The Housemaid

Author: Freida McFadden
Genre: Thriller, Popcorn Thriller
325 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 2022

Synopsis
The Housemaid by Freida McFadden is a story about two women – Millie Galloway and Nina Winchester. Galloway is a prison parolee who is down on her luck, Winchester is a wealthy housewife with a seemingly perfect life. Galloway is thrilled when she’s offered a job as a housemaid for Winchester. The bad vibes start almost immediately and as Galloway navigates her duties, she uncovers dark secrets and hidden desires that threaten to disrupt the delicate balance of the household. She becomes entangled in a romance with the Andrew Winchester, leading to a series of events that have far-reaching consequences for everyone involved.

My Review
This book received solid reviews, so I decided to give it a read. Overall, I was disappointed with the plot and character development. It felt more like a mediocre Lifetime Movie than a thriller novel. Despite the initial buildup, the story quickly becomes predictable and clichéd. I’ve read several of McFadden’s books and usually find them light, but entertaining and fast-paced; however, in The Housemaid, the characters were one-dimensional at best, failing to evoke any empathy or interest from me as a reader. Further, the dialogue was awkward and repetitive and the developing relationship between Galloway and Andrew Winchester was shallow and unbelievable. For me, nothing really works in this novel. Overall, The Housemaid was a disappointing read that failed to deliver on its promising premise.

My recommendation: skip it.