The Housemaid Series by Freida McFadden

       

 

I recently read all three of the books in The Housemaid series by Freida McFadden and I enjoyed the series. I do have to say that I liked the first book better than the other two. I thought the series got weaker with each book. I also read book one in ebook form and really liked it that way. It kept me up into the wee hours of the night. It was just so hard to put down! I ended up listening to the other two books on a road trip, and while they kept me entertained on my long drive there and back, and was one reason I didn't mind the drive so much, I really didn't like the narrator at all. I am wondering if I would have liked those two books more if they had been eye reads instead. That being said, I know I would have still had most of the same issues with book three. 

 

The Housemaid (The Housemaid #1) by Freida McFadden

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre:  Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Content: Strong language, Physical and Psychological Abuse, Confinement

 

There's something about this author's writing style that grabs me and doesn't let go. I could not put this book down! You would think that it would be a 5 star read if that was the case, but there were some things that didn't come off as completely believable to me. Story wise it should probably get a 3 but it's getting a 4 for the sheer entertainment value of all those twists and turns, even the ones I predicted correctly. I'm adding a spoiler tag down below for things that didn't work so well for me. Be prepared for major spoilers if you look.

Things that seemed a bit unbelievable- The way Andrew allowed Nina to let Millie stay in the attic room. That didn't make sense. One of the reasons Nina gives him for allowing it is because if they make the guest room her bedroom his parents won't have anywhere to stay when they're visiting. But we are told his parents have kept their NY house after moving to Florida, so they wouldn't need to stay in the guest room. I have a hard time believing Andrew would have relinquished that much control regardless of the reason she gave him. The fact that Millie stayed when there was a chance Nina could make an accusation that would send her back to prison. I don't believe she would have stayed on after she realized that. She could have just told her parole officer that the employer was a mental case and mistreating her. I'm pretty sure the parole officer would have helped her find a place to stay until she got a different job. She helped her get a job before. Also, if she was bold enough to punch the bartender in the face when he was touching her inappropriately why couldn't she have just told her parole officer what he was doing in the first place? That Millie would have stayed in that locked room the whole time when she had the key. She could have escaped when he was gone. But I think we are supposed to believe that she plotted the whole thing so she could ambush him and lock him in the room. Andrew is given pliers at one point when he's locked in the room, so he can pull out his teeth. Something that I had a hard time believing he would do until the part at the funeral near the end when his mother told Nina she had pulled his baby teeth out as a punishment. So, knowing that I can maybe believe he would have done it. But I'm still not convinced. I knew the whole time that the things Andrew did to women probably came from the way his mother treated him, but I have a hard time believing his mother would ever have told Nina about anything she did to him. When Andrew has the pliers he could have used them to try to pull the pins out of the door hinges. It was mentioned they were on the inside of the room when he was trying to bust the door down. Also, why does no one try to break out the tiny window and yell for help? It wouldn't open but you could still break it. The huge coincidence that the police officer on the scene happened to be the father of the woman Andrew was engaged to in the past, and the fact that he was able to cover up what really happened so easily.

 

The Housemaid's Secret (The Housemaid #2) by Freida McFadden

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre:  Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Content: Strong language, Abuse

 

In many ways this book followed the same formula as the first book, only with some twists. I enjoyed this book, but not quite as much as book one. There's a time lapse of several years that I wasn't expecting but it worked fine. This was a very entertaining book that kept me listening and wanting to know what was going to happen next. I did predict most of the twists but it was still a fun read.

 

 

The Housemaid is Watching (The Housemaid #3) by Freida McFadden 

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre:  Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Content: Strong language, Abuse

 

The main character is married with two kids in book three and she's middle aged now. That didn't bother me, what bothered me was that she just seemed different. Maybe I should just blame it on her getting older and becoming a mother, but she felt more cautious, less willing to take chances, and the lack of communication between her and her spouse annoyed me. It didn't make sense that he wouldn't tell her these things. In fact, it felt contrived, just to add drama to the story. Overall I enjoyed this series though, and I want to read more books by this author.