How Freida McFadden became the crime author's favourite crime author
As her latest thriller The Witch arrives, fellow authors including Richard Osman and Shari Lapena explain how Freida McFadden became crime fiction’s favourite writer.
- Helen Daly
Published: Tuesday, 27 October 2026 at 12:00 am
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If you ever want to draw attention to yourself, read an unpublished copy of Freida McFadden’s next novel on a train or the underground. A chorus of “I’ve never heard of that one!” and “When is it out?” quickly follows. For her followers – known as McFans or sometimes Freida readers – Freida McFadden isn’t just an author, she’s a superstar.
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Many will know her as the bestselling author of thrillers like The Housemaid, which was published in 2022 and became a word-of-mouth sensation, propelled to global success by BookTok, the offshoot of TikTok dedicated to literature. Others know her as Sara Cohen, the American physician behind the Freida McFadden pen name. Since making her publishing debut in 2013, she has released more than 30 novels, many drawing on her medical background, and has built an audience that spans more than 45 languages.
Yet McFadden’s success isn’t measured solely in sales. She’s also a writer who other writers study very closely. “The secret to Freida McFadden’s success is that she knows how to tell an absolutely compelling story,” says Shari Lapena, author of Getting Away with Murder. “You simply can’t put her books down.”
Creating that kind of momentum is far harder than it looks. Plenty of novels feature cliffhangers and twists, but few maintain the relentless pace that keeps readers turning pages deep into the night. There’s a reason it’s difficult for new authors to break into this world, as it takes a while to catch on with a dedicated fan base.
“Freida McFadden’s ascent to the dizzying heights of the crime thriller summit has been stratospheric and most crime writers I know would give an arm and a leg – and maybe even a kidney – for that level of success,” says Fiona Cummins, author of Some of Us Are Liars. “Joking aside, I think her pacey writing, love of short chapters and cliffhangers, and straightforward storytelling have struck a chord with readers, who can’t seem to get enough of her books.”
Amanda Seyfried as Nina Winchester and Sydney Sweeney as Millie Calloway in The Housemaid. Lionsgate
Referring to the success enjoyed by The Housemaid, Cummins continues: “Throw in a high-profile film adaptation, a smart social media campaign that saw her go viral and a series of well-timed and speedy releases that have led to complete domination of the bestseller charts, it’s no surprise that she has become a global phenomenon.”
The Housemaid is undoubtedly the book that changed everything. Published in 2022, nearly a decade after McFadden’s debut novel The Devil Wears Scrubs, it exploded on TikTok and went on to sell more than four million copies worldwide. Two sequels followed, while a 2025 film adaptation starring Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney brought the story to an even bigger audience. What began as a sleeper hit became a publishing phenomenon, mirroring McFadden’s own transformation from self-published author to one of the biggest names in crime fiction.
McFadden’s rise hasn’t gone unnoticed by fellow crime writers. Few understand commercial success better than Richard Osman, whose own crime novels (The Thursday Murder Club series) have become a publishing phenomenon in their own right.
“There’s almost nothing Freida McFadden can’t achieve at the moment. She’s got a fan base that absolutely love her and fair play to her,” says Osman. “When you look at the biggest-selling authors today, McFadden, Colleen Hoover, Sarah J Maas – they’re all people who started out self-publishing and didn’t have a normal publishing deal. Freida McFadden will win Christmas number one because she’s going to win everything for the rest of time now. She’s this absolute juggernaut that drives through everything these days.”
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The remarkable thing is that there are few signs of her momentum slowing down. McFadden’s latest novel, The Witch, arrives with the sort of anticipation usually reserved for established franchise authors. Chosen as this month’s Radio Times Book Club sponsored by Dr. Oetker Ristorante, it demonstrates the versatility that has helped elevate her above many of her peers.
While The Housemaid was a contemporary psychological thriller, The Witch moves into historical territory while retaining the qualities readers have come to expect: a compelling premise, mounting suspense and expertly timed twists. If The Housemaid introduced millions of readers to McFadden’s work, The Witch suggests her success was never dependent on a single viral hit. More than a decade into her publishing career, she continues to evolve while delivering exactly what readers want.
Crime fiction has never been short of bestsellers, but every so often an author comes along whose success forces the rest of the genre to take notice. For fellow writers, McFadden’s appeal isn’t particularly mysterious. She understands pace, suspense and reader psychology, creating books that feel impossible to put down. The sales figures, film adaptations and fandom may grab the headlines, but they’re ultimately the consequence of the same thing – storytelling that keeps readers hooked until the final page.
While millions of fans wait impatiently for her next twist, many of her peers are watching just as closely, trying to understand just how she makes it look so effortless.
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For all the latest RT Book Club news, interviews, Q&As with the authors, reviews of previous books and more, visit The Radio Times Book Club, sponsored by Dr. Oetker Ristorante.
Authors
Helen DalyDeputy Digital Editor
Helen Daly is the deputy digital editor for Radio Times, overseeing new initiatives and commercial projects for the brand. She was previously Deputy TV Editor at a national publication. She has a BA in English Literature and an MA in Media & Journalism from Newcastle University.
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