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Book Review: The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

The Housemaid 

(The Housemaid #1)

By Freida McFadden 


Published Year: 2022

Page Count : 287 pages 

Medium Used: Kindle PW 

Genre : Mystery, Murder, Suspense, Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Fiction, 2024-read. 

Rating : 5/5 




God!! What a book! What a story! I got up this morning and my first thoughts are to recapture where I left off the story last night! I got addicted to the two women characters - Millie and Nina. What appears on the surface is definitely not what lies beneath. This story proves it. Do we really know the people, who hold infinite grace and charm, enough to trust them? This story makes us question our convictions twice! If something feels too good to be true and real, probably it isn't! The most normal looking families could be the most dysfunctional. An unsuspecting and naive newcomer might have the surprise of their life when they learn the truth! I sincerely hope that this book doesn't put thoughts into already some sick, perverted minds out there. 


I thought what I have been reading is crazy, insane but then I wasn't prepared for what's to come. Millie Calloway is a special character. She is akin to Lisbeth Salander from the Steig Larsson's books - only minus the IT/software hacking skills. I dont know how to write a review to this book without giving out much of the mystery. I went into the book without any background knowledge. I didn't even read a blurb on Goodreads or Google. And that really helped in blowing my mind .. more than if I had had a peek into the plot. 


This plot has multiple jaw dropping, heartbeat skipping twists. No one is what they seem to be. The characters are so, so, so well developed. They are sick,convoluted and surreal. 


The story opens to a beautiful and happy family of three - Nina, Andrew and Cecilia. They are filthy rich and have anything they could possibly want. Enter into the setting - Millie. She is the newly hired hosuemaid with a dark past hanging round her neck. She thinks her new employers dont know it ..  oh, but they do. Her first impressions about the family turn to be wrong. They knock her world upside down. She thinks Nina,the wife, is high maintenance, rich and snooping and psychotic. And She is - by all evidence. Andrew comes off as a down to earth, kind and compassionate husband who loves his wife despite the publicized flaws in her high strung nature. Cecilia is a selfish brat,spoiled by her equally callous mother. But Millie couldn't be more wrong. She is looking at the stuff all wrong. She is dancing to someone else's tune. She is stepping into all the preset puddles and making the right splashes without her knowledge. And when it is revealed to her .. bam!!


As we are barraged with twists after twists and motives, ulterior motives .. the excitement mounts to a crescendo! 


 There is no element of smut in this plot and I feel relieved. I think it would have made the story so yuck instead of entertaining. Why don't the fellow authors take a note from Freida and skip all the romance/smut scenes from their books? This is good. This book will entertain. 

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