Review: The Intruder by Freida McFadden

Publication Date: 7 October 2025

Source: Library

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press 

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Blurb: Who knows what the storm will blow in…

Casey's cabin in the wilderness is not built for a hurricane. Her roof shakes, the lights flicker, and the tree outside her front door sways ominously in the wind. But she's a lot more worried about the girl she discovers lurking outside her kitchen window.

She’s young. She’s alone. And she’s covered in blood.

The girl won't explain where she came from or loosen her grip on the knife in her right hand. And when Casey makes a disturbing discovery in the middle of the night, things take a turn for the worse.

The girl has a dark secret. One she’ll kill to keep. And if Casey gets too close to the truth, she may not live to see the morning.

  

So, in the last year or two, I have become a big Freida McFadden fan. I have read quite a lot of her work - enjoyed some, loved some and did not like some! She is an author whom I will always pick up as I know I will be getting a quick, fast-paced, twisty, insane in the best way book that will be glued to my hands until I finish. The Intruder was no exception. 

I have to start my review by saying that this concept, of someone being in your house (or in this case, your shed) while you are home alone, is one of my biggest fears. Anything about home invasion, break in's etc really freaks me out. I suppose because I view your home as your safe space, and having an Intruder there really pops your little safety bubble. 

As a result, going into this I was already preparing myself to be pretty creeped out. I found the plot to be hugely suspenseful - I literally could not stop reading this and finished it maybe in less than 48 hours since I began. The plot revolves around our main character, Casey, who lives in a secluded cabin in the wilderness after wanting to escape something that happened in her professional life and live "off grid". This is all pretty idealistic,- until a big storm comes and Casey realises living closed off from society is maybe not all it was cracked up to be. Coupled with a stranger breaking into her shed - not a good night for Casey. 

The plot of this one really had me guessing - there were so many times I was convinced I knew what was going to happen, and nope, Freida blindsided me. I will say that the setting and characters of this novel felt a lot more realistic and three-dimensional than some of her previous ones. I really felt that the characters leapt from the page in this novel. 

The pacing of the plot was just perfect, between timelines, character perspectives and pulling you back into the current situation with the intruder and the storm, it was a very immersive read. 

The only fault I found was that there was an element of "filling in the gaps" for yourself regarding one matter, which, maybe I just have a lazy brain, but I prefer to be told in black and white what happened and what didn't happen. But that is my only critique. 

Really enjoyable thriller you can read in a couple of sittings and good for a book club discussion.