting out the storm, but as time ticks by, she comes to realize she is in grave danger. This safe haven isn’t what she thought it was, and staying here may have been her most deadly mistake yet.
And now she must do whatever it takes to save herself—and her unborn child.
Book Review
I’ve read a couple of Freida McFadden books—my first was 5 stars, the second 3.5. Hoping for another 5-star read, I joined a family/friends book club to dive into this one, but it fell flat like the previous book, landing at just 3 stars.
If I hadn’t been pacing myself with reading it for the book club, I absolutely could’ve finished this book quicker. I found this book slower-paced than I expected. Sometimes having a slow-pace in a mystery/thriller book is ok if done right but the pacing of this one left me underwhelmed. Needless to say, I’d still consider it a quick read but just not as quick as I’d expected.
I didn’t particularly like any of the characters in this book. The FMC is okay, but her obsession with nicknaming her unborn child ‘Tuna’ and overusing it felt weird and off-putting. I get that she’s young, but she didn’t need to make so many reckless, silly decisions throughout the book. The story felt a little too overdramatic, and some of her decisions made me roll my eyes—come on, girl, seriously?
This book was wild from start to finish and at times unbelievable. I enjoy a wacky plot sometimes, but McFadden could have executed this one better for a mystery/thriller. There were some twists throughout, some that I guessed and some that I didn’t but like I’ve mentioned before in other reviews, I don’t mind this at all – I like that balance.
The ending was absolutely FULL of action which I am not complaining about but with all this action, it felt rushed. I still want all the action but slow it down a bit so that I can fully appreciate it. The book’s premise had so much potential—being stuck in a deserted snowy place sounded perfect! However, I feel like McFadden was reaching for something but didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I did originally rate this a 3.5 but upon reflection, I’d say its more a 3 star.
Not a terrible book, just a book that had a lot of potential. If you’re a McFadden fan like me, it’s still worth reading so you can judge it for yourself. However, if you want to try Freida McFadden’s books, I’d maybe have a look on Goodreads and try one of her better rated books. It was an average book for me, hence the average rating I’ve given it.
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