Review

Okay, so after reading book two: Book Review | The Housemaid’s Secret | Freida McFadden, then going back to book one The Housemaid, and then the short story (book 2.5) The Housemaid’s Wedding, I finally landed on the last book in the series. And honestly? The third one was… fine. Good, even. But definitely not my favourite.

There was actually a line in the book where the author writes something along the lines of: “The third in a series usually isn’t that great.” The moment I read that, I had to pause. Because it instantly made me think: she knew. She knew exactly what she was doing and what was coming.

It almost felt like a built-in defence. As if the author was already bracing herself for readers who might say they didn’t enjoy the third book. Like she was saying, well, you know how it is… third books are rarely the best. And that made me wonder if she didn’t quite have faith in the story herself.

Now don’t get me wrong—the book isn’t terrible. But compared to the first two? It just didn’t hit the same.

The biggest issue for me was Millie.

Where was the Millie we know?

The Millie from the first two books was sharp, observant, calculating, and absolutely capable of turning the tables when necessary. She was a badass heroine. The kind who walked into danger with her eyes open and still managed to come out on top.

But here? She spent most of the book checking her blood pressure, being jealous, second-guessing herself, and quietly putting up with snooty neighbours.

It felt like the story slowly pushed her into the background.

Instead, Enzo started feeling like the real focus of the book. And look, I actually like Enzo. Giving him more depth isn’t a bad thing. But if the narrative was going to shift toward him, then why keep Millie hovering awkwardly on the sidelines?

This is her series. She’s literally the housemaid the entire series is named after. And yet, in this book, she often felt like a spectator in her own story.

Then there were the loose ends. So many loose ends.

Nico’s storyline especially bothered me. His anger and frustration were building throughout the book, but by the end it never really got tied up properly. Sure, Jonathan turned out to be a creep and a pervert, but nothing truly catastrophic happened, right? So why exactly did Nico reach the point of punching kids?

That whole arc felt like it was leading somewhere significant… and then it just fizzled out.

And the hidden room situation confused me too. If Nick was the one who discovered the hidden room, then why had Millie been hearing strange sounds since the very first night they moved in? That part was set up as something ominous, something important—but the explanation never fully lined up.

A lot of things were introduced with tension and mystery, but the resolutions didn’t quite match the buildup.

Then there’s the whole situation with Suzette.

Enzo spent a lot of time with her. A lot. And it remained largely unexplained. The Millie I knew from the first two books would not have just quietly swallowed that. Not a chance.

Maybe she wouldn’t have jumped to violence, but at the very least there would have been a confrontation. A sharp comment. A cutting remark. Some kind of reaction.

Instead, she mostly internalised it and simmered.

That didn’t feel like the Millie we’d come to know.

And the Ada misunderstanding? That one drove me crazy.

Millie ends up believing that Ada slit Jonathan’s throat—and then she just… leaves it there? No conversation. No clarification. No confrontation. Nothing.

The story literally ends without resolving that misunderstanding.

What the heck was that about?

And then came the epilogue.

The epilogue made me so frustrated that for a moment I genuinely wanted to throw my phone across the room. I was that annoyed.

But I didn’t.

Because buying a new phone is absolutely not my thing. I buy one, and then I use it until it completely gives up on life and stops working.

So the phone survived. Barely.

Anyway.

What a way to wrap up a series.

That said, I’m not swearing off Frieda McFadden completely. Her books are still entertaining, and clearly she knows how to keep readers hooked. But from now on, I think I’ll stick to her standalone novels. No more series for me.