With this author it’s kind of a hit or miss situation with her books because she publishes so many but after The Housemaid there have been more misses than hits in my personal opinion. This new book or well, it was new in April (?) finally has been a hit for me again.

With the many misses I wasn’t sure if I would be continuing on reading books published by Freida McFadden; but when word got out that this book had The Housemaid vibes I just couldn’t resist.

At the beginning of the book we get to learn that Debbie is a stay-at-home mom with way too much time on her hands. She has a small job at the local newspaper with an advice column called ‘Dear Debbie’ where she gives advice to what readers sent in. Debbie is also very good at gardening and has a photoshoot coming up with a magazine. With two daughters in high school live has been quieter, they don’t need her as much as they used to. Her oldest daughter Lexi is 17 and has been a nightmare with her attitude and has a boyfriend that she doesn’t approve off; but hey, you can’t have everything.

When Debbie learns the magazine has picked Jo for their photoshoot because of her rose garden, Debbie is out for vengeance, bleeping Jo did this on purpose; she lives on the same street and was jealous Debbie got picked. Rose gardens are more timeless? Yeah, I’ll give them something to be timeless about. Sabotaging the photoshoot, because why not? It should have been hers to begin with!

When Debbie learns that her youngest daughter who has been on the soccer team since kindergarten has been kicked off due to weight and speed issues, she blows a fuse. Learning the coach is kind of a creep she’s thinking about something to get back at him and have her daughter reinstated on the team, but what?

Her husband should have gotten a partnership but instead he quit and his boss was very okay with that. His boss is a money addict, a cheapskate even, not wanting to pay for his employer’s good work now he only has two more weeks at this job and then he’ll be out of one. With money tight as it is, he’s scared to tell his wife. The last 6 months she’s been different but he can’t put a finger on it but he’s been having secrets as well, secrets he’s afraid to tell.

You know, whenever someone in Debbie’s inner circle has a problem, she finds ways to get rid of the problem or solve the problem as best as she thinks possible. With a couple of bodies dropping, she just has to find her scapegoat, someone that’ll take the fall for it all. In the end, she knows just the guy.

This book was a ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 star read, some bits were fun where other bits were thrilling and somewhat scary.