Freida McFadden has been quite a prolific writer since she hit the scene in 2013. THE INMATE, her latest thriller to be published by Poisoned Pen Press, clearly follows the same successful formula found in her prior books.

When Brooke Sullivan takes a job as a nurse practitioner at a maximum-security prison in the small town of Raker in upstate New York, she is taught three vital rules that she must follow in order to be successful in this stressful position:

1. Treat all prisoners with respect.
2. Never reveal any personal information.
3. Never EVER become too friendly with the inmates.

"McFadden throws some more great twists our way, which will have us questioning everything we have read. The ending is satisfying and includes some deviously clever plotting that made me smile."

Unfortunately for Brooke, she will break rules 2 and 3 fairly early. There is one main reason for this: her old boyfriend, Shane Nelson, is incarcerated at the prison for multiple murders, and she was primarily responsible for putting him there. It will not take long for Brooke to have to treat Shane, which makes for a very uncomfortable reunion. Especially since Brooke’s 10-year-old son, Josh, was fathered by Shane, but she never told him.

Although not everyone would agree with Brooke’s decision, Shane did attempt to kill her as well. Over the last decade, she has tried desperately to remove herself from that awful time in her life to raise Josh in a sane environment. Readers like myself might wonder why Brooke would take a job that might put her in contact with her homicidal ex-boyfriend. But remember that this is a psychological thriller, and we wouldn’t have much of a story if characters didn’t make some curious decisions.

THE INMATE takes readers back to what happened 11 years ago, when two of Brooke’s high school classmates were murdered, and she and another boy named Tim were nearly killed. Brooke ends up reuniting with Tim, who happens to be the vice-principal at the new school where Josh is enrolled. Tim is obviously interested in getting reacquainted with Brooke and eventually lets on that he has always been fond of her as more than just a friend.

Meanwhile, once Brooke has her first meeting with Shane --- he seems to be a regular visitor to the medical bay --- he continues to plead his innocence and tells her that he was a victim of the real killer. As she revisits that fateful evening, Brooke is forced to question everything that has happened.

This is an ideal setup for a psychological thriller, which Freida McFadden milks for all it’s worth. Just when you think that Brooke might be doing the right thing by rethinking the events in her own memory, McFadden throws some more great twists our way, which will have us questioning everything we have read. The ending is satisfying and includes some deviously clever plotting that made me smile.