Book Title: The Homemaker
Author: Miranda Rijks
Publisher: Inkubator Books
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Pub Date: October 22, 2023
My Rating: 4. 4 Stars

Maria always wanted a family~ Now she’s found one.

Maria Hinks is the perfect housekeeper- she is hardworking, capable, and perfect for the help Imogen Letwin needs. Imogen is busy being a mom to little Ava and managing two jobs. One is running the 5 Star ‘Fairview House Luxury Bed n Breakfast’ out of their beautiful three-story Georgian home which was built in 1750; it has seven bedrooms so with Imogen’s hotel management experience it is doing great- but a lot of work. Now Imogen finds out she is pregnant so definitely needs help.
Hmmm Maria might be perfect fit for Imogen – as she can help with everything but she is also very curious. She starts to snoop around and finds a secret that Imogen has been keeping.
Maria threatens to reveal the secret unless Imogen does what Maria wants!

The story is told from the POV of both Maria and Imogen.

Story kept me interested. I love psychological thrillers - just when I am sure I got it figured our clever author points us in another direction. The ending was intense. I just wasn’t sure what Maria would do next!
I know I could have finished this in one sitting but had some things that I needed to be doing~ I so wanted to go hide and finish this story!! Aww Success! I made it to my happy reading spot and was able to finish this GREAT read!


This in only my fifth Miranda Rijks story when I read "The Second Wife" which was my first and thought it was GREAT! I knew then I found a new fav author!
She has written twenty psychological thrillers and I now want to read them ALL!
In the back of this book there is a sneak preview of "The Other Mother” which I did read and thought was great!
If you are curious about Miranda, here is a link for more info ~
https://mirandarijks.com/about/

I always enjoy the author’s notes. In this case “A Letter from Miranda”.
She tells us her motivation for this story was when she heard how an adult celebrity found out she was
adopted. Ms. Rijks wondered what it would feel like if you were the child of rape. She goes on to say that
the debate of nature versus nurture has always fascinated her and this story gave her a chance to
explore.
This is a difficult area to explore; I thought Ms. Rijks did a good job in being sensitive.

Want to thank NetGalley and Inkubator Books for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Day scheduled for October 22, 2023.

Whew this was a wild ride!! I love books with this premise and this one didn’t disappoint. So many different directions this could’ve gone but I ended up loving!

I have devoured every book that this author has written with relish and I am pleased to say that her latest The Homemaker does not disappoint. A really good thriller, packed to the rafters with tension and suspense and filled with so many secrets and lies. Gripping, atmospheric and so much more loved It!!!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the Arc in return for an honest review.

Twisted and readable, but I wanted more depth from the story and especially the characters. I'd give this author another chance in the future.

Omg..this book kept me on my toes with the suspense. I never liked Maria. She was a true pyscho and at start I thought Imogen was very stupid. At the end she used her brains and figured it out.
I really enjoyed reading this book and hope to read more of Miranda's books in the future.

The homemaker in the title is named Maria. Maria is lonely and wants a family. The only thing is... the things she does for her perfect family are not always what the members of that family want.
The story starts when Imogen is searching for a housekeeper. She and her husband Josh live with their young daughter Ava in a very big home. So big, Imogen rents out two rooms as a bed and breakfast. Furthermore she works as a consultant; Josh is a dentist with a busy practice. In short, they look like the ideal family: happy and rich.
But all is not well!
Enter Maria, who assures Imogen she can take over a large part of the household chores and more. She can cook, clean, do the shopping and the school runs.
Perfect. So Imogen happily welcomes Maria into her home.

And then everything starts going wrong - of course, because this is a thriller.

Miranda Rijks writes lovely stories, with very good characters. At certain points, I could just yell at Maria for the lies she was telling. And for Imogen to get a grip and admit what she's done wrong so Maria could blackmail her. As in many of Miranda's books, the husband is not of much use. He is handsome, earns a lot of money and takes good care of his wife and daughter when he's not busy working. He's the only character in this story that doesn't really come alive.

It was a good read, with a pace that made me want to keep reading, and several interesting surprises.

Thanks to Netgalley and Inkubator books for this review copy.

The Homemaker
by Miranda Rijks
Thank you NetGalley and Inkubator Books for an early copy of The Homemaker.
This is a fast-paced domestic thriller that I enjoyed reading.DANG!! I loved this book. I did not like Imogen one bit and Maria was a psycho. Great writing, an awesome plot, and craziness that never end. I loved how it was so intense and the ending was just wild.

In the Homemaker by Miranda Rijks, the desire for a perfect family takes a dark and chilling turn as the Imogen, unknowingly invites a sinister presence into her home. Imogen is a woman with a busy life juggling two jobs, a young family, and the news of an impending pregnancy. Overwhelmed by her responsibilities, she decides to hire Maria, a seemingly perfect housekeeper who promises to bring order and stability to her chaotic life.

At first, Maria appears to be the ideal solution—hardworking and capable. She quickly integrates herself into Imogen's family, taking on tasks like the school run, cooking meals, and caring for Imogen's young daughter. However, beneath Maria's helpful exterior lies a sinister agenda of her own. As Maria gains the trust of Imogen's family, she begins to pry into their lives, uncovering a dark secret that Imogen has been hiding. With this knowledge in her grasp, Maria exerts control over Imogen, manipulating her into running her home according to Maria's wishes. Imogen finds herself caught in a web of deceit and manipulation, unable to escape Maria's grasp.

Miranda Rijks crafts a psychological thriller that keeps readers on the edge. The narrative is filled with tension, suspense, and an ever-present sense of dread as Maria's horrifying plan unfolds. Imogen's desperation and fear are palpable, making it impossible for readers not to become deeply invested in her plight. It explores themes of control, manipulation, and the lengths to which one person will go to maintain a facade of perfection. The story delves into the dark corners of the human psyche and the disturbing consequences of secrets and lies.

The Homemaker is a riveting psychological thriller that delivers an unsettling and thought-provoking narrative. Miranda Rijks' storytelling skillfully navigates the treacherous waters of deception and psychological manipulation, leaving readers with a chilling reminder that the quest for perfection can lead to devastating consequences.

Imogen is very busy juggling her B and b while raising her family.
Enter Maria the answers to all her prayers or is she?
When strange things start happening is Imogen losing her mind or is there something more sinister going on?

A fast paced book which i quickly read over a few nights, I would highly recommend this book
Thanks tyo netgalley and the publishers for this arc.
4 stars

I enjoyed The Homemaker but wasn’t my favorite Miranda Rijks read. A bit far fetched, as myself & hopefully all my female friends would stand up to her. Imogen wasn’t honest with her husband (who is, always, 100% honest?) & I’ve have remedied that long before being manipulated by a stranger. Still, it was a great fiction read, crazier @ each twist & turn-there were plenty of those!!

What a ride this book was! Miranda Rijks is a masterful author who is quite excellent at crafting shifty characters.

Imogen Letwin is overwhelmed by life, as a lot of young mothers are, and decides to hire some help. She had absolutely no idea what she was getting into by hiring Maria! Maria is a character you love to hate; you can't help but keep turning the pages to see what this woman is going to do next. I found myself wondering what the real connection was because Maria seemed so meek at first and very quickly changes. The ride just keeps getting wilder.

Imogen isn't exactly a reliable narrator either. She's deceitful yet also full of doubt. This combination makes it difficult to sympathize with her, but sometimes that's exactly the kind of character that makes you keep going while you're bucking your imaginary seatbelt trying to figure out where, exactly, this ride is taking you.

Interestingly, the character I disliked the most is Josh. He's a hot-head at times and there was more than one incident that had me wanting to kick his butt up between his shoulder blades for his behavior.

Overall, an excellent page-turner that will keep you reading.

This story was a real page turner. I was very engaged in the story. Maria was the most annoying character. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough in this drama filled book.

This was such a page turner, a great psychological thriller that I really enjoyed. It was fast paced and kept me hooked throughout it all.

Thanks for the free ARC of this book.

I really enjoyed the homemaker book. The storyline was interesting and got my attention. I had my doubts about Maria but the author was pretty convincing up until the end. The ending was a little too perfect but overall I give it five stars.

A total page turner. The twists and secrets uncovered were absolutely wild. Poor Imogen dealing with the grief of losing her mother hurt me, having had lost my own dad years ago. Rijks mastered writing this overwhelmed woman — running a business and raising a child at the same time.

This novel has all the spine tingling unease as Maria answers an ad Imogen had placed looking for help. I would be tempted to hire somebody myself, all of that testing on her shoulders would feel overwhelming. Dealing with grief, I felt, only made Imogen’ trust easy to gain.

However, I feel like the ending left a lot to be desired. There were loose ends that weren’t tied off and didn’t do a whole lot in the explaining of why things happened the way they did, and I feel an epilogue would have been beneficial.

Overall, the characters wee complex and well written and the relentless flow that sucked you in made this novel rather easy to finish. This is a great spooky season read and psychological thriller, even if the ending ended up falling a little flat.

This book is nuts!!! And I mean that I’m the best way. Such a page turner. This author sure knows how to suck the reader in. My head was spinning with all the secrets and such unlikeable characters, I just had to keep reading to see what was going to go wrong next for Imogen.

Imogen is grieving the loss of her mother, trying to raise a young child virtually on her own and run a bed and breakfast out of their home. She places a help wanted ad and in walks Maria. She says all the right things and gets Imogen’s trust. She soon makes herself indispensable and is doing everything for Imogen. It is not long before Maria finds out Imogen’s secrets, secrets she hasn’t even told her husband. Maria starts to act possessive and controlling and things just spiral from there.

This is a super fast read that you will easily devour in a few hours. It certainly keeps you guessing and shocked me a number of times.

Thanks to Inkubator Books and Miranda Rijks for my advanced copy of this book to read. Published on October 22nd.

The Homemaker is Miranda Rijks’ latest thriller and oh what a doozy it is! You don’t know what to believe, what not to believe … kept me engaged from the very first page. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review. To be published October 22, 2023.

Miranda is quickly becoming one of my favorite psychological thriller authors, and she did not disappoint with this fast paced story!

What did I just read?! I almost gave up on this book because Maria was just so.annoying. I'm glad I pushed through because the story was interesting and full of twists. I would recommend this psych thriller.

The book was one of the author's better reads. I truly enjoyed the writing style and this was certainly a page turner. I finished the book quickly as I just needed to know what happened.

The main character was a bit weak for my liking, but I can see why she was given that personality. I really didn't like any of the characters but I suppose I wasn't meant to. The book was twisty and kept me reading. I highly recommend it.

Thank you to the publisher and NegGalley for the ARC. I greatly appreciate it. Can't wait to read more by Miranda.