The Housemaid Is Watching

Freida McFadden’s “The Housemaid is Watching” is a superb thriller. It is the fourth and final volume in a series about a kind woman who has helped many battered women and established a reputation among ladies in need of her assistance. She is married to a very handsome man who ran from Italy to the US after killing a man who murdered his sister. The two of them saved many women in the US. They are now married and have two children. The youngest, age 9, is very active and sometimes gets into mild problems, such as accidentally breaking dishes because he is not careful, and hitting another boy while they are in the third grade. His older sister, by a couple of years, is just the opposite. She is very caring, always makes her bed, and dotes on her younger brother. The family moved to Long Island and met their neighbors in their cul-de-sac. One is an older woman with a son who is in our protagonist’s class. She is a busybody who spies on everybody. She is overprotective of her son. She is unmarried. Another couple consists of a wife who our protagonist sees constantly trying to enchant her husband; she always touches him. Her husband does not seem to care what she is doing to another woman’s husband. Our protagonist’s husband hires a maid despite having financial difficulties, claiming he does so to help his wife. She dislikes the woman because the maid always looks at her strangely. She catches the maid stealing from her and fires her. There is a murder. The book is filled with red herrings, numerous twists, and people often misinterpret things.

There’s a line in the book, told with a wink, about how a third novel in a series is never as good as the first two. Not true in this case. This was just as good as the other Housemaid novels. For background on Millie and Enzo, it definitely helps if you’ve read the first two novels. This one is set a decade later, in which Millie has 2 children, and is no longer a Housemaid. She’s a social worker, which - though maybe a bit unrealistic given her prior years in prison- is a perfect job based on her willingness to help other women in need. The first half of the book is somehow both fast-paced, and also a slowish burn. I felt there was some repetitiveness in Millie’s thoughts about Enzo’s secrets, especially his possible infidelity. It’s exciting to read, but just when you think the plot’s going to really move, the author pulls back, and it only inches forward. Normally building this type of suspense is great, but I think the author did it a few too many times. The other thing I found a bit puzzling was the hesitation between Millie and Enzo to communicate with each other about what they were separately doing. If you’ve read the other 2 books you know that, both separately and together, Millie and Enzo have done a number of criminal things (even though they were done to protect themselves, or others). Their unwillingness to truthfully communicate - mostly from Enzo’s side - after having gone through so much together, felt a little out of character. Those two areas are why I gave this book a 4 instead of a 5. Otherwise, this book was terrific. An attentive reader might guess some things, but would be unlikely to figure it all out. As the book progresses, the pages fly by. You can’t stop reading. Millie is, and always has been, a very likable and sympathetic character. Enzo is more of a mystery, but also very likable (and apparently VERY hot, which contributes to driving the plot). And Millie’s 2 very different children, Nico and Ada, are written realistically, with the mix of doubt and happiness that children aged 11 and 9 normally have. If you’ve read and liked the previous Housemaid books, you’ll like this one. If you haven’t, go back to read the first 2, and then come back to this one.

It was a good read. I really loved her previous books, The House maid and The House maid's secret. She did an amazing job on those. As for the 3rd book, it wasn't bad but it wasn't good either. I feel like it was kind of long, also when the truth is revealed it didn't really make sense. I feel it could have been written better, if they make a movie out of this book as well, I hope they some how manage to fix that part. I still enjoyed reading this book though, good job Freida :)

Finished the third and final book in The Housemaid series and I am so sad!!! I want this series to continue! One of McFadden's characters in this book mentions that the "third book in a series is usually not that good", but I beg to seriously differ and say, this was a very gripping read as well! It may have taken me sometime to get into the story early on but after a few chapters, I was glued to the book once again! There were multiple twists in this one and I loved every single one of them!

Review of The Housemaid is Watching by Freida McFadden: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ How many dark and twisted people can one person meet in a lifetime?! Poor Millie just can’t catch a break - every corner she turns, there’s another secret, another manipulative mind, another moral mess. Just as I was starting to get a little tired of Millie’s choices, Freida McFadden pulled me right back in with the introduction of Ada and Nico. I loved the addition of the kids and how their presence gave the story a fresh, eerie edge that tied perfectly into the series. Like the first two books, this one is fast-paced and full of red herrings that kept me flipping pages long past bedtime. Every time I thought I had things figured out, I was proven wrong - though I did call the ending early on (and still enjoyed watching it all unfold). So many morally gray characters, so much tension, and a finale that truly wraps up the chaos in classic McFadden style. What a twisted, satisfying conclusion to an addictive series!

Part of a series. Engaging and filled with mysterious elements. Enjoyable read.

Great series of books. Ending is always a twist! Suspenseful and you can’t put it down until you finish. I read the whole series in a week.

Great book. Loved the twists and the last adventure it gave to Millie and Enzo. It was a great ending to an epic couples story.

Ce livre est absolument génial et plutôt facile à comprendre en anglais.

One of the best book series i have read . love the way the author brings in unexpected turns and plot twists in the story .

Eşim ile bu seriyi okuduk çok beğendik

Loved this book of the series, plot twist in it was great.