The Housemaid

My friends couldn’t stop talking about Frieda McFadden’s The Housemaid, and after reading this novel, I completely understand the hype. The book opens memorably with the main character sitting in a house ad midst police officers and a dead body upstairs. Thereafter, the novel explains the origin of the incident and builds tensions gradually as we follow Millie – an ex-convict and live-in maid with the rich Winchester family. The plot is linear: a strange family, big house filled with secrets and a narrator who tells only one side of the story. This makes the plot one that keeps you glued to the book as you want to know what happened or went wrong next.

Being able to read this book was one thing that really stood out for me. Freida writes in a way that make the chapters flow effortlessly; hence, making it difficult for you to put the book down when you want to. I also enjoy her attention to detail for tension building, rather than just focusing on big events. For instance, I felt uneasy when Millie observed that her bedroom’s door lock was outside rather than inside. I felt same way other small details like the tiny attic room, door scratches or how the little girl Cecelia stares at her like she’s a see-through glass. Though not significant plot twists, these moments made the house uncomfortable long before anything unexpected happened. Additionally, I loved how the book portrayed Millie’s desperation: looking for any type of job and living in her car. This kept me interested as I knew that anybody in such situation would ignore any red flags that people easily steer from.

Nevertheless, I noted some negative sides that I believe should be worked on. The main flaw I noticed was the over-exaggeration of characters to fit a plot twist. For instance, there were several cases where Nina quickly goes from cruel to friendly, making it seem less of a natural behavior and more of a trick. At one point, she praises Millie and buys her a phone; but equally accuses her of trying to hurt her daughter over other trivial mistakes. Likewise, Andrew seemed too ideal at first, and I easily suspected that something was wrong. This made me anticipate surprises less, which shouldn’t be. I would also like to add that the writing style is simple, and readers who love to feel words deeply may not satiate words at the depth they want. I was genuinely interested on the next thing to happen and was not attached to the characters.

Despite these drawbacks, this book is still a great piece, I am not surprised to see it as a bestseller. This is the type of piece that I would suggest to anyone who likes twisty, fast thriller that focuses less on realism and more on entertainment. Therefore, this is a great book for you if you like books with constantly changing plots, and where nothing is exactly what it seems. Nevertheless, if you want a more realistic mystery or deeper characters, this may not be for you. Honestly, I enjoyed the reading experience, but I also understand that it may not be the same way for some others. I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars because it has what it takes to keep you turning the pages.