Easy Book Summary of The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
Check out the story of Millie, a secretive and desperate young woman, who takes a job with an equally secretive, wealthy family when strange things start happening. Take nothing at face value as dark secrets start coming out, and strap in for a good twist with this popular book that’s worth reading.
If you haven’t already, I highly recommend you read the full, unbelievably twisty read. Here’s my full book summary to help you remember the main points of the book before you read the book review or watch the new movie coming out.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Part 1 Three Months Earlier
Chapters 1-5
At a million dollar home in a gated Long Island community, Millie interviews for the job of housekeeper with Nina Winchester. Millie has almost no hope for the job in case Nina checks her references or does a background check because of her criminal past. Because she’s living in her car, Millie stills wants the job that comes with a tiny room, about the size of a walk-in closet, that seems to give her anxiety.
Almost a week later, Millie gets a call from Nina that she got the job. On her first day, the house is a complete disaster, her tiny attic bedroom door only locks from the outside and seems to have scratch marks on the door, and Enzo, the attractive gardener who only speaks Italian, quietly tells her she’s in danger.
That same day, Millie notices Nina seems to always be home but doesn’t cook, clean, or pick up her own daughter Cecelia, who creeps Millie out. Nina also seems extremely agitated whenever her husband, Andrew Winchester, talks to Millie, even though Andrew appears to be very in love with Nina and the perfect husband.
Chapters 6-10
The next day when Millie comes downstairs, Nina is throwing dishes onto the floor and food onto the floor, yelling that Millie lost her PTA notes that were left in the kitchen. Andrew comes to calm her down, but, once Nina leaves, Andrew assures Millie that he knows Nina does things like this.
Because she’s desperate for a job, Millie ignores Nina’s crazy mood swings and Cece being a spoiled brat. Andrew is the only one nice to her, and Millie notices how handsome he is. One day, Nina gives Millie a bag of her old clothes that are too small and tells Millie that she’s planning on getting pregnant soon.
Chapters 11-15
Another day, Nina frantically calls Millie telling her to pick up Cece from school in 15 minutes, leaving out any other details. However, when Millie arrives at the school, another mom is picking up Cece to bring her to karate, and even calls Nina who chastises Millie for being at the school when she’s not supposed to be. Nina also complains about Millie’s thoroughness cleaning, even though Millie cleans the entire house everyday after Nina seems to purposely trash it.
After meeting with her parole officer, Millie is reminded she needs this job otherwise there’s a possibility she could go back to prison. While doing the household chores, Millie finds a lot of medication in Nina’s bathroom including antipsychotic medicine.
In the middle of the night while Millie is watching TV, Andrew comes down for some water and ends up watching with her. Woken by their laughing, Nina comes down and scolds Millie for using the TV and being in her pajamas around the house, even though Andrew tries to defend her.
Chapters 16-20
When Nina has her “friends” from PTA Jillianne, Suzanne, and Patrice, Millie hears them bad mouth Nina after she goes to the bathroom. Millie learns that Nina was in some kind of mental institution, her and Andrew don’t have a prenup, and Andrew never adopted Cecelia because she’s not his biological daughter. The next day, Andrew and Nina return from an appointment with a fertility doctor extremely upset, and Andrew tells Millie that Nina will never get pregnant.
Millie is woken up by screaming and a crash that night, and goes downstairs to find Nina screaming at Andrew that this is all her fault and he shouldn’t be with her. Nina comes out with a bloody hand and tells Millie to never come downstairs at night again. The next morning, Nina is back to being nice to Millie, and Andrew is being very loving and nice to Nina.
When he carries a package inside for her, Nina tries to make an advance on the landscaper Enzo even with the language barrier, but he gets upset. While he’s leaving, he again tells her it’s dangerous. While picking up Cece from dance class, Millie learns from another nanny that Nina was institutionalized for trying to drown Cece in the bathtub as a baby.
Chapters 21-25
When Andrew opens the package that night, it’s baby clothes from his mom, and he’s visibly upset. Millie tries to comfort him and acknowledges that she has a crush on him. When she grabs his hand in comfort, Millie is sure they have a moment.
Later that week, after Andrew had Millie get tickets to a Broadway show to help Nina feel better after the baby news, Nina explodes that Millie got the tickets for the wrong day. Millie is positive she booked the day Nina told her, but Nina is taking Cece to a summer camp and staying overnight that night. When Nina and Cece leave, Andrew tells Millie she should take the Broadway tickets and hotel room because he can’t get the money back.
When Millie politely refuses because she has no one to go with, Andrew says they should go together, even though Millie thinks it’s a bad idea. Millie wears one of the nice dresses that Nina gave her, and she notices Andrew admiring her.
They have a great time together at the shower and at dinner afterwards. Andrew admits that while Nina was a hard working single mom when he fell in love with her, he doesn’t know how they ended up like this.
Chapters 26-30
Because they get drunk at dinner, they decide to go to the hotel instead of driving back. Andrew kisses Millie in the cab, and they end up sleeping together at the hotel. The next morning, they agree to not tell Nina, but Andrew tells her he’s not sorry. When they drive back, Enzo sees them together, and Andrew admits he’s never liked Enzo even though Nina won’t get rid of him.
Later that week, Nina asks Millie about the food in prison in front of Andrew who looks shocked. Millie notices in her small room that the playbill of the Broadway show has been moved, so she figured Nina must know she went with Andrew.
Chapters 31-37
One night when Millie goes downstairs to get water, she runs into Andrew who kisses her again. The next day when Millie returns, Nina accuses Millie of stealing the clothes that Nina gave her. After Andrew comes to calm her down, he tells Nina they have to separate and makes Nina leave the house.
Andrew tells Millie that he wants to be with her and to stay at the Winchester house despite her record. In the morning, Andrew fires Enzo, but after Andrew walks away, Enzo again warns Millie she’s in serious danger.
At the grocery store, Patrice, a friend of Nina, stops Millie to ask about Nina who missed their brunch and lets slip that Nina has a tracking app on Millie’s phone she bought. This is how Nina knew about the show, and, as Millie runs out of the store, she thinks she sees Nina’s car drive away.
That night as she’s moving her things out of the attic, Andrew finds her, and they sleep together in the tiny attic room. In the middle of the night, Millie wakes up alone and finds the doors locked.
Part 2
Chapters 38-42
In her hotel room, Nina thinks back to how she met Andrew working as the receptionist at his company. They started dating and quickly got married because Nina thought Andrew was the most thoughtful, kind, handsome man she’d ever met. A few months into the marriage, Andrew tricks Nina into going into the tiny attic room and locks her in for not keeping up her hair appointments to look her best.
Even though she screams and scratches at the door, Andrew doesn’t come back until the next morning asking for a hundred strands of hair, so Nina learns that hair is a privilege. After two days with just water, he lets her out, gives her some water and tucks her into bed.
When she wakes up, she tries to walk to the bathroom to figure out what the running water is, but she can barely move and has to crawl. In the bathroom, she sees Cecelia propped up in the tub with the water running and tries to save her. As she’s struggling across the room, the police and paramedics show up.
Chapter 43-46
During her eight months at the psychiatric hospital, her therapist tells her she suffers from delusions and depression. So while she remembers being locked in the room, it’s not real, and everything she doesn’t remember doing to Cece is real. She starts to believe it because of how nice and caring Andrew is during her recovery.
When she finally comes home, Andrew’s harsh mother is helping take care of Cecelia, but constantly critiquing Nina. After a few weeks of therapy, Nina is convinced by her therapist to go back into the attic room to overcome the fear of the delusions. One night, after Andrew’s mom scolds her for leaving the lights on, she ventures into the attic room with Andrew who locks her in as a punishment for leaving the lights on.
Andrew makes her agree to be the perfect wife, and that anytime she “transgresses” she’ll be sent back up to the attic. Only after Andrew reminds her because of her record of mental health, she agrees in order to keep Cecelia.
Chapters 46-48
After seven years of marriage and lots of failed pleading and bargaining, Nina tries to repel Andrew by putting on weight, acting crazy, and not looking her best. He still makes her stay in the attic sometimes, but doesn’t seem to care quite as much. He also makes Nina stay in the attic if Cecelia acts out, who quickly learns to listen to Andrew, so Nina doesn’t disappear for days.
Nina confides in Enzo because she thinks he doesn’t understand English, but he does understand her. When Andrew locks her in the attic for using too much air freshener, Enzo sees her through the tiny window and comes up to help, even saying he’ll break down the door. Nina convinces him not to because she’s afraid of what Andrew will do and the next day confesses to Enzo everything that’s happened but begs him not to do anything because Andrew is too rich and powerful.
After secretly meeting up, Enzo helps Nina get fake IDs and cash for her and Cecelia to leave. But right before it’s supposed to happen, Andrew finds out about the IDs in the safety deposit box. Then, Nina comes up with a new idea, even though Enzo is not on board.
Chapters 49-50
After purposely trashing the house to convince Andrew they need a live-in housemaid, Nina hires Millie fully knowing her background and knowing she’s desperate for the job in addition to being young and beautiful woman With Millie around taking up the attic room, Nina purposely starts letting herself go and acting crazy because Andrew can’t punish her anymore. Nina also pushes Andrew closer to Millie, including blackmailing the fertility doctor into telling Andrew Nina can never have another baby.
After Nina asks Andrew’s mother to send over the baby stuff to make him even more upset about it, she purposely gives Millie the wrong date for the show knowing Andrew will go with Millie. After getting thrown out, Nina is in her hotel room getting ready to leave town when Enzo shows up. He confesses to having feelings for her, and they sleep together. Afterwards, Enzo insists that they have to help Millie.
Part 3
Millie
Millie realizes that Andrew really did lock her in the attic room, and in the morning he makes her balance three very heavy books on her stomach for three hours as punishment for leaving books out downstairs. When she finally realizes he’s actually a psychopath and does what he says, he comes in to let her out and shows her the live video of this room in his phone. Suddenly, she pepper sprays him and grabs his phone while locking him in the room with the key Nina gave her.
Nina
At the hotel, Nina tells Enzo not to worry because Nina specially picked Millie because Millie was in prison for murder. Nina found out through a PI that Millie had behavioral problems growing up which culminated in beating in a boy’s head with a paperweight for trying to sexually assault her friend. Nina even told Enzo that she left Millie pepper spray in the closet and a key to the room in order for Millie to kill Andrew the first time he locked her in the that room.
Millie
Millie successfully has Andrew locked in the room and tells him to balance the books on his stomach now. After making him do this a few times, Millie also has him pull out a few of his teeth with pliers.
Nina
While picking Cecelia up from camp and planning to leave town, Enzo calls Nina to come back because Millie hasn’t left the house and the lights been on in the attic room. Because she feels so bad for leaving Millie in that situation, Nina goes back to the house. Nina opens the attic door to find Andrew in the room dead instead of Millie.
Millie steps out, holding up the pepper spray, but Nina explains what happened and insists that Millie leave because Nina will take the fall.
After Nina calls the police and tells them Andrew must have accidentally gotten locked in the attic, the head detective tells Nina that his daughter was engaged to Andrew before he married Nina. The daughter never told him exactly what happened, but she was changed forever and even moved across the country and changed her name. The detective agrees to call Andrew’s death an accident and close the case.
At his funeral, Andrew’s mother tells Nina that she talked to a friend in the police department and heard about his missing teeth. His mother tells Nina that she knows that’s the punishment for not taking care of one’s teeth, and thanks Nina for teaching him that lesson. Shortly after the funeral, Nina sells everything and moves to the West Coast.
Epilogue
Millie is interviewing with another wealthy woman for a live-in housekeeper when the woman says Nina recommended her specifically. Millie notices the bruises on the woman and says she can help.
Read the Full Book Review
Now that you understand and remember the main points of the book, check out my full book review here. If you haven’t read the entire book yet, I strongly recommend it as there’s no way for a summary to hit on all the small clues and plot twists that create such a suspenseful story.
Here’s where you can find the book if you haven’t read it yourself. If you liked this book, there’s even more in the Housemaid series. Next, read The Housemaid’s Secret.
