A review by xabbeylongx
The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 SPOILERS AHEAD
Book Review: 
A really easy, flowing read. I read it over about 3 days, I physically could not put it down. 
The beginning, oh my god; that was amazing. The intrigue it brought, the hook, and then looking back on it at the end and seeing who the POV belonged to, is just amazing. I really liked the style it was written in. I know first person is really hard to write in, personally, but I really liked it in this book. There were also many other really good things, such as Millie's character. I thought she was beautifully written, and very realistic too. You don't normally get ex-prisoners as the main characters, and I like that she stood up for what was right. I have a lot of time for Millie, and her attitude, and her ability to make mistakes. And I thought that when Eleanor, Andy’s mum, was talking about him getting his teeth ‘sorted out’ at the end, that was brilliant. Because, not only does Nina get let off the hook, but we can also see where Andy may have got it form. Did he suffer that sort of abuse from his mum, and that’s why he did it? It’s such an interesting thing to think about. 
Unfortunately, this book would have got five stars, but the ending was a little too neat and tidy for me. You mean everyone gets away with murder, even with a dead body that has his won teeth pulled out? The stakes were somewhat high, but I needed them a little higher. That being said, when Nina was opening the door for Millie, and the readers knew that it was actually Andy in there, it did shit me up. I was proper nervous for a jumpscare. I don’t think I’ve been that thrilled by a book in ages. 
In addition, there are only two things that I didn’t fully understand, minor things. The meds, and the taking out of the trash. There was emphasis on the meds, but it didn’t really account to anything - especially after Millie finds them. And why was taking out the trash such a big thing? Like there was a big struggle about it, but then it didn’t amount to much, which was a little unsatisfying. 
However, it is such a good book, it flows really well and is such a gripping read. For those who agreed, and liked this book, this is quite similar to Jason Rekulak’s ‘Hidden Pictures’, which I have actually given 5 stars. Worth a read! 
 
Book Summary: 
We follow Millie as she has just applied for a job. Nina seems like a lovely woman, with a daughter called Cecilia, and she is applying to the be a helper around the house - a maid, if you will. Millie has a secret, though, and that is that she used to be in prison, for a multitude of reasons. She always had a temper, sticking up for people who don’t stick up for themselves, but it only seems to get her in trouble. Her friend was about to be r*ped, and she killed the guy who was on her, all 200lbs of him not being able to be budged by her. However, the friend looked at her like a monster. Ever since then, that record hasn’t gone away, and she struggles to get jobs. Even with Nina’s hospitality, she is sure that she won’t get the job. 
After a few rejections, she has lost all hope. She knows that she is breaking her parole by not having a job (having got fired from her previous for beating up a man who groped her - it was only because he didn’t want people to know that he had been beaten up by a woman that she got away with it, otherwise she would have been whisked back to prison) and also living out of her car. So when Nina hires her, she is ecstatic. 
That joy is quickly gone, when Nina turns out to be insane. After shopping through her cupboards and spotting the meds, seeing how she acted in her own home, and how other people saw her, it’s no surprise to learn that Nina had been in a psychiatric hospital - for trying to kill her daughter, no less. After medicating her daughter, and medicating herself, she tried to drown her. She doesn’t remember doing it but the psychiatrist said she suffered with delusions, so that is what she had to believe. 
When Millie started the job, she quickly found out how difficult both her and Cecelia were. Cecilia point-blank refused to listen to her, and Nina was horrible. She left awful messes wherever she went, which Millie had to clean up, and was always telling her the wrong things, and then blaming it on Millie. It didn’t help that Millie had an attraction to Andrew, Nina’s husband. Several times, Andy stopped Nina from firing her, which only made her like him more. When an argument occurred (to do with Nina’s fertility, or lack thereof), he asked Millie to buy Nina tickets to cheer her up. But she got the dates wrong. Nina could no longer go, so Andy insisted that Millie take them. But she didn’t have any friends to go with. 
So Andy went with her. 
Nina was taking Cecilia to a bootcamp, so they had the house to themselves for the night. They went, and then had dinner afterwards. They both stopped mentioning Nina, and got a bit drink. Needless to say, the hotel that had been booked for Nina and Andy, was now for him and Millie. 
The next morning, they acted as though nothing happened. Nina, obviously, found out. After an extensive blow-up, he kicked Nina out, and told her and Cecilia not to come back, that they were getting a divorce. 
This was not the hardship that he thought it would be for Nina. 
This was Nina’s plan all along. The attic (where Millie had been sleeping) was actually where Nina had been forced to stay. For minor inconveniences, like not getting her roots done or leaving the lights on, she was forced to stay in there, with no food, and only three mini bottles of water. This was to last her however many days he left her there for. They would always come with tasks she had to do to be let out, like pulling 100 hairs out of her head, or staying in the pitch black or bright light for hours on end. If she failed, she had to start again. And when he let her out, it was almost as if nothing happened, and he went back to the loving, doting husband she thought he was. 
The first time, she was drugged, and when she woke up, Cecilia was drowning in the bath. He had called the police, saying she had tried to kill herself, and her daughter too. She was put in the mental institution. So, although she wanted to tell someone, she knew she wouldn’t be taken seriously. This is why she devised a plan to escape. 
She figured Andy would go for someone younger, prettier. She let herself go. After she had taken infertility meds, and Andy was wondering why she couldn’t get pregnant, she knew he’d start looking, that he’d want kids of his own. She stopped doing her hair, taking care of herself. She decided she needed someone to come in, someone to take her place. After seeing Millie’s situation, she knew that Millie wouldn’t be picky about jobs, and brought her in. She had to sleep in the attic, so that her husband would psychologically see that Millie could take her spot. Luckily, there was a mutual attraction between the two, so that worked in her favour. She would make huge messes around the house, and make arguments, which Andy would inevitably save her from. Then she would get them together, they would make love, and their marriage would finally be over. 
Once Andy kicked her out, she grabbed Cecilia, and they left. They were both so happy, especially after Cecilia had been picked up from camp. Enzo, the gardener, who worked for many of their neighbours too, had been only speaking broken Italian the entire time. However, when he knew Nina was in danger, he would speak English. He wanted to help her, so he helped them escape. However, after leaving Millie with Andy, and seeing she hadn’t left the house in a while, Enzo was adamant that she go back. It played on Nina’s conscience, until she did actually go back. 
Millie had already been enduring the abuse, even though he waited until after marriage for Nina. She didn’t put the books away she was reading, and he made her balance them on her stomach. He said that she took them off far too early, and she had to do it again. The thing with Millie is, she does not put up with that. So, when he comes in to let her out, she takes her chances. Nina, for some reason, left pepper spray in the room, and she used that on him. She stole his phone, and locked him in there. Now, she has his phone, his CCTV camera, and him locked away. 
She forces him to put the same books on his stomach, but he wasn’t in enough pain. She said about his groin, instead. And then made him do it again. There was so much hatred and rage in him, that there’s no way she could let him out now. She tells him he needs to pull out his teeth, one by one, if he wants to leave. 
When Nina arrives, it is really quiet. Thinking Millie is locked in the room, she opens it, and she finds Andy. He’s on the floor, and dead. She tells Millie to get out of there, and calls the police. She takes the blame, knowing Cecilia is safe with Enzo. When the police get there, though, one of them is the father of someone else who dated him. She apparently had to move away after dating him, and create a new identity. So, the police officers don’t charge anyone, and take it as dehydration from being accidentally locked in the room. 
Millie is then recommended to other people by Nina - other people that are in secretly abusive situations. 
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