Really just one word to say about this book... WOW!
I absolutely loved this book, a complete surprise with the turn of events.
Chilling and totally unputdownable, be prepared to be shocked.
A new author for me and definitely not going to stop at this one.
Thank you to Netgalley, Bookouture and Frieda McFadden for an ARC in exchange for an honest review,

What a great thriller! I loved each twist and turn of Freida McFadden's The Housemaid. When I started reading, the likability of each character... Nina, Andy, Millie... seemed so cut and dry. Like, of course you know who is "bad." But things aren't always what they seem! As I got further into the book I was so intrigued by the back stories of each character and the twists that revealed their true characters. This was a great mix of humor, suspense, mixed motivations, secrets, and smarts. Highly recommend!

Thanks to the Bookouture and NetGalley for the complimentary advanced review copy. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars

Millie is stoked when she gets the job as housemaid working for the Winchester's. But she soon realises that things aren't as good as they seem. Her room is tiny and on the top floor and her boss, Nina Winchester makes it a point to make a mess just so Millie will have to clean it up. Biting her tongue, Millie does everything that is asked of her, as she needs the job and has her own secret past. But how long will she let it go on and who will crack first?⁣⁣
⁣⁣
I've heard great reviews about Fredia McFadden's books so I was really happy when I was approved to read The Housemaid. I was lucky enough to get both the ebook and audiobook copy and I have to say, listening to this book definitely added to the excitement. The narration was superb! Those thrillers that surprise you are the absolute best. When the twists started kicking in, I was blown away. I didn't see so many things coming but I was loving it! And that ending, wow! I will definitely be reading more by this author.

I received a free review copy from the publisher, via Netgalley - thank you!

I loved this story of the Winchesters, their marriage and their maid. The narrator was perfect for the role too.

The twist was a little obvious - I would have liked a few more surprises, but it was a fun read. The ending was brilliant.

Millie who is an ex-con, unemployed, and living out of her car is desperate to find a new job and a place to sleep that isn't her backseat. In comes Nina Winchester with a great opportunity: a job as a housekeeper/maid and her own room. She works hard everyday to keep Nina, her husband Andrew, and their daughter Cece happy by doing all the chores and cooking, but thats never enough for Nina who is one minute pleased and the next furious and malicious with Millie. She starts to hate working and living in the Winchester's house but she needs to make this work for her probation or it's back to prison so she'll make it work no matter what. However, things are not what they seem inside this so called happy home.

I absolutely loved this story and finished it in just one day because I needed to see how it all played out. The characters were written so perfectly that the author had me either passionately rooting for or utterly despising them. The plot twist that she threw at me in the second half of the book had my head spinning as I tried to keep up with what was going on. The books pacing was so perfect with the short yet packed chapters that had me staying up way past my usual bedtime to figure out what happens next. I loved the dark humor, crazy plot twists, even crazier characters and amazing ending.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the digital copy of this book with me in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for this ARC! This review is voluntarily written by me.

In general, this is one of the most engaging and suspenseful reads for me this year. Told from the housemaid and the wife's POVs, it really adds suspense to the story because each of them has their secrets to keep. Told from the housemaid’s POV first then the wife, there are a lot of red flags that the housemaid should see, but, because of her situation, she ignored them. The plot and the writing are fast-paced and compelling to me, making me want to know more about what is actually happening. Ending parts shocked me too, like, oh my, no wonder that happened. This is my first book from the author, and I hope to read more from her in the future.

Hold on, let me pick my jaw up off the floor…this book was amazing! I seriously think I’ve found a new favorite author! I’ve heard great things about her work, but The Housemaid exceeded my expectations. This dark and twisted psychological thriller had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish! I literally finished the last half of the book in one day because I was glued. Every time I thought that I might just have figured it out, another twist came and showed me a whole new side of things. Seriously, stop what you’re doing and get yourself a copy of this one!
A huge thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture, and especially Freida McFadden for allowing me to review this gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Housemaid
Frieda McFadden

This book sure had the twist in it! This book captures you from the first page! It was amazing and definitely a page turner…. I suggest running, not walking and grabbing this book as soon as it hits shelves!

Bestselling author Freida McFadden does it again! McFadden has created another book that once you start reading, you won’t want to stop until you finish it. The Housemaid is a fun, fast-paced, anxiety-ridden, make you want to pull your hair out and scream at it, psychological thriller. The red flags never stop coming and are always overlooked or explained away. For me personally, everything made sense. I was able to empathize with the characters in order to understand the reason for their actions. The readers that aren’t able to do this, I believe, will be the ones who end up not liking this book.

The Housemaid is written through the POV of three unreliable narrators: the husband Andy Winchester, the wife Nina Winchester, and the housemaid Millie. The narration lends to the overall mystery that surrounds each character, making the reader question who they really are and what secrets they harbor.

“Working here is my last chance to start fresh. I can pretend to be whoever I like. But I’ll soon learn that the Winchesters’ secrets are far more dangerous than my own…”

The plot, although well-contrived, may not be as shocking as the plots in some of her other novels. Despite this, The Housemaid still offered up a few more surprises than I expected, which will help satisfy the need of those who enjoy some twists and turns.

I have always wondered how Freida McFadden can cook up one awesome psychological thriller after another. If I were to guess, she starts by conjuring up a list of ingredients and then just wings it. Like every phenomenal chef uses their hands and knowledge of cooking to create a culinary masterpiece, every phenomenal author uses their hands and knowledge of writing to create a literary masterpiece. If authors created and followed recipes, I’m certain this is what the recipe for The Housemaid would look like:

Recipe for The Housemaid

Ingredients:
-1 handsome, well to do gentleman, who adores his daughter
-1 housewife that is beyond filthy and anything but sane (ensure she has been hospitalized in a psychiatric treatment center a few times)
-1 child who is a spoiled brat and only listens to her dad
-1 homeless woman who is out on parole after serving a 10-year sentence
-1 foreign-speaking, good looking, muscular landscaper
-1 group of gossip loving, speak-behind-your-back housewives
-1 job opening for a housemaid
-A million red flags

**If followed correctly this recipe yields an unlimited number of copies of a brand new psychological thriller for your readers to enjoy!

Directions:
1. Mix ingredients together

2. For extra enjoyment, add a dash of humor, some suspense, a lot of confusion, a pinch of frustration, and, “oops, guess an entire bottle of WTFs instead of just a few”.

3. Constantly stir the mixture in order to keep the reader on their toes. Whatever you do, make certain you keep what it is that you’re actually making a secret that way your readers spend the majority of the time scrutinizing every ingredient and trying to guess what exactly it is you are doing and rather or not it’ll end up being something good

4. Finally just toss everything into an open fire while screaming at the awesome disaster that is in the making

5. Catch your breath, put the fire out, check to make sure it’s done, then toss your creation out to those who want to try it.

6. Sit back and relish the moment of having just created an astounding, extremely entertaining, and well-conceived psychological thriller titled The Housemaid.

With a personal rating of 4.8 stars out of 5, I highly recommend this book. The Housemaid will be ready to devour on April 26, 2022, This is one creation you don’t want to wait to get your hands on. Preorder it today from Amazon so you can wake up to the Ebook version of it the day it is released!

Title: The Housemaid
Author: Freida McFadden

Blurb:
“Welcome to the family,” Nina Winchester says as I shake her elegant, manicured hand. I smile politely, gazing around the marble hallway. Working here is my last chance to start fresh. I can pretend to be whoever I like. But I’ll soon learn that the Winchesters’ secrets are far more dangerous than my own…
Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.
I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.
I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late.
But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am.
They don’t know what I’m capable of…

Review:
The book is told in three parts. The first from from Millie’s POV, the second from Nina’s, and the fourth a combo of them both. I thought the plot was good but predictable. The ending was a little far fetched, but it still worked.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review

Freida McFadden… I keep starting this review and erasing it only to start again. I have no words for your amazing writing skills and on so many levels I just don’t think I could do this book justice. I’ll start by saying this… I’m sure everyone can agree that when vacationing on a beach with limited time to enjoy a good book… the book better be good! my goal was to finish it in the week I knew I had before returning home. Well…
I devoured this book in a day and I was sweating bullets as I turned pages furiously in the last half. This book had SO many unexpected twists. So much so, I was oblivious to the intense sunshine that I spent hours laying under while engrossed in this crazy plot of characters. (I blame Freida for my sunburn lol)
You have one crazy brain Freida McFadden and I love it! You have invented a plot of characters that will keep readers awake at night thinking about. Just when you think you know who the crazy one is… believe me… you don’t! Buckle up people… this is one fabulous ride you don’t want to miss!

My favorite read of the year so far!!!

I was not aware of Freida McFadden previously. I saw her name coming up over and over again on various online book forums so when I saw this pop up on NetGalley I decided to try it. I have been missing out-- this was phenomenal!!!

Initially, the idea seemed kind of lame-- a desperate woman happens upon an opportunity to be a live-in maid for a wealthy Long Island couple but wait, there's a big catch! Seems like a story we've all heard a thousand times. BUT,... nothing is as it seems in this book and the twists keep on coming. The writing is compelling and it was impossible to put down. I was surprised by the turns this story took and absolutely loved the ending! What more could you ask for?? Can't wait to read more from this author!

WOW! What a mind-blowing and intense read THE HOUSEMAID is! How do I even begin to articulate my thoughts into a review? For it is certainly a wild ride that didn't let up once the tension mounted. And mount it most certainly did! This is my first read by Freida McFadden...are they all as mind-blowing as this one?

Struggling to find work, Millie Calloway is living in Casa Nissan having lost her previous job and no way to pay the rent, when she comes across an ad for a live-in housemaid. She never thought in a million years that she would be successful, especially when her prospective employers run a background check on her. But when Nina Winchester calls to offer her the job, Millie cannot believe her luck.

But no sooner has she accepted the position that cracks begin to appear. The pristine house she was interviewed in is now a sloppy mess. The angelic child Cece she'd been told about is a spoiled brat who behaves like the spawn of Satan. Gone is the fresh-faced friendly Nina from the interview and a moody and argumentative one is in her place. She accuses Millie of stealing as well as claiming she'd told her things that were never mentioned or asking her to do things and then claiming she didn't. And nothing Millie does is ever right. No sooner has she cleaned than everything is filthy once again. The only saving grace is Nina's husband Andrew. He is kind, considerate and continually apologises for his wife's outbursts and behaviour.

And then there is Enzo, the gorgeous Italian landscape gardener who, although with very limited English, warns Millie that it is not safe and that she is in danger. But Millie cannot afford to leave...and so she takes Nina's constant criticism and mood swings as well as Cecelia's spoiled little rich girl attitude and just gets on with the job. And when she finds anti-psychotic medication in Nina's bathroom coupled with her recent change in behaviour, Millie begins to question Nina's mental health. Was Enzo right to warn her?

But Millie has her own secrets and she cannot risk them finding out or she can kiss this job goodbye. But she soon learns that this is the very least of her worries...because nothing is at all what it seems.

With more masks than a masquerade ball, THE HOUSEMAID is un-freaking-believable! I thought I had it figured out (and no one hoodwinks me) but Freida McFadden sure did as I never saw the twist coming! But when it did - BOOM! It all made sense and I was shaking my head in disbelief and the pure ingenuity of it all. What can I say?

The first half of the book is narrated solely by Millie as the story reaches its peak as the tables are turned leaving the reader with a severe case of whiplash due to its ferocity. From there Nina takes over the reigns as narrator and it becomes a whole different ball game.

THE HOUSEMAID is fast-paced with short snappy chapters and strong engaging characters making it a suspenseful addictive read that will have you glued to the pages into the wee hours. It is most definitely a "just one more chapter" type of read that you will not be able to put down.

As my first read by this author, I am keen to seek out other thrillers by her and have put her on my watchlist to look out for. Especially if THE HOUSEMAID is anything to go by! Holy-flipping-heck! It was one hell of a ride that I didn't want to get off until the end...perish the thought I had to rejoin the real world before it did!

Dark, disturbing and chillingly twisted, THE HOUSEMAID is addictive and unputdownable with a deliciously malevolent ending. One of the best domestic psychological thrillers I've read.

I would like to thank #FreidaMcFadden, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheHousemaid in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

Have you ever read a book you couldn’t put down? But it was getting so late you had to stop reading and go to sleep, just to wake up 2 hours later because you were dreaming about the book and you had to find out what happened?! Well this is that book!

By far the BEST book I’ve read all year! This was my first book by this Author, but I will be looking up more of her books now!

I am so happy that I was given an early copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my opinion.

Definitely put this on your TBR list!

⭐ Actual Rating: 3.5 ⭐

Millie desperately needed a job, and not just a job but a decent one, or else, she would go back to prison. When Nina Winchester called her to be their housemaid along with a lot of benefits, there was no reason for Millie to say no. Finally, after living on her car, she would have a place to stay... in the attic of the Winchester's house.

𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: Physical abuse, Mental abuse

This book had a tight grip on me and it was hard to put it down. I did not see the plot coming until the author slowly unfolded it in the middle part. It had a theme of cheating that made me uncomfortable but the plot called for it. It was part of the game to stir the readers and shock them of what was about to come.

There were so much lurking around the house of Winchester family when Millie came. There was her girl boss, Nina Winchester, who seemed to have mental problem; her attractive husband, Andrew; Andrew's mom; the spoiled brat Cecelia; and Enzo, the gardener. 𝗗𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁.

Watch out for this psychological thriller book on April 26th. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for granting me an eARC.

P.S. The tagline on the book cover is kind of misleading.

THE HOUSEMAID - FREIDA MCFADDEN

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

OMG this one was a book that I couldn't stop reading. It was a forget everything else and all my adult responsibilities and read it in one day type of book.

This is my first Freida McFadden book and after this I am determined to READ THEM ALL.

All I can say is PICK THIS BOOK UP. It is released in a few days on 26th April and I will be recommending it from now on.

This is a book that has you feeling you just read only 100 pages (not the 300+ pages it is). It's fast paced, suspense filled and a perfect domestic / locked room / house thriller. It's written in 3 parts and by the end you finally have revealed wtf is going on with these crazy people.

I won't say much more but this is so well worth the read and I'm so thankful for @netgalley and Freida McFadden for the ARC of this book.

This was my first Freida McFadden book and what a ride it was! Parts of it reminded me of Behind Closed Doors or The Turn of the Key, but it had plenty of twists on its own. This one was super entertaining. I couldn’t put it down and flew through it! Yes, parts of it were predictable and a little too similar to other books I read, but I still enjoyed it. Highly recommend!!

Read this book if you like: Fast pace thrillers, trapped trope, secrets, multiple POVs

Winnie has recently lost her job. She's been living in car and doing as many job interviews as she cam. She gets the opportunity to clean for a rich family. Every day she cleans the Winchester's beautiful house top to bottom. She gets their daughter from school. She cooks a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in her tiny room on the top floor that locks on the outside.

Nina, the wife, makes a mess just to watch her clean it up. She tells strange lies about her own daughter. Andrew her husband seems more broken every day. Even stranger things start to happen. Little do they know Winnie has her own dark secrets she's been keeping.

I could not put this down. The second I started it I knew I had to fly through it. What a wild ride this book was. I wish I could say I loved it all. It was very suspenseful. I liked the pacing and the chapter length. Millie, the main character makes incredibly stupid decisions and a lot of this book could have been avoided. The twist was obvious right away to me. There was SO many unbelievable parts. I liked it, didn't love it. I will try other books by Frieda.

Thank you for Netgalley, Frieda McFadden, and Bookouture for my gifted copy.

I have not read anything by this author before but I really liked the sound of this and the cover grabbed my attention. Wow! This is one of my favourite books so far this year. It was fantastic and kept me hooked from start to finish. It was full of twists and turns that totally shocked me. Highly recommend and I look forward to reading more by this author

Thank you to NetGallery for the ARC in return for my honest review.

I recently finished (and was underwhelmed) by the Maid so I was excited and intrigued to see how this one would compare.
Millie is living in her car when she gets hired to work for a SUPER wealthy family, she's buzzing about this of course, but soon she figures out that not everything is as it seems. I have to say this was gripping and I did want to continue listening to it/reading it just to find out wtf happens. But it was CONFUSING, I wasn't 100% sold on Millie's character, it seemed not fully fleshed out, there were many contradictions.
I actually quite enjoyed the POV being written from a sorta Dear Diary perspective, I found it a good insight and quite funny at times, it felt like the character was sending me voicenotes about her day, which I guess not everyone would love but.
I can't say I was surprised by the ending but it was still GREAT I enjoyed the 'twists' and how we got there. Overall I'd say this was a good fun quick read!