I think it's been a couple years since I read a Freida McFadden book. I see them everywhere at any bookstore, dominating whatever thrillers are on display, but I can never take them seriously enough to buy them. The last time, it was on Kindle, and I hardly remember the book at all. I think it was called The Inmate. I don't remember anything that happens in it, so I assumed it couldn't have been very good. (I get it mixed up a lot with The Silent Patient, which is a pretty great book, by the way, and memorable.)
But I think I'll have to give The Inmate another shot one day, because The Housemaid? Shockingly good. Thrilling, even. I can see why they're making a movie out of it (starring Sydney Sweeney and the girl from Mean Girls whose boobs can tell it's raining). I wouldn't have cared enough to read it if not for the movie, but also not if a friend hadn't recommended it to me.
My first impression of the book wasn't great. Some of the writing feels clunky to me; things are phrased repetitively, and at one point the beginning a chapter summarized the previous one in such an awkward, forced way, as if it was the start of a sequel. It's just unnecessary when you go through chapters so quickly (because despite everything, McFadden's books are hard to put down) and kind of messed with my immersion. I also couldn't stand the way love interests were described: so much text about these men's giant, muscled arms, the cleft in Mr. Wincester's chin, Enzo's incredibly hot Italian accent. A lot of the same sentence—"His Adam's apple bobs." I have mixed feelings about men in general, but Adam's apples are disgusting, let's be honest. I think I had to read that exact sentence at least five times, and that was about four or five times too many. In a later chapter, there was a pretty gross description of a woman lactating. Not that lactating is gross in itself, but the way it was worded in this chapter, and repetitively too, I wanted to throw up. I know thrillers are supposed to make you throw up, but about violence and gore, please, not about Adam's apples and squirting nipples. Sorry, Freida.
But eventually you get past that, trust me. This book is great, and there are some amazing plot twists. Without spoiling too much, one of my favourite things about it is how secretive the narrative was about the main character's past. The first few chapters keep a lot from you, making sure to remind you of the secrets you're missing, and then start to reveal a little bit at a time, but you don't get to know the whole story until the end of the book. The plot was even better. I was always, always conflicted about what was really going on. I didn't know what to believe. Even if the truth was being stated outright, proven by multiple witnesses, there was always a part of me that couldn't trust it anymore. I love the protagonist, and I love hating the villain even more! The ending is so satisfying, the way everything ties together, I can't help but gush about it.
A good 8/10 stars for me. I'll be reading the sequels after seeing the movie, and probably some more McFadden, too. These books are bestsellers for a reason. Read it!