Let’s be friends on Goodreads
I think this is the most public I’ve decided to go (aside from Goodreads) with my book thoughts. Truly I’m not even sure if this would qualify as a “homemaking” category, but it’s my party and I’ll write about books if I want to.
** this post may contain affiliate links. making a purchase after clicking this link will not change the price you pay, but i may earn a small commission. **
This post definitely contains spoilers. Proceed at your own risk
I recently finished listening to “The Housemaid” by Freida McFadden (pick up your copy here) and I had mixed feelings throughout. The book is split into three parts. The first part follows the new housekeeper, Millie, who is recently out of prison. Really, her character pissed me off more often than not. She spent the majority of time talking about how hot her boss’ husband, Andrew, is and how much she thinks he likes her. She also spent a lot of time comparing herself to her boss in terms of looks and youth.
Nina, the owner of the home and Millie’s boss, is portrayed as psycho, and really, some of the things that were done were both cringey and outright ridiculous. Freida did a great job at making Nina really seem psychotic and unhinged, and until the last third, I really believed it. Obviously with most psychological thrillers, there’s always something else and some other twist.
The twist of Andrew being the real villain here wasn’t actually shocking to me. The real shock appeal, came from hearing all of the awful things he did to Nina. And for the stupidest reasons, too. She forgot to get her hair done, so she had to pull out hundreds of individual strands? WTF?! No thank you. Learning that Millie was incarcerated for murder wasn’t surprising either, and I knew she’d be the one to kill him as the twist panned out.
I want to touch more on an issue I have with a lot of books lately. I’m sure a ton of readers love this or at the very least don’t mind it, but I absolutely loathe the knowing cheating trope. I know, I know, the heart wants what the heart wants. Whatever. But if you know it’s a bad idea to be alone with someone, WHY DO YOU CONSTANTLY PUT YOURSELF IN THESE SITUATIONS?!?!?!?!?!?!
Okay, rant over.
Seriously though, I really didn’t love Millie as a character. She was very “woe is me” and almost a little self-righteous as the story progressed. I thought once it was revealed that Nina wasn’t actually crazy and was setting Millie up that it would make me like Millie a little more, but that was not the case.
To be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about Nina using Millie to get out of her marriage and to get out. Obviously there was the caveat that Andrew said there was a letter that would be sent to the police if he was killed that needed to be minded, but it’s odd to me that someone multiple steps ahead wouldn’t be able to see right through Nina’s scheme. And why the hell didn’t Millie get out when Nina started acting crazy? Yeah yeah yeah, the whole parole thing and going back to jail. I’ve never been to jail and have obviously never been on parole, but that doesn’t seem entirely believable to me. I don’t know. I’m a skeptic by nature.
What I did love, was the twist of Kathleen’s family helping cover up the death of Andrew. I may or may not have done some fist pumps in my car at that reveal. I was also extremely shocked at Andrew’s mother’s “punishment” reveal and how she helped Nina (and Millie) cover everything up and keep it quiet. I thought for sure that she was going to ruin everything and rat Nina and Millie out to their contacts at the police station.
Overall, I gave this book 4 stars on GoodReads. I haven’t decided if I’m going to read/listen to the sequel. Right now, I’m listening to Abby Jimenez’s new book “Yours Truly” and I’m really in love with her writing and characters, so I might stay on the happy side of Audible.
If you’re not listening to books through Audible, I highly encourage you to look into their monthly subscriptions. I listen to books every day, and it’s a great way to get me to my goal of 50 books read per year, because I’m not confined to only reading when I’m stationary somewhere. I have the Audible Premium Plus membership option, and I’m obsessed. You can find the way to the subscription page here.
Thanks for coming along with me on my rant and review of The Housemaid.
The Mediocre Homemaker 