American
Freida McFadden is an American thriller author whose novels The Housemaid and The Housemaid's Secret became major bestsellers known for their sharp twists and domestic suspense.
Freida McFadden is a working physician who has written numerous thriller novels under a pen name, but it was The Housemaid, published in 2022, that turned her into a genuine phenomenon. The novel follows Millie, a young woman with a hidden past who takes a live-in housekeeping position with a wealthy family and quickly realises that the domestic arrangement is far darker than it appeared. McFadden structures the book around sharp, escalating revelations and a final twist that divided readers — some found it genuinely shocking, others felt it stretched credibility — but it sparked enormous word-of-mouth enthusiasm.
The Housemaid’s Secret continues Millie’s story, building on the first novel’s momentum while expanding the world and deepening the stakes. McFadden writes with real commercial instinct: her chapter endings are carefully engineered to prevent readers from putting the book down, and her pacing is relentless. The domestic setting — a nice house concealing ugly secrets — taps into a long tradition of gothic suspense and adapts it cleanly for contemporary readers.
Critics of McFadden’s work tend to point to character depth as the weak point: her protagonists are more defined by their circumstances and secrets than by any fully developed inner life, and some of her male antagonists lean into stock villainy. For readers who prioritise plot momentum and satisfying twists over literary subtlety, however, she delivers with consistency and skill.
by Freida McFadden
The third Housemaid novel follows Millie Calloway into a new domestic situation — a family with secrets that rival any she has encountered before. As Millie uncovers the truth about the Calloway household, she finds herself in danger of becoming the victim rather than the survivor, with a child's life tangled in the web.
Check Price on Amazon (paid link)
by Freida McFadden
Millie Calloway returns as a housemaid in a new household where she suspects her employer is in danger — but the situation is far more complicated and deadly than it first appears.
Check Price on Amazon (paid link)
by Freida McFadden
A woman with a hidden past takes a housemaid position with a wealthy family and discovers that the picture-perfect household conceals something deeply sinister.
Check Price on Amazon (paid link)
by Freida McFadden
Surgeon Nora Sinclair has buried a terrible secret from her childhood, but when a series of murders begins to mirror that hidden past, she is forced to confront whether she is the hunter or the hunted.
Check Price on Amazon (paid link)guide
Where to start with Freida McFadden — whether to begin with The Housemaid, The Locked Door, or The Housemaid's Secret. A complete reading guide.
list
Finished The Housemaid? These 15 psychological thrillers and domestic suspense novels deliver the same addictive unreliable narrators, hidden secrets, and twists you didn't see coming.
guide
All Freida McFadden books in order — the Housemaid series plus her standalone thrillers. Where to start, which to read next, and what makes her plots so hard to put down.
reading-order
Netflix's The Housemaid adaptation brought Freida McFadden to millions of new readers. Here's the complete reading order, what to expect, and which book to start with.
Disclosure: Amazon links on this page are affiliate links. If you purchase through them we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.