Release details
The Witch release date
The Witch comes out on October 6, 2026. It's a new standalone thriller from Freida McFadden, so you don't need to read The Housemaid or any of her other books first. Poisoned Pen Press is publishing it.
- Official publication date
- October 6, 2026
- Author
- Freida McFadden
- Series
- Standalone
- Publisher
- Poisoned Pen Press
- Setting
- Rural Massachusetts
- Available formats
- Ebook, hardcover, and audiobook
Primary sources: Freida McFadden: The Witch, Sourcebooks / Poisoned Pen Press deluxe hardcover, Freida McFadden printable book list
What is The Witch about?
Julia Barlow has lost her job and her apartment, and her fallback is Pemberton, the old Massachusetts estate where her grandmother lives. She tells the family she's there to check on her grandmother. She also needs somewhere to go.
Then things get strange. The grandfather clock stops at 3:41 a.m. Lights flicker. Julia hears a voice calling for help outside her bedroom. When she starts digging into Pemberton's past, she finds a woman who was executed for witchcraft in 1692 and family secrets that connect that history to the present.
Is The Witch part of The Housemaid series?
No. The Witch is a standalone, so you can read it without knowing anything about The Housemaid series.
If you're new to McFadden and want a book you can read now, our Freida McFadden starting guide compares The Housemaid, Never Lie, and her other published thrillers.
Is Pemberton haunted or is there a human explanation?
That's one of the questions the book is setting up. The strange events at Pemberton could point to something supernatural, but the family has enough secrets that a human explanation is still very much on the table.
Official content notes for The Witch
Freida McFadden lists content warnings for sexual harassment, an off-page mention of sexual assault, murder, hanging, fire, childbirth complications, and infertility. Her site notes that some warnings may reveal story details.
What can you read while waiting for The Witch?
Want something similar while you wait? See our Books Like The Witch picks. Never Lie is also a good place to start if you want another Freida McFadden thriller built around an isolated house and buried secrets.
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