Reviews with content warning for Schizophrenia/Psychosis - The Housemaid

First off, I have nothing against the subject matter. I like books that explore domestic abuse, mental illness and allow women to fight back. It has to be good though.

This is meant to be a psychological thriller, but I did not find it remotely scary or tense at any juncture. I normally love psychological thrillers, they get under my skin like nothing else. However, the writing felt flat, creating no atmosphere and there were too many character and plot issues distracting me to feel any fear. This is particularly disappointing given that it is about something that is automatically terrifying.

As I mentioned earlier, the writing failed to create a tense or scary atmosphere. For the plot to move forward, it required too many convenient moments or interruptions or for the characters to be very credulous. I managed to guess almost all of the plot twists and secrets well before the reveal, taking out any tension or suspense this was meant to build. I normally don’t manage to figure out the twists for ages, if at all! So that was very disappointing. If the atmosphere had been actually tense and/or scary, then I would have been much more forgiving of this book, but it was not.

The characters were neither likeable nor interesting. They were often ascribed a particular trait or history, but never demonstrated it. The biggest example of this is Millie, the housekeeper, maid, whatever you want to label her. I find it unbelievable that Millie has ever been near a prison, nevermind been in one for ten years for a violent crime. I know that not every person who has been to prison is a caricature of a violent, paranoid criminal. However, prison is rough and traumatic (an understatement) and you walk away from it with certain learned behaviour. Millie even mentions these: sleeping with one eye open or relieving herself whilst holding a can of mace. However, she demonstrates none of this when she arrives at the Winchester house. She is not the slightest bit wary around anyone, particularly men. She has very little awareness of her surroundings for someone who is an insomniac and slept in a prison since her teens. She also has little situational awareness, continually putting her foot in her mouth when being quiet was obviously the best option or lingering too long to eavesdrop and getting caught every time. She talks about keeping her head down, but she never does, as she appears incapable of keeping her mouth shut at crucial moments. I also cannot believe that someone has been in prison would willingly stay/sleep/live in a room where they can be locked in. Particularly when there are scratch marks on the inside of the door. I don’t believe anyone could stay and not, at least, make a massive effort to get the lock removed. She could have done it herself! Get a screwdriver and remove it. Yes, she did get a key for it, but that didn’t allow her the crucial ability to unlock the door from the inside. And while some would argue that it’s the destruction of someone else’s property, they don’t have a leg to stand on. It’s a safety and rights issue. Why do you want to keep a lock on the door that can imprison someone? So you can imprison someone obviously.

I know that she is meant to be desperate because of her criminal record and urgently needs an income and housing or she risks going back to prison. There is a limit though and Millie shoots past it in a way that beggards belief. When she got fired from the bar, she could have moved back to the halfway house at any point, avoiding this entire mess. That is not uncommon!

A lot of the characters were like this. Andy is meant to be a clever manipulator but lacking any of that particular brand of insidious charm. Nina is meant to be a woman on the edge looking for a desperate escape but comes off cruel instead.

The mess of characters and the unsubtle attempt to build tension and fear without doing either creates a very flat book that is a struggle to finish.

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shadymist's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

5.0

Honestly this is the best book I have read so far this year! So many twists and turns that make the reader keep going. I finished the book the same day I started it. That should tell you how much worthwhile this book was to read! Frieda Mcfadden is a truly gifted author.

Content Warnings