Summary, Spoilers + Review: The Crash by Freida McFadden – The Bibliofile

The three paragraph version: Tegan, pregnant and broke, is on her way through a blizzard to see her brother after refusing a large payout from the man who impregnated her, Simon, in exchange for her silence. However, she ends up in a car accident and is taken in by a couple. The couple has fertility issues and seems unwilling to let her leave their home. Her brother and the police come looking for her, but are rebuffed by the couple.

As Tegan’s health worsens, she tries to escape, but the wife Polly seems hellbent on keeping her and is convinced Tegan would be an unfit mother and that they should keep the baby. Still, the husband eventually secretly takes Tegan to the hospital. Polly follows and sees Tegan’s brother trying to hook up something to Tegan’s IV. Polly stops him, along with Jackson (Simon’s lawyer) who apologizes for his involvement and informs Tegan that Simon cut her brakes and that Dennis conspired with Simon to encourage her to drive that day. (Dennis apparently blames Tegan for an earlier car accident resulting in an injury that cut short his skiing career because he’d been driving to see her at the time.)

It ends with Tegan having the baby, and she decides not to tell the police about Polly and Hank keeping her captive. Jackson helps to arrange child support payments for Tegan, and her brother is in prison.

In Part I, Tegan is a young, broke and very pregnant woman who has been offered a large payout from the married businessman who impregnated her, Simon Lamar, in exchange for her silence. However, she realizes as they are signing the non-disclosure agreement that she was drugged and raped the night she met him. He and his lawyer Jackson pressure her even after Tegan tells Jackson that she thinks Simon raped her.

Tegan refuses to sign and is upset. She goes to see her brother, Dennis, but there’s a blizzard outside and she gets into a car accident. She is rescued by a man, Hank, whose wife Polly is a former nurse and offers to care for Tegan in their home until the weather clears.

In Part II, we learn Polly has had infertility issues and was let go from her nursing job at the hospital due to an “incident” relating to her jealousy over her inability to conceive. Even after the weather clears, she refuses to take Tegan to the hospital and threatens to reveal something from Hank’s past (a “fudged” tax return) to the police when he insists.

Polly is convinced that Tegan would be an irresponsible, bad mother and intends to find a way to keep the baby. There is also a 7-year-old girl named Sadie who Polly has taken an interest in. Polly believes Mitch is abusive to Sadie since she’d seen bruises on Sadie before and she thinks Sadie is too skinny, but Hank tells Polly to leave Mitch and Sadie alone.

In Part III, the police come looking for Tegan who has been missing for two days. Tegan has now realized she’s being kept against her will as Polly keeps her in the basement and refuses to call for an ambulance.

In Part IV, Tegan’s brother Dennis visits Hank and Polly’s house, looking for Tegan. Hank wants to take Tegan to the hospital, but Polly threatens to kill herself if he does. She hopes to induce pregnancy for Tegan and then get rid of her. However, as Tegan’s health worsens, Hank insists on takes her to the hospital when Polly leaves to pick up medicine for Tegan.

At the hospital, Tegan learns that her ankle is fractured and that the police think her car was tampered with before her accident. Jackson is there and tries repeatedly to talk to Tegan though she tries to avoid it, since she’s distrustful of him after he tried to pressure her into signing Simon’s papers.

Dennis is also at the hospital and they talk about the car accident that Dennis had been in years before that ended his skiing career. At the time, he’d been driving to see Tegan. Dennis also suggests taking the money from Jackson to pay for her medical bills.

Meanwhile, Polly has learned that Tegan is at the hospital and follows her there. However, she sees someone trying to hook up something into Tegan’s IV and she recognizes the man as someone who introduced himself as Dennis (Tegan’s brother). Polly manages to stop him with the help of Jackson, who was still waiting to try to speak to Tegan. Hank soon shows up to fetch Polly, and Polly comes to the realization that Hank is her family and her family is complete without a baby. She leaves Tegan with a teddy bear, wishing her well.

Jackson tells Tegan that Dennis and Simon know each other (they had been meeting up to discuss potentially launching some ski resorts together, which is why Polly ended up meeting Simon when she went out to visit her brother eight months ago). Simon Lamar paid someone to tamper with her brake hose, which caused her accident. Dennis knew about it, which is why he suggested that Tegan drive out to see him. Tegan realizes that Dennis has always held Tegan responsible for the accident that ended his career. Jackson arranges for Simon to start paying child support.

In the Epilogue, Hank ends up killing Mitch (knowing he’s an abusive drunk), and Polly and Hank adopt Sadie.

Tegan and Jackson are now living together in a house paid for by Simon’s money. Tegan decides brother is in prison. She can’t bring herself to tell the police about Hank and Polly — after all they did rescue her and Polly saved her life.

For more detail, see the full Section-by-Section Summary.

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