28 March 2025
The Boyfriend By Freida McFadden Review & Book Club Questions
Reviewed by: Melissa Ng
Quick Facts
Book Publication Date: 1 October 2024
How I Read It: Borrowed from my local library
Where You Can Find The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden: Amazon Australia*
Content & Trigger Warnings: Sexual assault, blood, murder, gore, domestic violence, alcoholism
The Boyfriend Summary
The Boyfriend kicks off with Sydney enduring the date from hell (we’ve all been there).
Kevin, her date, has basically catfished her, calls her arms flabby, and tries to get her to buy into a pyramid scheme (which is a tough ask, considering Sydney is an accountant).
Oh, and he follows her home and tries to assault her. Red flags everywhere!
Luckily, Sydney is saved by a hot stranger before things get dangerous. Naturally, she immediately crushes on the man who just prevented her from being attacked.
In a parallel storyline set in the past, a teen named Tom is dealing with an abusive father, a love interest named Daisy, and the urge to imagine people’s blood. Totally normal teen stuff.
Someone in Tom’s life has been murdered, and his sketchy best mate, Slug, may or may not have something to do with it.
Back in the present, Sydney’s best friend Bonnie ends up murdered in her apartment, and suspect number one is Bonnie’s seemingly perfect “boyfriend” who no one has met.
Sydney and Tom run into each other yet again and start dating. After countless red flags, she eventually realises he might not be who he says he is.
The Boyfriend Spoilers
Gretchen, Sydney’s other best friend, who turns out to be Daisy from Tom’s past, is the killer.
Bonnie’s murder was just one of several that Gretchen committed out of obsessive love for Tom.
Daisy was also responsible for the murder of several people in the past timeline connected to Tom.
The book ends with Tom and Daisy on the run, Sydney back with her ex Jake, and a deeply disturbing package arriving in the mail – containing Kevin’s hair and a note saying he won’t bother her again.
The Boyfriend Review
Freida McFadden books are like Vegemite — you either love them or hate them. She’s an incredibly divisive author.
Sadly for me, The Boyfriend was a miss.
The Good:
✔️ Pacing: It’s fast. Really fast. Each chapter ends with just enough suspense to make you say, “OK fine, one more.”
✔️ Dual timelines / POV: I love a dual structure, and it was interesting watching the past and present stories slowly converge.
✔️ Tom’s flashbacks: These were genuinely compelling. His backstory was the most fleshed out and gave the book its only real emotional depth.
The Bad:
❌ None of the characters were likeable: While this usually isn't a bad thing, everyone was either aggressively stupid, wildly unhinged, or written like a walking red flag. Freida seems to revel in creating characters who make the worst possible decisions.
❌ Sydney’s dating logic: Watching her ignore blatant red flags was like yelling “Don’t go into the house!” at a horror movie. Except it’s “Don’t date the man who gets turned on by your blood.”
❌ Underdeveloped characters: Slug was cartoonishly gross. Randy was creepy for creepy’s sake. Gretchen existed only to serve as the “shocking twist.”
❌ The ending was predictable: Despite all the twists and red herrings, I saw it coming. And the epilogue? Didn’t help. That final scene with the lock of hair? Creepy, yes. Effective? Not really.
❌ Needed another round of editing: There were some typos and clunky lines that pulled me out of the story.
❌ Microagressions: I may be overly sensitive to this topic, but what was with the mildly racist quotes about Chinese food??? I’ve put them below for reference. They didn’t add anything to the story, only to confirm that Sydney is a horrible character.
- We are meeting in Chinatown, close to my absolute favorite dim sum restaurant, where I only got food poisoning one time.
- While I am eating my beef chow fun, debating if I should take a Tums now or after the meal is over.
Final Thoughts
This book had potential, but I just couldn’t get past the irritating characters, weak reveals, and problematic undertones.
If you love Freida’s style or you’re completely new to thrillers, you might enjoy it. But if you need smart characters, nuanced villains, or satisfying twists — this ain’t it.
Also, I’m officially retiring from Freida McFadden books for now. If you have a favourite that you swear is different, I’m open to being convinced. Maybe.
The Boyfriend Book Club Questions
- What were your favourite and least favourite moments in the book?
- Did you enjoy the dual timeline and dual POV structure?
- Who did you initially think murdered Bonnie?
- Do you think Sydney and Tom were likeable as characters?
- Sydney seems to ignore a lot of red flags when it comes to dating. What do you think of her approach to dating?
- Did the flashback chapters of Tom make you feel any sympathy for Tom or help you understand him better?
- What did you think of Tom and Daisy’s relationship?
- What did you think of Sydney and Tom’s relationship?
- Many of the characters have done terrible things and have questionable morals. Do any of them have any redeeming qualities?
- The book features some heavy topics such as sexual assault, alcoholism, and domestic violence. How do you think they were handled?
- Were you able to predict any of the twists or reveals?
- Were any of the reveals particularly shocking?
- What did you think of Gretchen/Daisy as the final villain?
- What do you think happened to Kevin at the end of the book?
- What do you think happened to Sydney after the book ended?
- What do you think happened to Tom after the book ended?
- Would you read a sequel showing what happened to Tom and Daisy?
- Have you read any other books by Freida McFadden?
- If so, where does The Boyfriend rank?
- If not, are you interested in reading more of her novels?
- If The Boyfriend was adapted into a movie, which actors would you cast for each character?
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