The Witch
By: Freida McFadden
Narrators: Saskia Maarleveld, Marin Ireland
Dreamscape Media
ISBN: 978-1464249648
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: 10/06/2026
Format: Audio
My Rating: 5 Stars
A brand-new, haunting thriller from Freida McFadden, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Housemaid!
Some secrets don't die―they wait.
When Julia Barlow loses her job and her apartment, she has nowhere left to go but Pemberton, her family's sprawling seventeenth-century estate in rural Massachusetts. Officially, she's there to check in on her aging grandmother. Unofficially, she's hoping the old house will give her a place to disappear.
Instead, Pemberton begins to unravel her.
Every night, the grandfather clock stops at exactly 3:41 a.m. The lights flicker without warning. And a disembodied voice cries for help outside Julia's bedroom door.
As Julia digs into the house's dark history, she uncovers the story of a woman executed for witchcraft in 1692―and realizes the past may not be finished with Pemberton yet. When decades of family lies begin to surface, Julia must confront a terrifying truth: Pemberton may be haunted by women whose voices refuse to stay silent.
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden comes The Witch, a chilling, twist-filled thriller about secrets―those we inherit, those we bury, and those people will burn to keep silent.
My Review
Intro
Freida McFadden returns with her signature jaw-dropping twists, but this time she dips her toes into something entirely new: historical mysteries and eerie supernatural vibes. The Witch is a fast-paced, unputdownable thriller that blends her classic suspense with a chilling, atmospheric setting perfect for spooky season.
The Hook
Imagine being forced to move into your family's massive 17th-century estate, only for the grandfather clock to stop at exactly 3:41 a.m. every single night while a disembodied voice begs for help outside your door.
Elevator Pitch
Down on her luck after losing her job and her apartment, Julia Barlow retreats to her family's historic, centuries-old Massachusetts estate, Pemberton, under the guise of caring for her aging grandmother. But instead of finding a safe haven to disappear into, Julia finds herself unravelling decades of terrifying family lies and a dark historical connection to a woman executed during the 1692 Salem Witch Trials.
Setting
Pemberton Manor—a sprawling, creaky, and isolated seventeenth-century estate located in rural Massachusetts, deeply tied to the dark history of the Salem witch trials.
Vibe
Atmospheric, claustrophobic, spooky, and suspenseful with an ominous, haunted-house energy.
Genre
Psychological Thriller / Domestic Suspense / Supernatural Fiction.
Themes
Inherited trauma, generational secrets, the silencing of women, and the inescapable grip of the past.
Standout Characters
~Julia Barlow: The desperate, down-on-her-luck modern protagonist who uncovers more than she bargained for.
~Caroline (1692): The historical perspective that anchors the chilling backstory of the Salem trials.
~Archie & Jonas: Two secondary characters whose roles in the unfolding mystery keep you questioning everyone’s motives.
Author Writing Standout
McFadden steps outside her usual domestic or workplace thriller box by successfully weaving a dual timeline with historical fiction elements. Her pacing remains incredibly brisk and addictive, proof that she knows exactly how to manipulate the reader's suspicion.
Takeaway
You can run from your present reality, but you can never truly escape the ghosts—literal or metaphorical—of your family’s history.
Title Significance
While "The Witch" instantly conjures imagery of the 1692 executions, the title evolves into a deeper commentary on how society labels, punishes, and ostracizes women who refuse to stay silent.
Metaphor
The unstopping grandfather clock—representing how time refuses to bury historical trauma; the past always ticks back to haunt the present.
Why You Should Read
If you want an audio/ book that delivers rapid-fire entertainment, creepy haunted house elements, and a plot that forces you to constantly retrace your steps to figure out the twists, this is an absolute must-read.
My Thoughts
Freida McFadden has cracked the code on wildly entertaining, bingeable suspense. The addition of historical segments via Caroline’s timeline added a refreshing depth.. The shifting dynamics and the rest of the puzzle pieces culminate in a superb, brain-melting ending that makes you want to read it all over again.
"A bone-chilling, addictive, and masterfully woven dual-timeline thriller. Seeking escape at her family's historic Massachusetts estate, a desperate woman unravels terrifying ancestral secrets when centuries-old horrors from the Salem Witch Trials begin bleeding into her reality."
Verdict Audio Review:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5 / 5 Stars
— "An elite, spooky thriller that perfectly blends historical superstition with modern-day psychological terror."
Recs or read alikes
~The Housemaid by Freida McFadden (for the trademark wild twists)
~Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey (for the dark, gothic haunted house family-secret energy)
~The Inmate by Freida McFadden (for the gripping, fast-paced suspense)
Audio 🎧Standout
"Saskia Maarleveld and Marin Ireland deliver an absolute masterclass in dual narration. Maarleveld perfectly channels the dark, archaic dread of the 1692 Salem timeline, while Ireland brilliantly heightens the frantic, modern-day panic of an estate shifting at 3:41 a.m. Together, their performances build a suffocating atmospheric friction that makes this an unputdownable, immersive listening experience."
@JuditihDCollins } #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Oct 6, 2026
Oct 2026 Must-Read Books
Praise
"McFadden’s growing legion of fans will thoroughly enjoy her foray into the supernatural in this satisfying, suspenseful yarn. "
― Booklist, Starred Review
"The queen of psychological suspense does it again – The Witch is a pacy, page-turning dual timeline with a haunting mystery at its core. Part set during a seventeenth-century witch trial, McFadden weaves a story full of twists and surprises, with a delicious vein of social commentary running through it. A bubbling cauldron of secrets and deceit, I couldn’t put it down."
― Andrea Mara, New York Times bestselling and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author
"Jaw-dropping. A wildly entertaining and genuinely spooky story."
― Liz Nugent, bestselling and award-winning author of Strange Sally Diamond
"Riveting and perfectly paced, The Witch is one of Freida McFadden’s best books yet! A wild, twisty ride from start to finish. I couldn’t put it down!"
― Amy Tintera, New York Times bestselling author of Listen for the Lie
About the Author
#1 New York Times, #1 Sunday Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and internationally bestselling author Freida McFadden is a physician who lives in Boston with her family. Freida is the winner of the International Thriller Writer Award for Best Paperback Original, the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Thriller, and was honored as one of TIME 100’s most influential people in the world for 2026. Her novels have been translated into more than forty-five languages.
