Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The Housemaid

I loved this way more than I want to admit. It was as twisted as Flowers in the Attic and as delicious as the most decadent chocolate cake. I thought I was going to hate it as the story unfolded, but the second twist immediately undid my reservations. I thought it was going to be a story of the princess waiting to be rescued by the prince. I was extremely wrong and oh so happy to be wrong. And I realize that I love this book because I harbor a modicum of internalized, impotent, simmering rage for all the women who’ve been in Nina and Millie’s positions, myself included (though certainly to a much, much lesser degree). I have a feeling lot of us women identify with these characters more than we want to think about. I’ve read several books by Freida McFadden, and this one is my favorite. I really looking forward to the next one in the series.

Content Warnings

tourmalinequeen's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

I read it for book club and I both did and didn't enjoy it. Not my genre but I'm sure it's something that others will enjoy.
The characters serve the plot not the other way around, and the plot surrounds an abusive relationship. It begins with gaslighting and develops quickly to confinement and psychological abuse. If it weren't for the book club I would not have read it. None of the characters are likeable and backstory gets info dumped in awkward expository segments rather than serving the characters or allowing them to develop. Plot is very fast paced and can be enjoyable at times but the unlikeable characters mean I didn't want anyone to succeed in the narrative, there was no sympathetic character even the ones surviving abuse did not come across as sympathetic. It reads like the author wanted it to be a movie or tv show rather than a book.

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shesayer's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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annakinsky's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 out of 5 stars

"I miss Cece when I’m at work. I think about her all the time. I had always fantasized that when I had a baby, I would be able to stay home for at least the first six months. Instead, I just took my two weeks of vacation and went right back to work, even though it still sort of hurt to walk"

"It hit me when I saw those two blue lines that my eternal graduate school lifestyle would never provide for me and my unborn child."

"I kept looking for flaws. Nobody could possibly be as perfect as Andy Winchester"

"I haven’t quite come down from my cloud yet. I can’t believe that I have the financial stability to stay home with my little girl."

"I want to be worthy of this incredible life he’s given me."

I finished reading the book in three days—it would have been sooner if I hadn’t been busy. I absolutely loved how it was written; it was easy to read yet incredibly thrilling. The characters were unpredictable, and I could easily imagine it being made into a film. The story is told from the points of view of Millie and Nina, which really helped me get into their heads and understand their thoughts. The ending was fantastic!

The story follows Millie, who is on parole and just wants to get a job after losing her previous one. Homeless, she lives in her car but is eventually hired by Nina Winchester. After only a few weeks working for the Winchesters, Millie notices that Nina behaves erratically, almost like a complete psycho. (The writing captures this so well—if I were Millie, I would’ve left that job long ago!) But Millie stays because she desperately needs the money. Millie is the housemaid, and although she seems fine on the surface, I started to think she might be a little unhinged too, based on the way she thinks and talks to herself. There are also rumors that Nina had been in a psychiatric hospital after trying to kill her own daughter.

As time goes on, Millie grows more resentful and angry at Nina for her mistreatment, but she also gets closer to Nina's husband, Andrew Winchester, who helps her whenever she's in trouble. One day, while Nina is away, Millie and Andrew go to the opera together and later visit a hotel that was originally booked for the couple.

But here's the twist: Nina had planned everything. She was trying to escape the real monster—her husband, Andrew. Enzo, the gardener, was the only one who knew this secret and had helped Nina attempt to escape before. When Andrew finally tells Nina to leave, she’s thrilled. However, Millie ends up locked in the attic—just like Nina had been before.

Nina chose Millie with a specific purpose in mind: to kill Andrew. She knew about Millie’s troubled past, including how she went to jail for defending her friend. Nina subtly helped Millie by placing pepper spray and a spare key in the attic. Andrew is eventually locked up, and the twist is that Millie, in her own unhinged way, exacts her revenge by doing to Andrew what he had done to her—inflicting punishment. Andrew dies of dehydration, but not before Millie forces him to pull out his own teeth with pliers. It’s darkly humorous. When Nina returns to the house to save Millie, she discovers Andrew is already dead. She helps cover up the crime, with help from a coroner who happens to be Andrew's ex-wife’s father.

At the funeral, Evelyn, Andrew’s mother, reveals she knew about the teeth-pulling and that she had punished Andrew similarly when he was a child—another crazy twist.

In the end, Millie gets away with everything and maintains her connection with both Nina and Enzo. Nina even refers Millie to her friends—other women who are apparently abused by their husbands. The end.

Content Warnings

galaxyveins's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

not my favorite but it got me to read. i guessed the plot twist immediately, and found the main character extremely unlikable.

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beasleyom's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Multiple twists. Hard to determine which was the BIG twist. All of them could be seen coming though.

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