The Coworker by Freida McFadden Summary

The Coworker is a psychological thriller about Natalie Farrell, a successful sales representative at nutritional supplement company Vixed, who becomes the prime suspect when her odd coworker Dawn Schiff goes missing and is found dead. The dual-narrator story explores workplace toxicity, bullying, and revenge through multiple shocking twists that reveal nothing is as it seems. The two-part thriller features unreliable narrators and a twisted game of cat and mouse.

The Coworker is perfect for psychological thriller fans who enjoy fast-paced plots, unreliable narrators, and workplace drama. Readers who appreciate Freida McFadden's signature twisty style and those looking for "popcorn thrillers" with shocking revelations will find this engaging. This book also appeals to anyone interested in stories about toxic office dynamics, moral ambiguity, and characters with questionable ethics navigating complex revenge plots.

The Coworker is worth reading if you enjoy fast-paced psychological thrillers with unexpected twists, though it has mixed reviews. Most readers found it engaging and impossible to put down, rating it 3-4 stars, with particular praise for the plot twists and character development. However, some criticized the unrealistic ending and felt the resolution didn't match the buildup. The audiobook runs 8 hours 12 minutes, making it a quick, entertaining listen.

Freida McFadden is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author who practices medicine as a physician specializing in brain injury. She has written over 58 books, primarily psychological thrillers, including popular titles like The Housemaid series, Never Lie, and Want To Know A Secret. McFadden is known for her addictive, twist-filled narratives and her ability to create fast-paced stories that keep readers hooked despite mixed critical reception.

The Coworker features two main characters as dual narrators: Natalie Farrell, the beautiful, popular top sales representative at Vixed who is often cruel and morally questionable, and Dawn Schiff, the socially awkward accountant obsessed with turtles who is always at her desk at 8:45 a.m.. Supporting characters include Seth Hoffman, their boss, and Caleb. Both female leads serve as unreliable narrators whose perspectives shape the mystery and reveal the toxic workplace dynamics at the company.

Dawn Schiff disappears from work one morning, breaking her routine of always arriving at 8:45 a.m., which triggers concern and an anonymous phone call asking for help. The story suggests Dawn is murdered and all signs point to Natalie as the suspect. However, The Coworker contains a major twist: Dawn was never actually dead in the first place, revealing the entire situation was part of an elaborate revenge plot. This shocking revelation reframes the entire narrative and Dawn's motivations.

Turtles are Dawn Schiff's obsession throughout The Coworker and serve as a key character trait that defines her quirky, odd personality at Vixed. Multiple reviewers noted the excessive mentions of turtles became "incredibly grating" and wished they could count how many times the word appeared. One reviewer compared Dawn's turtle knowledge to a character from The Good Place with a frog collection. The turtle motif helps establish Dawn as an outsider and socially awkward individual in the workplace.

The Coworker takes place at Vixed, a nutritional supplement company where cutthroat competition and toxic workplace culture dominate. Natalie works as a top-performing sales representative constantly battling to stay on top in a male-dominated corporate environment, while Dawn works in accounting running numbers for the sales department. The office environment features workplace bullying, moral compromises, and employees willing to stop at nothing to impress boss Seth Hoffman. This setting creates the perfect backdrop for deception, lies, and ultimately murder.

The Coworker delivers multiple shocking twists that reviewers praised for catching them off guard. The biggest revelation is that Dawn was never actually dead, despite the entire investigation treating her disappearance as murder. Before Dawn's "death," it's revealed that Natalie had been sleeping with their boss Seth and falsifying company records, which Dawn threatened to expose. These twists transform the story from a straightforward murder mystery into a complex revenge plot where readers must reconsider everything they thought they knew about both characters.

The Coworker ranks as one of Freida McFadden's stronger releases, particularly compared to her more recent works, with readers rating it around 3.5-4 stars. One reviewer noted this book featured less naive main characters than McFadden's typical protagonists, making it more enjoyable. Compared to The Housemaid (3.5 stars), Want To Know A Secret (3.75 stars), and Never Lie (3 stars), The Coworker falls in the middle of her catalog. Fans appreciated returning to McFadden's earlier style with more complex, morally gray characters rather than "dumb" protagonists.

The Coworker faces criticism primarily for its unrealistic ending and implausible revenge plot despite an engaging buildup. Reviewers noted the resolution felt unsatisfying and questioned "what was the point of it all," nearly dropping ratings from 4 to 3 stars. The excessive use of turtle references became "incredibly grating" throughout the narrative. Additionally, Natalie's lack of remorse for her actions as a 30-year-old and her excuse of being "only 17" at the time of past misdeeds frustrated readers who found the meanness hard to overlook.

The Coworker explores toxic workplace culture, workplace bullying, and the lengths people go for professional ambition in male-dominated corporate environments. The novel examines moral ambiguity and ethical lines people cross when threatened, featuring characters who weaponize insecurities instead of supporting each other. Themes of revenge, deception, and the treatment of outsiders run throughout, with particular focus on how "soft, odd, and quietly resilient" individuals like Dawn get overlooked or mocked for being different. The story ultimately questions who the real victim is when everyone operates with questionable morals.