Spoiler warning: the book’s midpoint twist is not stated, but the last section hints at how the story is structured. Skip it if you want to go in blind.
The book
Freida McFadden published The Housemaid in 2022. The setup is simple and nasty. Millie needs a job that won’t check her record too closely. Nina Winchester hires her to clean a large house and look after a difficult daughter, then makes her life miserable with contradictory orders. Andrew, Nina’s husband, is the only one who seems sane. Millie’s room is in the attic, and the lock is on the wrong side of the door.
McFadden writes short chapters in first person, so the pages fly. Readers come for the reversal; the book is built so that what you think you know about Nina at the halfway mark will not hold.
Series order
Millie returns in The Housemaid’s Secret (2023) and The Housemaid Is Watching (2024). Read The Housemaid first; the sequels assume you know its ending.
The movie
Lionsgate released The Housemaid in US theaters on December 19, 2025, directed by Paul Feig, with Sydney Sweeney as Millie and Amanda Seyfried as Nina. A film of The Housemaid’s Secret is in production, with Sweeney and Feig returning, and has been dated for December 2027.
How the story is built (mild spoiler)
Without saying what happens: the novel changes narrator partway through. That shift, not a single reveal, is why it works. The film has to show it differently, so readers who saw the movie first still get something new from the book.
Why the book became a phenomenon
The Housemaid is a case study in how a thriller spreads by word of mouth. It is short, it starts fast, and it ends in a way readers want to talk about without spoiling. That combination made it a social-media favorite, especially among readers who do not usually pick up thrillers. McFadden, who also works as a physician, writes with a plainness that lets the twists do the work; there are few long descriptions and almost no subplots.
What it is saying underneath
Underneath the twists, the novel is about power inside a household: who controls money, who controls the story the neighbors hear, and who is believed. Millie is easy to dismiss because of her record and her job. The book uses that dismissal as both a plot mechanism and a point. Readers who come for the thrills often leave talking about how quickly they judged each character.
Content to know about
The book deals with domestic abuse and coercive control, and some scenes are disturbing. It is not graphic in the way horror can be, but readers who want to avoid those subjects should know before starting. The film is rated R in the US.
Book vs. movie: what to expect
Films of twist-driven books have a problem: the audience can see faces. A novel can hide information inside a narrator’s head; a camera shows what is in the room. Feig’s adaptation has to solve that differently, which is why readers report that the book and film feel different even when the plot is the same. If you have seen the film, reading the book still gives you the first-person experience of being misled. If you have read the book, the film is worth seeing for the casting of Nina and Andrew.
If you liked it, try next
Within McFadden’s work, continue with the Housemaid sequels in order. Outside it, look for domestic thrillers built on unreliable narration and a closed house, a long tradition that runs from gothic novels to modern bestsellers.
FAQ
Is The Housemaid a series? Yes. The Housemaid’s Secret (2023) and The Housemaid Is Watching (2024) continue Millie’s story.
Who directed the movie? Paul Feig.
When did the movie come out? December 19, 2025, in US theaters.
Is there a sequel film? Yes, The Housemaid’s Secret is in production and dated for December 2027.
How long is the book? It is a quick read, around 300 pages in most editions.
Quick facts
- Author: Freida McFadden.
- Published: 2022.
- Narrator: first person.
- Sequels: The Housemaid’s Secret (2023), The Housemaid Is Watching (2024).
- Film: Lionsgate, directed by Paul Feig, US release December 19, 2025.
- Film cast: Sydney Sweeney (Millie), Amanda Seyfried (Nina).
Our take
The Housemaid is not trying to be literary, and judging it that way misses what it does well. It is a precision instrument for suspense: every chapter ends with a reason to start the next, and the information you are given is chosen to point you the wrong way. That craft is easy to underrate because it reads so easily. If you are a writer, it is worth a second read just to notice where McFadden plants details. If you are a reader who usually avoids thrillers, it is a fair test of whether the genre is for you: short enough to finish in a weekend, and clear about what kind of pleasure it offers.