But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don't know who I really am. They don't know what I'm capable of... What a wild ride. The perfect escapist read, The Housemaid’s Secret was the definition of a popcorn thriller. Stuffed full of secrets, lies, and underhanded motivations, there was one epic twist after the other right up until the very end. And in typical Freida McFadden style, they had me second-guessing everything! After all, she’s always been the queen of misdirection. When the second half of the book comes around the air of mystery begins to dissipate a bit by bit, leaving in its stead a clearer sense of danger. While it is impossibly difficult to compensate for what is lost when an enigma is solved, the author does a great job of ensuring it naturally leads to a better understanding of the peril our characters are in, consequently raising the threat level by increments until the climax.

I don’t do well with peer pressure and with all the hype around the book…well I gave in. This book 100% lives up to its well-deserved hype. Once I started this one I could not put it down. This was my first Freida book and I’ve now read 3 others. I can say she is an immediate buy author for me. I immediately read the next book as well. I just had to continue Millie’s story.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. 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.

As Nina ups the ante in an attempt to drive Millie into total despair and insanity, the latter isn’t ready to go down without a fight. As a matter of fact, she has a bit of a trump card up her sleeve, one she was hoping never to reveal again. The Winchesters don’t truly know who she is or what she’s capable of, and she’s about to show them how deep her claws can really cut. The Complex Rivalries of The Housemaid 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. Yes, there were a few discrepancies that I caught while reading this (but who’s counting, 😉), so I’m going with 4.5 stars rounded up. I will say that I do hope we see Millie again in a third book 🤞. I will also be cutting this review short as I plan on doing some cleaning up of my own 🧹🧽🪣 Then the creepy neighbor comes around her apartment and she must protect herself. If only Enzo were here. Then she senses someone is following her. Every day I clean the Winchesters' beautiful house from 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.

Customer reviews

McFadden knows exactly how to consistently raise the stakes in her novel, always keeping them in sight and never letting us forget the seemingly constant danger our characters are in. The fact she found a way to make two cunning enemies inhabit the same house only benefits the plot, doing wonders in maintaining a tense atmosphere with little room for respite.