I have always been a big reader, but the number of books I read in a year has sharply declined since I had kids. Between a lack of time and the inability to get settled in and really pay attention, I’ve had to cut down to books and audiobooks that really keep me engaged. So it’s no surprise that a lot of my recent Goodreads history can be put into one category: engaging thrillers. If there’s a mystery that keeps me wanting to turn every page (whether in real life or by way of a narrator), then I’m hooked during the small bit of free time I have. And few books have gotten me hooked quite as quickly as The Housemaid by Freida McFadden.
The Housemaid is a truly twisty tale that kept me up for hours because I simply couldn’t put it down. So I’ve rounded up similar books like The Housemaid, whether you’re trying to stick to your reading goals or just love a story that tempts you to read “just one more chapter,” even when it’s way past your bedtime.
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What is The Housemaid about?
You’ve likely heard about The Housemaid, either because of the book itself (a massive favorite of BookTok) or the forthcoming movie based on the book starring Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney.
Written by Freida McFadden, the book is about a young woman named Millie, whose troubled past and criminal record leave her desperate for a job. Because of this, she jumps at the chance to become a live-in housemaid for a wealthy family, consisting of Nina, her husband Andrew, and daughter Cecelia.
But, as you may have guessed, things aren’t as they appear in this picture-perfect household, which holds quite a few dark secrets. Without giving anything away, the book is simply unputdownable with new mysteries and surprising twists and turns.
Books like The Housemaid
Whether you’re looking for families with dark secrets or simply a book you won’t be able to put down, these are books like The Housemaid to consider if you’re looking for a similar level of thrill.
The Housemaid’s Secret
Like most perfect families, The Garricks are far more than what meets the eye—and their new maid is about to find out what secrets lurk beneath the surface of their picture-perfect household.
Goodreads Rating: 4.2/5
If you’ve finished The Housemaid, a good place to start would be the sequel, The Housemaid’s Secret. Without spoiling the plot of The Housemaid, the sequel follows a new family, the Garricks, who have secrets of their own. The story can be enjoyed as a sequel to The Housemaid or simply as a standalone story.
Local Woman Missing
Years ago, several women went missing in a small town. Eleven years later, one returns, reopening a cold case long abandoned. But what secrets will investigators uncover?
Goodreads Rating: 4.12/5
In another bingeable thriller, multiple women go missing in a small town—until one returns a decade later. Told through multiple POVs, the secrets behind the tale of the missing women will have you on the edge of your seat.
Rebecca
When our heroine is swept off her feet by charming widower, Maxim de Winter, she can’t believe her luck. It’s only when she arrives at their Monte Carlo estate that she realizes how far-reaching the shadow of his late wife, Rebecca, really is.
Goodreads Rating: 4.3/5
If you want to go back to one of the original thrillers, Rebecca is a gothic classic. The story follows a young woman who marries a wealthy widower and moves into his expansive estate. Unfortunately, both the new husband and mansion are haunted by the memory of his first wife, Rebecca. Similar to The Housemaid, this is a claustrophobic domestic thriller about a family with plenty of secrets.
Verity
When a struggling writer is hired to finish a book for a reclusive bestselling author, she’s thrilled. But Verity Crawford’s sprawling estate holds secrets that could threaten everything.
Goodreads Rating: 4.3/5
Written by Colleen Hoover, Verity is a book that will keep you up all night reading (I say from experience). Struggling writer Lowen Ashleigh is hired by the husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford to complete the remaining books in his injured wife’s series. Lown visits the Crawfords’ house to go through Verity’s notes, when she finds an unfinished autobiography of Verity’s with some very startling admissions. Like The Housemaid, this book is about to be turned into a film as well, with Anne Hathaway, Dakota Fanning, and Josh Hartnett.
The Woman in the Window
Scared to leave the house, Anna hides out in her New York City apartment with a bottle of wine and a healthy dose of anxiety. Then, one night, she sees something in the apartment across from her, something she can’t forget. Soon, she’s pulled into a mystery that will force her to face her fears.
Goodreads Rating: 3.9/5
If you’ve seen the classic film Rear Window, this book has some definite similarities. The novel follows an agoraphobe living a reclusive life in New York City. One day, she witnesses a murder across the street. With a similarly unreliable narrator to The Housemaid, you’ll be questioning the truth to the very end.
Sharp Objects
Fresh off a stay at the psychiatric hospital, reporter Camille Preaker must return to her hometown to cover the murder of two preteen girls. But doing so will force her to face her past, and the family she has tried so hard to avoid.
Goodreads Rating: 4/5
Written by Gillian Flynn, Sharp Objects is the story of a journalist who returns to her hometown to investigate a string of murders. However, going home means she’ll also need to confront her toxic mother. The story features plenty of family drama and secrets for fans of The Housemaid to enjoy. Plus, it was also turned into an HBO series starring Amy Adams.
The Wife Between Us
This twisting thriller exposes the dark truths of one “perfect marriage.” With every chapter, it reminds the reader to never trust what meets the eye.
Goodreads Rating: 3.8/5
Despite dual authors and narrators, The Wife Between Us tells its story with a gripping, consistent voice that will keep you hooked from the opening. It’s a book that may be more enjoyable the less you know, but suffice it to say, you will not see the twists and turns coming.
The Last Mrs. Parrish
Amber Patterson is fed up with being invisible. One day, she decides to make use of her jealousy and do everything she can to insert herself into the life of Daphne Parrish—her town’s most widely adored housewife. But Daphne’s perfect life is far from what it seems.
Goodreads Rating: 4/5
In this gripping thriller, a woman sets out to infiltrate and steal the life of a wealthy socialite who she believes has it all. The story speaks to the silent struggles of women in a way that will capture you from the first page, subconsciously teaching its readers to not trust what meets the eye and to not judge a person’s life by its cover.
Behind Closed Doors
This twisting psychological thriller calls into question just what happens behind the closed doors of that flawless married couple everyone around you worships—and it may just be what you least expect.
Goodreads Rating: 4/5
Though this may seem like just another twisted marriage thriller, don’t let the description deter you. Behind Closed Doors features Jack and Grace, a not-so-perfect couple with plenty of darkness lurking the surface. Once you start to figure out what actually goes on in their household every day, you won’t want to put it down.
The Couple Next Door
When a terrible crime is committed at the neighborhood dinner party, suspicion immediately lands on the neighbor’s favorite married couple. But the truth is far more complicated than what meets the eye.
Goodreads Rating: 3.8/5
Anne and Marco are a seemingly perfect couple, with a great relationship and a new baby. One night, they go to a dinner party at their neighbors. When a crime is committed, blame immediately falls on the two new parents. Along the way, Anne and Marco will discover secrets they’ve been keeping from each other.
Listen for the Lie
When Lucy is found wandering the streets covered in her best friend’s blood, everyone assumes she killed her. But when a local crime podcast, “Listen for the Lie,” decides to investigate the case, Lucy must return to the place the crime occurred in order to prove what really happened.
Goodreads Rating: 4.1/5
Lucy and Savvy are best friends, living the dream life in their small Texas town. That is, until Savvy is murdered, and everyone thinks Lucy did it. The truth will be revealed, though, as Lucy is forced to confront her past when the host of the true crime podcast “Listen for the Lie,” Ben Owens, interviews her. With twists, humor, and great characters, this was an audiobook that made me want my drive to never end.
Turn of the Key
When our protagonist stumbles across a live-in nannying post, the job seems too good to be true. She has no idea that it will end with her awaiting a trial for murder. But she’s determined, with the help of her lawyer, to prove her innocence.
Goodreads Rating: 3.9/5
An updated story based on the classic novella Turn of the Screw, the book follows Rowain Caine as she arrives at Heatherbrae House in the Scottish Highlands. The story is told as she writes to her lawyer from prison, so the reader eagerly awaits the reveal of how exactly she got there.
First Lie Wins
Evie Porter lives in a small Southern town with a doting boyfriend and loving family—the only catch? Evie Porter doesn’t exist. She’s one piece in a much larger, twisted game.
Goodreads Rating: 4/5
A woman with a secret identity is given her next mark by a mysterious boss, Mr. Smith. With shifting identities and plenty of deception, in this novel, nothing is as it seems.
The Good Daughter
Traumatized by an event from her childhood, Charlie just wants to be a good lawyer and a good daughter. But when tragedy rocks her hometown once again, she has to face what happened to her once and for all.
Goodreads Rating: 4.1/5
Two sisters have their lives nearly destroyed by an attack on their family home that left their mother dead. Nearly three decades later, one of the daughters has followed in her father’s footsteps to become a lawyer, where she quickly finds herself reliving her past as another tragedy strikes the town. While the book has elements of a legal thriller, the gripping twists will be enough to enthrall any fans of The Housemaid.
Never Lie
Newlyweds Tricia and Ethan move into a home that once belonged to a renowned psychologist. They’re thrilled to have the space to themselves, but once there, Tricia stumbles upon a discarded pile of audio transcripts, all of which shed light on the psychologist’s mysterious disappearance.
Goodreads Rating: 4.1/5
Along with The Housemaid trilogy, Freida McFadden has written quite a few other thrillers. While all of them are great (believe me!), Never Lie is a particularly gripping story. A newlywed couple moves into the former house of a psychiatrist who went missing without a trace. Soon, the wife finds audio transcripts from the doctor’s patient sessions, which may uncover just what happened to him.
Gone Girl
It’s Nick and Amy’s fifth wedding anniversary when Amy suddenly goes missing, and unsurprisingly, all eyes turn to Nick. Nick is evasive and his relationship with Amy wasn’t perfect, but is he really a killer?
Goodreads Rating: 4.1/5
If you haven’t been spoiled about the plot of Gone Girl, either from the movie starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike or the much-talked-about book, then this is well worth a read. The story follows Nick Dunne, whose wife, Amy, goes missing on their anniversary. Suspicion immediately goes to Nick, and he doesn’t help himself, but there’s way more to the story than you expect.
The Wife Upstairs
When Victoria suffers a freak accident, she’s ripped from her perfect life and confined to her bedroom. Her only company is her around-the-clock nurse, Sylvia. The two develop a deep bond over time, but it isn’t long before Sylvia realizes that Victoria is trying to tell her something long buried.
Goodreads Rating: 4/5
Written by Freida McFadden, this is another deliciously twisted thriller with an ending you won’t see coming. McFadden has mastered the patient-caregiver dynamic—likely because of her medical background—making Victoria’s grief and pain truly palpable. By the end of this story, you’ll be itching to get inside the characters’ heads.
None of This is True
When Josie and Alix cross paths at a pub one night, and then again at their children’s school, Josie decides that Alix is the perfect subject for her new podcast series. But as the two get to know one another further, secrets come into the light that could change everything.
Goodreads Rating: 4/5
Podcaster Alix Summer meets her birthday twin, Josie Fair, both celebrating their 45th birthdays. The two continue to cross paths until Josie reveals she thinks she’d be a great subject for Alix’s true crime podcast. From there, the story really kicks off, with Josie and Alix’s lives permanently intertwined.
The Only One Left
Accused of her sister’s murder at a young age, Lenora never leaves her home. Now confined to a wheelchair and under the care of a new nurse, Lenora decides it’s time to reveal what happened. Even though she’s mute, she’ll use a typewriter to tell her nurse everything her family has tried to hide.
Goodreads Rating: 4.1/5
Set in a crumbling cliffside mansion, The Only One Left follows a caregiver, Kit, assigned to care for Lenora Hope. The Hope family’s haunting past is a mystery of epic proportions, one that builds and twists and warps until the very last chapter. The conclusion will be far from what you expect—perfect ingredients for a thrilling read.
The Family Upstairs
On her twenty-fifth birthday, Libby Jones receives a letter that holds everything she’s ever wanted: the identity of her birth parents. But soon she discovers that her true identity leaves her something she didn’t expect: an abandoned mansion, one which holds a slew of family secrets she never could have seen coming.
Goodreads Rating: 4/5
Dark and suspenseful, the domestic whodunit is chillingly good fun, centering on a young protagonist who got more than she bargained for from her family inheritance. It has that gripping quality that will keep readers turning the page long after they should have already gone to sleep.
A Simple Favor
When Stephanie picks up her best friend Emily’s son from school for her, she sees it as nothing more than a simple favor. But then Emily doesn’t return. After hours in the unknown, the horrifying truth comes to light: Emily is dead. Now, it’s a race to the truth to find out what happened to her.
Goodreads Rating: 3.3/5
A twisty domestic thriller, A Simple Favor comes along with lots of humor and interesting characters that fans of The Housemaid will love. Emily, Stephanie’s best friend, asks her to pick up Emily’s son, Nicky, after school. However, after pick up, Emily never comes back, and is soon declared dead. But the story isn’t as simple as it seems, as Stephanie will soon find out. The book inspired the movie of the same name, with Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively, along with its sequel, Another Simple Favor.
Morgan Flaherty, Contributing Writer
Morgan is full-time writer, editor, and mom. She lives in Florida with her husband, daughter, and one very sassy cat. Along with her work as a contributing writer for The Everymom, her writing has appeared in Well + Good, InStyle, Scary Mommy, Byrdie, and Baby Chick.
