Disclaimer: mention of domestic abuse.
“If I leave this house, it will be in handcuffs.”
Ever since I finished The Vegetarian, I have been having a reading slump. I picked up The Woman Destroyed then put it down, then went for Anagrams just to abandon it too. Safe to say I’m struggling to hold a book. After those failed attempts, I took to watching movies and successfully watched Past Lives and Orphan: First Kill. And in the spirit of the spooky season I thought ‘why not read something of the horror genre’.
A quick search on Goodreads led me to find The House Maid, a psychological thriller novel by Freida McFadden that follows the story of Wilhelmina Calloway or as she prefers to be called by; Millie, who gets hired as a live-in housekeeper for a wealthy family. McFadden explores themes such as domestic abuse, manipulation, and gaslighting.
Honestly speaking, I was skeptical about reading this book for the following reasons; first reason being that it was recommended on goodreads and I had always ended up being disappointed with that section, and the second reason being that everyone on tiktok was talking about it, hyping it up. I don’t tend to buy into tiktok recommendations a lot of the time, mostly in fear of being disappointed which happened on the occasions i fell for tiktok.
However, I decided to give it a chance. The opening line from the prologue “If I leave this house, it will be in handcuffs.” Is the hook that kept me reading.
Millie, our main character, interviews and later on gets the job for a live-in housekeeper at the Winchester family. Millie is soon drawn into Winchester house and its occupants, but she also feels uneasy.
“But I can’t seem to shake that uneasy feeling. That I should get out of here while I still can.”
Millie categorizes the Winchester couple as Nina being the crazy one and Andrew her husband being the reasonable charming one. And she couldn’t be far from reality.
And she describes their daughter Cecelia as “a little doll. And by doll, I’m of course talking about that creepy talking doll in The Twilight Zone that murders people”. Which I have to admit got a little chuckle from me.
McFadden explores how domestic abuse can be hidden, and that things are not what they seem like. How gaslighting affects its victims, and how people in power use their position to control others.
I liked the writing style, Millie’s personality and inner remarks about the family were quite funny; “I’d say there’s at least a twenty-five percent chance she’s going to murder me in my sleep if I get this job. But I still want it.”
The plot was fast-paced and suspenseful, and the characters were well-developed. The voice of McFadden’s protagonists is witty.
**** Spoilers below****
That being said, I unfortunately ended up somewhat disappointed with the novel. The plot felt flimsy. If you think about an abuser, you would know they want and enjoy total control. But here, Andrew who tortured his wife for her black roots showing, got her falsely admitted into a psychiatric hospital, doesn’t react whatsoever for her gaining weight and being a total slob? It doesn’t make sense. Then he lets her hire a live-in housekeeper? Abusers love isolating their victims.
And why in the world would Enzo -the landscaper- try to warn Millie of danger in Italian, a language she doesn’t speak anyway, when he is co-conspiring with the wife in the first place?
And who was calling Millie after Nina was kicked out of the Winchester house? Was it Nina harassing her or Enzo trying to warn her again?
Among other implausible things, why did no one get charged at the end? That was ridiculous (I’m sorry). But the most ridiculous thing of all, is after the whole ordeal is solved, we learn that Millie is yet again interviewing for a housekeeping job, that she was recommended by Nina, and that her future employer is in a similar situation to Nina. Millie, our new punisher everyone!!
Okay so, McFadden books might be one where the plots are unbelievable and bordering on over the top ridiculous but for some odd reason it still works out for me. Would I recommend it to some friends? Not really. But I still enjoyed it (it was the fast pasing that got me) and that’s all that matters.
Have you read any of McFadden works? what was your experience with her works? Leave a comment below.
