The Housemaid by Freida McFadden is a fast-paced psychological thriller set in an upper-class home filled with secrets. This story encompasses what many readers look for in psychological thrillers and mystery novels.
McFadden’s ability to keep you on the edge of your seat while you slowly unravel the dysfunction and scandal of a well-to-do family is evident in this novel. If you’re looking for a highly entertaining, fast-paced thriller with a bit of mystery, I’d recommend The Housemaid.
Summary of The Housemaid
Freida McFadden begins the story by introducing Millie, an ex-con hired as a housemaid by a wealthy woman named Nina Winchester. Millie’s main responsibilities include helping to run the household duties and to assist in caring for Nina’s young daughter, Cecelia.
Millie soon meets Nina’s husband, Andrew, who appears to be mildly untrustworthy and a little too friendly towards Millie. As the story progresses, we see something is not quite right with Nina, and intricate and problematic character dynamics creep to the surface.
About halfway through the story, we have a change of point of view from Millie to Nina. The point of view change is the point of the story where all of the horrors that occurred in part one are dissected from Nina’s point of view. If you’re a fan of stories that include multiple points of view and shocking twists and turns, The Housemaid by Freida McFadden is the book for you.
Themes in The Housemaid:
As you may have guessed from the summary, the themes explored in The Housemaid are dark and not for the faint of heart. The story examines problematic power dynamics centered around socioeconomic status and prestige. The story also explores jealousy, betrayal, and revenge. The unlikable and untrustworthy characters send these points home in their actions and dialogue.
Is the Housemaid Scary?
This story isn’t scary in the conventional horror sense. Because The Housemaid falls into the thriller category, the terror of the book lies in the sinister and manipulative nature of the characters and the fear of what cannot be seen behind closed doors. What this story covers regarding the darker side of human nature, manipulation, and power dynamics will make this a scary read for most people.
My Review of The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
The Housemaid by Freida Mcfadden was an overall enjoyable read for me. While this book is not a literary work of art, it was very entertaining, and I couldn’t put it down. When I chose to read this book, I was pulling myself out of a reading slump and needed an easy, entertaining, and fast-paced read. For that reason, this book found me at the right place and time, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The Housemaid really delivered in ways you’d expect from a psychological thriller. Were there some parts that were a little predictable? Yes. Were there some parts that left me completely shocked? Also yes. The Housemaid isn’t necessarily the best fast-paced and scandalous thriller available, but that being said, I did not regret the time and money I spent on this book.
The storyline felt fine-tuned, and the plot was intricate enough to keep me on my toes without losing my interest. I love a good mystery where you’re constantly making predictions as more secrets are unveiled.
The general vibe of the book with the upper-class setting and the scandal within it intrigued me. I found the contrast between Millie, an average working-class person, and Nina, a wealthy, somewhat spoiled stay-at-home mother, fascinating. The splitting of their points of view in the middle of the story was an excellent call on Mcfadden’s part. The chaotic wealthy world and its dysfunctional horrors felt immersive.
While I did enjoy this book for what it was, I did have a few notes. I’ll start with the most petty: the book cover. The cover art feels so cheesy compared to the fancy, mysterious, upper-class setting. I’m being nit-picky about this, but book covers matter, and it was a big reason why I hesitated even after the book was recommended to me over and over.
The other note I had was about the exposition. There were some parts throughout the story that were over-explained. There is a tricky balance between too much and too little exposition in psychological thrillers because too little information confuses the story and makes me lose interest quickly. But with too much exposition, parts of the story can feel spoon-fed. Without giving spoilers, there were some parts with excessive exposition or where McFadden could’ve left a bit more for the reader to infer.
My final rating for this book is 3 out of 5 stars. Overall, the storyline was interesting, well thought out and engaging. The characters were morally ambiguous and unreliable, which I enjoyed. Readers who are looking for an easy, fast-paced, juicy read, The Housemaid by Freida McFadden is a great story to check out.
Have you read this book? Let me know in the comments what your thoughts were and what other psychological thrillers you’d recommend!
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