Ignoring Instincts: A Review of Freida McFadden’s The Boyfriend

Intuition is that nagging feeling when something is wrong, while instincts are those unexplainable gut feelings that lack rhyme or reason. The key difference between the two is that intuition is developed through past experiences, whereas instincts are more innate. Together, they help us navigate complicated situations. Although Sydney, the main character of Freida McFadden’s book The Boyfriend, tried her hardest to rely on both her instincts and intuition, I don’t think anyone could have been prepared for the ride she was about to embark on.

This was my first time reading a book by McFadden. After Googling her, I discovered she has an impressive collection of books and is also a practicing physician. I am excited to explore more of her thriller-filled stories. As a newcomer to her work, I noticed she incorporates a lot of medical terminology. One of the main characters, Sydney, was diagnosed with von Willebrand disease, a blood clotting disorder that causes prolonged bleeding. Can you imagine getting a simple paper cut and having blood shoot out of your finger like a hose? Sydney, one of the narrators, expressed the embarrassment of living with this condition and how it hindered her search for love, but in fact, it was the thing that connected her to who she thought was the one, Tom.

About the Book

The book presents two perspectives: Sydney, a financial professional searching for love, and Tom Brewer (Brown), a pathologist with commitment issues. Sydney’s narrative is in the present tense, while Tom’s is in the past tense. Naturally, when I first started reading, I assumed Tom would eventually become The [Crazy] Boyfriend referenced in the title, which intrigued me as I anticipated how the two characters would meet. Without giving too much away, I will say they met under extreme circumstances involving a dating app connection gone wrong.

One of the ironic elements of the book is Sydney’s date from a dating app, Kevin, whose unhinged and bizarre behavior is sprinkled throughout the story. His arc takes an unexpected turn toward the end. He is introduced as Sydney’s date from hell, which culminates in a forced sexual encounter that is thankfully interrupted by a stranger on the street (I won’t spoil the details for you).

The way McFadden wrote Tom’s narrative heavily hinted at the identity of the psycho-killer and the person responsible for the disappearing classmates from his past. It seemed so obvious that when Sydney’s friend disappeared, I felt I had already cracked the case. I even debated whether I should keep reading since I thought I knew where the story was going—but I’m glad I continued.

When I tell you the last couple of chapters had a major plot twist, I mean it! Near the end, I didn’t trust any of the characters. The plot twist intertwined figures from Tom’s past with Sydney’s present, leaving me shocked. Every character in this story ignored their instincts and clung to what they knew. Sydney was constantly torn between what she felt and what her mind was telling her. She had an old flame, Jake, who was vying to win her back, but she wanted to move forward with Tom, despite his lack of commitment to their future. In the end, Sydney finally came to her senses about Tom, but that delayed realization almost cost her life. Without giving too much away, let’s just say your jaw will drop—literally, only Sydney and Jake turned out to be who they seemed.

Final Thoughts

It was challenging to recap this book without revealing too much. My advice is to read it with an open mind and no preconceived notions. At one point, I started losing interest, thinking I had already figured everything out. I believe McFadden deliberately structured the story this way—to lull readers into a sense of certainty before completely blowing their minds at the end. I appreciated how she intertwined Tom’s and Sydney’s narratives, providing context through Tom’s past while keeping Sydney’s present storyline engaging.

Reading this book, I thought of times and situations where I deliberately ignored my instincts based on the relationship I had with a person. Later in life, I stumbled across the concept of duality—the idea that two opposing truths can exist simultaneously. I could deeply admire a person, yet that same person could be doing questionable things. In Sydney’s case, she felt something wasn’t right, but her instincts were misdirected because the person she trusted the most had always been good to her. Meanwhile, she dismissed Jake’s warnings, not because they lacked merit, but because he had broken her heart, and she wanted to shield herself from being vulnerable with him again. Our instincts are meant to protect us, but if emotion cannot be separated from fact, it may cause us to go against our better judgment. What are your thoughts on this?

I highly recommend this book to true crime and mystery lovers. If you’ve read it, I’d love to hear your thoughts!