Thriller Book Review: The Housemaid Freida Mcfadden
Title: The Housemaid
Author: Freid McFadden
Rating: 5/5
If you're craving a psychological thriller that’ll make your head spin faster than a toddler on a sugar high (i've got two of them so I know), The Housemaid is your book. Frieda McFadden knows exactly how to make you doubt your instincts and question your sanity—one page at a time. And trust me, by the end, you’ll need to pick your jaw up off the floor. Today I am sharing my honest review of one of the most popular books of 2024!
The Housemaid Book Summary
The story follows Millie, a woman down on her luck, recently fired, sleeping in her car (and not in a cool, van-life kinda way), and desperately in need of a job. So when she’s offered a position as a live-in housemaid for the wealthy Winchester family, she jumps at the chance. The job seems too good to be true: a beautiful centuries-old three-story home, a decent salary, and a room of her own. The only catch? The family. Enter Nina Winchester, your classic “trophy wife meets Stepford mom” with a gleaming house, a creepy smile, and a vibe that screams, “I have secrets.” Nina hires Millie as a live-in housemaid, and this is where things start to get dark.
Now, if you’re thinking this is going to be a simple case of “rich lady with problems,” buckle up. Millie is an incredibly relatable, imperfect character. She’s the kind of person who just wants to get her life together but keeps getting pulled into a twisted web of mind games. And Nina? Oh, Nina is straight-up unsettling. Between her mood swings, bizarre requests, and the weird dynamic with her husband Andrew, you’ll constantly wonder if it’s Nina who’s losing it—or if Millie’s stepping into a trap she can’t escape. And the daughter, Cecelia, adds just enough extra creep factor to make the whole thing feel like you’re living in a haunted dollhouse.
The tension builds so subtly that you’ll be 200 pages deep before you even realize it. McFadden has mastered the art of leaving breadcrumbs without giving the game away too early, which is rare in this genre. And when the big twists hit? Let’s just say you won’t see them coming. The ending is the kind of blindsiding that will have you flipping back through the book like, "Wait, WHAT did I miss?!"
Now, if I have one teeny, tiny critique, it’s that the final big twist is so wild that you might have to suspend disbelief a little. But honestly, it’s so satisfying, you probably won’t care. It’s the kind of twist that makes you want to high-five the author for being so clever. I have not had this much of a good mind fuck in a looong time-- maybe ever. Usually I am able to sniff out the twists and then find the big reveal a little boring and underwhelming, but not with this.
If you love books that make you feel paranoid and exhilarated in equal measure, The Housemaid will be your next obsession. It was the enjoyable read I needed to pick me up out of a reading slump. Just maybe read it with the lights on.
Summary from Amazon:
“Welcome to the family,” Nina Winchester says as I shake her elegant, manicured hand. I smile politely, gazing around the marble hallway. Working here is my last chance to start fresh. I can pretend to be whoever I like. But I’ll soon learn that the Winchesters’ secrets are far more dangerous than my own…
Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.
I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.
I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late.
But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am.
They don’t know what I’m capable of…
A New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller and winner of a 2023 ITW Thriller Award. This unbelievably twisty read will have you glued to the pages late into the night. Anyone who loves The Woman in the Window, The Wife Between Us and The Girl on the Train won’t be able to put down The Housemaid!
Final thoughts
Freida Mcfadden's The Housemaid is one of my favorite books of 2024-- and normally psychological thrillers don't make it up there (I tend to anticipate the plot points and then it takes away form the suspense). But not this time. It was such a fun read that kept me on my toes the entire book. I loved the plot twist, mostly for the sake that i did not see it coming.
This is the first book of the housemaid series-- so if you love this book, there are two more opportunities to enjoy Mcfadden's writing style (and even more beyond the Housemaid series).
Book two: The Housemaid's Secret
Book Three: The Housemaid is Watching
I think this would make a great book club read-- as long as your group is okay with mature themes and content. Speaking of— check out the list of trigger warnings before diving in just to be safe!
xo
kae