I Gave Freida McFadden a Second Chance (Do Not Disturb book review)

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR BOTH THE HOUSEMAID AND DO NOT DISTURB BY FREIDA MCFADDEN. IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THESE BOOKS BUT INTEND TO THEN READ THIS REVIEW AT YOUR OWN RISK.

GENRE: Adult Thriller

LENGTH: 288 pages

PLOT

Quinn Alexander stabs her abusive husband to death and is forced to flee. When a snowstorm hits, she must take shelter at the remote, dilapidated Baxter Hotel that has a violent past.

CHARACTERS     

The characters fall into two camps: Quinn and family, and the Baxter Motel residents.

Quinn’s family consists of her, her husband Derek, her sister Claudia, and her brother-in-law Rob. The Baxter Motel residents are comprised of Nick, the owner, Rosalie, his wife, and Greta, who lives there permanently.

Quinn and Derek feel like copy/paste characters from The Housemaid (McFadden’s most popular work). Though, technically, it’s the reverse given this book was published a year before The Housemaid. When we first meet Quinn, she has committed this morally corrupt act – murder – but we are meant to feel sympathy for her given her situation. Similarly, Millie from The Housemaid was just released from prison, so we know she’s done something bad in her past, but now she finds herself homeless and desperate. Both also end up kissing/having affairs with married men. I have no idea why McFadden thought including this was the way to go. In my opinion, it immediately makes them less sympathetic. Derek, meanwhile, is just like Andrew from The Housemaid; a seemingly charming, wealthy husband who is secretly abusing his wife – there’s quite literally nothing differentiating them.

Claudia at first comes across as Quinn’s caring, concerned sister. Later, she is revealed to actually resent her sister for having to care for her following their parents’ deaths. She’s also having an affair with Quinn’s husband. More about her in the next section. Rob is a pretty bland character. He’s really just there to move the plot along. I don’t really have much to say about him.

Nick is written as a ‘nice guy’. He’s his wife’s caregiver as Rosalie suffers from MS. He’s also cheating on her and their marriage has been struggling for years. Rosalie stays in their bedroom 24/7 and spies on the motel’s occupants. She’s resigned herself to a life where she has given up all her hopes and dreams. She also suffers from suicidal ideation. The way she’s written is inherently harmful because it depicts someone with a disability as having a miserable life unworth living.

Greta is an Eastern European woman and former carnival fortune teller. While Greta is nice, she’s written using multiple negative stereotypes of Eastern European women. As a woman of Eastern European descent, I found her portrayal bordering on offensive. I don’t think McFadden put a lot of thought or research into Greta’s character.

WRITING

The novel is told from the alternating 1^st person POVs of Quinn, Rosalie, Claudia, and Rob. The characters have a tendency to break the fourth wall and address the reader. I hate when characters do this as it takes me entirely out of the story.

In The Housemaid, there was not a single twist or reveal that surprised me. In this book, there were some reveals that shocked me. On the surface, that sounds like an improvement. Unfortunately, while they’re clearly intended to shock the reader, they are not well executed at all.

Claudia is a poorly written character. We’re in her head yet she’s wildly inconsistent in her thoughts and actions. She is the big bad attempted murderess, but the way McFadden reached that conclusion made zero sense. A shocking reveal is only a good one if all your dots all connect to form the final picture. I’m afraid McFadden’s dots are scattered.

Another issue I have is that at the end of the novel Greta reveals to Rosalie that she has murdered before, too. She tells her she murdered a former motel resident who Nick was having an affair with to save Rosalie’s marriage. There was no reason for her to confess to Rosalie other than, again, for the pure shock value to the reader.

FINAL THOGUHTS

This was my second McFadden book after reading The Housemaid. I didn’t much care for The Housemaid. I only gave this book a chance because the plot appealed to me. I think this book is objectively worse. The writing quality is just not there and I continue to be baffled by McFadden’s popularity. I will not be reading any more of her books. I’m happy that there are those who can find enjoyment from them – reading should be a fun hobby – but I can safely conclude that they are not for me.

FINAL RATING: 1.5⭐️