Hello there! Long time, no see! Several things happened during these two to three years: I wrote my grade 10 board exams, moved to a new city (Bengaluru), joined a new school, and met new people. And in a month, I will write my grade 12 board exams. Apart from that, I now have a bookstagram handle (@the_hues_of_a_bookworm)! Do check it out if interested :))

Book: The Housemaid’s Secret

Author: Freida McFadden

Genre: Psychological Thriller, Domestic Fiction

This is the second book of The Housemaid trilogy and I happened to complete it recently. The first book, The Housemaid, was hands-down amazing! It had a wonderful premise and the characters were well-written and described. I was hooked to it from the very beginning wondering what the plot twist could be. But when I eventually came to the part where it was revealed, I was flabbergasted! I definitely did not see that coming amongst the various theories I made up. I loved the ending too- just the right way to end such a psychological thriller.

The second book, The Housemaid’s Secret, revolves around the same protagonist, Wilhelmina “Millie” Calloway, and her life working as a housemaid in the Garrick household. Similar to the first book, she works at a filthy rich household doing the dishes, laundry and cooking. But all this is under one condition: Douglas Garrick warns her from entering the guest room of the house as his wife, Wendy, has some sort of an illness and is currently “recovering” and does not wish to be disturbed. Millie begins to suspect that something is wrong with the way Wendy is always inside her room and reaches out to help her like she usually does. But when she does help Wendy, a whole other story unfolds.

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When I was reading the book, I suspected something was wrong the moment Douglas refused to let Millie meet his wife. I was certain that themes of domestic violence were involved just as it was in the first book. And initially, I was true. But the plot twist though- I did not see that coming. Though I could not keep this book down towards the last few chapters, I was, to a certain extent, able to guess how it would move forward. Moreover, I felt it was very much like a movie. Apart from this, the character development was amazing! We as readers get to know more about Millie’s personal life and her everyday struggles. Bonus points to the author for including Enzo’s as well (which was not revealed much in the first book).

I would give this book a 6/10 and I definitely recommend you check this out after reading the first book. Though the second book can be understood on its own, I recommend you to read the first book before as you will get an idea about who Millie is and her backstory.

Thank you for reading! Have you also read this book? What are your thoughts about it?