The Crash

In The Crash by Freida McFadden, Tegan, an eight-months-pregnant woman, decides to leave her troubled past behind and drive to her brother's house to start anew. Caught in a severe blizzard in rural Maine, she loses control of her car, resulting in a crash that leaves her stranded with a broken ankle. Fortunately, a couple rescues her, offering shelter in their secluded cabin until the storm passes. However, as time progresses, Tegan begins to sense that her hosts may not be as benevolent as they initially appeared, and she realizes that both her life and that of her unborn child are in imminent danger. There are definitely mixed reviews about The Crash, but honestly, I’m glad I didn’t let them sway me. Everyone experiences books differently, and for me, this was a really enjoyable read. It had the classic Freida McFadden touch—creepy setting, fast pacing, and a sense of tension that keeps you flipping pages. A lot of people complained about how often Tegan mentions her broken ankle, but realistically… if you were eight months pregnant, stranded in a snowstorm, couldn’t take painkillers, and had a broken ankle? Yeah, you’d probably be complaining too. It added to the realism for me rather than taking anything away. Also, unpopular opinion maybe, but I thought Tegan’s nickname for her baby—“Tuna”—was kind of adorable in a weird, quirky way. It gave her character some charm and lightness in an otherwise dark situation. While the ending was a bit predictable (I guessed one of the twists early on), it didn’t ruin the experience. I was still thoroughly entertained, and that’s exactly what I look for in a Freida book. Overall, The Crash might not be Freida’s most shocking novel, but it’s an enjoyable, fast-paced ride—especially if you like survival suspense with a touch of psychological drama.

Not my fave to be honest. I was not a fan of the pace. But Frieda is still amazing!

I thought I had a good guess for the twist and once again I was wrong! Love a story where you can’t guess the end.

Nice ending.

The Crash is a passable psychological thriller that starts with promise but quickly veers into the mundane and, at times, the downright preposterous. Freida McFadden delivers fast pacing and accessible prose, and twists that feel more forced than clever.

The characters are thinly drawn and often behave in baffling ways, making it hard to stay emotionally invested. and while the premise is intriguing, the execution relies too heavily on unlikely coincidences and melodramatic turns. By the end, the story stretches credibility to its limits, making it hard to stay invested in the outcome.

My final word: It’s not a bad book—it moves quickly and may satisfy readers looking for an easy, forgettable read. But The Crash feels like a fender bender of ideas that never quite adds up to a solid impact. The plot winds up feeling overly familiar (more than once I thought of Stephen King's Misery) and eventually collapses under the weight of its own implausibility. Overall, it’s a mundane but readable effort-- adequate for a lazy afternoon, but little else.

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