Book Review: The Housemaid’s Secret | Frieda McFadden

This is a spoiler-free review of The Housemaid’s Secret by Freida McFadden. If you are looking for spoilers and the ending explained for The Housemaid or The Housemaid’s Secret, click the linked post to go there and read all about it and my thoughts on those wild endings!

I ended my review of The Housemaid (click here for spoiler-free, and here for spoilers) wondering how McFadden would do when she branched out from the story that prompted controversial comparisons to this popular thriller. Would it flop or thrive? My TLDR opinion is that it definitely proved it was worth doing a follow up book. It had some of the same issues I had from the first book, but it also had some great ideas and a few stunner twists that Freida fans will surely eat right up!

The book picks back up with Millie a few years after the events of the first book. You should definitely read these in order if you are about spoilers, but you don’t have to read both to enjoy this. There isn’t much character development in either, but that is Freida’s style. I did think she could have recapped Millie’s backstory better, in particular why she went to prison for ten years. One of the biggest catalysts for the books is Millie is two things: 1) and ex-con who can’t pass many background checks, and 2) a vigilante who can’t help herself when she thinks someone has been treating someone else poorly. She wants to take them out. Nina does not reappear in this book, which actually disappointed me. I don’t know where she would have fit, but I am curious what happened to her.

Millie is working as a housemaid for a new family and she likes this job. It allows her to pursue her associates degree at a local community college and barely afford her own apartment for the first time. We learn (surprisingly) that she and Enzo dated for a few years and created a vigilante business helping women get out of abusive marriages. I say surprisingly because I don’t think the first book set up a relationship between these two… Enzo was always into Nina, not Millie. Who knows how this unfolded though! He can’t resist a damsel in distress, and Millie is nothing if not that. Enzo and Millie broke up and it didn’t sound explosive–he went home to help his mother and it didn’t make sense to stay together. Millie is now dating a wealthy, attorney named Brock. If you’re wondering whether Brock knows about Millie’s past, he absolutely does not. Oh, Millie!

As the book opens, Millie is fired from her position for the grave sin of the woman’s baby calling Millie “mama”. No matter how much Millie tries to convince her that the baby said “Millie”, she definitely didn’t and the mother knows. Thankfully, Millie gets a new job relatively quickly for Douglas and Wendy Garrick–an unmarried couple who live in a fancy penthouse in New York City. The Garricks are weird, but there’s the sense that rich people are always a little bit strange so Millie doesn’t worry about it. She never sees the wife, Wendy. Douglas says she’s ill and stays in her room. When Millie finally gets a glimpse of her, she’s covered in bruises and Millie asks if she needs help getting away from her husband. They hatch a plan but things don’t go as expected. Douglas finds Wendy and brings her back home, and Millie doesn’t know how to help her after Douglas fires her.

I wish I could say more about the plot but the twists start early and don’t let up. I unpack them all on my spoiler-review, so check them out over there. For this review, I’ll say that the midpoint twist was great. I expected it, but not in a bad way. It was executed well and definitely had me excited. The rest of the book has a lot going on and it doesn’t let up until the final pages. I loved the last little tidbit at the very end. Nothing crazy but it was one of those delicious little twists that is a great ending note.

I thought this was better than the first book, if I’m honest. I still struggle with Millie the character. She’s somehow so naive and stupid, unaware of what is going on no matter how obvious, but also a strategic killer. Which is it? How is she so oblivious but so great at plotting murders? I would love for McFadden to unpack that more. The Enzo relationship annoyed me, but it doesn’t ruin the book and he does have a role in the story, though I think it could have been written without him. Similar to the first book, the ending sets up another sequel. I don’t think this premise sounds nearly as interesting as the last set up, but I will hold judgment until I read it! It’s out now, so I need to get to The Housemaid is Watching. I’ve heard mixed reviews, but I’ll definitely form my own opinions. Catch you for the next installment!

About the Book

As he continues showing me their incredible penthouse apartment, I have a terrible feeling about the woman behind closed doors. But I can’t risk losing this job – not if I want to keep my darkest secret safe…

It’s hard to find an employer who doesn’t ask too many questions about my past. So I thank my lucky stars that the Garricks miraculously give me a job, cleaning their stunning penthouse with views across the city and preparing fancy meals in their shiny kitchen. I can work here for a while, stay quiet until I get what I want. It’s almost perfect. But I still haven’t met Mrs Garrick, or seen inside the guest bedroom. I’m sure I hear her crying. I notice spots of blood around the neck of her white nightgowns when I’m doing laundry. And one day I can’t help but knock on the door. When it gently swings open, what I see inside changes everything…

That’s when I make a promise. After all, I’ve done this before. I can protect Mrs. Garrick while keeping my own secrets locked up safe. Douglas Garrick has done wrong. He is going to pay. It’s simply a question of how far I’m willing to go…