NEW Freida McFadden, The Tenant – Review

COMING SOON! - For sale on May 5th 2025

Thank you to Freida McFadden and Poisoned Pen Press for the early access copy of The Tenant, I wrote this review for The Strand Magazine!

She’s done it again (not that we ever doubted her!). Freida McFadden’s The Tenant is a fast-paced psychological thriller that keeps readers engaged with its unsettling atmosphere and layered deception. Following Blake Porter as he welcomes a seemingly perfect tenant, Whitney Cross, into his home, the novel weaves a tale of manipulation, gaslighting, and buried secrets. Blake and his fiancée Krista are looking forward to planning their wedding. That is, until Blake goes from finance bro to landlord woes.

I devoured this book in just two sittings, finishing it in well under 24 hours—needless to say, I was hooked. The brownstone setting in NYC felt so immersive that I practically became the nosy neighbour, eavesdropping on the drama unfolding across the hall. McFadden expertly crafts a tense, psychological thriller, weaving the Gaslighting/Manipulative Third Party trope into a story that feels both unsettling and familiar, like watching your favourite suspense film play out in real time. The result? A fast-paced, addictive read that keeps you flipping pages, desperate to uncover the truth.

With each turn of the page, you can feel Blake unravelling, his grip on reality slipping at an alarming pace as he questions everything he once believed. The tension escalates when a detective arrives at his door, a knock that signals the moment things shift from unsettling to downright dangerous.

This is how I want psychological thrillers to be written. At no point was I 1) confused by who’s who, 2) lost because of crazy timeline changes, or 3) annoyed about the plot being far-fetched. McFadden truly keeps it neat, clear, and classic in her latest novel.

McFadden, as always, delivers twists that keep readers on edge, and The Tenant is no exception. With a tight-knit cast—Blake, Krista, Whitney, and Krista’s friends, Becky and Malcolm—the limited number of characters narrows the pool of potential suspects, making the mystery more contained but no less gripping. This streamlined structure makes The Tenant an excellent entry point for readers new to psychological thrillers, offering just enough suspense without overwhelming twists.

This novel takes a step away from McFadden’s signature ‘twist on twist on twist’ style seen in Never Lie and The Inmate, offering a refreshing change of pace. While I began to anticipate the twist before its reveal, that, to me, is a testament to strong storytelling—one that feels both compelling and plausible rather than overly convoluted. The shift to a male perspective adds an interesting dynamic, and the focus on a long-con twist makes for an engrossing, slow-burning unravelling of deception. The Tenant has the makings of a timeless psychological thriller, one that will linger in readers’ minds long after the final page.

Book Details:

• ISBN: 9781464227318

• Price: $17.99

• Paperback

• Buy here

  
  

If you specifically want to find out more about Freida McFadden, check out her website.