Author: Freida McFadden · Published: 2022 · Genre: Domestic Thriller, Psychological Thriller
The Housemaid is a fast, pulpy domestic thriller about a young woman with a prison record who takes a live-in job with a wealthy and volatile family. It isn’t well written, and the plot doesn’t survive much scrutiny, but it’s very hard to put down. Read it on a plane or a beach, and don’t expect depth.
What it’s about
Millie Calloway is out of prison, out of work and living in her car when Nina Winchester offers her a job as a live-in housekeeper at her Long Island home. The house is beautiful. Nina’s husband, Andrew, is handsome, rich and kind. Their young daughter, Cecelia, is sullen and treats Millie with open contempt.
Then things turn strange. Nina’s moods swing wildly. She trashes rooms Millie has just cleaned, gives instructions and then denies giving them, and blames Millie for her own mistakes. Millie’s room is a cramped attic space with a tiny window, and the door locks from the outside. Enzo, the Italian gardener, seems to be trying to warn her about something, but his English is limited. With her record, Millie can’t afford to walk away from the job.
What works
- Pace. The chapters are short, the sentences are simple, and nearly every chapter ends on a hook. McFadden knows how to keep you reading “one more chapter” until it’s 2 a.m.
- The attic. The locked room with its tiny window is a great, simple image of dread. It sets up the book’s central question: who in this house is really dangerous?
- The house. McFadden makes the Winchesters’ spotless home feel enviable and suffocating at once. She uses small domestic details, such as a missing item or a changed instruction, to ratchet up the paranoia.
- The rug-pull. Without giving anything away, McFadden changes the game partway through, and the story becomes a different and more satisfying kind of thriller. It surprised me the first time, and it’s the main reason the book took off.
- Millie. She isn’t a helpless heroine. Her past has made her wary, tough and funny, and her first-person, present-tense voice is easy company.
What doesn’t
The writing is flat. Most characters are types: the unhinged rich wife, the perfect husband, the brooding foreign gardener. Enzo in particular comes close to caricature, defined by his looks and his broken English. The dialogue is functional at best.
The plot relies on people behaving in very unlikely ways and on convenient timing, especially in the last act. Some readers also feel that the book’s dark material is handled crudely, played for shocks and cheers rather than understanding. If you like your thrillers grounded, it will annoy you. And once you know how it works, there’s little reason to reread it.
Millie’s own backstory is doled out in teasing hints. That works as a hook, but it can feel manipulative, as if the book is withholding things simply to keep you turning pages.
The book became a word-of-mouth phenomenon, helped along by BookTok, and spawned sequels beginning with The Housemaid’s Secret (2023). Paul Feig’s 2025 film, starring Sydney Sweeney as Millie and Amanda Seyfried as Nina, brought the story an even bigger audience. That also means spoilers are everywhere, so read it soon if you want the surprise intact.
Who should read it
Readers who want a quick, addictive thriller and don’t mind cartoonish characters. Fans of Gone Girl looking for something lighter and trashier will find it a guilty pleasure. It’s also a good pick for reluctant readers, because nothing in it is hard going. If you care about prose, character or plausibility, skip it.
Rating: 3/5
Image credits — Cover image via Open Library. Cover design © the publisher, shown for review purposes.
