New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Amazon bestselling author Freida McFadden is a practicing physician specializing in brain injury who has penned multiple Kindle bestselling psychological thrillers and medical humor novels. She lives with her family and black cat in a centuries-old three-story home overlooking the ocean, with staircases that creak and moan with each step, and nobody could hear you if you scream. Unless you scream really loudly, maybe.
“Welcome to the family,” Nina Winchester says as I shake her elegant, manicured hand. I smile politely, gazing around the marble hallway. 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…
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…
A New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller and winner of a 2023 ITW Thriller Award. This unbelievably twisty read will have you glued to the pages late into the night. Anyone who loves The Woman in the Window, The Wife Between Us and The Girl on the Train won’t be able to put down The Housemaid!
“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, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“What a wild ride!!! Freida definitely delivered the best twisty ending… Gripping from start to finish… honestly, I just could not put it down… An absolutely mind-blowing shocker that kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat literally until the very end.” Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“One wild ride!… So many twists and turns… I was hooked right away – I even read my Kindle while waiting in my kid’s school pick-up line so I wouldn’t have to put this book down!… addictive… pure perfection!” Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This book was hyped up quite a bit, so I shied away from reading it for awhile, then I wished I’d read it sooner. It was a bit more sinister and dark than I expected, but I figured out some parts of the ending pretty early on. Halfway through, there is a huge switch-a-roo that I knew was coming but couldn’t put my finger on exactly what the author had in store… It lived up to its reputation as being a thrilling page-turner. I like listening to books with multiple voices instead of reading them, and I highly recommend the Audible version of this one. I was very happy with the ending. It will not disappoint. I have the sequel, The Housemaid’s Secret, on my reading short list.
- Wilhelmina “Millie” Calloway – a young woman, 27 years old, with a criminal past, who is employed as a housekeeper by a rich woman, Nina Winchester, with a seeming mental health condition. At 27, Millie Calloway emerges from a decade-long imprisonment, embarking on a challenging quest for employment. Her journey leads her to the Winchester household as a live-in housemaid, a role she accepts with eagerness, given her limited options due to her criminal past.
- Nina Winchester – the story’s co-narrator and a woman in her late thirties, presents a facade of the affluent, troubled housewife.
- Andrew Winchester – initially seen as a sympathetic character trapped in a loveless marriage, is gradually revealed as the antagonist.
- Cecelia “Cece” Winchester – Nina’s young daughter, initially appears as an odd, demanding child.
- Enzo – the Winchester’s Sicilian landscaper.
Buy The Housemaid HERE
Check out this interview with Freida McFadden covering “The Housemaid” and her writing process
Pretty Colors Unabridged 