Main Characters

• Natalie Farrell – Popular, confident, socially polished employee; widely liked in the office.
• Dawn Schiff – Socially awkward, rigid, routine-obsessed coworker; seen as “weird” and difficult.
• Seth – Natalie and Dawn’s boss; favours Natalie, charming but not deeply trustworthy.
• Caleb – Natalie’s boyfriend; solid guy but something upsetting about him.
• Various office coworkers – Mostly serve as background voices reinforcing the office dynamic and biases.

Recap

The story is built on a classic contrast:

• Natalie = polished, likeable, “normal”

• Dawn = strange, rigid, unsettling

When Dawn suddenly disappears, suspicion naturally begins to circle. Given her odd behaviour, it’s easy for everyone—including the reader—to assume something is off about her.

But, as expected with McFadden, the narrative flips perspectives and expectations.

We learn that:

• Dawn isn’t just “weird”—she’s deeply observant, methodical, and far more aware than people give her credit for.

• Natalie isn’t just the friendly, put-together coworker—she’s manipulative, calculated, and hiding far darker tendencies.

The story becomes a psychological game of control, perception, and survival, where both women are far more dangerous than they initially appear.

By the end, the lines blur completely:

• Victim vs villain becomes interchangeable

• Both women are capable of harm

• Both justify their actions

And then we land on that final tone: two predators recognising each other.

Review

This was a gripping read—fast-paced, twisty, and very on brand for Freida McFadden (because apparently I’m an authority on the author’s brand after reading four books by her, haha). It was quite predictable for the final twist, but the alternating perceptions worked well, and there were enough very solid misdirections to keep me hooked. You’ll notice the predictability part in my notes.

But.

The ending?

That “she’s dangerous, but I’m dangerous, too” energy did not land the way I think it was supposed to.

Because… that’s not empowering. That’s not clever. That’s not a mic-drop moment.

That’s just two people proudly admitting they’re unhinged.

And I’m sorry, but since when is being a psychopath something to be smug about?

The book almost frames it like:

• Look at them. Equals. Two strong, dangerous women.

But no.
They’re not “strong in a cool way.”
They’re just… dangerous in a deeply concerning, morally questionable way.

There’s a difference.

It felt like the story wanted to end on a note of:

• mutual respect

• intellectual rivalry

• dark parity

But instead, it came off as:

Congratulations, you’re both terrible.

And the fact that there’s a hint of pride in that final tone? That’s what didn’t sit right.

Dawn being hyper-aware and calculated made sense. Natalie being manipulative also tracked. But the framing of their similarity as something almost admirable?

Yeah… no.

It didn’t feel chilling in a satisfying way.
It felt unsettling in a “why are we glorifying this?” way.

Notes

5%
The expression on his face betrays a distinct lack of concern. He doesn’t look even the slightest bit worried.

He cracks what feels like a very inappropriate smile, given the circumstances.

Shabana Mukhtar: Knowing Frieda she’s probably trying to throw us off into a wrong direction. But you never know.

 

8%
Whatever else you can fake, it’s hard to fake being a genuinely kind person. It’s also exceedingly rare.

 

19%
I got the feeling I had upset Natalie, which didn’t make sense because I was just telling her facts.
Shabana Mukhtar: There’s shy and there’s weirdo. Dawn is latter.

 

25%
So I should keep my mouth shut because nobody wants to listen to me anyway.
Shabana Mukhtar: Story of my work life on some days. Nobody wants to listen to smart advice. They all prefer to remain mediocre.

 

28%
“Maybe it would have kept her alive.”
Shabana Mukhtar: She assumed dawn is dead? She dumb? I hate it when MC is dumb.

 

29%
Did you receive my previous email about whether you received my previously emailed proposal?
Shabana Mukhtar: Hilarious!!! 🤭

 

30%
Some people only want to be told that they’re right.
Shabana Mukhtar: To All the Managers I’ve Worked for Before (Yes, it is a pun on To All the Boyfriends…)

 

30%
I told her she should try not to be so careless.

“Next time,” she said, “you should try not to be so careless.”
Shabana Mukhtar: Recall, love that in Frieda’s books.

 

35%
“You can mind your own damn business from now on, okay?” was what she said. I told her I would, but she kept pressing me. She said I couldn’t tell another soul about this. And that if I did, she would make sure I was sorry. Really and truly sorry.
Shabana Mukhtar: It’s interesting to see that from Dawn’s pov, Natalie sounds like a villain. And I also feel maybe Dawn disappeared on purpose to teach Seth and Natalie a lesson. And these emails are just an attempt of leaving trails of fake accounts of cruelty.

 

41%
“we found Dawn’s body early this morning.”
Shabana Mukhtar: Okay, so perhaps someone knew about the tiff between Natalie and Dawn and killed her? Caleb? He worked there, Seth would be too obvious. Or maybe it isn’t her body?

 

45%
“Did you hear they found Dawn? Or at least, what’s left of her…”
Shabana Mukhtar: Yep, definitely someone else’s body. I have a strong feeling it’s not Dawn? I might be thinking because of “One of Us is Lying”, which is so true in this case. Either Natalie or Dawn or both are lying. They are both unreliable narrators.

 

49%
No matter what, you can’t let anyone know they’ve gotten to you. Because that’s when they win. So I went back to my cubicle with my chin held high. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. You would have been proud of me.
Shabana Mukhtar: Ufff Allah! Even if it’s a fake account of bullying, I pity people who suffered similar things in life. Natalie is a bully and then some.

 

53%
found an article listing ways to get people to like you.
Shabana Mukhtar: This is just sad, and a bit pathetic

 

56%
I promise I will definitely make it worth your while!
Shabana Mukhtar: What’s that about? Why is she saying that to Caleb?

 

64%
DO NOT LET HER GET AWAY WITH THIS!!!!!!!
Shabana Mukhtar: Is it really Natalie who killed Dawn but doesn’t remember , like unreliable narrator? My money is still on Dawn being alive and having staged all this to setup Natalie for jail.

 

68%
To: Caleb McCullough
From: Natalie Farrell
Subject: Re: Tonight I’ll be there!

There’s one other thing I need to take care of tonight but I don’t think it will be a problem.
Shabana Mukhtar: Dawn planned her own disappearance and Caleb is helping her?

 

69%
“Does anyone else have access?” she asked me.
“Only Seth,” I told her, but why would he steal from his own branch and make himself look bad?
Shabana Mukhtar: Okay, misdirection to Seth.

 

70%
The phone number belongs to a motel just outside of Providence.
Shabana Mukhtar: Dawn hiding there? I’m so freaking confused trying to guess the main culprit.

 

72%
Chapter Forty-Five
DAWN
Shabana Mukhtar: I KNEW IT!!!!!

 

74%
“Yeah. But to be beaten so badly, they can’t even recognize who she is…” He turns slightly green. “And nobody is even looking for her.”
Shabana Mukhtar: Dawn is actually a murderer? Who’s that woman?

 

83%
There’s no dead body because you’re still alive.”
Shabana Mukhtar: Is she really thinking of killing herself to get Natalie convicted? Yikes!

 

92%
If I can’t experience these things with Mia, I don’t want to experience them at all.
Shabana Mukhtar: Cray cray

 

92%
Mia and I defended each other, but I always defended her more vehemently than she defended me.
Shabana Mukhtar: Yep, definitely cray cray

 

92%
“All I can say is that I was only seventeen years old. I didn’t know better.”
“Seventeen is old enough to know better.”
Shabana Mukhtar: WTH? Seventeen is only?

 

97%
I don’t feel guilty about it.
Shabana Mukhtar: You psychopath!

 

97%
Dawn may be dangerous. But so am I.
Shabana Mukhtar: No doubt about it, you psychopath!

Final Take

• Entertaining? Yes.

• Addictive? Also yes.
• Predictable: Very much so, yes
• Ending message? Questionable. Deeply.

Freida absolutely knows how to write compulsive thrillers. But this one leaned a bit too hard into the idea that being dangerous equals being powerful, without really interrogating that idea.

And honestly?

Being self-aware about being a terrible person doesn’t make you impressive.
It just makes you a self-aware terrible person.