The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFadden Book Review

 The Housemaid's Secret 

(The Housemaid  #2)

By Freida McFadden 

Published Year: 2023

Page Count: 261 pages 

Medium Used: Kindle PW 

Genre : Contemporary Fiction, Suspense, Thriller, Murder, 2025-read. 

Rating : 3/5

This is a quick read. Millie is back again. She is involved in another husband-abused-wife-rescue operation that lands her right in the middle of a police investigation. She is a serious suspect. They find her finger prints on the murder weapon. They find gun residue on her clothing in laundry. The timing of her presence in the murder location is precise. Every evidence marks her the prime suspect and the noose is tightening around her neck. Someone wants her to take the fall desperately. She imagines she is helping this someone but doesn't know that her vulnerabilities are amped up and playing against her. 

I didn't see the twist coming. The plot is unraveling at its own slow and steady pace and then bam! There is a surprise! Millie is pushed into a state of confusion and wonders if she has killed someone and if whom she killed is the same one she thought she killed. Boy, this is weirdly amazing! 

I didn't understand why she sends out another woman to deal with her nemesis. Why wouldn't she take them out like she could easily do. The character development is good but sometimes I felt the characters are twisted and bent in weird shapes to fit the story and make it whole. Like Douglas Garrick who is supposedly, extremely sweet and a pushover - exposes his cunningness ,manipulation and distrust when he makes his wife sign a prenup agreement without having her know all the pitfalls. And the second twist - sending Marybeth to take care of the lover couple - she was also a sweet woman who turns into a steel veined, ruthless murderess in the nick of time. 

I am going with a simple 3 rating out of 5. I would have liked a longer and more intricate subject from Freida McFadden who never really disappoints. But I just need more spice. To keep me on the edge. I want to feel like I have learnt something valuable while also hanging on every twist and turn that churns up my imagination and sets it on fire! This one m, sadly, falls a bit short. But I will still read her other works which are highly acclaimed and regarded. She is a wonderful writer,  no doubt.