I have read a lot of Freida McFadden books at this point, and somehow she still manages to completely catch me off guard. The Divorce was no exception. Once I got into this one, I could not finish it fast enough. I had to know what happened, and let’s just say I was not expecting any of it.
This book was crazy. The characters were crazy. Every time I thought I understood what was happening, another piece of the story changed everything I thought I knew.
What is a happily ever after really worth?
Naomi was living the quintessential love story. Boy meets girl. They fall in love, get married, buy a dream house, start a family…
Then—he kicks her out, hires the city’s best divorce lawyers, drains their accounts, and takes up with a 20-something.
It’s a brutal end to the story. Naomi should accept defeat: move into a dingy apartment, get back into the workforce, and piece together the shattered remains of her life.
Except, why should she?
Instead, Naomi fixates on her husband’s new girlfriend. What begins as cynical curiosity soon twists into obsession—and then into something far darker. As Naomi uncovers secrets she never imagined, she realizes her own life may be in danger.
But if it keeps her perfect family intact, isn’t it worth it?
Warning: There are MAJOR spoilers ahead. If you haven’t read The Divorce yet, stop here!
Where do I even start with this one?
Naomi was crazy. Like, really, really crazy.
But what I loved about the way this book was written is that I didn’t immediately see her that way. Because we start with Naomi’s perspective, I felt protective of her. Her husband is leaving her. He’s with this younger woman, Veronica. Naomi is losing the life and family she thought she had.
So naturally, I’m thinking: Who is this horrible Veronica person? And what kind of terrible husband does this to his wife?
Even as Naomi starts behaving more and more irrationally, I still had some sympathy for her because I had already bought into her version of the story.
And then we get Veronica’s side.
Suddenly, everything changes.
Naomi isn’t the poor, heartbroken wife I thought she was. She’s unhinged. And Veronica isn’t the awful homewrecker I had made her out to be either.
But even that didn’t prepare me for the biggest reveal.
Veronica is Teddy’s biological mother.
WHAT?!
She gave birth to him and named him Dominic. When he was only two weeks old, he was taken from her.
And the person who took him was Naomi.
That completely flipped the story for me. The woman I had spent the beginning of the book feeling sorry for had stolen another woman’s newborn baby and raised him as her own.
From that point on, I didn’t trust Naomi at all. Instead, I found myself feeling for Veronica and realizing just how much had been taken from her.
And somehow, things get even darker.
Naomi tries to kill Veronica and Ezra by setting the cellar on fire. And Teddy is still in the house! Thankfully, Veronica manages to escape and save Teddy, and for a moment it feels like maybe we’ve finally reached the end of this completely insane story.
Nope.
Because then we get Jeremy’s perspective.
And Freida McFadden had one more surprise waiting.
Clay knew the truth about Teddy. He went to Jeremy and told him that Teddy wasn’t actually his biological son and that Naomi had stolen him as a baby.
Jeremy’s response?
No one was taking Teddy away from him.
We learn that Jeremy killed Clay to protect the secret and keep Teddy.
That final revelation changes Jeremy, too. Throughout the book, we already know we can’t trust him. He’s constantly pushing Naomi, setting her up to look unstable, and doing whatever he can to make sure he gets custody of Teddy. But finding out what happened with Clay takes it to an entirely different level. Jeremy isn’t just manipulative and cruel. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to make sure no one takes Teddy away from him.
And that’s where McFadden leaves us.
Veronica knows Teddy is really her son. Jeremy has already proven what he’s willing to do to keep Teddy. And we’re left wondering exactly what is going to happen when Veronica tells him the truth.
Final Thoughts
I absolutely loved the way The Divorce was told.
The changing perspectives weren’t just a way to show different sides of the same story. Each new perspective completely changed how I felt about the characters. I started out sympathizing with Naomi and distrusting Veronica. Then I was horrified by Naomi and rooting for Veronica. And just when I thought I finally understood everyone, Jeremy’s perspective changed things all over again.
That’s what made this book so hard to put down. I wasn’t just waiting to find out what happened. I kept finding out that what I thought had happened wasn’t the whole story at all.
This was one of those books where I kept thinking, Okay, THAT has to be the big twist.
And then there was another one.
And another one.
By the end, I was floored.
If you like psychological thrillers with unreliable characters, shifting perspectives, and twists that completely change everything you thought you knew, The Divorce is absolutely worth the read.
Freida McFadden got me again.