Sure, I realize this story is meant to be taken with a grain of salt, preferably served on buttered popcorn, 🍿 but, the last two parts were too crazy for my taste! There is a dark humour underlying Millie’s narration, I liked those random funny moments even when the proceedings were not hilarious at all. When she learns a dirty little secret about Nina's past and gets warned by the hot, candy-like landscaper Enzo, who unfortunately speaks only Italian, she realizes that by accepting this job, she may be putting her life in danger. Especially when it's so tempting to get seduced by Mr. Winchester, while his wife watches them like a jealous hawk, ready to tear her limbs apart. Oh, Millie, you've found yourself in another prison you can't escape, haven't you?

This book completely fulfilled my little Nancy Drew heart. This book took a piece of my heart and gave me something in return. This is the book I didn’t know I needed in 2023. This is the author that I didn’t know I needed to dive into! If you get anything from this review, all you need to know is…. YOU NEED TO PUT DOWN WHATEVER IT IS YOU’RE READING AND GRAB THIS BOOK! Millie's POV is straight up "dear diary" style. As in, "I spent 7 hours cleaning the house and I thought about Andy Winchester's bangin bod the entire time. He is so dreamy. Does he like me too????" It's also giving me "rages to riches" fanfic written by a tween vibes. BUT AT THE SAME DAMN TIME... the book was legit funny in parts???? Like great dark humour throughout???? 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... 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. In a Nutshell: A bit farfetched but it still provided me with almost everything I look for in a thriller.There are also a few convenient coincidences. (Then again, these are found in almost every thriller, which is why I don’t read much of this genre.) Nina has no agency at all, she's only good to be rescued by her super-hot, muscled, Italian stud, and even Millie shows no initiative at all up until the very ending. But then an ad has been posted for a live-in maid with light duties. Millie interviews with the elegant wife/mother in her elegant house with her elegant handsome husband. Against all odds, Millie gets the job. But Nina, her new boss, is a bit "off". Nina has spent some time in a psychiatric hospital. She spins on a dime from day to day. Cecelia, nine years old, is spoiled rotten and lights up Millie every chance she gets. Millie feels sorry for Andrew, the husband, who is caught in this emotional blender on high speed. do you know those movies about the scary cult of, like, creepy kids who can read minds and worship the devil and live in the cornfields or something? well, if they were casting for one of those movies, this girl would get the part. they wouldn’t even have to audition her. they would take one look at her and be like, yes, you are creepy girl number three. I got severe whiplash from the twistiest turns … Every time I thought I had it figured out… WRONG!!! … I am still reeling … outstanding … If you love a top notch psychological thriller that will have you questioning your own sanity , then this 5 star read is for you .” NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The daughter Cece is a capital B.R.A.T. and later in the book the mom’s just like ‘oh, you know…that’s just how she is!’ Then we have Andrew Winchester. He makes a lot of money, is so very handsome, and seems to be a wonderful father and husband. Millie can’t stop herself from fantasizing about him. He seems perfect in every way to her and cannot understand why Nina isn’t over the moon about him. If you know your domestic thrillers, you'll know that the above character analysis will change over the course of the novel. The characters were unbelievable at times. In spite of this, I enjoyed their idiosyncrasies. A thriller can’t be twisty without characters who generate mixed feelings in you. It’s boring to have thrillers with clearly delineated good or bad characters. The characters in this book will test your loyalties towards them. My thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Housemaid”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. Everything about this book is just perfection, it also has short chapters which I love, meaning you can always read "one more chapter". The characters were great too, I loved Millie, she is such a bad ass! I loved more characters as the book went on but won't say too much as I want to keep my review spoiler free.Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel for an honest review. It has been published in April 2022. The ending was beyond satisfying and just something I didn’t expect at all! LoL saying it was a drop-the-mic moment is an understatement. This was a wild, insane, fun, adrenaline-filled AND IF YOU HAVE READ THIS BOOK, PUT DOWN WHATEVER YOU’RE READING AND GRAB ANOTHER FREIDA MCFADDEN BOOK!! welcome to my spoiler free review🤭this was my first freida book and it has me feeling like i need to take a trip to the nearest psych ward. i finished this book in SIX hours. more like four because i spent two of those hours spam texting shei throughout the entire book🙈she pulled an all-nighter for me🥹🫂please go into my review with very low expectations because since it’s spoiler free…i won’t be able to say a lot🥺