I’ve read the first two Housemaid books and really enjoyed them. I kept an eye out for the third one, and when it came out, I bought it immediately. The Housemaid series is always an addictive roller-coaster of twists and turns. It’s light, easy to read and deliciously dark.

My rating: 4 stars

Our lead character, Millie Calloway, is now Millie Accardi. Happily married to Enzo Accardi for over a decade, Millie is finally ready to settle down and live a “normal” life. She has two children: Ada, who is 11 years old – a quiet, insightful and emotional girl who loves reading. Nico, who is 9 – a rambunctious and lively social butterfly who loves sports and making new friends. Millie is filled with gratitude for the domestic peace that she has achieved through her literal blood, sweat and tears.

The Accardi family find a house in a beautiful area perfect for raising children. They are overjoyed when they find that the house doesn’t have any bidders, and is sold for 10% less than sale price to boot. The family move in, though unfortunately, in the middle of the school year.

Of course, this story wouldn’t be a thriller if everything was as good as Millie hopes. As more and more mysteries unfold, Millie seriously begins to question her decision to move into this neighborhood. What have they gotten themselves into?

I devoured this book in 2 days. It was so addictive, I couldn’t stop reading it. Sometimes, I’m in the mood for just this kind of thriller – accessibly written with clever twists and a satisfying ending. It’s always fun to read along and guess the plot line along with the characters. In this book, the ending actually surprised me. I guessed something else entirely.

I can’t get into the true meat of the story without any spoilers. From this point onwards, my review will contain heavy spoilers about the entire book. I urge you to go and read it yourself if, so far, it caught your interest – it’s a quick and fun book, perfect if you’re in a slump.

I loved the humorous aspects of this book. Even though this book tackles some extremely dark topics, the overall mood is light and entertaining. Millie’s relationship with Enzo and her children is a fun dynamic – I really enjoying seeing how she evolved as a mother. Enzo is a character who’s been with us since book one, so it was nice to see so much of him in this book.

His relationship with Millie was really fun to read about. They truly seemed like great parents – the kind who sit through boring teddy bear tea parties, support their kids through anything, and would also (quite literally) murder anybody who set their hands on them.

Somewhere in the middle point, Enzo was frustrating me, though – I know that to make it more mysterious, he had to be a potential suspect, but still… do you really have to be so shady about everything? I felt like based on the rapport built between them throughout all the books, he should’ve been able to tell her something. At the very least, he didn’t have to lie about the things he could’ve easily told her.

Though this is a common formula in Freida McFradden’s books – characters act very shady before coming clean at the end. All of that suspicion did contribute to the impact and intensity of the ending.

I truly didn’t suspect that Ada was responsible, but it made perfect sense. I knew that it was too obvious that it was Nico, but I couldn’t help it – I just kept suspecting him, and I almost forgot about Ada. My hypothesis was that something terrible was happening in the house (that Enzo was actually cheating, or that he discovered something) and that Nico lashed out in an aggressive outburst that resulted in Jonathan’s death.

Of course Mom is going to say use your words, and Dad is going to hand me a big knife.

– Ada Accardi

However, what turned out happening was even more compelling and interesting. I loved Ada as a character – she was such an incredible older sister and had such a strong personality. Reading her chapters and finding out all the answers to my questions was such an intense experience. That ending was truly something.

The book touched on some heavy topics (as thrillers always do). I was truly shocked and disgusted to find out what was really going on with Nico, and how the author tied in the disappearance of Braden Lundie into the plot (something I kind of forgot about). I felt very satisfied with how neatly tied up everything was.

Of course, in real life things never turn out this way. Sometimes, the psychological thrillers I read are more grounded in reality. They are more focused on the horror and spiraling feeling of a loss of control as the characters go through unimaginable situations. But books like this have so much merit as well – the clues are cleverly hidden in the pages and it’s almost an escape from reality. We see the terrible things Millie goes through, but how each time, she is able to come out on top.

I found it a bit funny how Millie kept cooking these weird meals. Macaroni and cheese, deep fried pancakes, buttered rice? Some of the things she came up with were really something. This is especially amusing considering how when she was a housemaid, she would cook fancy, gourmet meals every night. I guess she had enough of that for a lifetime.

The final epilogue chapter with Martha was a perfect way to tie up the book. Since Millie is no longer a housemaid, including Martha’s perspective was a good way to put that final line in the book : “I suppose nobody ever suspects the housemaid.”

Cecelia was such a great addition to the book. I will admit, I forgot who she was until I asked ChatGPT… if you need a refresher, she was Nina Winchester’s daughter from the first book. I read it such a long time ago. But it was nice to see how much she’s grown, and it made sense that she would go out of their way to help them. There is no way they would’ve gotten through that situation without a lawyer, and no public defender would fight for them like Cecelia did.

In conclusion, the Housemaid is Watching is a fun romp that brings the series full circle. It ties up loose ends, invites us to see old characters and gives us a glimpse into Millie and Enzo’s married life. It has a perfectly compelling and intriguing storyline that keeps you guessing, with an ending that satisfied all my questions. All in all, it’s a fun and addictive story that I really enjoyed.