The Boyfriend

She's looking for the perfect man. He's looking for the perfect victim.

Sydney Shaw, like every single woman in New York, has terrible luck with dating. She's seen it all: men who lie in their dating profiles, men who stick her with the dinner bill, and worst of all, men who can't shut up about their mothers. Until she meets Tom.

Tom is utterly perfect. He's charming, handsome, and works as a doctor at a local hospital. Sydney is swept off her feet.

Then the brutal murder of a young woman - the latest in a string of deaths across the coast - confounds police. The primary suspect? A mystery man who dates his victims before he kills them.

Sydney should feel safe. After all, she has Tom, the man of her dreams. But she can't shake her own suspicions that the perfect man may not be as perfect as he seems. Because someone is watching her every move, and if she doesn't get to the truth, she'll be the killer's next victim...

A dark crime thriller about obsession and the things we'll do for love, this page-turning murder mystery will have you hooked through every twist and turn.

Tropes:
Psychological
Mystery Thriller
Suspense
Serial Stalker
Gaslighting

#1 New York Times, Amazon Charts, USA Today, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Sunday Times, and Publisher's Weekly bestselling author Freida McFadden is a physician who has penned multiple bestselling psychological thrillers and medical humor novels. Freida is the winner of the International Thriller Writer Award for Best Paperback Original, the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Thriller, and was honored as one of TIME 100’s most influential people in the world for 2026. Her novels have been translated into more than 45 languages.

​ Freida lives with her family and cat in a centuries-old three-story home overlooking the ocean, with staircases that creak and moan with each step, and nobody could hear you if you scream. Unless you scream really loudly, maybe.

To hear Freida talk about herself more in the third person, check out her website freidamcfadden dot com.