The Housemaid

The HousemaidAuthor : Freida McFaddenPublisher : BookoutureLanguage : EnglishGenre : psychological thrillerAbout the book:“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…About the author:#1 Amazon bestselling author Freida McFadden is a practicing physician specializing in brain injury who has penned multiple Kindle bestselling psychological thrillers and medical humor novels. She lives with her family and black cat in a centuries-old three-story home overlooking the ocean, with staircases that creak and moan with each step, and nobody could hear you if you scream. Unless you scream really loudly, maybe.My take:What a book!This book begins with a simple story of Millie seeking the job of a housemaid at the residence of the filthy rich Winchester family.Millie has a dark past and secrets of her own, and she hopes she gets a new beginning in her life with this new job.But as she begins working for the Winchester's, she begins unravelling the secrets of the family. Nina Winchester isn't the perfect woman she portrays to be. Her moods swing like a swing, and one moment she is the caring host, and the other, she is a tormenting master. Her daughter Cece is equally tough to handle. The way they both always wear stark white clothes, especially Cece's unnaturally frilly frocks seem weird.The landscaper Enzo doesn't seem to speak English, but is he faking it? Because he keeps warning Millie that she is in danger.What is the mystery of the Windchester household. Does Millie get away unscathed?This book has me gripping it through the night as it revealed twists after twists. Some parts of the book are dark and disturbing, but the story, as usual, is terrific and something totally unexpected.The book is mostly from the POV of Millie, the POV of Nina Winchester appears later in the story, and while we get to know what each protagonist thinks, we are still left wondering what happens next.I love this author. She is a physician who writes terrific stories with amazing twists. The book never lets you get bored, and you want to finish it in one go.The book cover was okay, and could have been made more mysterious.Overall, I rate it 4.5.

"There’s something about this room that’s making a little ball of dread form in the pit of my stomach."Millie thought working for the Winchesters would be a fresh start, but their secrets proved to be more dangerous than her own. As she cleaned their mansion, cared for their daughter, and cooked their meals, she couldn't help but notice Nina's manipulative games and Andrew's deep-seated pain. But now it's too late for her to back down. Now, trapped in her attic bedroom with a door that locks from the outside, she reassures herself that the Winchesters don't know her true identity—or what she's capable of. (Thanks to Goodreads)I was skeptical when I began reading this book because of the very polarized reviews that I read for it. But to my astonishment, I really enjoyed reading The Housemaid.The story is divided into three parts. In the first part, Millie, the maid in the picture, narrates her story. She has a dark past but is desperate to get a job. The second part is from Nina's point of view. She's one of the Winchesters, and this is where the story actually becomes interesting. This is where we get to see how various characters contribute to the actual plot. And this is the part that had my teeth gritted constantly! The third part is where it all concludes.I had a few suspicions about how the story would unfold when I reached the second part, but this book kept me on the edge of my seat throughout, and I could finish reading it in two long sittings. My only complaint is that the ending could have been executed a bit better.For some reason, this story felt familiar, as if I had read it somewhere before.If you have read and enjoyed Gone Girl, then you might enjoy this one, too. For me, personally, this book was worth the hype.I can't wait to read the rest of the books in this series.4✨️