The Housekeeper by Samantha Hayes is the perfect book if you want a suspenseful novel that's a quick read. Its not something long and difficult to get through, but a story that pulls you in and flows well.

It really kept me on my toes, and there are plenty of twists and turns along the way. You really can’t trust anyone in this book.

Synopsis:

I clean, I tidy, I fold.

I listen, I watch, I lie…

I told her I was the housekeeper, and why wouldn’t she believe me? What I lack in experience, I make up for in hard work. I do my best to keep this enormous house neat and stay on top of laundry. She’s a doting mother and a devoted wife, and I’d do anything to please her.

I fuss over her darling children, offering to take them off her hands when she’s looking frazzled. And when she returns home to find my bags in the hallway, she gives me a room when I tell her I have nowhere else to go. She’s so trusting, she always has been.

I thought she would ask me to leave the moment she caught me rooting through her belongings. Does her perfect family know her secrets? Does she know what I’m looking for, and why I’m really here? And once I find it, will she realise too late she’s in unimaginable danger? Or should I be the one running for my life?

Wow! I was enjoying it- short, fast paced, easy to follow chapters with clearly identified POVs - when BAM!, it got better. The twists started and the story kept taking turns. I’ve read and enjoyed other books by Samantha Hayes but this is my favourite so far. Just when you think you’ve figured it out- you haven’t. Her Housekeeper is a great read!
Thank You to NetGalley, Bookouture, and Samantha Hayes for the opportunity to read and enjoy this ARC.

"Her Housekeeper" by Samantha Hayes was a thrilling 5-star read! This story follows Gina and her family as they cope with the aftermath of a fire that forces them to leave their home and stay at Annie’s house while she’s away on vacation. Shortly after settling in, Gina is startled by the arrival of Mary, who introduces herself as Annie’s housekeeper. From there, the story takes off, revealing that not everything is as it seems.

The story alternates primarily between Gina’s and Mary’s perspectives, with some chapters labeled as “The Past,” which help piece together the history of the GALS and their lives as high schoolers. The pacing is spot on, allowing readers to feel Gina’s growing unease for her family. The author does a great job making you believe that you have everything figured out and then springs the final twists on you that you won’t see coming. I look forward to reading the next book by Samantha Hayes!

Thanks to Bookouture, Samantha Hayes, and NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read this ARC and share my honest review.

First of all; as a Diabetic myself, I love the fact that "her housekeeper" has an accurate diabetes presentation! Not a thing you read about often! Now, about the book itself; I definitely didn't expect the outcome, which is positive. The storyline did drag a bit at certain points and sometimes, it even was a little bit confusing to get behind the intentions of everyone. All in all, it was still a interesting read!

Her Housekeeper by Samantha Hayes is a gripping psychological thriller that really does keep you on the edge of your seat throughout!

Well paced and thrilling, Her Housekeeper is a dark and twisted page turner of a read that is full of the kind of twists and turns that I love. A shocking and unpredictable thriller, this is a book that you really do need to read for yourself without knowing too much about it, so all I will say is that it is a brilliantly plotted psychological thriller with plenty of breathtaking twists, turns, shocks and surprises along the way.

A dark and entertaining thriller, Her Housekeeper is a book that I would most definitely recommend.

This story follows a young family whose house unexpectedly burns down as they move back to the wife's hometown into a friend's place. There's this creepy housekeeper character who does all these subtle things that don't sit right.

I enjoyed this book. I like the writing style and the pace of the storyline. I like how the characters are all different, and the interesting relationships between them.

There was an interesting foreboding energy as the story moved forward and the author drip feeds you clues about something building up. You're always on your toes, wanting to know what happens next.

Some of the complications took me completely by surprise and some of them I suspected.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Samantha Hayes for the ARC.

I am literally lost for words. This book is absolutely outstanding. It is one of the best psychological thrillers I have ever read.
From that first chapter I was hooked, I couldn't pull myself away from it. Be prepared to not be able to put this down until you have read this as I definitely lost sleep over it as I needed to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next.
The characters are fantastic.
There are so many twists and turns you won't see coming. I was on the edge of my seat at times and my heart was pounding. I was frightened for these characters. I dreaded what was going to happen next.
This will be a best seller for sure.

Her Housekeeper by Samantha Hayes

Imagine your friend let you stayed in her home while she was away and the next day there was a woman standing at your doorstep and introduced herself as the housekeeper. Would you trust her?

The perfect switching POVs and the dual timelines made the story even more exciting and gripping. I enjoyed much about throughout the reading journey, you kind of had enough hints to guess what's going on, but not! The twist and turns just kept me hooked. When I was reading the book, I could already imagine the house and how the characters looked like, especially Gina and Mary. The characters were relatable and the pace was moderate. Her Housekeeper is one of the best page-turner thriller I would recommend.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and the author for my copy.

Pub date: Nov 11, 2024

I found this quite a slow burner. At first I thought it seemed the same as many other books on this theme, and wasn't sure I wanted to continue but I did. It livened up the further I read, and I liked the way the time shifted so we saw the then and now. One thing that played on my mind throughout is that I didn't believe that Gina would leave her children with a stranger without at least speaking to Annie. She got text replies from Annie so knew she had phone reception so why not phone her before she moved in etc. A lot of the revelations were laid out throughout the book so were not very surprising, but some of the twists towards the end were more interesting.
I usually really like Samantha Hayes books, but thought this was not one of her best, sorry!.

After a fire at their own home, Gina and her husband Matt move into Gina’s best friend, Annie’s house with their two young children. Annie is away on holiday so they are left in the big house on their own until Mary arrives.
Mary is Annie’s housekeeper and is keen to continue cleaning for the family whilst they are staying but then ends up moving in with her teenage son Tyler after she is made homeless.
Gina has a horrible feeling about Mary and doesn’t trust her- the reader is left to wonder if Gina’s suspicions are warranted or because of events in her past.
Interspersed with the present story told from both Gina and Mary’s POV, is chapters written when Gina, Annie and their friends Laura and Sara were young.
The mixture of the two timelines and POV’s worked well to reveal the plot which had a lot of different twists. Some of the twists I managed to work out during the book but there were one or two at the end that came as a surprise which I loved.
There was a lot going on throughout the book which kept it pacy and kept me reading until the end.

Overall, a twisty thriller with a great ending.

Her Housekeeper is one of the creepiest and most unhinged thrillers I’ve read this year, and I love it.

I’ve been very into popcorn thriller reads lately, that are perfect for devouring and easy, escapism reading, and this book hits all those marks. A family who moves into a rental, that “comes with” a housekeeper - and everything that seems on the up and up until it most definitely doesn’t.

Twists, suspense, moving character POV’s, timeline shifts, and creepy hints that nothing is what it seems all make this hugely addictive and impossible to stop reading.

This is most certainly a book that you want to know very little about going in, and then just enjoy the ride. The tension is nearly claustrophobic and you know all the while very bad things are about to happen….which makes it the ideal read for cooler winter nights when you want pure, delicious entertainment.

Many thanks to @bookouture for having me on the tour, and to @samanthahayes.author for the insane twists. Still not over that ending.

Hayes is one of my go to psychological thriller authors and her books never disappoint.

I was sold on the prologue and that was me hooked and I didn't stop until the final page flip of my Kindle.

It's narrated from multiple POV, that weaves a twisty tale through the events of the before and after leading up to the exposé of Mary, and the reasons behind her cuckooing.

Characters throughout are complex with Mary hands down my favourite.

BOOKWORMS REVIEW: So this was fast paced and really keeps you invested. Told from several points of view,over different timelines. .its the story of couple Matt and Gina and their 2 kids who are temporarily living in a friend's home. Their house has gone on fire hence this situation. Annie,who owns the house,has a housekeeper Mary,who stays in the house,along with her son, with Gina and family. Gina doesn't feel comfortable with this at all and thinks someone's watching her. It's suspenseful,dramatic and has some twists,which is always good. Enjoyable.
With thanks to Bookouture NetGalley and Samantha Hayes for an arc to review
BOOKWORMS RATING: 📒 📒 📒 📒

Her Housekeeper by Samantha Hayes, when the book starts, we meet Jennifer, her husband, Matt, her toddler, Tommy and baby Grace they’re staying with her very rich and talented friend from school Anne who is away on Safari. as a child, Jennifer, Anne, Lori and Sarah were a group of friends that called their self the gals. Jennifer is staying with Anne, because when her and her husband were visiting, Laura in London they got a call saying their house was burning down and burn down it did. Jennifer never thought she would be back in her hometown, but that is exactly where she is Wild. They fix up her home on the third day when is heard and when Jennifer opens it, a woman in a maid uniform says hi I’m Mary, should I just do what I usually do? and Jennifer, not knowing what else to say says… Sure. Jennifer contacts and through WhatsApp and ask about Mary who can’t help but sing her praises but when a couple of more days go by and Mary shows up claiming she needs a place to stay due to her abusive husband against Jennifer’s better judgment she agrees because how can you kick a domestic violence victim out on the street?!! this is when Mary and her strange older son Tyler moves in when they walked in. They should’ve had an announcer to scream. Let the games begin… Because games is exactly what happens. From dirt and Jennifer’s bed to marry taking her kids without permission, locking her in a room, and even being touchy-feely with husband, Matt in front of her, but this is just the beginning and although it sounds crazy, it doesn’t prepare you for the wild and crazy ending. Mary and Tyler have secrets, but they are not at all the only ones in the home to be keeping life altering past decisions from Jennifer and whenever every thing comes out, it is more a cluster crunch of confessions than a big reveal. let me start by saying I really like the way the story was written and laid out with everyone having their own first person narrative and I found myself not really wanting to put the book down, but when it got to the very long extended ending I really felt like I was almost over it. I wish I could say more, but don’t want to give anything away. I love books that you think they’re over and they’re not over because there is another big twist but I think there was so many twist. I felt like I was dancing to Chuck Berry. I am still writing it for stars because I would be lying if I didn’t say I was entertained 99.5% of the time. I like this authors books with the exception of the last one I read, but I really close to loving this one. #NetGalley,#book archer, #SamanthaHayes, #HerHousekeeper,

While awaiting repairs to their fire damaged home, Gina and her family are invited by her bestie, Annie, to stay in her recently renovated Victorian house. Upon their arrival, Gina discovers that Annie has a housekeeper, Mary. Gina does not question things, but finds Mary to be a little odd. Her questions are strange and she seems to be watching Gina. Things take a turn when Mary and her son move in, as they allegedly have nowhere else to go. As time goes on, Gina realizes that her past may be connected to what is going on...

Although I didn't find some of the twists/turns/reveals that surprising (guessed some), I still really enjoyed this book! The final twist, however, did get me and I was genuinely shocked. It is an easy read and definitely a page turner. The housekeeper/maid genre is a bit overdone, but Samantha Hayes has some new and refreshing storylines for a fun read!

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest psychological thriller by Samantha Hayes. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

Gina and Matt's house was destroyed in a fire, but thankfully their friend, Annie, was out of the area for work and allowed them and their children to stay at her home. Mary, Annie's housekeeper, shows up and is soon moving into the attic room with her teenage son because of an abusive situation at their home. Gina isn't completely comfortable with Mary and feels she is acting too close to Matt. But Annie assures her that all is well. But is it?

This was such a fast paced thriller with many twists and turns. You might be like me and think you have it all figured out, but there were so many shocking reveals. Told from multiple POV and in different timelines, the suspense keeps building and I couldn't put it down. The characters were relatable - you could feel Gina's angst and concern for her family, as well as her frustration with Matt and Mary. Another fabulous read by Samantha Hayes!

Her Housekeeper by Samantha Hayes is another gripping thriller.
It is a well written, well plotted story of secrets and lies, with a cast of well drawn characters who you will love to hate and enough twists to keep you guessing.
Intriguing plausible storylines, that are not overly complex and yet manage to retain a twist in the tale end. Another great book by a great author!

Only my second read by Samantha Hayes but another smasher of a story, completely and utterly deserved 5 star rating, brilliant just brilliant!

Gina, Annie, Laura and Sara were known as the best friend GALS in their teenage years, in Hastings, with their motto of “big love, true friends, no secrets”. Sara was a little less involved with the girl group with her being quite quiet and withdrawn due to a difficult home life but was still considered one of the girls. Then one night Sara disappears, a search ensures but she is never found and therefore proclaimed missing and presumed dead, the girls are shocked to their cores but still try to get on with the rest of their lives the best that they can. Fast forward to the girls being adults now and Gina, Annie and Laura are still good friends, but the absence of Sara still weighs heavily in their hearts. When Gina’s house gets destroyed in a fire Gina finds herself homeless and living in a hotel with her husband Matt, toddler Tommy and 7 week old Gracie. Annie has decided to go travelling so offers the family her house whilst their home is being rebuilt and Gina jumps at the offer, despite the worry about returning to Hastings after what happened with Sara. On the second day of moving in, a woman called Mary arrives on their doorstep claiming to be Annie’s housekeeper and despite Gina feeling odd about it when she texts Annie, she reassures her and sings Mary’s praises. Strange things then start to happen when Mary is around and things then escalate when Mary turns up at the house, not long after Gina first meets her, and asks if she can stay with her son Tyler due to leaving an abusive partner, obviously both Gina, Matt and Annie agree considering the house is so big and has enough room. Once Mary and Tyler have moved in events start to intensify and old memories of the teenage GALS in Hastings are stirred up once again with the spectre of Sara hanging over all of them. But who is Mary really? Just the innocent housekeeper or something else entirely? And if her motives are nefarious then what does she want with Gina and her family?

Wowsers! I am not sure I can do a good enough review to give this book the justice it needs, utterly captivating, but I shall try my best! As this is a spoiler free review, I will also do my upmost to describe my reading experience without giving anything away. I really enjoyed hearing the story through the different POV’s and I thought the character of Mary was written so well as you could sense the sinister and manipulating vibe she gave off very well through the pages. I do feel that because I am a seasoned psychological thriller fan I had got some bits figured out early on, but I was still totally blindsided by the three (yup you read that right) THREE huge twists! I ended up lying in bed at 1am, still reading, with my mouth gaping open, especially when I read the second twist. Outstanding writing by Samantha Hayes. It isn’t often that I can understand why the villain in the story is so revengeful but, in this book, I really understood their need for revenge and I did feel sorry for them, which again, as I say, is highly unusual.

Overall, utterly brilliant and I honestly can’t recommend this book enough. If you love psychological thrillers, you will love this one! I can’t wait to see what Samantha Hayes writes next. Extremely well deserved 5 star rating!

Thank you to NetGalley, Samantha Hayes and Bookouture for my advanced reading copy. Out now.

One of my favourite authors who never fails to deliver a compelling storyline. This one has dark undertones and the twists get tighter as the book goes on. The ending had me sat open mouthed because no way did I see that coming. Compelling, dark and chilling, you won't want to put this one down once you start.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for this eCopy to review

When I picked up Her Housekeeper by Samantha Hayes, I was immediately drawn into the world of domestic suspense. The story revolves around a housekeeper who isn’t quite what she seems, and the tension builds with every page. I found myself completely engrossed in the protagonist’s dual life—her meticulous attention to her duties and the secrets she harbours.

The story follows a family who temporarily move into Gina's friend, Annie's beautifully renovated Victorian house in Hastings while their own home undergoes repairs after a fire. A housekeeper named Mary, arrives one day saying she was hired by Annie. However, Gina soon realizes that Mary is not who she claims to be. As Mary ingratiates herself into the family, strange and unsettling events begin to unfold. Gina becomes increasingly paranoid, suspecting Mary of having ulterior motives. The tension escalates as secrets from the past resurface, leading to a shocking and dangerous climax.

The plot twists were masterfully executed. Just when I thought I had figured out the mystery, Hayes threw in another curveball that left me reeling. The psychological depth of the characters added a layer of realism that made the story even more gripping. I could feel the protagonist’s anxiety and determination, which kept me on the edge of my seat.

One of the standout aspects of the book was the writing style. Hayes has a way with words that paints vivid pictures and evokes strong emotions. The pacing was perfect, with just the right amount of suspense to keep me hooked without feeling overwhelmed.

However, there were moments when the plot felt a bit predictable, and some of the secondary characters could have been more developed. Despite these minor flaws, the book was a thrilling ride from start to finish.

It’s a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers who enjoy a good twist and a well-crafted story.