The Housemaid's Secret

Mystery and thriller

First published: 2023
Print length: 352 pagesQuercus, 2023

Description

Millie takes a cleaning job in the Garricks’ luxurious city penthouse, hoping the position will serve private aims she cannot reveal. Her employer, Douglas Garrick, imposes one unsettling rule: she must neither meet his wife nor enter the guest bedroom where the woman remains hidden. Crying behind the closed door and blood on discarded nightclothes convince Millie that Mrs. Garrick may be in danger. Once she investigates, remaining a silent employee is no longer possible. Millie resolves to protect the unseen woman and make Douglas answer for what she believes he has done, even as her own concealed past raises the stakes. The domestic thriller turns forbidden rooms, uncertain evidence, and competing secrets into a test of whom Millie can trust.

Reading profile

About this profile

Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).

Writing: How much attention the sentences and language require.
Ideas: How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
Structure: How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
Background knowledge: Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
Emotional intensity: Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.