The Housemaid Book Series by Freida McFadden: Full Review

1. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect 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 only 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.

My Rating: ★★★★★

I read this book in 48 hours. I couldn’t put it down. If I wasn’t working, I probably would have read the whole thing in one sitting.

I’ve seen this book everywhere and now I know why. I haven’t read a psychological thriller like this since The Silent Patient. 10/10, no notes.

2. The Housemaid’s Secret by Freida McFadden

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….

My Rating: ★★★★★

After reading The Housemaid, I’ll say that this second instalment wasn’t as good as the first. But I think that’s because I left so much time between reading this and the first one.

I was getting a little confused by the characters, but it still had all the same dramatic twists and turns that you didn’t see coming which made it a 5-star read once again. 

3. The Housemaid is Watching by Freida McFadden

A family’s dream home quickly turns into a nightmare in the latest instalment in The Housemaid series.

When the protagonist moves into a picturesque suburban neighbourhood, she’s determined to leave her troubled past behind. But unsettling encounters—an eerie maid, a cryptic warning from a neighbour, and her husband’s mysterious late-night outings—make her question whether their new home is truly safe.

As strange events escalate, she realizes that the quiet street may be hiding sinister secrets, and her past might not be as far behind as she thought.

My Rating: ★★★★

I finally got my hands on the 3rd instalment in The Housemaid book series by Freida McFadden!

While this book wasn’t as good as the first in the series (will anything ever be?!) It was nice to follow along with The Housemaid years later. Even if it did take me a while to remember the characters and who was who.

1. Never Lie by Freida McFadden

Newlyweds Tricia and Ethan are searching for the house of their dreams. But when they visit the remote manor that once belonged to Dr. Adrienne Hale, a renowned psychiatrist who vanished without a trace four years earlier, a violent winter storm traps them at the estate… with no chance of escape until the blizzard comes to an end.

In search of a book to keep her entertained until the snow abates, Tricia happens upon a secret room. One that contains audio transcripts from every single patient Dr. Hale has ever interviewed. As Tricia listens to the cassette tapes, she learns about the terrifying chain of events leading up to Dr. Hale’s mysterious disappearance.

My Rating: ★★★★★

I would read anything by Freida McFadden at this rate and have made my way through a few of her books already.

This was one of my favourites by Freida McFadden – full of her signature twists and turns that you feel stupid not noticing. So good!

2. The Crash by Freida McFadden

The Crash is a chilling psychological thriller about Tegan, a pregnant woman fleeing her troubled life who ends up stranded in a snowstorm. Rescued by a seemingly kind couple in rural Maine, she soon realizes their cabin isn’t the safe haven she thought.

As her situation grows more sinister, Tegan must fight to survive and protect her unborn child in a place far more dangerous than she could have imagined.

My Rating: ★★★

Not Freida’s best work, I hate to say. Sometimes I read Freida’s books and I think it could have been written by someone in high school. The sentences are so short and simple, but that’s also what makes it so easy to read and quick to get through.

It’s hard not to compare everything she writes to The Housemaid book series, but this was nowhere near the bar she’s set from that.

3. The Inmate by Freida McFadden

There are three rules Brooke Sullivan must follow as a new nurse practitioner at a men’s maximum-security:
1. Treat all prisoners with respect. 2. Never reveal any personal information. 3. Never EVER become too friendly with the inmates.

But none of the staff at the prison knows Brooke has already broken the rules. Nobody knows about her intimate connection to Shane Nelson, one of the penitentiary’s most notorious and dangerous inmates.

My Rating: ★★★★

This was another gripping thriller that didn’t disappoint. The ‘whodunnit’ element was a little too obvious in this book, since there only seemed to be two possibilities.

It did twist a little at the end, but it was missing the shocking twists that I’m used to. However, the last chapter did a little bit of chill, so I was happy with how it ended.

4. Ward D by Freida McFadden

Medical student Amy Brenner reluctantly spends a night on the psychiatric Ward D, harbouring secret reasons for her dread. As patients and staff mysteriously disappear, Amy realizes that something sinister is happening, putting everyone, including herself, in grave danger.

My Rating: ★★★★

Ward D was just as gripping as Freida McFadden’s other stories with so many twists and turns that I didn’t expect. But there were a few that I guessed along the way as the book progressed, which made some of the twists a little unexpected.

Plus there was the classic moment when the main character could have escaped, but chose not to. Why?!

5. The Coworker by Freida McFadden

Two women. An office filled with secrets. One terrible crime that can’t be taken back. Dawn Schiff is strange. At least, everyone thinks so at Vixed, the nutritional supplement company where Dawn works as an accountant. She never says the right thing. She has no friends. And she is always at her desk at precisely 8:45 a.m.

So when Dawn doesn’t show up to the office one morning, her coworker Natalie Farrell—beautiful, popular, top sales rep five years running—is surprised. Then she receives an unsettling, anonymous phone call that changes everything…

My Rating: ★★★★

I picked The Coworker up in a mystery bookstore while I was in New York and believe this is her most recent release.

While the book was full of the usual Freida McFadden twists, turns and suspense, it just wasn’t as good as The Housemaid book series, so had to give it four stars. Still enjoyable, but it’s going to take a lot for something to come as close to The Housemaid book series.