The Housemaid (The Housemaid, #1) (2024)

Check out my 10 thriller recs to read instead of Freida McFadden on YouTube💖

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. IYKYK, my reviews are always honest.

Writing: idk out of 5 | Plot: ????2???/5 | Ending: 5/5 tbh

After letting this marinate for a couple of hours, 2 stars is the way to go.

THE PLOT

Millie is living in Casa Nissan aka her car when she's hired as the maid for the Winchesters, a ridiculously wealthy family. She's over the moon to have a job and a bed, but she quickly realizes something funky is happening in the home. And she's not sure if she'll make it out alive... dun dun dunnnnnn!!!!!

MY OPINION

Honestly... I'm confusion. This is how I felt after I read The Trapped Wife by Samantha Hayes. On one hand, this was garbagio, on the other hand, it had some things that kept me reading and enjoying myself. It's a book I love to hate and hate to love all at once. Ok, let me try to make sense of thoughts:

- Millie's POV is straight up "dear diary" style. As in, "I spent 7 hours cleaning the house and I thought about Andy Winchester's bangin bod the entire time. He is so dreamy. Does he like me too????" It's also giving me "rages to riches" fanfic written by a tween vibes. BUT AT THE SAME DAMN TIME... the book was legit funny in parts???? Like great dark humour throughout????

- Millie's character makes no sense. Not a spoiler—she spends 10 years in jail. Yet she has zero survival skills and seems relatively unbothered by the fact she was locked up for an entire decade. I'm telling you right now I can't last 10 MINUTES in jail unscathed, so a whole ass decade would have me coming out on some Rambo sh*t.

- I did not like Nina. She was over the top, selfish, and illogical. I can't feel sorry for what she went through because .... No spoilers.... but if you read it, you'll know.

- The "mystery" is kinda obvious. It's like The Wife Between Us mixed with... idk, Gone Girl? There wasn't really any suspense. You know what's gonna happen. From Part II onward I was speed reading like a mf. But I was invested in the whole revenge vibe like ok girl go OFFFFFF.

- I gave the ending 5/5 because it's women's history month and that's all I can say without spoiling it

- I've read The Locked Door by this author and this was a totally different vibe. Good for her for going in a totally different direction with no projection of her medical career/knowledge in the story. I'm not sure if it worked, but at least the ending was better than Locked Door.

I can see people really enjoying this or really hating it. Do not expect this to be a literary masterpiece. You will not be mentally stimulated in any way. This is your standard popcorn thriller but not as annoying as Unmissing, Stay Awake, etc because of the dark humour. This is the type of book you read after My Dark Vanessa rips your heart out and stomps all over it.

PROS AND CONS

Pros: you'll keep reading because you don't know if you like it or hate it, awesome dark humour, great ending

Cons: vapid plot and characters, rags to riches fanfic written by a 14 yo vibes, dear diary ass writing

“The Housemaid” by Freida McFadden is just one of those novels that for years to come, I will speak highly of and recommend to anyone that wants an incredible thriller. One that’s also filled with mystery and psychological terror all wrapped together brilliantly. From McFadden’s excellent writing style to all the characters I absolutely loved, this is easily one of the best novels of 2022.

It’s a very addictive read that is so hard to put down, you’ll more than likely find yourself reading deep into the night because it’s a genuine page-turner. I loved all the little revelations that pop up here and there on top of an incredible story. Just when you think you have it figured out, this novel turns your world upside down.

Don’t worry, I will not go into any specifics or spoil anything for you but I’d consider this a must-read novel. Besides the fantastic pacing, I also loved all the New York references since I’m a New Yorker and it really felt close to home. Thinking back on everything, I can’t tell you how many authentic jaw-dropping moments I had while reading this as this novel completely blew my mind.

The ending was beyond satisfying and just something I didn’t expect at all! LoL saying it was a drop-the-mic moment is an understatement. This was a wild, insane, fun, adrenaline-filled
thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. It was a wonderful reading experience as I wish every novel I read was like this!

I give “The Housemaid” by Freida McFadden a perfect 5/5 as this is a masterpiece. I’ve read many novels in my life and this is one of the most memorable ones that will forever stand out for me. This novel was unique, exciting, and everything you could ever want in a thriller and then some. It’s a rollercoaster of a read from start to finish and I can honestly say that McFadden has a new reader in me. This was the first novel I’ve read by her and I’m genuinely excited to read more of her work and whatever future novels she writes. She is an amazing author with one incredibly creative and talented mind!

3.5 stars — I decided to read another Freida McFadden book because I wanted a page turner that didn’t require much thinking. “The Housemaid” had gotten numerous high reviews so I decided to try it. The book started off very good and had me hooked from the beginning. It tells the story of Millie a recent parolee who is homeless and in need of a job. When she gets hired by Nina and Andrew as a live-in housemaid/nanny she believes she has found her dream job. But soon she realizes that Nina is a very difficult person to work for (think Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada”). I really enjoyed the interactions between Millie and Nina and her family. I was squarely in the 4.5 to 5 stars range up until the final 30 pages or so of the book. I won’t spoil it but to say the actions of the police, Enzo, Millie and Nina were ridiculous is such an understatement of how bad this book came to a close I can’t describe it. I don’t remember yelling out “No” and “come on” and “really” while reading a book before. (Yes I’m weird) but I had no choice considering the epic plot collapse that left me shaking my head. Even with a full 1 star reduction I enjoyed the book and will have to read the sequel to see if McFadden can return to the form that had me on the edge of my seat for the first 90 percent of the book.

This book is not as clever as it thinks it is.

Everyone is trying to gaslight everyone else and it’s messy.

We know next to nothing about Millie for at least 60% of the novel…so why are we supposed to care about her?

Millie could make more of an effort with Enzo. Italian to English is right there on your damn phone.

Nina’s chapters are bizarre.

I’m still not sure what the “big” twist is. There are several reveals, but nothing earth-shattering.

This tries to be an upscale version of Minka Kent...or a low-budget version of Sarah Pinborough. But the characters are so thinly developed that the author leaves everything to hinge on plot—a dubious choice, at best.

You probably won’t want to put it down. But you will be asking yourself what the hell you just read.

4.5!!!

The plot twist in this book got me good!! I never ever saw it coming🤯. I love how this book started out so creepy and eerie, with Nina behaving so weirdly, and then really escalated in the second half to full-on dangerous. I also love how Millie is so mysterious. We don't know much about her for a huge chunk of the book. It was fun to slowly unravel more of her back story. The only downside to that, though, is that it did take me a little bit to care about Millie because we didn't know a lot about her in the beginning.

Overall 4 stars! A fun, fast-paced mystery/thriller. The only reason I didn't rate it 5 stars is because I wish there were a few more mini-plot twists sprinkled throughout, but overall, I really enjoyed it and would definitely read the sequel!!

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT
Co to za książka jest

Wow! After all the buzzing hype surrounding this book that never seems to diminish, I finally decided it was time to dive in and award myself some entertaining popcorn reading. However, oh boy, this book absolutely deserves every bit of its never-ending hype. It exceeded my expectations, had me gritting my teeth, squirming restlessly in my seat, and, even though I anticipated the delicious twist from the beginning, I still admired how the author perfectly developed this smart cat-and-mouse game. The last third, in particular, was exceptionally brilliant! I knew right from the beginning that I would enjoy this heart-throbbing, jaw-dropping, unputdownable, twisty psychological thriller, but I didn't expect to love it even more and immediately decided to jump into the next book of the series, despite some reviews emphasizing that it might not be as good as the first one. I just couldn't resist spending more time in Millie the maid's disturbing, mind-bending world!

Meet Millie: recently released from prison for a crime we don't know if she committed or what kind of crime she got involved in. She's homeless, living in her Nissan, worn down from her latest job at the bar, getting rejected even from burger joints, barely having a chance to start over at her young age (she's in her mid-twenties, a pretty girl, but she disguises her beauty behind glasses and baggy clothes, just in case somebody thinks she's too attractive to be hired). She can't believe her luck when her application as a housemaid at Winchester House (correction: it's a mansion surrounded by a gate with a beautiful landscape) is approved by Nina Winchester: a stay-at-home wife, a bit overweight, dressed only in white, a sophisticated woman who seems friendly at first sight.

Millie is introduced to Nina's little girl, who looks like she jumped out of a Children of the Corn movie with her weird baby doll dress, white-blond hair, and spoiled brat attitude that rubs her the wrong way. Then there's the father, the breadwinner of the family, the overly handsome Andrew Winchester, who seems like Prince Charming and whom Millie can barely stop herself from drooling over.
Millie doesn't mind that she has to live in the attic, with a room that has the tiniest window that never opens and a lock outside the door that mostly gets stuck. She also keeps herself in check as Nina's emotionally unstable behavior pushes her buttons until they nearly fall to the floor. She can't flip the bird to her unsatisfied, bickering, witchy employer and her irritating, annoying little daughter because if she doesn't get a good reference from her employer, she's forced to live in her car, violating her parole, which could send her back to prison. She keeps her mouth shut, but it's not easy to deal with Nina's mood swings.
When she learns a dirty little secret about Nina's past and gets warned by the hot, candy-like landscaper Enzo, who unfortunately speaks only Italian, she realizes that by accepting this job, she may be putting her life in danger. Especially when it's so tempting to get seduced by Mr. Winchester, while his wife watches them like a jealous hawk, ready to tear her limbs apart. Oh, Millie, you've found yourself in another prison you can't escape, haven't you?

Overall, I'm giving this highly earned five stars and diving into the next novel of Millie the Maid as fast as possible! This story has truly captivated me, and I can't wait to see where Millie's adventures take her next.

❥11/25/23

5/5 ★’s

⁀➷ ❝you…pericolo.❞ danger.

welcome to my spoiler free review🤭this was my first freida book and it has me feeling like i need to take a trip to the nearest psych ward. i finished this book in SIX hours.

❥ 𝓂𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓈:
i’m convinced this entire book is laced with crack. whatever kind of drug that makes you completely lose your mind…this book is also laced with that😀from start to finish i was absolutely addicted. i couldn’t put it down. i was worried that i was going to dislike this book simply because it’s been awhile since i’ve read anything other than romance, but i absolutely loved it. speaking of romance…if you are a romance addict, i highly recommend this book to you. i’m giggling🤭i wanted a good mind f*ck and freida really said: bitch, you’re going to get more than just a mind f*ck. this story was so terrifying that it gave me nightmares😀thanks freida💋that was some twisted ass sh*t fr🥲

❥ 𝓅𝓁𝑜𝓉:
the plot was plotting. plotting against me. i am a victim. freida, bae, quick question. how could you? the plot twists…my jaw was on the floor and i still haven’t picked it up yet. this book had me thinking i had everything figured out one minute and then completely confused the next. i always had it in the back of my mind of what could’ve possibly happened, but when sh*t happened…idk what i expected, but let me just tell you that it wasn’t THAT. almost had me sprinting to the bathroom to throw up! i won’t say much more because i encourage everyone to go into this book blindly! it’ll give you the best experience <3

❥ 𝓌𝓇𝒾𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔:
bone chilling. i would not survive a single minute in freida’s mind, but i’d still pay to live a day in there anyways. she’s an absolute genius. at one point i was like: is this a romance or a mystery/thriller? the whor* in me when it comes to romance will never go away🙈🙈

❥ 𝓂𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒾𝑒 𝒸𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑜𝓌𝒶𝓎:

⁀➷ i wonder if she would feel the same way about me if she knew i spent the last ten years in prison.

if you replaced millie with me…the plot would look no different. if you’ve read this book, then please tell me you know exactly what i’m referring to🫣i would’ve 100% fell face first into that trap😩i loved millie’s character a lot. her past is a crazy one…it’s pretty much a mystery throughout the entire book so there’s nothing more i can say about her. this poor girl has been through it😭

❥ 𝓃𝒾𝓃𝒶 𝓌𝒾𝓃𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇:

⁀➷ nina knows everything.

the chills! this crazy ass bitch…the gaslighting!? she even had me thinking i misread something or missed something entirely. every time this woman said something, i just wanted to smack her. there’s just too much about this woman i swear.

❥ 𝒸𝑒𝒸𝑒𝓁𝒾𝒶 𝓌𝒾𝓃𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇:

⁀➷ cecelia is standing behind me, her pale blue eyes boring into me, wearing a white frilly dress that makes her look like a little doll. and by doll, i’m of course talking about that creepy talking doll in the twilight zone that murders people.

⁀➷ If this is the part of the job where i find out cecelia has actually been dead for ten years and is a ghost, i’m quitting.

⁀➷ do you know those movies about the scary cult of, like, creepy kids who can read minds and worship the devil and live in the cornfields or something? well, if they were casting for one of those movies, this girl would get the part. they wouldn’t even have to audition her. they would take one look at her and be like, yes, you are creepy girl number three.

😂i think these quotes sum up how i feel about this little girl. not only was she creepy, but she was such a little brat omg.

❥ 𝒶𝓃𝒹𝓇𝑒𝓌 𝓌𝒾𝓃𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇:
such a charmer🫦you all truly need to read this book and meet this man. he’s not only a charmer…he’s a lot of things🤭i swear freida has me absolutely swooning over this man🦋if freida writes a romance book…please just take all of my money🤌🏼

❥ 𝑒𝓃𝓏𝑜:
my mysterious italian man🦋freida knows how to write a fictional male character😋i won’t say anything else hehe you just gotta read about him😏😏

❥ 𝓆𝓊𝑜𝓉𝑒𝓈:
➸ he removes his tie and unbuttons the top button on his white dress shirt.
➸ he pulls off his dark jacket and starts rolling up the sleeves of his crisp white dress shirt.
~~~just had to add some of the slu*ttiest things men could do🧎🏻‍♀️🫦

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

❥11/22/23
𝓅𝓇𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌:
i started this book less than 6 hours ago. consider my mind royally f*cked.

thank you freida for the trust issues i will now suffer from!😀

rtc soon! let me just stare blankly at my ceiling for awhile longer🤌🏼🤌🏼

❥11/19/23
i’m full on stepping into my mystery/thriller era. i need to read some good mind f*cks🫦🫦

freida…i have heard amazing things!

First the wife upstairs = verity..
Now the housemaid = the last mrs parrish..

Does she have any other original books of her own???

4 hours ago I started this book as a “I guess I’ll read a little before sleep.” Joke’s on me, it’s now midnight.

This is the dumbest thing I have ever read. I am pissed about the high rating. There wasn’t a single thing that made even a tiny bit of sense, and it just kept getting dumber and dumber, even when you didn’t think it was possible.

What distinguishes this novel from others is McFadden's ability to create tension and introduce characters with some depth, who are easy to understand. The riveting chapters will keep you engaged as you try and predict the ultimate outcome. Through the narrative, readers will experience the emotions of dread and obsession as she desperately attempts to discover how dangerous Jack is.

The merging of the audiobook was an even more intense experience, because the audiobook was narrated in a suspenseful and theatrical way. Hearing book story through a narrator added a different level to the story and you could clearly appreciate the emotional journey that Claire was going through, it was difficult to stop listening!

Here you can find audiobook version:(The Housemaid - Audiobook Edition)

For those who appreciate a psychological suspense and enjoy complex and relatable characters this audiobook is definitely worth listening to.

Shockingly badly written.

(Even my cat thought it was sh*t: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQFyq...)

The dialogues were so cringy, I thought they were happening in the head of the main character.
I don't get the hype at all.
I gave it 2 star just because it was readable.

4.47!

I don't read thrillers that much. I think I have only read 6 with 4 of them being Holly Jackson's books but that's pretty much it, and I remembered how quickly I read them and how much I enjoyed some of them so I decided that I was going to read a lot of thrillers when I got free in June and The housemaid was the first target and it's safe to say, I loved it. The way this was so fast paced and it had me hooked!! I would've read it in one sitting but because of Eid and having so many guests over and with my cousins coming to stay with us, it made it hard for me to binge read this but I still read a huge portion of it whenever I picked it up, I was literally forced to keep it down. I stand by what I said, thrillers are the hardest to write because it's a mess at the start, there are so many leads and only one culprit and the way you have to tie all of them together while keeping the reader hooked is a really hard job which Freida nailed 🤭 this book also gave me verity vibes and I was here for it.

The story follows our main character Millie who's an ex-convict, desperate for a job. She finds one as a housemaid for the Winchesters and from there onwards her life starts to get messy. I would say Millie in this book was a badass, especially with how everything was done in the end 😭🤌🏻 wow just wow. I really liked her. I won't talk about Nina and Andrew because they are heavily tied to the plot and plot twists and well....I mean I guessed the main twist but not the intensity of it but some of you may not so I won't say anything except for how conflicting and interesting characters they were to read and 👀 Enzo 👀 can we get more scenes of him??

In thrillers the one thing I learned was that it's never the first person who the MC thinks of as the culprit so my doubts were on someone else and I had predicted that it would be them but didn't know why or how and man 💀 that was f*cked up, the intensity of what they did skyrocketed it really helped me feel for our victim.
I also liked how well it was partitioned into three parts and how one followed mille then Nina and then both.

Overall, I think that all that I can talk about without spoiling anything but I would definitely recommend it because I had an amazing time.
____
This is Freida McFadden's highest rated book.......let's see what the hype is all about 🤭

(Let the June thriller tbr marathon begin!)

★ 4 stars

“"I can’t seem to shake that uneasy feeling. That I should get out of here while I still can."

As this is a spoiler free review it's going to be short and sweet as I can't say too much. I can see why this psychological thriller is so popular! It's definitely a fast faced page turner.

The plot

Millie Calloway is hired to be an in-house maid for the Winchesters’ in a time when she is desperate, living out of her car and no one will take a chance on her. The Winchesters’ are a very well off, upper-class couple who have a 9 year old daughter, Cecila. When Millie enters the house she starts to realise that not everything is as perfect as it seems. Unfortunately for Millie, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

╰⪼Thoughts

"There’s something about this room that’s making a little ball of dread form in the pit of my stomach.”

The first 30% of the book was pretty slow for me but once I pushed past this it really picked up. This book is filled with plot twists and when you think you have it figured out, there's further reveals. It kept me on edge and while I did suspect some things earlier on, there was definitely a lot of build up towards the end that I didn't see coming 👀 The few twists I did guess didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book. This was my first Freida McFadden book and won't be my last.

I found the writing style to be quite simple and the chapters were relatively short which made this book binge-worthy. The Housemaid is perfect if you are new to the thriller genre or picking one up after a long time. The few issues I had in the first 30% which kept my rating from being higher was that I felt the author was trying too hard to tell me how to feel as the hints and 'thriller elements' weren't subtle. I also found the last couple of chapters to be a little rushed. I wanted to have chills but I sadly didn't feel that way but I was definitely hooked on this book.

Overall, I thought the epilogue was fantastic and I can't wait to see what happens in books 2 and 3. This book is very entertaining and will whisk you away into the thick of it. There are some slight romance elements as well which might entice you to pick this up if you are new to thrillers. Andrew had me 🫦 The fact that this managed to pull me out of my reading slump and keep me flipping pages is a testament to this book 🙌

- - -

She's in her thriller era 💅 (hopefully) - pls pls get me out of my reading slump🤞

what in the batsh*t crazy, psycho, disturbing verity by colleen hoover was that
give me more

3.5 STARS

My third and favorite from this author. I couldn't resist the eye in the keyhole cover!

Millie lands a new job. A housemaid in a swanky Long Island neighborhood. All the houses are gated and the crime rate is low. Beats living in your car!

Her boss, Nina is a flighty one. She flips from hot to cold in a NY second. Does she have a split personality? Seems that way, but Millie must carry on! And bonus points for the HOT hubby!

This was entertaining, a bit predictable, some light suspense, and an all around easy read with a couple silly parts. If you enjoy popcorn reads, I recommend.

The ending was my favorite, a nice twist that gave me the Cheshire Cat kinda grin! Bravo for that!

Thanks to NG and Bookouture for the arc. OUT April 26, 2022

It was a quick fun read, exactly what I needed. The book gripped me from the start and I struggled to put it down.

The story is not something unique tbh. But the way it's told is chef's kiss. The author is quite talented, reading it was envisioning it. The story is told in three parts, I found part 1 and part 2 to be quite predictable but part 3 is what wowed me.

It is only when I learned Nina's truth, that I found myself sympathizing with her (to a limit). I liked Millie, although I didn't like some of her actions. Andrew was.... I got no words.

If you want something easy, quick, fun and thriller to read- this is it.

Crazy is as crazy does......

The Housemaid is one of those illogical reads that just keeps your sticky fingers gripped to the pages. You want to shake it loose, but you simply can't. It is so bizarro that you keep clicking on your cell phone to check if the world is still out there and you're not registered somewhere in a padded cell.

Millie comes up short where luck is concerned. She's always been at the wrong place and at the wrong time pretty much all of her life. Millie's been living in her cramped little car for some time now. Her last job didn't pan out and she's counting the slices of her cheap bread and bologna. She can't even get a job flippin' burgers. No good references. No good options.

But then an ad has been posted for a live-in maid with light duties. Millie interviews with the elegant wife/mother in her elegant house with her elegant handsome husband. Against all odds, Millie gets the job. But Nina, her new boss, is a bit "off". Nina has spent some time in a psychiatric hospital. She spins on a dime from day to day. Cecelia, nine years old, is spoiled rotten and lights up Millie every chance she gets. Millie feels sorry for Andrew, the husband, who is caught in this emotional blender on high speed.

Freida McFadden presents a whirlwind of events here. The pace and the short chapters keep this one afloat. The storyline has a familiar ring to it as those of us who've read a billion psychological thrillers know. McFadden throws in a few zingers and twists to liven it up. Foolish people get fooled. Street-wise never do. But you press on just to experience the final outcome. And when it comes.....it comes. Not a blockbuster read by any means, but it's already been popular because of that eye-poking cover. Check it out and see what you think.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest read. My thanks to Bookouture and to Freida McFadden for the opportunity.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel for an honest review. It has been published in April 2022.

"The Housemaid" by Freida McFadden was a bit of a disappointment to read.
First of all, the tagline "From behind closed doors, she sees everything" must have been chosen by someone who never read the book, because it couldn't be farther from the truth: Millie goes through the novel blissfully unaware of everything that happens around her, be it behind closed doors or not. Even the most telegraphed plot twists somehow catch her by surprise, despite all the warning signs and the not-so-cryptic warnings she receives from other characters. The only ones who see everything from behind closed doors are Andrew and Enzo, and how sad it is that a novel written by a woman, with a woman as a protagonist, should depict both its female main characters as such hapless damsels in distress?
Nina has no agency at all, she's only good to be rescued by her super-hot, muscled, Italian stud, and even Millie shows no initiative at all up until the very ending.
On the good side, the narrative flows easily enough, making the read a quick one. On the not so good side, there are some huge plotholes that make the whole novel feel like a joke: for starters, Enzo's charade doesn't hold water. It's simply not believable that a man in his thirties who has lived and worked in the US for 3 years, being employed by a dozen families in such a posh neighbourhood, and who is considered the best at what he does, would not speak any English at all, not even the most basic communication that Italian children are taught in primary school. When we find out that he's just pretending, it's even worse! How would he ever get a job with all those very wealthy, very elitist families if he wasn't able to let on that he spoke the language? How would he be able to follow his customer's instructions, to the point that he's considered "the best at his job", if he had to pretend he didn't understand them at all?
And what about the "translating apps" that Millie mentions in the very beginning of the book, hoping that they'll help her communicate with Enzo, except then she never uses them, never mentions them again and spends the rest of the novel complaining that she has no way of communicating with Enzo?
What about the security guard who searches Millie on the basis of a random phonecall tipping him off about her alleged shoplifting? In the real world, no security guard in their right mind would do such a thing: they would more likely enquire who the person calling them is, and how can they know who is a shoplifter and describe how the shoplifter is dressed, since they're calling *from outside the shop*.
How can Millie describe her new, tiny attic room in the Winchester house as an "inhuman place, like a torture chamber", when she's been living in the back of her car right before moving to said attic room, and has spent 10 years in jail right before that?
Let's not even mention how far-fetched the twist about the policeman's daughter is, and how it would be absolutely impossible to simply drop an investigation like that, even if a random policeman decided to.
Still, I wouldn't have minded the plotholes so much if the characterisation hadn't been so bad: literally all of the characters, including the protagonist, are nothing more than stock characters, flat, cartoonish figurines in no way relatable or interesting. On top of that, all 4 main characters (I'm counting the 9-year-old brat as well, yes) are completely, irredeemably despicable. The only vaguely likeable character is Enzo, but then he's a walking stereotype, so in the end I didn't like him either.

DNF, no rating, as only got to 39%.
This was awful, and I suspect would be a two star if I finished it, but I'm not putting myself through that.
Cringey, repetitive writing, annoying characters and a plot I think I've seen before, no thanks!
I have seen others who feel the same, but we're definitely in the minority. I'm flabbergasted by all the positive reviews and the high rating!
Moving on.

This was a FOMO read, for me!

All but TWO of my friends loved it, so I had to squeeze it in!! Unfortunately, I am in the same camp as the two who were NOT thrilled with it! 🤣

The BEST part for me was the EPILOGUE which sets up the sequel-I think that’s a first!!

In Part One, Nina Winchester is looking for a maid to clean, help out with her daughter Cecilia, and perhaps prepare a meal on occasion. The person she hires will need to be desperate for a job, and have CERTAIN personality traits.

Millie fits the criteria.

She is willing to live in the tiny ATTIC room, with only one window, which seems to be painted shut, and has a lock on the OUTSIDE of the door-and she is tolerant of Cecelia who is dressed up like Wednesday from the Adams family, but definitely doesn’t have the manners of a pretty little girl.

She must also need the job enough to also tolerate the split personality of Nina, herself!

I enjoyed Millie’s sense of humor, and was curious to see where this would go-initially.

Then came Part Two, and there is a SURPRISING twist, but it’s very OTT and the story goes off the rails at this point. 🚂

And, in PART THREE, the story twists yet again.

Sure, I realize this story is meant to be taken with a grain of salt, preferably served on buttered popcorn, 🍿 but, the last two parts were too crazy for my taste!

But, there are MANY 5 star reviews so, IF the crazier the better is what you are looking for-it should satisfy YOU! 😉

the most painfully average thriller i have ever read.

sorry, not sorry.

Pre-read

This is gonna be my first thriller so please be good🤞🏼

1.5 ⭐️ Did we all read the same book? How does this have such a high rating?

WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ psychological thriller
✨ mystery
✨ plot twists
✨ TW: infidelity, domestic abuse, torture, toxic relationship, murder, death (this is not a complete list, so be sure to research the trigger warnings before)

My Thoughts:

What a f*cking waste of my time. I am annoyed I read this book and cannot believe it came so highly recommended. There's so much I can say but I'll keep this review short since I don't want to spend more time thinking about this book than I have to.

I hardly ever read thrillers yet I was able to predict everything. I honestly wish I DNF'd but I decided to keep going for the big plot twists that I was told would completely surprise me; but alas, they did not. The author basically tells you what's going to happen next by making the narrator have internal dialogue that panders to the reader. Here are a few examples.

1. The FMC, Millie, enters the room she will be living in and goes, "There was something about that room that was very scary." Oooooo, I bet something terrible happened there. *I say this sarcastically*

2. Millie meets the gardener and she notices, "There's something in his expression that sends a chill down my spine. And then he shakes his head, almost imperceptibly. Almost like he's trying to warn me." And then he tells her it's dangerous and she should leave. Huh, I wonder why the gardener would tell a random woman she's in danger living in this rich suburban home as the maid. What could possibly go wrong?

3. Millie meets the husband and immediately notices how hot he is. "It's hard not to notice that he is several levels more attractive than his wife." And throughout the story she constantly comments on how handsome he is. I wonder what's going to happen between the super hot maid and her super hot employer. . .

4. Millie's bedroom door locks from the outside and she notices there are scratches on the door, "Like somebody was scraping at the door. Trying to get out." Cue the Cardi-B viral sound "That's suspicious. That's weird." We all know she's getting locked in that room at some point.

There's a lot more but again, I don't want to spend more time on this book so, moving on to my next point.

The writing was juvenile. Along with the author's penchant for pandering to the reader, the book was just so average written. It felt like someone in high school wrote it. Simple writing. Basic characters. Unrealistic development.

Millie was an unbearable FMC. She's a recently released convict and has had a hard time keeping a job. She's desperate, which is why she overlooks all the red flags about this new job as a maid. But for f*ck's sake, it's like she has zero self preservation. I absolutely hated her and the choices she made throughout the story. The only redeeming thing about her was how she handles everything at the end.

But that ending has me laughing because of the sheer stupidity of it all. You're telling me Millie has been a dud for the entire book but somehow she comes out on top at the end? I don't believe it but whatever.

Overall, this book was a miss and I do not recommend it. I should be giving this 1 stars because I legit didn’t like anything about it. But it was readable and even if predictable, there was a cohesive plot. . . so I’ll give it 1.5 stars.

“Welcome to the family,” Nina Winchester said as she greeted Millie, her new housekeeper. Millie desperately needs a new job. She doesn't have too many choices and one that provides her with a place to live, sounds like heaven as she has been sleeping in her car.

Every day she cleans the home - it's gleaming and spotless. That is until Nina comes down and makes a mess and makes Millie clean it up again. Millie can't help but wonder why. Then there is the groundskeeper who warns her of danger when she first arrives. But Millie shakes it off. She can deal with one spoiled housewife. Her spoiled daughter is another issue, but Millie tries to win her over. Then there is Andrew - the achingly handsome husband who must put up with a demanding and erratic wife.

Millie tries her best, but will her best be good enough?

I had the luxury of having both the kindle and audiobook versions of the book. I enjoyed the narrator and being able to go back and forth between the book and listening to it in the car. I thought the narrator did a great job!

This was a fast-paced book which grabbed me from page one. I felt as if Nina was inviting me into her home and into her family. It was fun to be a fly on the wall, and watch the drama unfold. The characters in this book are an interesting bunch. Just who do you trust? Who is a reliable narrator? Who has secrets? How juicy and fun this book was! Pure entertainment.

I love trying to figure out what is going to happen, where the plot is going, who is telling the truth, who is reliable, etc. This one kept me on my toes. I found it to be fun, dramatic, surprising, and hard to put down!

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com

Outlier alert!!

Millie = the ex con has just being hired as a maid. Phew! Big relief all round because she’s been living in her aged Nissan for a while.

Nina = the wife. Her mood changes like the wind whipping through British seaside resort in the middle of winter. Pretty bonkers in other words.

Cecilia = the daughter. A brat.

Andrew = the husband, McDreamy in a power suit.

The story is divided into three parts.

Part one is Millie and although the storyline is OTT it’s readable though for an ex con Nina sure ain’t savvy.
Part two is Nina and this is where the thing comes crashing off the rails and plummets into the depths far below. It’s utterly bonkers and not in a good way. Then we get to part three where scenes get more and more unedifying and as for swallowing that ending… er, just nope. The very definition of totally unrealistic.

What was the best part? The End.

Something tells me I won’t be reading book 2!!!

Here’s hoping my next read is better than the last two. 🤞

5/5 ⭐️ I haven’t read a thriller in 3 years prior to this one so I didn’t really have high expectations but omg this was so good! It pulled me in from the first few chapters and I couldn’t stop reading. It was just so entertaining and it got me out of my reading slump. I can’t wait to read more books by this author! I’m officially obsessed!!!!

They deserved all of it and more!! Not saying who so it wouldn't be a spoiler...

4.5🌟

I was literally flying through this, and I should have finished it within a few hours, but I didn't have time to read, anywayyyy, the story gets you HOOKED from the very first chapters, and although I could guess who was the ACTUAL problem(yes everyone seems crazy in these books) halfway through, I still got to enjoy it! And the ending??? That got me excited to pick up the next book as soon as possible!

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pre-read

I was supposed to buddy-read Magnolia Parks as my next read, but I'm not yet ready for that kind of emotional roller coaster!

May Freida McFadden's story blew my mind away once again!