Is The Housemaid Series by Freida McFadden Worth Reading?

Updated on April 20th, 2026

The Housemaid series by Freida McFadden has been quite popular lately, and with the release of The Housemaid movie, you may be interested in reading the books. After reading all the books in the series, including the short story, I wanted to share my review and whether I recommend reading them.

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Who is Freida McFadden?

Freida McFadden is the pen name for a practicing physician and author of psychological thrillers and medical humor novels. She published her debut novel The Devil Wears Scrubs in 2013 and has since published over 20 books. Many of Freida McFadden’s books are standalone novels, but she has published several series, including The Housemaid series. The first book in The Housemaid series was published in 2022, with the final book published in 2024.

Review of The Housemaid Series Books

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

The Housemaid is the first book in the series. The story follows Millie, who is down on her luck. She was recently fired from her job and is now living in her car. She is then given the opportunity to be a live-in housemaid for the Winchesters. However, everything is not what it seems.

Millie is a mostly likable character. You do learn about her rocky past, but you do not know what exactly happened in her past for most of the book. However, you do want her to have security and a reliable job. I will not go into any more detail with Millie or the plot, as I do not want to spoil anything. There were twists I did not expect coming, and the chapters are short and easy to read through. Overall, I do think The Housemaid is a great thriller.

Available at Bookshop

Rate: 9/10

The Housemaid’s Secret by Freida McFadden

The Housemaid’s Secret is the second book in the series, which is set around 3 years after the first. Millie is doing better for herself and taking classes to be a social worker. She is then hired by Douglas Garrick to clean his penthouse apartment and cook. However, she has not met Mrs. Garrick and is told by Douglas not to interact with her. However, Millie hears crying from the bedroom and notices blood on Mrs. Garrick’s nightgown when doing laundry, and Millie has to figure out what to do.

Millie did go through a lot in The Housemaid, and it is great to see her bettering herself and getting an education in The Housemaid’s Secret. Again, I will not spoil anything about the plot. However, I did not find The Housemaid’s Secret as good as the first book, but I still liked it. The beginning is a bit slow, and the book follows a similar formula to the first, but I did not expect the twists. With all that said, The Housemaid’s Secret is quick to read through like the first book, and I would recommend it.

Available at Bookshop

Rate: 7/10

The Housemaid’s Wedding by Freida McFadden

The Housemaid’s Wedding is a short story set between The Housemaid’s Secret and The Housemaid Is Watching. On Millie’s wedding day, she receives a death threat. However, she will not let it ruin her day.

I did not like the short story at all. The Housemaid’s Wedding is slow, and nothing much happens. Millie keeps getting threatening calls, but she just ignores them. I also found her frustrating because she would not even tell her fiancé about the calls. The ending is fine, I guess, but ultimately I was let down by the plot. The Housemaid’s Wedding did take less than an hour to read, but I do not think it is necessary to read it as part of The Housemaid series.

Available on Amazon

Rate: 1/10

The Housemaid Is Watching by Freida McFadden

The Housemaid Is Watching is the third and final book in the series. The story is set around 11 years after The Housemaid’s Wedding. Millie is now married with 2 kids – an 11-year-old daughter named Ada and a 9-year-old son named Nico. Millie and her family have moved into her dream home. However, one neighbor is constantly watching them through the window, and the other neighbor is openly flirting with her husband. Millie then begins to question if she made a mistake moving.

In The Housemaid Is Watching, Millie is no longer a housemaid and instead works as a social worker. However, she is constantly suspicious of her husband, and I did not like her as much in this book as in the previous books. Also, The Housemaid Is Watching is about 50 pages longer than the first two books. It is not a huge difference, but I did feel like there was more set up before the first big twist. Furthermore, The Housemaid Is Watching has a similar formula to the previous books, so I knew a big twist was coming, but I did not figure it out. The ending was interesting, and I do think the book was good, but the first two books in The Housemaid series are better.

Available at Bookshop

Rate: 6/10

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Should You Read The Housemaid Series?

The Housemaid series is for you if you like:

• thrillers with enjoyable twists
• quick reads
• simpler writing style

The Housemaid series is not for you if you want:

• lighthearted reads
• longer books
• books with beautiful prose

All in all, I do recommend The Housemaid series if you enjoy thrillers that are quick to read. However, I recommend skipping The Housemaid’s Wedding because the short story does not add anything to the series.

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Have you read The Housemaid series?