If you’re looking for a twisted, unpredictable story, The Housemaid should be next on your reading list. Published in April 2022, Freida McFadden paints an intriguing story with a prologue that hints to an arrest of a main character- but which one?
The drama, surfacing secrets, and deceit from each character make it nearly impossible to be sure who is a suspect for arrest and for what crime. The book is majorly from the point of view of the housemaid, Millie. Millie is looking for a clean break and is needing a new job that pays well. Lucky for her, the wealthy housewife Nina Winchester is looking to hire a live-in cleaner and babysitter. As Millie spends more time in the Winchester mansion, she sees a different side of Nina Winchester- hotheaded, messy, and condescending. On the opposite end, Nina’s husband Andrew is patient and kind with both Nina and Millie, the latter unable to understand what he sees in Nina.
Living in the Winchester attic, Millie learns how the Winchester marriage works. Until she figures out that she really didn’t know how it works. That nothing was what it seemed, but neither was Millie. Oh, and did I mention that Millie’s attic bedroom only locks on the outside?
The build-up to the climax of this story was impeccable and I could not stop reading until I finished the book. I seriously think I finished it in two days; if I didn’t need to study for an exam, it would have been one day! Typically, I can predict how a book is going to end or have an idea of what the big twist will be. Leading up to the climax, I started to wonder, how are there so many pages left? What other big events could possibly happen? And then one big event after another came back to back and WOW.
The Amazon reviews say it for themselves- 4.6/5 stars with nearly 8,000 reviews. I truly hope this book is developed into a movie, I think it would be a hit! I highly recommend this book for your next read. If you enjoy books or shows like The Handmaid’s Tale or Gone Girl, you will love this story. Plus, there is a sequel- The Housemaid’s Secret, which I cannot wait to start reading. It picks up a few years after the prequel which offered an ending worth continuing. Much praise and recognition to Freida McFadden!