When Freida McFadden talks about books, readers listen. Known for being both prolific and selective, her reading lists tend to reveal more than simple preferences. They reflect taste, restraint, and attention in book culture.
McFadden recently shared a year-end reading summary in her official McFans’ Facebook group that offers a rare look at her personal reading habits, and more importantly, the books that genuinely stood out to her after a high-volume year.
She read nearly 70 books, largely thanks to audiobooks and long walks. Out of those, only 22 earned five stars, and she doesn’t publicly rate anything lower. That alone makes her short list meaningful. This isn’t a marketing roundup or a genre-locked recommendation reel. It’s a reader’s list shaped by attention, taste, and restraint.
After narrowing her favorites, McFadden shared her top 10 books (technically 11) for 2025, noting that two are ARCs not yet available. The list isn’t ranked, and that’s part of its appeal. I think it invites curiosity rather than competition.
Taken together, her selections sketch a reading year defined by emotional intensity, moral ambiguity, and a fascination with characters pushed to their limits. It’s a list that mirrors the broader mood of 2025’s fiction landscape, where readers gravitated toward stories that challenge certainty and reward close attention.
My Husband’s Wife was her favorite ARC of the year, a notable endorsement given Feeney’s reputation for twist-driven domestic suspense. It sits comfortably alongside other tension-forward selections like Everyone Here Is Lying, Wonderland, and The Truth About Ruby Cooper, which are all stories that thrive on unreliable perspectives and buried secrets.
But McFadden’s list isn’t confined to one lane. She also included emotionally heavy, psychologically rich novels that linger long after the final page. Room and More or Less Maddy lean into human vulnerability and identity, while Atmosphere offers a broader emotional canvas that still centers deeply personal stakes.
Time, consequence, and moral tension also thread through picks like Wrong Place Wrong Time, Best Offer Wins, and Too Old for This, stories that reward patience and ask readers to sit with discomfort. Rounding out the list is The Lost Daughter, reflecting McFadden’s broader reading range and interest in historical and character-driven narratives.
What McFadden’s Favorites Reveal About Reading in 2025
What McFadden’s list ultimately reveals is a shift in how readers are approaching fiction, and thrillers in particular, in 2025. Expectations are changing. The thrill‑seeking, twist‑chasing mindset that dominated the last decade is giving way to something more expansive, like an appetite for stories that challenge, unsettle, and linger.
Her favorites push back against the idea that a book’s worth lies in its final reveal. Instead, they highlight the craft: the architecture of suspense, the emotional intelligence of character work, the rhythm of a well‑built narrative. McFadden reads with range and curiosity, and her list is a reminder that variety is essential. It keeps us out of ruts, keeps us open, and keeps us connected to the art of writing itself.
In the end, McFadden’s favorites read like a map of 2025’s literary mood—restless, searching, and unwilling to settle for easy answers. These books span genres, tones, and emotional registers, but they share a common thread: each one leaves a mark. Her list reminds us that great reading years aren’t defined by volume but by resonance, and that the stories we carry forward are the ones that change how we see ourselves, even briefly. If this is the snapshot she’s offering, 2025 was a year worth remembering.
Thalia Mercer is a writer covering mystery and thriller fiction, with a focus on book-to-screen adaptations and contemporary reading culture. She writes about why certain stories resonate—and how they translate beyond the page.
