Freida managed to do it once again. At exactly one-third in, I knew who the killer was. At 66%, I was torn between two suspects. But, I was wrong on both accounts. I had no warning for the twist that came at the end. That's what I love about Freida's books, though. You can never see it coming. From this point on, "The Locked Door" review will contain spoilers. So if you haven't read it yet and you want to, come back later, or scroll to the bottom to read my thoughts.
The Locked Door Summary and Review
Nora Davis is surgeon who loves her profession. She eats, sleeps, and breathes surgical work. She co-owns a practice with Philip, another surgeon. Her office is staffed with wonderful nurses, and a receptionist named Harper, who is studying biology. Twenty-six years ago, her father was sentenced to 18 lifetimes for the murder of 18 women. He had a preference: blue eyes and dark hair. And he enjoyed severing their hands and keeping them, earning himself the title "The Handyman". He kept his victims in the locked basement inside of Nora's home. After he was arrested, Nora went to live with her grandmother. Her mother also committed suicide in jail, but she doesn't know why.
Nora used to be Nora Nierling, but her grandmother insisted that she change her name, and she was eager to comply. But now, someone is threating the life Nora built for herself. She is being framed for murder, seemingly by a copycat of her father. She frequents a bar in town, called "Christopher's", where she reconnects with Brady Mitchell, her ex-boyfriend from college. He's a bartender there, and after asking several times, Nora agrees to go to his place. While she's there, she remembers why they broke up. Brady used to be a slasher movie fan, which she didn't mind too much. But one Halloween, he offered her a mask of her father, and she broke up with him. He didn't know who she is, and didn't want any connections to her past life.
Brady also has a locked door in his apartment, which makes Nora suspicious of him when she gets targeted. His elderly neighbor also says she hears screaming coming from his apartment. It was at this point that I was certain Brady was the killer. But I was wrong. The locked room belongs to his daughter, Ruby. Nora also had someone follow her home from the bar a couple of times, but the person ends up in a car accident after Nora fakes a turn to lose him. She thinks he was a former patient, who approached her at the bar, and doesn't think too much more about it.
After two women go missing, a detective gets involved and starts coming by the hospital to talk with her. Nora also finds blood in her basement, and has no idea where it's coming from. Instead of calling the police, she panics and cleans it up herself. With a detective hell-bent on arresting her for murder, Nora heads home to Oregon to visit her father in jail. Her father reminds her that they are alike: Nora killed every pet she was given. But Nora knows that's not true. Because after she finds out what her dad does in the basement, she turns down his offer to join him and turns him into the police instead.
When she gets back to the airport, she notices a terrible smell coming from her car. Upon returning home, she inspects her trunk and finds a severed hand. Again, instead of calling the police, she decides to dump it at a Carl's Jr a few miles away from her house. After making a visit to the ICU, Nora discovers it was actually someone names William Bennett Jr. who was following her home. At this point, I began to think her partner, Philip, is the murderer, but again I was wrong.
So, who is the murder in "The Locked Door"? It's HARPER. After finding Harper and Philip in her basement, with Philip's hand severed, Harper admits to everything. She was intentionally framing Nora for the murders. Another plot twist: Harper and Nora are sisters. Their mom was pregnant, which is why she killed herself. But the baby survived, and was adopted out. But Harper found out who her father is and began a relationship with him. She became his protégé. Fortunately, Brady comes to her house and finds them all in the basement and calls the police. Nora was taken to the hospital because Harper poisoned her, but she survived. Nora and Brady are engaged at the end, and she gets a happy ending.
But, there's one more twist. Nora had a patient, Arnold Kellogg. He was abusing his wife, and she was too scared to leave him. So, Nora gave her calcium gluconate to inject into his heart and make it appear that he had a heart attack. Mrs. Kellogg was able to move on and live her life peacefully. And, of course, Nora had no regrets.
Alycia's Thoughts
I really enjoyed it! "The Locked Door" was a bit slow in the beginning and not as fast-paced as some of her other books. It did take me a while to get into it, but once I did, I couldn't stop reading it. The suspense of not knowing who was framing Nora was intense, and trying to guess who it was and still being wrong is always fun. The twists in this one are better than those in her most recent books. I give "The Locked Door" four stars. Definitely pick this one up soon! And, don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss anything about Freida's new books.
-xx Alycia
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