Book Review: The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
Let me just say this upfront: The Housemaid is a wild, fast read; the kind you inhale in one sitting, but when I turned the final page, I had that “wait… that’s it?” feeling. Not because it wasn’t entertaining, but because it pulled a thematic bait-and-switch that left me side-eyeing the entire ending.
The setup is delicious: Milly, the quiet housemaid with a dangerous past, trapped in a glossy, toxic household where everyone is lying about something. The summary promises secrets, danger, and psychological warfare, and yes — the book delivers that. You get the glamorous house, the creepy husband, the unhinged wife, the attic room that locks from the outside. It’s giving thriller-by-the-numbers, but in a fun, popcorn-movie way.
But here's my gripe. The plot was predictable. Like, I-could-see-the-twist-waving-at-me-from-page-three predictable. Fine, I can live with predictable if the payoff is satisfying.
The ending… wasn’t.
Instead of feeling like Milly reclaimed her power or stepped into some righteous, women-protecting-women energy, the final moments landed like she was disposable. A tool. A convenient pawn in someone else’s game. The message shifted from empowerment to something closer to, “We’ll keep you around as long as you’re useful.” It made her feel less like a survivor and more like a sacrifice the story was weirdly willing to make.
I think the intention was to crown her as a vigilante; a woman who can take a hit and give one back harder. But the execution read more like tossing her into the fire because she wasn’t worthy of anything else. It undercut the exact theme the book kept flirting with: women supporting women, getting each other out alive.
And that tonal whiplash? That’s where it lost me.
Final verdict:
Entertaining? Yes. Cinematic? Absolutely, I can see why it’s headed to theaters.
Empowering? Not the way it thinks it is.
A fun thriller with vibes… but not the emotional depth it promised.
If you're into domestic suspense, you’ll have a good time…just don’t expect Milly’s ending to leave you cheering.
About
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…