Explore The Housemaid Books in Order (2025) by Freida McFadden. The Housemaid Series guide includes summaries, publication dates, reading order, and what to read next.
The Housemaid Books have gripped readers by throat with their chilling psychological twists and admirable storylines. It has bagged some of most prestigious awards:
- Gold Bestseller Award
- Silver Bestseller Award
- 2023 International Thriller Writers Award: The Housemaid won in the category of Best Paperback Original Novel.
- 2023 Goodreads Choice Award: The Housemaid’s Secret received the award for Best Mystery & Thriller.
- #1 spot on The New York Times Fiction Best Seller list in 2024
- Topped Amazon’s bestseller list in 2024
The Housemaid Series is a psychological thriller collection with heavy domestic noir and suspense elements. The series has achieved bestseller status on platforms like Amazon, The New York Times, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal.
The film adaptation of The Housemaid is currently in production, with a scheduled release date of December 25, 2025. The movie is directed by Paul Feig and stars Sydney Sweeney as Millie and Amanda Seyfried as Nina.
About The Author
To everyone’s surprise, Freida McFadden, #1 New York Times bestselling author, has a solid background in medicine.
A practicing physician, McFadden seamlessly blends her medical expertise with her literary talent, crafting gripping and sensational psychological thrillers and sharp-witted medical humor novels, that resonate with readers worldwide.
Born on May 1, 1980, in New York City, she completed her undergraduate studies at Harvard University. In 2013, she ventured into self-publishing with her debut novel, The Devil Wears Scrubs, inspired by her own experiences as a medical intern.
Despite her soaring literary success, McFadden continues to balance her dual passions—medicine and writing. Her books have captivated global audiences and have been translated into more than 40 languages.
Keep up with her on:
Complete list: The Housemaid Books In Order
- The Housemaid (2022)
- The Housemaid’s Secret (2023)
- The Housemaid’s Wedding (Novella, 2024)
- The Housemaid Is Watching (2024)
There’s no official announcement yet of a fourth book, but given the series’ popularity and the upcoming movie adaptation (2025), it’s possible more could come.
Theme of The Housemaid Books
The Housemaid Books are psychological thriller collection with heavy domestic noir and suspense elements.
- Psychological Manipulation & Power Dynamics
- Class Divide & Social Injustice
- Secrets, Trauma & Reinvention
- Female Empowerment & Survival
- Deception and Hidden Identities
- Revenge and Justice
- The Illusion of Perfection
Summary & Ratings- The Housemaid Books In Order 2025
1. The Housemaid (2022) (#1)
Book Ratings:
- Goodreads: 4.31 out of 5 stars, based on over 2.2 million ratings and 188,000 reviews.
- Amazon: 4.5 out of 5 stars, from approximately 487,863 customer reviews.
- Barnes & Noble: 4.6 out of 5 stars, based on 96 customer reviews.
It’s the First book in The Housemaid Books In Order.
Millie, is a woman with shadows clinging to her past, mysterious, solitary, and scarred by a life that’s been anything but kind. Recently released from prison, she’s desperate for a fresh start. With no family, no support system, and barely a penny to her name, she’s clinging to basics, limiting herself to survival, job hunting, penny-pinching, trying to piece together a new life from the ruins of the old.
Then, as if destined, she lands a lifeline, a live-in position as a housemaid for the Winchester family. It seems simple enough ranging from cleaning, follow the rules, stay out of trouble. A job. A room. A second chance.
Andrew and Nina Winchester live in an elegant, sprawling mansion with their young daughter, Cecelia. At first glance, they appear to be, the picture-perfect family. But from the moment, Millie arrives, something feels off, like some kind of shadow lurking in the woods.
Nina is bipolar—warm one moment, cold and volatile the next. Her husband, Andrew is her opposite, calm, collected, and strangely considerate. But the house itself harbors its own secrets. Weirdly enough, Millie’s attic room is locked from the outside. And there’s one door upstairs she’s forbidden to open. Ever!
She tries to ignore the unease and strangeness that surrounds the house, focusing on her duties. But the warning signs only grow louder. Her belongings,that too in her room, are mysteriously moved. Nina lashes out with baseless accusations. Cecelia has a tendency to draws unsettling, almost haunting images. And a chilling thought begins to haunt Millie, she feels she’s being watched.
As paranoia twists into reality, Millie uncovers a dark secret buried deep within the Winchester home, one that turns her job into a nightmare and her fresh start into a fight for survival. Nothing is what it seems in this strange house of lies. And the truth? It’s far more dangerous than she ever could have imagined!
2. The Housemaid’s Secret (2023)(#2)
Book Ratings :
- Goodreads: The book holds an average rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars, based on over 205,000 global ratings.
- Amazon: Average Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars, Total Ratings: Over 214,000 global reviews
The Second Book in the The Housemaid Books In Order.
After the traumatic experience at the Winchester household, Millie is determined to get her life back on track.
Desperate for a fresh start, she keeps searching for a job, this time hoping that luck might finally be on her side. All she wants is a chance at a normal life, and when she’s offered another position as a live-in housemaid, she decides to take it.
Her new employers? Douglas Garrick, a wealthy tech executive, and his reclusive wife, Wendy, living in a sleek Manhattan penthouse.
Douglas, insists that Wendy is seriously ill and confined to the guest bedroom. But Millie quickly starts noticing unsettling things, bloodstains on Wendy’s clothes, muffled sobs in the middle of the night, and a creeping sense that something is very, very wrong.
With her past shaped by witnessing abuse and injustice, Millie feels compelled to help Wendy. But what she uncovers shocks her!
Wendy isn’t a helpless victim. She’s manipulative, having an affair with a man named Russell and plotting to kill her husband. Worse, she plans to frame Millie for the murder. And then it happens.
One day, the police show up. Douglas is dead, and all the evidence points straight to Millie. Arrested and betrayed, she turns to the only person she can trust, her ex-boyfriend, Enzo. Together, they dig into the truth and uncover a tangled web of lies, deceit, and betrayal.
The situation spirals when Russell’s wife, Marybeth, discovers the affair and confronts Wendy and Russell. In a dramatic and deadly standoff, the truth finally comes to light, clearing Millie’s name once and for all.
3. The Housemaid’s Wedding (Novella, 2024)(#2.5)
Book Ratings :
- Goodreads: Average Rating: 3.39 out of 5: Total Ratings:Approximately 148,000
- Amazon: Average Rating: Approximately 3.9 out of 5; Total Ratings: Over 60,000
It’s not among the core books but a novella that comes inbetween book 2 & 3 in The Housemaid Books In Order.
The novella begins on the day of Millie and Enzo’s wedding day, with Millie suddenly receiving a threatening phone call in the morning. She’s determined, not to let fear overshadow their special day, she chooses to keep the calls a secret from Enzo for their his sake. As the day progresses, Millie continues to receive these weird unsettling messages, increasing tension and stress throughout the day, to an otherwise joyous occasion. The novella delves into Millie’s internal struggle between safeguarding their happiness and confronting the looming threat.
4. The Housemaid Is Watching (2024)(#3)
Book Ratings:
- Goodreads: Average Rating: 3.88 out of 5 stars; Total Ratings: Over 650,000
- Amazon: Average Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars
- Barnes & Noble: Average Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
The Third Book in The Housemaid Books In Order.
After the events of The Housemaid’s Secret, thirteen years have passed. Millie, is now married to Enzo and together they have two, beautiful children, Ada and Nico. The family has settled into a new home, in a quiet neighborhood, surrounded by serene and peaceful surroundings, a life that finally seems normal.
But fate has a strange way of following Millie, wherever she goes. Despite the years that have passed and the new life she has built, something about her neighbors Suzette and Jonathan Lowell, feels oddly familiar and unsettling.
To her dismay, Enzo begins working closely with Jonathan on yard renovations, and the closeness between them sets off alarm bells in Millie’s mind.
Then, out of nowhere, Jonathan is found dead. Enzo, who had been spending a lot of time with Jonathan, becomes the prime suspect, when his knife is discovered at the crime scene. As a former prisoner herself, Millie knows all too well what prison can do to a person. She’s desperate to protect her husband and keep her family from falling apart.
Soon, it’s revealed that Ada had confronted Jonathan after learning about his abuse toward her younger brother, Nico, an altercation that turned violent. But the truth goes deeper. With the help of Officer Ramirez, a figure from her past, Millie forces Suzette into confessing, ultimately clearing Enzo’s name.
But one question still haunts her, If Suzette took the fall, who was the real killer?
Tone & Style in The Housemaid Books In Order
The Housemaid series will not be considered as slow rhythm books, as they have fast paced chapters throughout the series. The books continue to keep the reader interested by having cliffhangers in almost all chapters along side having multiple twists and turns throughout the entire book. The vocabulary in the series is not high end and quite accessible to all readers.
FAQs
What is The Housemaid about?
It is a psychological thriller, where in a woman named Milie, working as a Housemaid after a long prison break, encounters multiple mysterious families and intriguing circumstance.
How many books are there in The Housemaid series?
There are 4 books, including 3 core novels and 1 novella in The Housemaid Books in order.
1. The Housemaid (Book 1)
2. The Housemaid’s Secret (Book 2)
3. The Housemaid’s Wedding (Novella, 2024)
4. The Housemaid is Watching (Book 3)
Is Housemaid Books a psychological thriller?
Yes, The Housemaid Series is a psychological thriller including mystery, challenges and more.
Do the Housemaid books have strong plot twists?
The Housemaid series have definitely quite strong plot twists with each chapter ending in a clip hanger. The entire text revolves around twists and turns, mysterious circumstances and psychologically challenge families.
Do The Housemaid books connect, or are they standalone?
The Housemaid books are connected through the protagonist Milie, who’s the central character in all the books in the series. The best recommendation is to read the series in order of its publication but readers can read individually as well as every book has a different case to solve and a different story.
Are there themes of abuse or violence in The Housemaid?
Yes. The series explores domestic abuse, manipulation, psychological trauma, and more. It’s intense but adds to the thriller element.
How to read The Housemaid books in order?
The best way to cherish the books to their most is to read in the publication order.
1. The Housemaid (Book 1)
2. The Housemaid’s Secret (Book 2)
3. The Housemaid’s Wedding (Novella, 2024)
4. The Housemaid is Watching (Book 3)
Is there a sequel to The Housemaid by Freida McFadden?
Yes, there are several sequels to The Housemaid by Freida McFadden.
1. The Housemaid (Book 1)
2. The Housemaid’s Secret (Book 2)
3. The Housemaid’s Wedding (Novella, 2024)
4. The Housemaid is Watching (Book 3)
Will there be a 4th housemaid book?
As of now, Freida McFadden has not officially announced a fourth full-length novel in The Housemaid series. Given the series’ popularity and the upcoming film adaptation starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried , it’s quite likely that McFadden may continue the series.
Is The Housemaid based on a true story?
No, The Housemaid by Freida McFadden is not based on a true story. It’s a psychological thriller and a work of fiction, entirely created from the author’s imagination.
Is The Housemaid scary to read?
The Housemaid series is not considered gruesome or related to the genre of horror but it does contain some dark themes along the lines of psychological thriller.
Is The Housemaid an easy read?
The vocabulary in the Housemaid series is not high end and quite accessible to readers. The sentences are short with a moderate vocabulary level.
Can a 13 year old read The Housemaid?
The Housemaid by Freida McFadden is a psychological thriller with mature themes, including abuse, manipulation, and violence. It’s intended for an adult audience and, although it isn’t overly explicit like some thrillers, it does explore dark and intense themes that may be unsettling.
Is The Housemaid appropriate for teenagers?
Not recommended for younger teens. The books have mature and disturbing themes like manipulation, abuse, and psychological trauma. Best suited for ages 16+ depending on the reader’s maturity.
Is the book violent or graphic?
There is some violence and psychological abuse, but it’s not overly graphic. Being psychological thriller, it focuses more on tension, manipulation, and emotional stakes.
Is The Housemaid part of Kindle Unlimited?
Yes, The Housemaid is part of Kindle Unlimited.
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