Every Book In Freida McFadden’s The Housemaid Series, Ranked

This article contains discussions of domestic abuse.

Now that popcorn thriller author Freida McFadden’s hit novel “The Housemaid” is being adapted into a film, you might be wondering: should you read it before you see the movie? The project, which is helmed by “A Simple Favor” director Paul Feig and stars Amanda Seyfried, “It Ends with Us” star Brandon Sklenar, and “Anyone But You’s” leading lady Sydney Sweeney, is expected to hit theaters on December 25, 2025 … so as McFadden’s legion of fans prepares for her first big-screen adaptation, you might want to familiarize yourself with her series of “Housemaid” books, in case you haven’t already.

Yes, that’s right — “The Housemaid” has not one, not two, but four sequels, technically (even though one is a short story, and we’ll get to that in just a moment). The gist, from the start, is as follows: a young woman named Millie, who will be portrayed by Sweeney in the movie, is trying to escape her troubled past and earn enough money to get by when she ends up embroiled in disturbing domestic drama. From the first breakout hit to the smallest sequel, here’s every one of Freida McFadden’s “Housemaid” books, ranked from worst to best. Oh, and just in case — light spoilers ahead!

“The Housemaid’s Wedding” is an easy choice for the last spot on this list for one very particular reason: it’s not a full-length book. Released in November 2024, “The Housemaid’s Wedding” spans just 86 pages and could generously be called a novella — or perhaps more realistically, a short story — that focuses on Millie’s wedding to Enzo, a man introduced in the first book. (We’ll return to Enzo before long.) Unfortunately for Millie, she can’t really do anything without putting herself in danger somehow, which will become a recurring theme throughout the “Housemaid” series.

Because “The Housemaid’s Secret,” the second book, came out in 2023, and the third book didn’t release until 2024, Freida McFadden meant this little short story as a sort of stopgap between the two books, which also allowed her to narratively skip over Enzo and Millie’s actual nuptials for the third book. Still, it just doesn’t add anything of substance to the series, and McFadden didn’t really need to take the time to produce this tiny effort between two of her full-length novels, especially when you consider the apparent speed with which McFadden writes. Thankfully, this is the only novella in “The Housemaid” series as of this writing, and though there’s no way to tell if McFadden will try another pint-sized project like this, let’s hope she sticks to the longer stories.

At a certain point in any franchise or series, it’s possible to hit a point of diminishing returns — and putting aside the bite-sized interlude “The Housemaid’s Wedding,” we can unfortunately confirm that the third book in Freida McFadden’s “Housemaid” series is the least interesting installment. Now that Millie and her one true love Enzo are finally married, they decide to move into a seemingly sleepy suburban neighborhood with their children, filling Millie with glee; after a fraught life filled with poverty, fear, and violence, she’s finally able to lead what she views as a normal and stable life. This idea never works out well for Millie, though … and when she and Enzo meet their neighbors, she immediately realizes that something is wrong.

Not only is something off about Mrs. Lowell — and her inexplicably weird attitude towards Enzo — but Millie, a former maid herself, notices that the wealthy Lowells also employ a housemaid, whose coldness might be hiding something sinister. Not only that, but Enzo keeps sneaking out at night, and when a woman warns Millie to be careful around her neighbors, her worries intensify. While this all certainly sounds promising, enough absolutely wild and insane stuff has happened to Millie by this point that it doesn’t feel all that shocking by the third book (or, technically, the third-and-a-half book?), and when you add in some weird character inconsistencies where Millie is concerned, it’s easy to see why this is the worst full “Housemaid” book.

By the time “The Housemaid’s Secret” followed up Freida McFadden’s hit “The Housemaid,” fans were clamoring for more … and to be fair to McFadden, she came up with a pretty deliciously twisted story for Millie’s second outing. By the time this book begins, Enzo is temporarily out of the picture — he’s with his mother in Sicily, and Millie dating a new guy named Brock — and though Millie has gained a reputation amongst wealthy housewives for helping them “solve problems,” so to speak, she’s still in desperate need of gainful employment. Enter the Garricks, a wealthy New York couple who hire Millie to clean their expansive New York City penthouse. Right away, Millie notices that Wendy Garrick, wife of the successful Douglas, is a victim of his abuse … and though she tries to help Wendy escape, Douglas thwarts her at every turn.

When Enzo makes his reappearance, he and Millie team up to try and keep helping Wendy, but the twist here is more devious than you could ever imagine — and involves multiple cases of mistaken identity, some seriously misappropriated medication, a gun with no bullets, and several other massive narrative turns that’ll leave most readers reeling. Sure, “The Housemaid’s Secret” is, at the end of the day, very similar to the first book, but it’s still fun, because Millie is still acting like herself and the series hasn’t overstayed its welcome or strained credulity quite yet (like it does in “The Housemaid is Watching”).

The book that started it all, “The Housemaid” by Freida McFadden, is the best in the series … and it’s not close. This shouldn’t come as an enormous surprise, considering that the inaugural entry in a series is usually the freshest and strongest, but “The Housemaid” isn’t just the best book in its series. It’s also one of McFadden’s best novels by a mile.

When we first meet Millie, she’s trying to cover up the fact that she was recently released from prison and, is such, having trouble finding a job … until she meets Nina and Andrew Winchester, who are played, respectively, by Amanda Seyfried and Brandon Sklenar in Paul Feig’s film adaptation. At first, it seems to Millie like Nina is a terrible boss — the lady of the house keeps giving her new maid blatantly wrong instructions, creating enormous messes, and just generally being vile towards her new hire — and Andrew is a misunderstood and downtrodden husband stuck in an unhappy marriage simply because of the couple’s daughter Cecelia. As Millie delves deeper into Nina and Andrew’s relationship, though, she uncovers evidence that points to years of horrific abuse orchestrated by Andrew … and the only person she can confide in is Enzo, the Winchester’s gardener. Together, they develop a plan to help Nina, even if it incurs Andrew’s wrath.

“The Housemaid” is, to be perfectly clear, a popcorn thriller best consumed on the beach or by the pool, but McFadden’s twisted sense of humor keeps the plot moving pleasantly as the reader uncovers twist after twist. “The Housemaid” certainly isn’t perfect, but it’s the best book in this series, and again, a high point for McFadden in general.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.