As her overwhelming success can attest, Freida McFadden has achieved a successful writing formula.

With multiple best-selling books and a receptive audience, McFadden has amassed loyal readers who expect her to follow her signature writing style: psychological thrillers, female protagonists, and unexpected twists.

If this sounds appealing, let yourself be lured by the mystery—these are the best Freida McFadden books to begin your journey to the center of the mind.

1. Who Is Freida McFadden? Her Writing Style and Genres
2. How Many Books Has Freida McFadden Written?
3. The Best Freida McFadden Books
4. Freida McFadden Books in Chronological Order
5. Freida McFadden Books in Order of Publication
6. The Thrilling Psychology of Freida McFadden’s Books

Who Is Freida McFadden? Her Writing Style and Genres

McFadden is one of the most prominent thriller authors and the fastest-selling writer in her genre, yet her real name remains a mystery as profound as those in her books.

As it turns out, Freida McFadden is only a pen name. She is a practicing physician specializing in brain injuries, so she conceals her real name to protect her job and patients, aiming to separate both sides of her life.

However, her physician job bleeds through every page of her books. Many of her stories, twists, and plotlines involve medical issues, including memory discussions, cognitive problems, and exploring the inner minds of the protagonists in a way that makes readers question how much they can rely on the characters’ perceptions.

Subsequently, you can expect her books to be engaging thrillers of countless flavors, predominantly psychological, mystery, and crime—all with a dash of medical fiction and plenty of suspense.

While she states that she tries to keep her books mild and shies away from displaying sexual content or extremely dark topics, she does depict scenes of violence, murder, assault, and other potential triggers. She provides a complete list of content warnings on her website, so be sure to head over if you don’t mind some spoilers.

In 2023, she received the International Thriller Writers Award for Best Paperback Original Novel. That same year, the Goodreads Choice Awards granted her victory in the Best Mystery and Thriller category, both awards for her magnum opus, The Housemaid.

How Many Books Has Freida McFadden Written?

Freida McFadden is a prolific writer. From her first self-published book in 2013 until 2024, she has released 24 books, with two more set to be released in 2025 and a few short stories worth reading.

Most of Freida McFadden’s books are psychological thrillers. Still, a few stand out as somewhat different from the norm, particularly her women’s fiction collection, featuring medical comedies and more than a couple of romantic shenanigans without the thrilling edge she’s known for.

While it can be challenging to read her entire bibliography, a few stand-out books are excellent starting points and phenomenal introductions to her writing style and narrative.

The Best Freida McFadden Books

McFadden is esteemed as a phenomenal author with an extensive repertoire of excellent works worth checking. As such, selecting a list of her best books is challenging and may leave a few readers unsatisfied.

Nonetheless, the following entries are considered the best Freida McFadden books, as they receive the most praise and are widely esteemed by her audience. They have become best-sellers and even received onscreen adaptations, thus making them fantastic picks for new readers who are considering giving her writing a chance.

The Housemaid

Although not the author’s debut book, The Housemaid is undoubtedly her most famous work to date and the one that catapulted her to stardom.

Initially published in 2022, this twisted tale is a domestic thriller that follows the steps of Millie, an ex-convict who finds a job and shelter as a live-in housemaid in Nina and Andrew Winchester’s household. The wealthy and elegant family seems perfect at first glance, but the longer she looks, the more she notices the cracks on the surface—Nina’s cruelty, Andrew’s charm, and the mysterious warnings the gardener gives her.

The Housemaid is the first book in the eponymous trilogy, followed by The Housemaid’s Secret and The Housemaid is Watching. A movie adaptation seems to be in the works, with Sydney Sweeney cast as Millie and Amanda Seyfried as Nina.

Want to Know a Secret?

What lies behind the perfect lives of a lifestyle content creator? The answer is simple: if she’s a character in a Freida McFadden book, then nothing good.

April Masterson rose to fame on YouTube through her channel “April’s Sweet Secrets,” where she uploads recipes and tutorials to achieve the perfect pastries. However, baking secrets are not the only ones she keeps.

Offline, she lives a seemingly idyllic life with her husband and child in a rich neighborhood. However, deep within, she has secrets—dangerous ones that could destroy her if they were to come to the surface. And they will.

Published in 2021, Want to Know a Secret? is a psychological thriller littered with unreliable narrations, unexpected twists, and plenty of suspense.

Never Lie

As newlyweds Tricia and Ethan embark to find the house of their dreams, a snowstorm catches them off-guard. Now trapped, the couple explores the old, dusty, and abandoned manor, hoping for entertainment.

Tricia finds more than she bargained for. She discovers a secret room filled with patient audio transcripts from Dr. Adrienne Hale, a renowned psychiatrist and the house’s previous owner, who went missing four years beforehand. Each tape grows darker and more horrifying, threatening to unravel a web of lies and tangled truths.

One of the most beloved yet controversial books by Freida McFadden, Never Lie has perhaps one of the most notorious plot twists in her career.

Brain Damage

Of all Freida McFadden’s books, Brain Damage is the one that most perfectly displays her talents. It highlights her writing prowess and gives a starring role to her knowledge as a practicing physician with a brain injury specialty, marrying both sides of her life into one intriguing read.

This mystery thriller follows Dr. Charly McKenna, a successful dermatologist whose life falls apart once she receives a bullet on the right side of her head. During her recovery process, she finds with despair that the memories of that fateful night are locked away in the damaged part of her brain.

Now, she has to navigate through the fragmented and scattered pieces of her mind to discover who shot her and what he’s after—before he can kill her once and for all.

The Locked Door

Nora Davis is a talented and accomplished surgeon with a deep, dark secret she refuses to share with anyone. At least until it comes back and knocks on her door.

One of her patients has been found murdered. A young woman. The problem? The method, pattern, and brutality resemble that of a famous serial killer currently serving a life sentence: Nora’s father.

Someone is imitating her father’s crimes, knows who she is, and, worse of all, intends to frame her.

Published in 2021, The Locked Door explores the concept of nature vs. nurture as it explores the inner life of the daughter of a serial killer and how much she can stray away from the bloody inheritance he left behind.

The Perfect Son

The moment the police knock on her door, Erika Cass’ happy family illusion crumbles. A high school girl has gone missing, and two detectives suspect her oldest son, Liam, may have something to do with it.

Erika loves her son. He’s a good student, polite, and always pleasant. However, motherly affection can only go so far. It cannot shield her from the unnerving suspicion that something is off. There is something very, very wrong with Liam, and she has to decide whether or not she is willing to protect him from the consequences.

The Perfect Son initially feels like Freida McFadden’s book version of We Need to Talk About Kevin, yet it goes beyond your preconceived expectations to deliver a sharp insight into a mother’s deepest love, fears, and challenges.

The Wife Upstairs

The Wife Upstairs is another mystery thriller that follows the successful McFadden formula of intrigue, danger, and unpredictable plot twists. However, be careful not to confuse it with the Rachel Hawkins book of the same name.

Victoria’s story begins as a romance and ends as a tragedy. After having it all—a great job, a loving husband, and a bright future—an accident renders her unable to care for herself and traps her in her own home. Victoria’s husband hires Sylvie to be her live-in caretaker, which leads her to unravel the secrets hidden in the marriage and the truth of what happened.

Often compared to Verity by Colleen Hoover, The Wife Upstairs borrows elements from Gothic literature to create a controversial yet intriguing tale.

Freida McFadden Books in Chronological Order

Although the previous books are considered some of her very best, they’re far from her only works. If you wish to read any of her 24 books available to date, knowing the right way to hop into her bibliography is a key step.

But do you have to read Freida McFadden’s books in order? Not quite—at least not all of them.

Most of her published books are stand-alone, so you don’t need to worry about chronology or reading order. However, she has two series that must be read chronologically to follow the story; otherwise, you risk spoilers and not understanding the plotline.

The first is the Dr. Jane McGill series, which has two books you have to read in the following order:

1. The Devil Wears Scrubs (2013)
2. The Devil You Know (2017)

Next is the famous The Housemaid series—considered the best Freida McFadden books to date—which has three main books and one short story, which chronologically you must read as follows:

1. The Housemaid (2022)
2. The Housemaid’s Secret (2023)
3. The Housemaid’s Wedding (2024)
4. The Housemaid is Watching (2024)

Any other book not featured in these two series can be read in any order you’d like if you are interested in them. They are all stand-alone and self-contained stories, so you’re not bound by any timeline or reading limitations. Likewise, McFadden has stated she is not interested in making any more sequels or series for the foreseeable future, so you should be safe from any order issues for a while.

Freida McFadden Books in Order of Publication

However, many readers enjoy checking out an author’s bibliography by publication date, as it gives them a glimpse into a creator’s ever-evolving writing style and maturity. If you’re interested in reading Freida McFadden’s books in order of publication, then this is the list you must follow:

1. The Devil Wears Scrubs (2013)
2. Suicide Med (2014), re-released in 2024 as Dead Med.
3. Brain Damage (2016)
4. The Surrogate Mother (2018)
5. The Ex (2019)
6. The Perfect Son (2019)
7. The Wife Upstairs (2020)
8. One By One (2020)
9. Want to Know a Secret? (2021)
10. The Locked Door (2021)
11. Do Not Disturb (2021)
12. Do You Remember (2022)
13. The Housemaid (2022)
14. The Inmate (2022)
15. Never Lie (2022)
16. The Gift (2022)
17. The Housemaid’s Secret (2023)
18. Ward D (2023)
19. The Coworker (2023)
20. The Teacher (2024)
21. The Housemaid is Watching (2024)
22. The Widow’s Husband’s Secret Lie: A Satirical Novella (2024)
23. The Boyfriend (2024)
24. The Housemaid’s Wedding (2024)
25. The Crash (To be Released on January 28, 2025)
26. The Tenant (To be Released on May 6, 2025)

The Thrilling Psychology of Freida McFadden’s Books

Freida McFadden has made a writing career out of exploring the average woman’s worries and struggles, transforming the baseline concept of these primal fears into fictional tales that twist and turn into something impossible to predict.

Her works are not for everyone. Some may find her characters unrelatable or unlikeable, or they may perceive the scenarios as too outrageous. However, those who find themselves pulled in by her pages have one guarantee: her subsequent works will continue exploring the complex psyche of her protagonists in the same way they have enjoyed thus far.

If you have finished reading Freida McFadden’s books in order and are interested in reading similar works by different authors, perhaps the best option would be Lisa Jewel, writer of the famed Then She Was Gone and None of This is True, both of which have received widespread and critical acclaim.

For many more recommendations, explore our overviews on The Best Psychological Thriller Books, Best Stephen King Books, James Patterson’s Must-Read Books, and The Continuing Allure of Mystery Novels.