From the Publisher
AARP Most Anticipated Fall Books
BookBub’s Most Anticipated Fall Mysteries and Thrillers
"The Intruder has all the ingredients of a terrific thriller: A dark and stormy night. An isolated cabin in the woods. A runaway child with a mysterious past. And (of course!) one surprising plot twist after another. With this fast-paced and engrossing novel, Freida McFadden demonstrates (yet again) why she is one of our most popular storytellers. Buckle up, thriller fans!" — Jason Rekulak, New York Times bestselling author of The Last One at the Wedding
"McFadden has done it again. The Intruder is everything I want in a thriller: bingeworthy from the jump, deeply twisted, and impossible to put down. My smartwatch told me to calm down half a dozen times while reading this book. I did not." — Noelle W. Ihli, bestselling author of Such Quiet Girls
"A grim yet gleefully gratifying tale of lost innocence and found family...McFadden lulls readers using a seemingly straightforward thriller setup before launching headlong into a series of progressively seismic (and increasingly bonkers) plot twists. The visceral first-person, present-tense narrative alternates perspectives, fostering tension and immediacy while establishing character and engendering empathy. Ella and Anton’s relationship particularly shines." — Kirkus Reviews
"McFadden brings her usual tight plotting and twists to this massively absorbing work of psychological terror, which will be a winner with her fans and all who enjoy a tense, character-driven read." — First Clue
Kirkus Reviews
2025-08-02
A woman fears she made a fatal mistake by taking in a blood-soaked tween during a storm.
High winds and torrential rain are forecast for “The Middle of Nowhere, New Hampshire,” making Casey question the structural integrity of her ramshackle rental cabin. Still, she’s loath to seek shelter with her lecherous landlord or her paternalistic neighbor, so instead she just crosses her fingers, gathers some candles, and hopes for the best. Casey is cooking dinner when she notices a light in her shed. She grabs her gun and investigates, only to find a rail-thin girl hiding in the corner under a blanket. She’s clutching a knife with “Eleanor” written on the handle in black marker, and though her clothes are bloody, she appears uninjured. The weather is rapidly worsening, so before she can second-guess herself, former Boston-area teacher Casey invites the girl—whom she judges to be 12 or 13—inside to eat and get warm. A wary but starving Eleanor accepts in exchange for Casey promising not to call the police—a deal Casey comes to regret after the phones go down, the power goes out, and her hostile, sullen guest drops something that’s a big surprise. Meanwhile, in interspersed chapters labeled “Before,” middle-schooler Ella befriends fellow outcast Anton, who helps her endure life in Medford, Massachusetts, with her abusive, neglectful hoarder of a mother. As per her usual, McFadden lulls readers using a seemingly straightforward thriller setup before launching headlong into a series of progressively seismic (and increasingly bonkers) plot twists. The visceral first-person, present-tense narrative alternates perspectives, fostering tension and immediacy while establishing character and engendering empathy. Ella and Anton’s relationship particularly shines, its heartrending authenticity counterbalancing some of the story’s soapier turns.
A grim yet gleefully gratifying tale of lost innocence and found family.
