Summary

“Welcome to the family,” Nina Winchester says as I shake her elegant, manicured hand. I smile politely, gazing around the marble hallway. Working here is my last chance to start fresh. I can pretend to be whoever I like. But I’ll soon learn that the Winchesters’ secrets are far more dangerous than my own…

Every day I clean the Winchester’s beautiful house top to bottom. I pick up their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor. 

I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband, Andrew, seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. the walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband…

I try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late. 

But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am. 

They don’t know what I’m capable of…

Why I chose to read this book
I love thrillers, and this one seemed so full of secrets. I was excited to get a glimpse into wealthy folk’s lives through the eyes of their housemaid. I just knew it would be juicy and salacious!

Thoughts & Opinions

The Housemaid was a fun read! Full of suspense, twists and turns. Very easy to read and entertaining. Millie, the protagonist, finds herself in a very difficult situation; she has a boss from hell. And because of her past, it’s almost impossible for her to find a job so she has to keep this one. There are so many instances where her boss, Nina, demonstrates how unhinged and psychotic she is but Millie is desperate and this job is the best alternative for her. Nina lies, omits important details, and makes Millie look like a fool and incompetent in front of others. I was so enraged by her actions! Her daughter, a majorly spoiled brat, doesn’t fall far from the tree. She is rude, impolite, undisciplined and obviously mimics her mother’s behavior with “the help”. Makes you wonder why Andrew, Nina’s perfect husband, stays with her. 

Although Millie needs this job, sometimes what the heart wants is stronger than common sense and she starts to play a dangerous game with Andrew, fully knowing Nina could go nuclear. 

The switch in POV from Millie to Nina is enlightening and shocking. 

What I fault in this book however is the two POVs weren’t distinct enough in terms of vocabulary and personality. Nina and Mille come from very different backgrounds yet they express themselves the same way. It’s like it was narrated by the same character. For me, it took away from the experience of having two POVs.