BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'The Homemaker' by Miranda Rijks.

Read and reviewed for Netgalley, Miranda Rijks, Inkubator Books and Zooloo's Book Tours.

Publication date 22nd October 2023.

This is the third book I have read by this author. I have previously read 'Forget Me Not' and 'The which I also highly recommend.

This novel consists of a prologue and 28 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

OMG!!!! WHAT DID I JUST READ!!!! My heart is still absolutely pounding and I read the last page over an hour ago!!!

Wow!!! This book is fantastically written and had me hook, line and sinker from beginning to end. The descriptions were so in depth and vivid that the hair on my arms was standing on the ends and my heart was pounding throughout. The synopsis, title and cover were perfect for the storyline.

Miranda does it yet again with this absolutely gripping, hair raising and nerve shredding page turner!!! I'd you love psychological thrillers then you will absolutely love this or any of Miranda's books!! This book certainly makes you think again about who you trust and to be very careful about who you let into your life and your home!! Just be warned you need to clear your schedule before even turning the front cover of this book as once you start you will be hooked from the first word to the last!!! I lost count how many times I told myself one more chapter before bed just to find out I had to read just the one more again as it kept on ending in a way I could not put it down!!! In the end I devoured it all in one sitting, going from having my kindle glued to my hand in the evening to staying awake until 2am as there was no way I was going to sleep without finishing it!!! Miranda takes her readers on an absolutely addictive, adrenaline fuelled rollercoaster ride of tension, suspense, terror, drama, stunning settings and so much more!!!! Miranda's evocative writing skills just brought everything to life around me!! I was absolutely absorbed throughout this page turner. It is filled with tension, suspense and omg the twists!!! I DID NOT see them coming!!! A MASSIVE CONGRATULATIONS Miranda!! It is getting harder and harder to shock me but by God you did that over and over and over!!! What an ending!!! One of the most gripping unputdownable nerve wracking psychological thrillers I have EVER read!!! You lady have one hell of a talent and I cannot wait to get hold of your previous and future books. I cannot remember the last time I was so hooked by a book but you managed that big time!!! The storyline is filled with shocks, suspense, drama, tension and so much more! There was so much going on and it was very fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout and there is absolutely nothing left of my nails now!! Miranda writes her story with multiple perspectives here are several protagonists you also get to see more of what is going on. The benefits with multiple protagonists are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.

Another absolutely gripping, must read success by this extremely talented author!! Clear your schedule before you start as I read this in one sitting as I could not put it down!! I was absolutely hooked!! I would absolutely love to see this turned into a movie!!!!

Congratulations Miranda on yet another absolutely gripping true page turner! This is exactly the reason why you are one of my favourite authors!!! Here's to your next success 🥂

Make sure you read to the very end of the book to read the first chapter of Miranda's 'The Other Mother' which promises to be just as addictive as this book and is one I'm definitely looking forward to reading myself!!

Overall an absolutely captivating, gripping, heart racing, never wracking, unputdownable addictive psychological thriller!!!

270 pages.

This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle, free with kindle unlimited and £8.74 in paperback (at time of review) via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5/5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

Feel free to add me on Goodreads or follow me on my website or Facebook for more reviews.

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Miranda Rijks has written a well paced thriller full of twists and turns, some anticipated and some surprises. Maria, a truly diabolical woman, applies for a position as a homemaker in the beautiful home of Imogen and Josh and their five year led daughter. Immediately her tentacles begin taking over the family, totally involving herself in their busy lives.
Imogen’s antennae picked up on inconsistencies right away but was so harried she quickly seemed to dismiss her reservations. Her very weaknesses and insecurities enabled Maria to take over. Imogen frustrated me as I found myself urging her to be more protective of her daughter and especially her granddaughter. At times I cringed as I raced through this read to its ultimate conclusion. Maria will emerge again in my nightmares!
Many many thanks to Miranda Rijks for introducing me to the woman who now exists in my nightmares, Inkubator Books, and NetGalley for affording me the pleasurable hours I spent with this read. Keep writing Miranda Rijks!

This author is just fantastic, she knows domestic thrillers. This worked so well and it was such an addictive read I kept reading late into the evening as I just wanted to know what was going to happen and how. Loved the ending absolutely brilliant.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

This book is a page turner from the beginning! I could not put it down! Maria, the Homemaker, is nuts! Imogen goes back and forth on her feelings about her, and the whole time I'm yelling "Dont trust her! She's crazy!". There's plenty of deception though, so you don't really know what to believe until the end. I loved this book and have added other books by Miranda Rijks to my TBR after reading this thriller! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my eARC in exchange for my honest review!

📱E-Book Review📱

The Homemaker
Miranda Rijks

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This is the third book I've read by this author and I knew I had to read it as soon as I saw it!

Imogen is struggling!
With a young family and another on the way - two jobs and the house to keep up with - it's all getting too much.
Maria can help!
Hired to clean, she slowly makes herself more and more indispensable - and once she's gained Imogen's trust, she starts to run the show.

The scene was already set and I was totally hooked from the start.

The characters are so well planned out. Introducing the struggling mum - completely relatable to so many of us! And the hired help.
I really felt for Imogen at the start as we've all been in her situation at some time. But as the story goes on, I became a little frustrated with her and just wanted her to stand up and fight back.
Maria was the perfect amount of crazy and reading this from the two different pov's was a great way to really see inside her mind and feel the tension build up.

I loved the plot which is quite different to anything I've read recently. It's certainly put me off finding any help for the foreseeable future!
I think being such a normal situation that I can imagine lots of people finding themselves in - it really does make you wonder about who you're inviting into your home and whether you ever truly know what people are like.

Another great, twisty thriller which had me on edge throughout.

Maria has been watching Imogen and her family and she knows Imogen needs her help even if Imogen doesn’t know that yet. Thus begins a truly twisted nightmare for Imogen, one that can’t possibly have a happy ending for everyone. Definitely worth the read!

The Homemaker will keep you up. I love a good thriller and this definitely checked all the boxes for me. I was literally hooked from the first page everyone has their secrets some worse than others and who is going to expose them. I do feel like the story ended a little fast and there some stuff that wasn’t answered for me( i can be a little greedy lol)

3.75 stars. Thanks to Netgalley for the E-Book. This was such a faced paced thriller. I loved Maria and all her crazyness she was way tooo much but I was here for it Go Big or Go Home right. Imogen was kind of out there sometimes but she was still a good main character. I totally thought this was one way but it was a whole different way and I was here for it.

Miranda Rijks crafts delightful narratives populated by compelling characters. At certain junctures,

I felt compelled to express my frustration at Maria's deceitful actions, and wished for Imogen to confront her wrongdoings to thwart Maria's blackmail.

As is characteristic of Miranda's works, the husband's role remains rather peripheral, characterized by his handsome appearance, substantial income, and sporadic displays of care for his wife and daughter amid his busy schedule.

However, his portrayal lacks depth compared to the other characters in the story. Overall, the book proved to be an engaging read, driven by a compelling pace and several intriguing plot twists.

Miranda Rijks never fails to write an incredible book. I was gripped from the first page and didn't put this down until I had finished.

I loved the plot and found myself guessing (wrongly) when the big reveal would be.

Housekeeper Maria moves into Imogen’s beautiful house she shares with her husband and daughter. Maria quickly places herself into Imogen’s life and finds secrets of her past. This is a slow burn mystery with lots of dialogue. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy.

Sometimes we all need help. Enter Maria to be a homemaker for imogen. The only thing is they both have different ideas of what the jon involves.Maria thinks thiis is her ready made family but imogen she us just the hired help.
Told from the pov of imogen and Maria this is a multilayered physiological thriller that drips the history of all characters and leads you off in different directions. Full of twists and turns it had me hooked from about 50%. It did deal woth some difficult issuses such as mental health and rape. It was compelling and highly recommended. The final act was very fast paced.
The epilogue disappointed me asvit felt it was concluded too quick and too mattervof faxt. After reading Miranda's letter i did feel while she did try to tackle a very srnsitive issuse she ultimately choose tovresilve it in a very sift manner rather than the complicated issye it actually is. Hiwever it was fabtastic to even attemp the issue I felt the book needed to be slightly longer to deal with the rnding better.
However its a highly recommended solidv4 star read. Thank yoy netgallery and publisher and author.

I would read anything by this author - one of my favourites and this was brilliant as usual! Don’t want to give too much away but if you are a fan of thrillers that will keep you guessing this is the one!

★★★★ 4.5 stars

Maria always wanted a family...and now she's found one...!

What a deliciously disturbing domestic suspense thriller Miranda Rijks has cooked up for us. This time we meet a lonely middle-aged woman who is desperately searching to belong. Only problem is, does she belong to THIS family?

Imogen has a perfect life with her dentist husband Josh and their 5 year old daughter Ava. She wants for nothing and the beautiful house in which they live was clearly too big for them with seven bedrooms but the moment they saw the 18th century property, they fell in love with it. As an aside, Imogen rents out two of the ensuite bedrooms, which are accessed separately, operating as a thriving Bed and Breakfast whilst providing a consultancy business for hotels. It's not that she needs the money - she just loves doing what she does.

But then Imogen discovers she is pregnant. And the news is not at all welcome, given the devastating revelation her mother made just days before her death three months before. Now Imogen has no way of knowing how she can come back from this. And how can she bring another child into this world knowing what she knows?

Hubby Josh is oblivious to Imogen's silent heartache but he has noticed her looking tired and pale of late and suggests a visit to the doctor. Imogen then reveals her pregnancy to which Josh is ecstatic and announcing it to anyone and everyone. Imogen is not so sure. But one thing she is sure of and that is she is going to need the extra help especially now with a baby on the way. And that's when she hires Maria.

Maria enters Fairvew House with her own agenda. Sure, she's there to help Imogen, providing a cleaning service and whatever else she may require but Maria has a hidden agenda. She plans to inveigle her way into every aspect of Imogen's life so that she can no longer be without her...and then she will reveal the truth to her. However, it's not long before Maria uncovers Imogen's own hidden secrets and only then does she have the power of the upper hand. And Imogen doesn't know what's hit her.

OK, so Maria is not who she appears to be. That much is obvious from the start but then we wouldn't have a story then, wouldn't we? But just how much is Maria keeping from Imogen and just how much power does she yield? One thing is for sure, Maria has plenty of secrets of her own.

Once again, Miranda Rijks has pulled me in from the very first page and kept me engaged throughout. Her thrillers are addictie, compelling and definite page-turners, and this one is no different. Of course I wanted to slap Imogen for trusting Maria and punch Maria in the face. I could have gladly given Kyle a swift kick up the gluteus maximus also for his bad attitude. And Josh? So quick to believe the worst of his wife without even sitting down and talking with her. Only Ava seemed to make any sense and she's a five year old! But then again, who is sane in this psycho-domestic thriller?

With its snappy chapters a perfect length, the pace moved steadily through to the nail-biting end. Another great read from one of my favouritie authors.

I would like to thank #MirandaRijks, #Netgalley, #InkubatorBooks and #ZoolooTours for an ARC of #TheHomemaker in exchange for an honest review.

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

To say I wanted more would be an understatement. This was a delicious page turner right from the start. Everytime I had to put it down, it was all I could think about. I did end up finishing way past my bedtime, just so I would be able to sleep. If you love a quick, immersive thriller, than this is definitely for you!

This book was so good! It was equal parts thriller and family drama no I thought I was going to get your run of the mill obsessive housekeeper book but this was so much more than that.

Imogen thinks she's hit the jackpot with Maria but boy was she wrong. Maria was a little off her rocker, and wanted things her way. Period. Point blank.

I liked Imogen because I found her to be relatable as a wife and a mom that was just trying to hold everything together. Maria was deliciously awful but what can you expect from the villain?!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC!

THE HOMEMAKER is out now!

I was lucky to recieve an ARC. This book was very fun to read, and kept you on your toes. I enjoyed the plot a lot, and the characters were all very interesting. It makes you think twice about trusting others. I would reccomend this book to fellow thriller lovers!

I thought this was okay. I felt like there were some inconsistencies but I don't want to spoil anything. I will say, isn't fresh squeezed orange juice literally freshly squeezed? Or am I making that up? Also, did I read that write that the *helmet* was going to be sold on Marketplace? Anyway, I didn't really like the characters. Imogen puts herself in a hole by being easy to blackmail. Josh and Kyle are awful. Not sure why Danielle is even a character. And of course, so one is going to say anything nice about Maria.

I loved The Concierge but this was one was a bit of a miss for me. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Holy F F F F F F F F F !!!!!!!!!
😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱
Shut up and give me all this author's books RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!! I NEED THEM!!!!

I was falling into a slump so started this one and DAMN 🥴🤯😵‍💫😵😱😣😰😖😨 It took me out of the slump !!!! I started it and I couldn't put it down!!!! It's that good!!!

You're a thrillers fan?!?!?
Trust me on this one and get it !!!!!
If you do, tag me !!!!!

Thank you Inkubator Books, Miranda Rijks and netgalley for my arc !!!!!

✨️ The book is out now !!!!!!!

3 stars for the book The Homemaker by Miranda Rijks

The Homemaker is a domestic thriller you'll fly through. It depicts the story of a family that employs a 'homemaker'. Things take a sinister turn when things doesn't go her way.

The motivation for each character are believable. As the book goes on, it gives clues for the reader to figure out several plot twists. Some of them were easy to figure out but it did not take from my enjoyment from this quick, fast-paced domestic thriller.

I would recommend the book for domestic thriller fans that wants an easy, fast-paced read.