04 Aug Book Review: The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

Freida McFadden has carved out a following in the psychological thriller world with fast-paced, twisty plots and domestic settings that go dark very quickly. The Housemaid delivers on that reputation—it’s a claustrophobic page-turner about grief, obsession, and the things we’re willing to do to hold on to secrets.

What’s it about?

After her husband’s tragic death, social media influencer Anna King retreats to an isolated mountain home to heal. She’s processing grief while trying to manage her image online—balancing raw vulnerability with polished perfection. When her realtor suggests hiring a housekeeper, Anna reluctantly agrees, partly because she still needs help and partly because the isolation is starting to feel too much.

Enter the housemaid: polite, efficient, and mysteriously reserved. She arrives on the dot, inspects every surface, and seems to anticipate Anna’s needs before Anna even thinks of them. Anna is grateful, almost relieved—she needs caretaking, and the maid delivers it with silent competence.

But soon things shift. Anna begins placing a small surveillance camera in the living room before she leaves for errands. She finds odd tasks already completed when she gets back. A framed photo of Anna’s late husband moves locations. The maid starts appearing outside the guest bedroom door, even when Anna hasn’t called. Alarm bells go off, but Anna rationalizes—she’s still fragile, still managing a perfect online persona. Maybe she’s imagining it all. Maybe she’s overreacting.

The tension escalates when Anna receives the first anonymous text: “Stop watching me.” From there, eerie occurrences multiply: car alarms late at night, whispers at the window, errands done before she even lists them. Anna turns to her sister for help, but is convinced everyone—from the realtor to her therapist—is hiding something. Trust fractures completely.

Anna begins investigating the maid: background searches, linked social profiles, patterns in past clients. What she uncovers doesn’t make sense—it seems too neat, too staged, too much like someone designed it. And the more she digs, the more her own past comes into focus. Bits of her late husband’s life that she never knew begin to crop up: side deals, hidden contacts, unaccounted-for phone calls.

In the final act, Anna confronts the maid—or thinks she does. The home becomes less sanctuary, more trap. Every creak, every misplaced throw pillow becomes evidence of manipulation. A showdown in the darkness forces Anna to decide whether the real monster is someone in the house—or buried in her own memories.

What This Chick Thinks

Grief and Control

What stands out is Anna’s psychological state. She’s managing her tragedy not with therapy alone, but via brand partnerships and “influencer positivity.” That pressure to appear whole despite being broken is so modern—and unsettling.

Atmosphere Over Gore

Yes, strange things happen—but it’s the tension, not the blood, that creeps under your skin. The house feels vast and suffocating in equal measure, a perfect stage for paranoia to thrive.

A Domestic Thriller That Walks the Line

This is a stripped-down psychological thriller: no multiple POVs, no sprawling cast. Just Anna, one other person, and the thousand ways the viewer is unreliable. That simplicity heightens the tension.

A Clean, Satisfying Payoff

McFadden delivers a twist near the end that ties together loose threads without feeling forced. Some will find it predictable if they spot the clues early—but her economy with clues means the moment lands cleanly.

Could Use a Bit More Depth

In a book this short, all the pages go to atmosphere and pacing. Which is great, but I ended the story wanting more backstory—especially about Anna’s husband—to deepen the emotional stakes.

Final Thoughts

The Housemaid is a tense, slick, domestic thriller built for fans of shorter, twist-driven reads. It’s about grief, identity, and how isolation messes with our minds. It doesn’t reinvent the genre, but it does everything it sets out to do—crisp pacing, mounting dread, and a twist that lands.

Rating: 8/10

Try it if you like:

• The Perfect Neighbor by A.R. Torre – Dark domestic suspense with generational secrets.
• The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena – Take a household crisis then turn it into a ticking time bomb.
• Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris – A married couple’s façade becomes prison for both—until everything unravels.