Death Row

By: Freida McFadden

Talia Kemper is on death row for killing her husband. She’s adamant that she didn’t do it. She has an alibi after all. Yet, no one believes her, even the courts deny her appeals. Then one day in the visiting area when she goes to see her attorney about her latest appeal, she sees someone that looks like her husband. But she is days away from being executed, and her latest appeal has been denied. She’s running out of time.

I see a lot of mixed reviews about this book. I kind of loved it but I’m not going to lie, I was also kind of really confused at the ending/epilogue. I think I may need to talk this out with someone. I really enjoyed how McFadden makes readers look at things from a different angle. But I also really enjoyed the twist that was in this one. I didn’t see it coming at all!

I will say, one thing bothered me about this book and it was the accuracy of a statement in it. I believe the character Talia said that because she was on death row she got unlimited appeals. Well, I don’t know exactly where Talia was living but from what I learned in law school, there is no such thing as unlimited appeals when someone is on death row. Granted, I never practiced criminal law, so I may be incorrect. But that kind of irked me a bit.

Aside from that, I thought this was a great novella. It’s a quick read at just 74 pages, so check it out! Also, I have another theory on what McFadden is doing with these, but I don’t want to say until I read the next one!!

Publish Date: June 1, 2025
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