The Housemaid

The Housemaid is a novel by McFadden published in 2022. A 2023 sequel is planned, as set up in the Epilogue of The Housemaid. The sequel is set in a similar context and has recurring characters: Millie, one of the central characters of The Housemaid, is working in another wealthy household where the husband appears to be physically abusing the wife. The Housemaid and its sequel are among the numerous psychological thrillers that McFadden, a practicing physician, has penned.

The thriller, as a genre of fiction, features a central conflict that arises from something suspicious or mysterious, usually a crime, disappearance, or even supernatural occurrence, depending on the sub-genre. The resolution of this conflict drives the pacing and direction of the plot. Thus, the narrative is characteristically suspenseful, and the characters’ motivations are usually rooted in negative emotions such as fear, paranoia, or a desire for vengeance. The Housemaid features all of these elements, and the central conflict arises from the body found in the house, an incident introduced in the Prologue. The resolution of this mystery, in tandem with the motivations behind the different characters’ actions, is revealed over the course of the book.

The Housemaid specifically falls within the sub-genre of psychological thriller. This sub-genre focuses on exploring the psychology, motivations, and behaviors of its characters. Usually, the characters involved display some manner of emotional instability or recklessness, and the story often features an unreliable narrator—that is, one whose credibility and moral authority are compromised because of circumstance or a character flaw. Such a narrator may even deliberately withhold information. These elements are apparent in the main characters in The Housemaid: Andrew has sadistic tendencies, while Millie has a violent past. The story is narrated through Millie and Nina’s alternating perspectives, and both prove unreliable narrators. Initially, Millie’s perspective on events is compromised because her circumstances lead her to believe that Nina has a mental health condition; Nina’s manipulating Millie into developing feelings for Andrew further biases her outlook. Nina’s actions, in turn, deliberately mislead both Millie and the reader. Furthermore, she deliberately omits the information she learned about Millie’s violent past until the very end. In addition, the story explores darker human tendencies through Andrew’s sadistic tendencies and penchant to torture his lovers as a form of control and discipline. In tandem, Millie’s retaliatory violent behavior toward those who torment her subverts the typical power dynamic in situations of domestic abuse.

The psychological thriller typically incorporates elements of crime, morality, and mental illness, all of which are present in The Housemaid. Genre-typical plot twists occur in the story through multiple revelations regarding extreme behavior: first, that Andrew—not Nina—is the truly dangerous and unstable one; second, that Millie has violent and retaliatory tendencies; and finally, that Andrew’s mother tortured him when he was a child. A popular type of psychological thriller is the domestic psychological thriller, which often takes place in the home and features seemingly ordinary families, and especially marriages. This establishes questions in the reader’s mind regarding the characters’ backstories that led them to the strange circumstances within the book. Thus, The Housemaid features a family that seemingly has it all—wealth, privilege, and connections—but things take a horrible turn for the people within it.