THE INMATE Book Review

The Inmate by Freida McFadden (narrated by Leslie Howard), audiobook, 8h 5m

Synopsis from Audible: There are three rules Brooke Sullivan must follow as a new nurse practitioner at a men’s maximum-security prison: 1) Treat all prisoners with respect. 2) Never reveal any personal information. 3) Never EVER become too friendly with the inmates.

But none of the staff at the prison knows Brooke has already broken the rules. Nobody knows about her intimate connection to Shane Nelson, one of the penitentiary’s most notorious and dangerous inmates. And they certainly don’t know that Shane was Brooke’s high school sweetheart—the star quarterback who is now spending the rest of his life in prison for a series of grisly murders. Or that Brooke's testimony was what put him there. But Shane knows. And he will never forget.

BOOK REVIEW: I have thoughts and I'm not sure how I feel. This is a typical Freida McFadden book with all the twists and turns. I love it. I found a graphic on the author's website listing all of her books and I can't believe that this is only the 3rd book I've read. If you're looking for a good, suspenseful, thriller that leaves you questioning your own sanity, this is an author for you. I also understand why people annotate because I did that with this book. It was hard because I tend to listen in the car but I clipped six different segments. They clip in 30 second increments and on Audible you can give your clip a title and make notes.

Do I have a favorite part? Not really. The whole thing was fantastic and I loved it. The one thing that irritated me was how much Brooke's feelings would flip flop at the drop of a hat however she is only 28 years old so it makes a little more sense. Thinking back to when I was in my mid to late 20s I could be the same. The narrator does a great job with that too. She goes from being light and airy to gruff. The character goes from sounding too yearning to super pissed.

This is a 5 star read. The author is fantastic with her characters, her scenes, and her plot twists! The mic drops that this woman writes are fascinating! The narrator does a great job bringing the emotion of the characters, all of them, and definitely helps with all the head scratching moments. I'm really glad that I chose to listen to this one. Now I need to figure out what my next book by this author will be. At the time that this is posted, it looks like most or all of her eBooks are part of the KU member library.

5/5 Stars

2026 Reading Challenge: 23/55 complete

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