By Book Club Team 
By Freida McFadden, The Coworker is a salaciously entertaining psychological thriller that deeply probes the intricacies of workplace relationships, secrets, and long-term effects of bullying and trauma. It narrates the story of two coworkers who are pretty different in personality. One day, their lives become fatally intertwined when one of them disappears. Twists, revelations, and morally ambiguous characters will keep readers on edge from the beginning to the very end of this book.
| Author | Freida McFadden |
| Publication date | August 23, 2023 |
| Goodreads Rating | 3,77 |
| Page count | 362 pages |
| Genres | Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Adult, Crime, Contemporary |
The Coworker Summary
In the firm dealing with nutritional supplements, Vixed, Dawn Schiff is quite eccentric and socially awkward. As an accountant, she becomes hyper-focused on routines, is always punctual to the minute, and obsessive about work. As opposed to that comes Natalie Farrell, charismatic, highly successful, presentable, and with a definite sense of working the office politics.
When one morning Dawn fails to turn up for work, alarm bells ring-especially for Natalie, who knows that the latter would never be late or absent. Natalie receives a strange, anonymous call for help, and this puts her on a mission to check on Dawn at her house. What she finds is disturbing: the house is in disarray, with signs of a struggle and bloodstains, but there is no sign of Dawn. Investigation takes over immediately, and Natalie’s perfect life starts crumbling. The police attention quickly lands on her as a suspect in Dawn’s disappearance.
It gets grimmer with the finding of a body that they all presume was Dawn’s, but a dramatic turn unfolds: this woman, known as Dawn, is actually alive; she staged her disappearance, having set her so-called murder against Natalie up with the help of Caleb, Natalie’s boyfriend. What motivates Dawn? A need for justice, dating back to high school when her best friend, Mia, committed suicide after relentless bullying with Natalie at the forefront of the torment.
As the story unravels right to the end, deeper secrets are revealed: the body is not Dawn, but of Tara Wilkes, another one of the victims in the high school bullying case. Dawn killed Tara as a part of her revenge scheme. The final confrontation between Natalie and Dawn brings unresolved guilt, trauma, and vengeance all to the front, culminating in a complex and morally ambiguous resolution.
The Coworker Characters
Freida McFadden’s The Coworker is driven by its deeply complex characters, each contributing to the tension and moral ambiguity. Here is a closer look at the main characters:
- Natalie Farrell-Vixed’s slick, driven saleswoman whose confident veneer disguises a darker past. A high school bully, Natalie’s history comes back to haunt her in ways she never could have imagined.
- Dawn Schiff: introverted, quirky accountant whose obsessive habits belie a traumatized mind. The core conflict is fueled by Dawn’s pursuit of justice for her dead best friend.
- Caleb McCullough: Natalie’s boyfriend, whose involvement with Dawn stems from his personal connection to Mia’s tragic suicide.
- Seth Hoffman: Natalie’s boss and former lover, entangled in the unfolding chaos as a representation of blurred lines between personal and professional relationships.
- Tara Wilkes: A former classmate of Natalie’s and another accomplice in the bullying that drove Mia to her death. Tara becomes a tragic figure in Dawn’s revenge plot.
The Coworker Book Review
In Freida McFadden’s The Coworker, one finds a perfect blend of psychological tension combined with workplace drama and deeply personal vendettas. The way it keeps readers on their toes through the fast pace, ambiguous characters, and redefining moments of guilt and justice pays well to this type of story.
The story is built around the contrast between Natalie Farrell, a refined and apparently confident saleswoman, and Dawn Schiff, an accountant with peculiar ways and a reclusive nature. McFadden masterfully peels back the layers in their dynamic to reveal hidden secrets, traumas, and motivations. This duality challenges readers to question who the real victim or villain is, making the novel as much about self-reflection as it is about solving the mystery.
Strengths
- Complex characters: The flaws, relationship, and motivation from the past for both Dawn and Natalie make their actions understandable, though not justifiable. These themes of justice and revenge will certainly take readers through gray areas in morality while questioning if revenge ever really brings closure. McFadden has managed to maintain an unremittingly headlong pace which will never let the reader grow disengaged.
- Workplace Dynamics: The corporate setting adds an edge of realism, making those contrasts between professional facades and personal truths all the more jarring.
Weaknesses
- Predictable Elements: The twists might be a little too telegraphed for the seasoned reader of the genre, though well enough executed to still be satisfying.
- Limited Development for Side Characters: While the main characters are well fleshed out, supporting characters like Seth Hoffman or Tara Wilkes could have been deeper.
The Coworker Ending Explained [Spoilers]
The resolution in the story is that Dawn had indeed planned her disappearance in such a precise manner as to incriminate Natalie for murder as an act of revenge. Caleb, Natalie’s boyfriend, abetted in the plan because his half-sister, Mia, was the best friend of Dawn, and the victim of Natalie’s bullying. The body that was dug up during the search investigation belonged to Tara Wilkes, another bully, and was murdered by Dawn in search of revenge.
It isn’t until the climax of the book that the reader discovers what motivated Dawn. The actions of Dawn are driven by sorrow, anger, and an insatiable hunger for justice. Natalie is wracked with guilt about her past and her realization of how her actions devastated others. The book ends with an uncomfortable acceptance from Natalie and an uneasy truce between Natalie and Dawn, leaving the reader to question true justice and who was truly guilty.