If you’ve ever sat in a sterile office cubicle, listening to the rhythmic, soul-crushing click of a colleague's mouse, you already understand the baseline tension of The Coworker by Freida McFadden. It’s that low-level irritability. The kind that makes you want to scream into a breakroom microwave.
But McFadden takes that mundane annoyance and twists it into something much sharper. Something dangerous.
I recently re-read this one because the internet won't stop arguing about the ending. People are genuinely divided. Is it a masterpiece of the "unreliable narrator" trope, or does it push the boundaries of believability a bit too far? Honestly, it’s probably both. That’s the McFadden brand. She doesn't write cozy mysteries; she writes books that feel like a fever dream you had after drinking too much office coffee.
The Setup You Think You Know
Dawn Schiff is weird.
That is the consensus at Vane Borne Pharmaceuticals. She’s the company’s top accountant, and she’s obsessed with punctuality. Like, "arriving at exactly 8:45 a.m. every single day" obsessed. She doesn't get social cues. She tells jokes that aren't funny. She’s the person you try to avoid in the hallway because you know the conversation will be painful.
Then there’s Natalie Farrell.
Natalie is the polar opposite. She’s the star sales rep. Beautiful, social, effortlessly cool. She’s the person everyone wants to be around. But Natalie has a problem: Dawn is missing. For the first time ever, the 8:45 a.m. arrival didn't happen.
The desk is empty.
When Natalie starts receiving anonymous, creepy phone calls, the office politics move from "annoying" to "deadly." Most psychological thrillers try to build a slow burn, but The Coworker by Freida McFadden kicks the door down within the first twenty pages. It’s fast. Almost too fast. You’re forced to wonder if Natalie is a concerned friend or if she’s hiding a massive, jagged secret under that polished exterior.
Why the "Unreliable Narrator" Works Here
We need to talk about the emails.
The book is structured through a mix of present-day narration and past emails sent by Dawn to a friend named Mia. This is where McFadden gets clever. In the emails, we see a totally different side of the office dynamic. We see the bullying. We see the subtle, cruel ways Natalie and the others treated Dawn.
It makes you feel gross.
It also makes you realize that Natalie is a classic unreliable narrator. You’re seeing the world through her eyes, and she’s painting herself as the hero. But the emails? They tell a story of a woman who was pushed to the brink. It’s a classic "he said, she said" but with spreadsheets and Outlook folders.
Freida McFadden is a practicing physician, and you can sort of tell by the way she dissects her characters. There’s a clinical precision to how she exposes their flaws. Natalie isn't just "mean." She’s calculated. Dawn isn't just "awkward." She’s observant.
The tension comes from the gap between what Natalie says and what Dawn writes. You’re stuck in the middle, trying to figure out who is the predator and who is the prey. Usually, in these books, it’s obvious. Here? Not so much.
The Bullying Subplot is Darker Than It Looks
Most reviews focus on the "whodunnit" aspect. That’s fine. But the real meat of The Coworker by Freida McFadden is the depiction of adult bullying.
We like to think bullying ends in high school. It doesn't. It just gets quieter. It turns into "forgetting" to invite someone to lunch or making fun of their turtle collection (yes, Dawn loves turtles).
- Dawn’s obsession with turtles is played for laughs by her coworkers.
- Natalie's "helpfulness" often feels like a mask for condescension.
- The power dynamic in the sales department is toxic.
This isn't just window dressing. The bullying is the engine of the plot. It’s the why behind everything that happens. If you’ve ever felt like an outsider in a professional setting, some of these scenes will actually make your skin crawl. McFadden doesn't hold back on the psychological cruelty.
That Twist (No Spoilers, But Let's Discuss the Logic)
If you’ve read The Housemaid, you know McFadden loves a massive pivot.
About two-thirds of the way through The Coworker by Freida McFadden, the floor drops out. Everything you thought you understood about the timeline and the characters gets flipped.
Some readers find it jarring. I've seen Reddit threads where people claim the "logic" doesn't hold up. But if you go back and look at the clues—the specific mentions of the turtle hobby, the timing of the phone calls, the weird behavior of the office manager—it actually tracks.
It’s a "popcorn thriller." You aren't supposed to over-analyze the physics of it. You’re supposed to buckle up and enjoy the chaos. The book handles the concept of "revenge" in a way that feels incredibly satisfying, even if it's legally... questionable.
The Problem With Natalie
Let's be real: Natalie is hard to like.
She’s successful, but she’s also shallow. She judges Dawn for her clothes, her habits, and her lack of social grace. Even when she’s "searching" for Dawn, there’s an element of self-preservation involved.
This is a brave choice for an author. Usually, you want your protagonist to be relatable. Natalie is only relatable if you admit to your own worst impulses. We’ve all been annoyed by a "Dawn" in our lives. We’ve all been a little bit "Natalie" when we thought no one was looking. McFadden forces you to sit with that discomfort.
Expert Nuance: Is It Factually Realistic?
Since I'm looking at this as an expert in the genre, we have to address the "corporate realism."
Vane Borne Pharmaceuticals feels like every mid-sized company in America. The HR department is useless. The boss is checked out. The coworkers are more interested in gossip than the bottom line.
While the actual "disappearance" and the subsequent police investigation take some creative liberties—police usually don't let a coworker hang around a potential crime scene that much—the emotional reality is spot on. The way a missing person becomes "content" for the office rumor mill is tragically accurate.
Why It’s Ranking So High Right Now
There’s a reason this book is all over TikTok (BookTok) and Instagram. It taps into a very specific modern anxiety: the idea that we don't really know the people we spend 40 hours a week with.
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You sit five feet away from someone. You know they like oat milk. You know their kid’s name is Caleb. But do you know what they’re capable of when they’re pushed?
The Coworker by Freida McFadden answers that with a resounding "No."
Key Takeaways for Thriller Fans
If you’re planning on diving into this one, here’s what you need to keep in mind:
- Watch the dates. The timeline matters more than you think.
- Don’t trust the emails. Just because someone writes it down doesn't mean it happened that way.
- Pay attention to the minor characters. The office manager and the other sales reps aren't just background noise.
- The turtle metaphor. It’s not just a weird hobby; it’s a hint about protection and shells.
The book is a quick read. You can probably knock it out in a weekend. It’s designed for binge-reading, with short chapters that almost always end on a cliffhanger. It’s the literary equivalent of a Netflix show you can’t stop hitting "Next Episode" on.
Final Insights on the McFadden Phenomenon
Freida McFadden has mastered the "High Concept, High Stakes" thriller. She takes a simple premise—a missing coworker—and layers it with enough psychological complexity to keep it from feeling like a generic mystery.
While some might argue her endings are "too wild," I'd argue that’s why people buy them. We want to be shocked. We want to be fooled.
The Coworker succeeds because it makes the mundane terrifying. It makes you look at your own office, your own coworkers, and your own "Natalie" or "Dawn" with a bit more suspicion.
Next Steps for Readers:
- Check the Publication Details: Ensure you have the latest edition; some newer digital versions include bonus Q&A content from McFadden about the character inspirations.
- Audit Your Own "Digital Paper Trail": One of the biggest lessons from the book is how much our emails reveal about our true feelings. It might be time to clean up that "drafts" folder.
- Compare with "The Housemaid": If you enjoyed the twist in this book, read McFadden’s The Housemaid next. It explores similar themes of class, power, and the "invisible" woman, but in a domestic setting rather than an office.
- Join the Discussion: Head to Goodreads or StoryGraph. The debate over whether Dawn or Natalie is the "true" villain of the story is still raging, and your perspective on the ending might change after seeing the theories others have posted.