The Housemaid was the first Freida McFadden book I ever read. I decided to read it because it was extremely popular on TikTok and had over 100,000 reviews on Amazon. I was not disappointed. This will always be my favorite Freida McFadden story. From this point on, The Housemaid review will contain spoilers. So if you haven't read it yet and you want to, come back later, or scroll to the bottom to read my thoughts.
The Housemaid Summary
Millie Calloway needs a job. She's currently homeless and living in her car. No one will hire her because of her dark, criminal past. So, when she's offered a housekeeping job for a rich suburban family, she quickly accepts. At first things are okay. Nina and Andrew Winchester are a bit strange, especially Nina. She is described as "flighty" and often says things and then denies it.
On Millie's first day, she has to clean up the filthy home. Every surface seems to be covered by something. The next day, she returns to find Nina throwing things all over the kitchen floor. Millie is accused of throwing out important PTA meeting notes. Despite knowing she didn't, Millie apologizes to Nina and is left to clean up the mess. Andrew, who is strikingly handsome, offers to help her, but Millie refuses and does it herself.
Things do not get any better as the time passes. Nina continues to treat Millie horribly, and all the while, the attraction between Millie and Andrew grows. Nina is infertile and has "let herself go" over the past few years. Millie is young and very attractive, leading Andrew to pursue her. After a misunderstanding between Nina and Millie, Millie gets to go to a Broadway show with Andrew. After, they go to dinner and drink too much. They end up sleeping in a hotel room and sleeping with each other.
After this, Andrew decides to kick Nina out and begin a relationship with Millie. Here's the twist: Nina did everything on purpose. Andrew abused her for years and locked her in the attic for days at a time. She was accused of harming her daughter and was hospitalized a few times because of his lies. When she couldn't take it anymore, Nina devised a plan. She would find a replacement for herself and leave it all behind.
Millie was perfect for this. Nina dug into her past and found her criminal history. When Millie was a teenager, she killed a man for sexually assaulting her friend at a party. She has also done other questionable things throughout the years, leading to her serving in prison. Nina didn't simply want a replacement. She wanted Andrew to die, and she knew Millie would do it.
That's exactly what happens when Andrew decides to "punish" Millie for the first time. He locks her in the closet and forces her to keep three large textbooks on her abdomen for three hours before letting her out. He accuses her of getting up a minute early the first time and makes her do it again. By this point, Millie is fuming. When Andrew opens the door, Millie sprays him with pepper spray she found and locks him in the room. She makes him do terrible things to himself before simply leaving him for six days. When Nina returns to check on Millie, she finds Andrew's body in the closet. She tells Millie to leave so she won't go back to prison. Nina calls the police, preparing to go to prison herself, but she lucks out. The officer's daughter was engaged to Andrew before. She left him, changed her name, and never went out with a man again. Her father always wondered why, but now he knows. In the epilogue, Millie is interviewing for another job as a housemaid. The wife tells her Nina recommended her for the job, and shows her some bruises. Millie understands why she's there and tells her she will help her. Book two anyone?
Alycia's Review of The Housemaid
The plot twist didn't make this book special, though it was totally unexpected. I loved the characters. Actually, I loved that I HATED the characters. All of them, even Millie. Especially Millie. Until the very end, I thought they were all horrible and got what they deserved. Andrew and Millie's relationship was definitely a case of "they deserve each other". I recommend this book to everyone who enjoys thrillers, and rated this book highly with 5/5 stars. What do you guys think? Have you read it? Let me know in the comments!
-- xx Alycia
