Since I loved the second book in this series – The Housemaid’s Secret, I clicked on download to get the third one which is “The Housemaid Is Watching”. Again a really good one !! A little predictable and the plot is a bit dramatic but immensely readable because you are interested in knowing how Millie is faring.
The Housemaid is Watching – Summary
Millie is in a drastically different space thirteen years after the previous book. She and Enzo are married and they have a daughter Ada and a son, Nico. Millie is also working as a social worker. The story starts with Millie and her family buying their own house on a cul-de-sac that has two other houses nearby. Their children are enrolled in the nearby school and life seems good …. almost.
Millie gets bad vibes off one of the neighbours, Jonathan and Suzette Lowell. While Suzette openly flirts with Enzo, Jonathan seems to be submissive and quite nice in an unassuming sort of way. The Lowells have a housekeeper who makes Millie absolutely uncomfortable but Enzo hires her anyway. She is fired when Millie catches her red handed, stealing from the jewellery case.
Everything seems to unravel during one beach trip … Suzette nearly drowns, Nico suddenly withdraws and gets into trouble in school and everywhere else, Enzo is forever found in the Lowells backyard. He does get some landscaping assignments, but he seems to be spending far more time with Suzette than is necessary.
As expected the twist that comes is in the form of Jonathan Lowell being found dead and Millie finding him…. exactly around the time that Enzo is working in their backyard. The police obviously go with the circumstantial evidence and arrest Enzo. The other neighbour who is the most intrusive even gives the timings when Enzo entered the house and even called 911. The doubt falls squarely on Enzo… and Millie feels its Suzette who made him do it.
Cecelia, Nina’s daughter from the first book, makes a comeback as a lawyer in this book and she manages to get Enzo off the hook… we get to see several twists towards the end. You get a sneaky suspicion about who might have actually killed Jonathan, but you never guess anything about the housekeeper who steals.
All is well that ends well… Enzo is freed when Millie manages to broker a deal with someone who actually has much to lose if the truth about Jonathan were to come out.
A nice trilogy of how the life of a teenager gets totally upside down due to circumstances that put her in jail. It’s also about how Millie tries to help others and gets into trouble herself. Am sure someone will make a web series out of this. My rating for the third book – 4/5.
We did enjoy watching the Netflix mini series titled “Maid” which is actually a true story. These kind of books and web series help you to stay the course and hold onto your dreams, however difficult things might get.
Glad to have read the Housemaid series and look forward to other books by the author, Freida McFadden.