Book Review: The Housemaid’s Secret by Freida McFadden

The Housemaid’s Secret is the second book in Freida McFadden’s The Housemaid series.

Millie Calloway is fired from her job after her employer’s baby calls her mama – when the mother is standing right next to the baby. Millie’s worried as she doesn’t have enough money left in her bank account to pay rent. Her lawyer boyfriend Brock tells her she can move in with him, after all, they have been dating for six months now.

But Millie doesn’t want to move in with Brock. She hasn’t told him about her past – her juvie prison record or what she does as a ‘side business.’ Millie and Enzo started helping abused women move away from their spouses – Enzo helped them in getting new identities too. Enzo and Millie fell in love and dated for a while before Enzo had to move back to Italy to be by his sick mother’s side.

Douglas Garrick, CEO of Coinstock, contacts Millie. He and his wife require Millie’s services – she has to cook and clean the house twice or thrice a week. Millie readily agrees. Douglas tells Millie that his wife Wendy is sick and shouldn’t be disturbed. But as days pass by, Millie hears Wendy locked in her bedroom, crying. Her nightdresses in the laundry hamper have a spot of blood along the neckline. One fine day, Millie sees Wendy – face badly bruised. Millie decides to help Wendy but Wendy warns her saying her husband is a dangerous man. But Millie doesn’t take no for an answer. Millie’s life is going to change for good and she has no idea what’s in store for her…

First things first, I had no idea this was going to be a series. I read The Housemaid and I absolutely loved it. It even made it to my list of Best Standalone Thrillers of 2022. Well, turns out this is now a series. As of writing this post, The Housemaid has 95k ratings on Amazon!!!

Secondly, I kept my expectations high. After a mind-blowing start, I was expecting this to be another spine-numbing addition. I am disappointed. I felt let down. When compared to book #1, The Housemaid’s Secret is quite low on thrill and suspense. The first half just drags and drags – Millie’s life since the past incident (book #1), her love life, blah blah.

Don’t get me wrong, Wendy and Douglas’s story begins in the first half. Millie learns Wendy is a victim of domestic abuse and promises to do something about it. But it becomes a tad repetitive when Millie starts to dig deeper and wants to talk to Wendy often – Wendy isn’t quite comfortable discussing her situation. Then a twist – out of nowhere Wendy decides enough is enough.

Then, another twist – this one was mind-blowing and unexpected. This twist comes in the second half of the book. Millie makes a shocking discovery and she knows for her sure her life is ruined. She was warned that Douglas is a terrible man. But this shocking development – she didn’t expect it.

This begins an urge to find the truth and hope that Millie will get through it – once again, a bit boring and repetitive. The ending was good, but it could be better. As I mentioned before, I had high expectations from this book and I felt let down that things weren’t as interesting as they were in book #1. Fingers crossed Millie will have thrilling and spine-chilling adventures in the next one.

I am in the minority when it comes to rating this book. There are people who loved The Housemaid’s Secret. In my opinion, The Housemaid was better. Well, if the synopsis piqued your curiosity, give this book a try. You might like it better than I did.

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