I spoke too soon … the first book in the Housemaid series that I read – The Housemaid by Freida McFadden, did not reel me in as I didn’t find the twists in it to be too far out. I liked the central theme so I picked up the next one in the series called The Housemaid’s Secret. Am glad I did.
This one just reeled me right in. I could never guess the actual perp till the very end. Not just that, the Enzo twist was very nicely done … only the last twist with the medicine for heart ailments was something I guessed.
The Housemaid’s Secret – Summary
We catch Millie a few years after her stint with Nina Winchester. As we read the first few pages, we realise that Enzo and Millie were almost married when Enzo goes back to Italy to be with his mother. Millie starts dating again and through this book, we get to see her life through the lens of her boyfriend Broccoli ..ooops Brock.
Brock has no idea about Millie’s past, but he gets to know all of it in the most awkward of circumstances ! Anyway more of that later.
Millie is better off, she keeps getting work through word of mouth and she has also enrolled in college to become a social worker. She continues to work as a housemaid and during the course of this book, we find her working at the Garricks home. We get a ring side view of how the “uber” wealthy live. Every furniture piece is more expensive than what Millie earns in a year…
As expected, the rich man Douglas Garrick has a very sick wife who never comes out of her room. Somehow Millie coaxes her out especially when she hears some crashes and the sound of glass splintering coming from Wendy Garrick’s room. When one day Millie finds dried blood and some bloody fingerprints in the bathroom, she decides to help Wendy.
Millie does help Wendy escape to a motel…. but soon she is back to the penthouse apartment. The next time Millie goes to clean, she hears arguments and then finds Douglas choking Wendy. Millie shoots Douglas and Wendy says she will take care of all the other stuff. Trusting her, Millie gets back to her room, only to be picked up by the police.
At this stage we get to hear Wendy’s story… and that’s the twist which I could never figure out. I don’t want to give away the entire plot especially for readers who may pick up this book to read now.
Brock, Millie’s lawyer boyfriend is beyond shocked when Millie is arrested. Obviously everything cools off between them in an instant. Enzo returns .. am again not going to share how because that’s also a very interesting twist in the story. He once again helps Millie get out of the jam she is in.
The real “perp” gets the right punishment and with Millie and Enzo being a team again, I finally understood the reason why Enzo’s character was introduced. Given Millie’s past (with the prison term) and how she is wary of policemen in general, she does manage to befriend a detective.
In one line, this book is about “What You See IS NOT What You Get”… or appearances are deceptive. Also we realise as readers, the importance of background checks. If only Millie had checked out Douglas Garrick’s background, maybe she would have been in a better place. Important learnings !!
My rating – 5/5. You can read the first book for the sake of continuity or just read the summary which has the spoilers :):).