I tore through The Housemaid’s Secret in two sittings and still found time to side-eye every locked door in my flat.
What it’s about: Millie returns, trying to keep her life on track with a new housekeeping job in a glossy Manhattan apartment. The wife never leaves the guest room. The husband is charm on a stick. The rules are odd. Then the pay goes up and so do the questions. That is all you need before the rug starts moving under your feet.
What I liked: McFadden keeps chapters snappy and the tension tidy, which suits Millie’s dry, survival-mode voice. The moral murk is the fun of it. No one is spotless, everyone has leverage, and the reveals arrive at just the right clip. I also liked how the book nods to consequences from the first novel without making new readers feel lost.
What gave me pause: A few coincidences lean convenient, and you will spot one twist if you read a lot of domestic noir. It still lands because the fallout is messy in a satisfying way.
Try this if you love: Lisa Jewell’s knotty secrets, Ruth Ware’s closed-room unease, and bingeable, high-stakes nanny/housemaid plots.
Verdict: Slick, pacey, and deliciously untrustworthy. I had fun.
Book reviewed:
The Housemaid's Secret
By Freida McFadden
Book 2 of 3: The Housemaid: An unbelievably twisty read that will have you glued to the pages late into the night.