Why did I wait so long to read this one? The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

The Housemaid was recommended to me by several people and had been on my list for months. The book I read before this one was a slow read, so I had no real motivation to pick up something new - until a coworker brought in the paperback for me and I'm so glad she did. This was a thriller that had me hooked from the very first page!

Part one shows Millie, an ex-con who is living in her car after being fired from her most recent job. She wants nothing more but to have a fresh start at life and will do anything to get it. Finding a job has been tricky for her, due to her history, but she manages to land a position that on the surface seems too good to be true. She becomes a live-in maid to the beautiful and elegant Nina Winchester and ignores any feeling of dread or red flags that creep up. Millie believes that surely Nina has no idea about Millie's background or what she is capable of.

Nina appears to be the kind of woman who has it all: money, a beautiful home, a daughter and handsome husband. But slowly Millie discovers that the life Nina presents to others is simply a show and is driving Millie mad with the constant back and forth, hot and cold behavior. But Millie hangs in there because what other options does she have? Through it all she begins to develop a friendship with Nina's husband, Andrew Winchester. It starts out innocent enough, but Millie finds herself wondering what it would be like to be the woman in Andy's life. She really should have paid attention to all those red flags, because without realizing it, she's put herself in danger.

Part two: The TWIST! It goes into everything I was NOT expecting. Answering all my questions and exposing all secrets. It makes you think that you never really know people as well as you think you do. I will leave it at that as I don't want to include spoilers... so if you're interested in reading it, click on the image above and it will take you to the Amazon page for purchase.

I gave it 5 stars because it really was a page-turner until the end. It got me back into reading towards the end of the year and meeting my goal for 2023. I will be picking up the sequel, The Handmaid's Secret soon! Also, how freaking cool is it the author is a practicing physician who specializes in brain injuries?! Talented indeed!

Until the next one!