The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

Millie is starting afresh, putting her dark past behind. The Winchesters placed an ad for housemaid and Millie has applied to it. Nina Winchester calls Millie home for a talk. She shows Millie around the house and tells her what is expected of her – nothing much, just a bit of cleaning and cooking. Nina shows Millie a room in the attic – the room where Millie will spend her time she retires for the day.

Millie is more than happy when she receives a call from Nina a few days later. She’s to start working at the Winchesters from the very next day! When Millie arrives the next day, the house looks like a pigsty. When she came for the interview, the house was spic-and-span, and Millie thought there wouldn’t be much cleaning to do.

As days pass by, Millie learns of Nina’s antics. Or rather, gets a first-hand-experience of Nina’s mood swings. Nina asks Millie to pick Cecelia (Nina’s daughter) from school. But when Millie reaches school, she learns Cece has extra classes and her friend’s mum would take her. Millie calls Nina only to hear: “I never told you to pick Cece!”

Millie is blamed for everything that’s not her fault. The only person who seems to understand Millie’s plight is Andrew, Nina’s husband. He’s handsome and rich. Millie cannot stop herself from being attracted to him.

But one fine day, things take a turn for worse. Millie was warned by the gardener Enzo on her first day at the job. But Millie paid no heed to his warning. And now, she must suffer the consequences…

Goodness! What the bloody heck did I read! I am out of words. Seriously! I would rather express my feelings in a GIF than in words:

The story begins with Millie lying to her employers so that she can get this job. Evicted from her apartment for not paying the rent and being fired from a job three weeks ago is not how Millie imagined her new life would begin. Millie has a dark past and she wanted to start afresh. But things are not going as planned.

When Nina Winchester calls her to say she can start working from the very next day, Millie is overjoyed. She reaches the Winchester’s house next day and finds the house in a mess. When she had come last week for the interview, the house was very clean. What changed now?

Soon, Millie becomes the target of Nina’s mood swings. Nina gaslights Millie and also blames her for something that wasn’t even her fault. Nina’s 8-year-old daughter, Cecelia, is no angel either. Both mother and daughter seem to dislike Millie a lot. The only person in the house who understands Millie’s problem is Andrew, Nina’s husband.

Millie learns from Nina’s friends that Nina spent some time in the psychiatric hospital. Though Millie now knows the reason for Nina’s absurd behavior, she is still not happy for being at the receiving end of Nina’s wrath. Soon, things take a turn for worse. Millie must escape from the house before it is too late. But… how can she, when her room door only locks from the outside?

There is no doubt this is one of the best psychological thrillers I have ever read! Twists and turns kept me hooked on to the story till the end. The story is divided into three parts. The first part is all about Millie and her treatment at the Winchester house. Part II is… WOW! I never saw the twist coming! I was like, what the heck is happening??? Don’t get me started on how terrific Part III is!

When I started to read the book, I thought The Housemaid is ‘just another domestic suspense with a shocking ending.” Boy, was I wrong! Forget shocking ending, almost every chapter of this book is shocking, surprising, bone-chilling, and filled with twists!

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden is a fast-paced, nerve-wracking, spine-chilling, twisted and gripping psychological thriller. I highly recommend you to read this book.

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Many thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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