The Housemaid's Secret

Millie gets a new job with the Garricks. As before, everything seems great at first glance… but with every working day that passes, she notices more and more unusual situations. The Garricks have some sort of problem – a problem that involves bloodstains in the bathroom and bruises on Mrs Garrick’s face. But that's not the only problem: she keeps putting off having a frank chat with her boyfriend Brook, and problem number 158: she's definitely being stalked. Freida McFadden has such a fascinating writing style: I don’t know how she does it, but with every page, one mystery is only partly solved and a new one emerges.

Nachdem mich The Housemaid schon nicht mehr losgelassen hat, musste ich unbedingt wissen, wie es mit Millie weitergeht und The Housemaid’s Secret hat mich direkt wieder in diese düstere, geheimnisvolle Atmosphäre gezogen. Millie versucht, endlich ein neues Kapitel in ihrem Leben zu beginnen, doch ihr neuer Job als Haushaltshilfe führt sie wieder in ein Haus, bei dem hinter der perfekten Fassade viel mehr verborgen ist, als man zuerst denkt. Dieses ungute Gefühl, dass irgendetwas nicht stimmt, zieht sich durch die ganze Geschichte und genau das hat mich immer weiter lesen lassen. Ich habe jede Person hinterfragt, versucht die Geheimnisse zu entschlüsseln und ständig gedacht: „Okay… jetzt weiß ich, was passiert“ – nur um wieder überrascht zu werden. Freida McFadden schafft es einfach, Spannung aufzubauen, sodass man das Buch nicht mehr aus der Hand legen kann und unbedingt wissen muss, was wirklich dahintersteckt.

The Housemaid’s Secret kept me hooked from the first page to the last. The story is gripping throughout and full of unexpected twists that took me by surprise more than once. Some plot twists really came out of nowhere and made it almost impossible for me to put the book down. I especially loved the love story between Enzo and Millie. The two have a wonderful dynamic that feels both believable and touching. You can tell right away that they’re a perfect match, and their relationship added an extra layer of emotional depth to the book. Another aspect I really enjoyed was Millie’s development. In this volume, she seemed much more emotional and relatable, which allowed me to develop a strong empathy for her. She was already likable before, but here she touched me even more. All in all, The Housemaid’s Secret is a truly successful book: exciting, emotional, and full of surprising moments. I can absolutely recommend it, just like the author and her writing style.

The Housemaid’s Secret is also a very suspenseful thriller, and even though I could kind of guess where the story might go (because of the first book), I was still surprised over and over again. 5/5 stars :)

This is quite an unpopular opinion, but I liked this book way more than the first one! The story was similar to the first one but for some reason I enjoyed this one more. The characters and the reveal/twist were more interesting and “likeable”. I did not expect Millie to still be so naive after what she went through, but I guess that’s just her character. BUT it was fitting to the plot!