The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
Format: Print, Paperback
Pages: 325 pages
Start Date: April 2, 2023
End Date: April 5, 2023
Overall: ★★★★★
Character Development: ★★★★★
Ending: ★★★
Suspense Level: 🔪
Pace: Easy, Fast Paced
Recommend: Yes!
Triggers: Abuse, Mental Health Topics
Summary In My Words
Millie Calloway finds herself fired from her job over a "misunderstanding" and living in her car. With her potential prospects slim, due to spending the last ten years in prison, she jumps at the opportunity the Winchester's are seeming to offer her; a well paying job along with a roof over her head. Soon after starting her job as a housemaid, she realizes Nina isn't quite the employer she thought she was.....yet her husband is so...perfect. Still, she tries to keep her head down and do her work, even if she is starting to realize it actually is too good to be true....
My Thoughts - Contains Spoilers, Continue at Your Own Risk
Holy cow, I could not put this book down! I thought it was so well written, I really liked that the author sort of built Millie's character throughout the book instead of having this specific portion of the book where the main plot was put on pause for character building. I also feel like I was able to read this without feeling like there was this glare of predictability to it. Yes, I knew it was the husband.... Yes, Nina was just too unhinged off of the bat not to be suspicious of her..... I feel like Andrew was too perfect and Nina was just a little too crazy.
I actually didn't love that Enzo and Nina ended up hooking up. Even though it was more of a one night thing, I felt like it was too predictable. I would've liked to see Millie and Enzo together, even though most of the story was about Millie and Andrew 's attraction towards each other. Still, I really enjoyed reading through Nina's side of her behavior, as opposed to Nina just revealing her intentions to Millie.
Since Ashley already read this book, I thought I would answer the questions she posed:
We're you dying to know what Millie did that got her 10 years in prision? Did you like how the author revealed that information or do you wish it had come out sooner? I was! I couldn't wait for that information to be revealed and I loved that there was this illusion that Millie may have ENJOYED it. I did feel bad for her that her friend disowned her after that, though.
For someone that served 10 years, did you not think it odd that her parole officer wasn't MORE involved? Wouldn't they have noticed her missing? Or wouldn't Nina have taken that into consideration when selecting her? I did have this thought while I was reading the book, actually. I feel like given the severity of Millie's crime, there would've been more things required of Millie....additional meetings, phone calls, SOMETHING.
Are you not just dying to hear about Andrew's back story? I feel like his Mother was the reason for the way he was, I'd love a more detailed look at his background. Absolutely. I feel like a lot of the behavior and abuse Andrew gave Nina was a reflection of some of the things he endured growing up. I feel like there is so much to unwrap that Freida could easily write an entire book about Andrew and his relationship with his mother.
Can you believe Andrew's mother seem unphased by the death of her son? Could you imagine meeting such a cold person? Do you think her husband knew about her cruel nature? I feel like Andrew's mother seemed like Andrew somehow had it coming to him. Maybe how she justified his death was her twisted way of coping with her grief, but the author doesn't reveal that to us. I also don't think Andrew's father was aware of the abuse he endured by his mother. I did have a brief suspicion that maybe Andrew's mother was subject to similar abuse by his father, but there wasn't any evidence by that.
I'm Curious
How did you feel when the author revealed what Millie did that sent her to prison? Did you ever get the sense that maybe Millie enjoyed killing that guy, whether or not that was her initial intention?
What did you think about Nina initially setting Millie up to take her place with Andrew? Do you think that you could let someone else be victim to abuse you used to endure just to set yourself free?
Did you feel like Millie's character was unbelievable? That maybe she should have had more PTSD from spending 10 YEARS in prison?
Do you feel like Millie would have been able to hide the fact that she got let go from her waitressing job from her parole officer for so long? I feel like there would've been some sort of employment check, and not just taking Millie's word for things....
Did you feel like the actions of the police detective seemed a little far-fetched? I can understand the detective's motive for believing Andrew was a bad guy, but seems like there was enough evidence of foul play that was evident to other people as well that you couldn't just write off Andrew's death as accidental.
Next Book: The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFadden
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