Reviews with content warning for Body shaming - The Housemaid

This book reminded me why I love thrillers and how incredible they can be when written well. And this was phenomenal. The hype truly is worth it.

The writing style is addictive, and super atmospheric. Immediately when starting this book it felt tense and eerie and like anything could happen. Parts of this felt predictable and at first I was like “I don’t get the hype, why is everyone acting like this is something new” but thennn the twists began. And I realised the predictability is there to make you feel comfortable, to make the twists even more shocking and unexpected. It’s a book that’s written so cleverly. I truly could not have predicted how this story went, it was just twist after twist. That part 2 twist had me SHOOK.

My one complaint is some of the comments about body size and image. I think it could potentially be triggering for some people. A woman who is mentioned to be a size 14 which is a very average and normal mid size body, who is being spoken about in certain critical ways I think is very outdated and not necessarily relevant to what the author was building here. For me this didn’t take away from the story or quality of the thriller itself, but it is something to note.

I understand that Andrew obviously prefers a skinny woman so it was building up to that affair he had with Millie, but I think this could have been referenced without shaming a very common body type. The complimentary focus of a skinnier frame and a critical one of a very normal frame is dated and I think probably a little cruel. To discuss eating habits too is also potentially very triggering.

This whole story was unhinged from start to finish, and full of unexpected turns. I felt icky throughout and so tense, which for me is just the mark of an excellent psych thriller. The pacing was impeccable, the reveals excellently timed. The characters were so well thought out too. Just amazing, amazing writing. And with the way this book ended I anticipate I will be reading the sequel VERY soon.

I wish all thrillers were this good.

Content Warnings

bettymer91's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

xgabrielle_hx's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

k8lynn's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

rochelleisreading's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.5

Content Warnings

hhanock's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

kjm19's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I haven’t read a book like this in a very long time - probably since the Girl on the Train?

An incredibly fast-paced crime/thriller novel about a woman on parole who is hired to be a live-in family maid. You can see twists and turns coming for the most part, but you don’t know the specifics and that’s what keeps you on your toes.

The change of POV at a critical point in the story didn’t leave me wanting more, in fact it answered some questions but also gave me a thirst for more answers.

The plot centring on the injustices of the prison system and how poorly women in abusive relationships are treated by law enforcement and the ‘establishment’ made it more impactful for me.

Other than the police chief person’s daughter being Andy’s ex (cliche, lazy, forced…), the ending (last chapter with Andy’s mum at the funeral and the epilogue with Millie being interviewed at a new place) chefs kiss.

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