Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. What were your favorite and least favorite aspects of The Coworker? Which scenes, characters, and/or plot points did you find least or most believable?

2. How did your experience reading The Coworker relate to your experience reading McFadden’s other novels? Compare and contrast The Coworker with The Housemaid, The Housemaid's Secret, and The Housemaid is Watching.

3. What other psychological thriller novels is The Coworker in conversation with? Discuss differences and similarities between The Coworker and books like Mary Kubica’s She’s Not Sorry and Alice Feeney’s Beautiful Ugly.

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. How did you respond to the narrative revelation that Dawn Schiff was alive? How did this plot twist change your impression of the overarching narrative and Natalie Farrell’s character?

2. The novel blurs the line between the victim and the perpetrator. How did the novel’s representations of bullying and cycles of violence impact you emotionally?

3. Did you find Dawn’s or Natalie’s character more relatable? Which aspects of each character was most familiar or believable, based on your own experience? Discuss how and why.