The Locked Door- Storyline and Book Review

The Locked Door is a crime thriller by author Frieda McFadden. The story is about Nora Nierling, the daughter of a serial killer.

Many years before, when Nora was still a child of 11 years, she discovered that her father had been killing women in the basement of their house, and this had been going on for many years. He would have continued with the brutal killings had the police not caught him following a tip they received. The father is sentenced to life imprisonment. The revelation about her husband’s deeds comes as a shock to Nora’s mother, who kills herself. Following these events, Nora is adopted by her grandmother, who encourages her to stay away from her father by not meeting him or responding to his letters. Nora changes her last name, which gives her a fresh start to her life. Nora is now no longer known by her last name, Nierling. She is now Nora Davis.

The story progresses in the present when Nora is a grown woman and a doctor. Although she has left her old life behind, she lives in constant fear. She is afraid to make friends or let anyone into her life, fearing they will discover her dark lineage. The fear of being known as the daughter of a serial killer is a heavy burden she carries every day.

But despite her wish to keep this secret to herself, when a couple of murders start happening in the city, quite similar to those done by her father, things get shaken up for Nora. Coincidentally, all those who have been murdered are her patients, whom she treated in the past. The police start interrogating her. Also, strange things start happening. Nora receives an unstamped letter from her father, which means that someone came and dropped the letter on his behalf; she finds blood stains in her basement and even a broken hand in her car. This leaves her confused and scared. She doesn´t know whom to trust, ask for help or confide in.

The story is ingeniously narrated, shifting between the past and the present. In alternating chapters, Nora shares incidents from childhood when she lived with her parents. These incidents reveal a dormant killer instinct. These past revelations lead the reader to question whether Nora has grown up to be a killer, operating under the guise of an earnest doctor. This narrative structure keeps the reader constantly guessing about the criminal’s true identity.

The story culminates in the long-awaited and much-anticipated revelation about the offender.

While I found the story engaging, I must admit that the ending and final revelation disappointed me. It was somewhat anticlimactic. If you’re familiar with the author’s other works, you might notice a similar pattern in character development, which, in my opinion, can lead to a sense of predictability and monotony. Having said that, it was a casual, one-time read.