Reviews - The Housemaid | The StoryGraph

61k reviews for:

The Housemaid

Freida McFadden

4.08 AVERAGE

vanessas_library's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book was absolutely wild from start to finish. At first, Nina comes across as a normal—though slightly unhinged—woman. She hires Millie as a live-in maid, and Part One follows Millie’s daily struggles under Nina’s unpredictable behavior. From endless cleaning, shopping, and cooking to dealing with Nina’s sudden outbursts, it constantly leaves you wondering, “What is actually going on here?”
One moment that stood out to me was when Nina gave Millie a bag of clothes, only to later accuse her of stealing them and threaten to call the police. Andrew, Nina’s husband, had to step in to defend Millie. As the tension builds, things spiral into an affair between Millie and Andrew, ultimately leading to Nina being pushed out of the picture.
Then Part Two completely flips the script. We’re taken back into Nina’s past—when she first met Andrew—and we see a different side of her. It turns out Nina wasn’t always the unstable one; Andrew’s manipulative nature is revealed, and Millie is caught in the crossfire between the two. But she has her own secrets.
This book kept me hooked with its twists and the constant shifting of who’s truly “crazy.” It’s the kind of story that makes you question everyone’s motives until the very last page.