Note: This review has more of a focus on the book itself rather than the audiobook aspects, but I wanted to mention the narration as well.
Millie Calloway has been living in her car for a year. She's just been fired and evicted, and her job search isn't easy, not with her criminal record. Therefore, when she gets a live-in, well paid job as a housemaid with the wealthy Winchesters, she can hardly believe her luck.
It turns out, after a few days on the job, that it was too good to be true. Her boss, Nina, leaves things messy beyond belief, and has unreasonable demands. She often gives Millie orders, and forgets them, then criticises Millie for doing them wrong. She swings rapidly between pleasant and extremely angry, and Millie is sure something is severely wrong with Nina's mental health. Nina's daughter Cecilia is spoilt and seems to hate Millie despite her attempts to be friendly. Nina's husband, Andrew, seems to be the only reasonable person in the house. Furthermore, there is the single-worded warning the landscaper Enzo gives Millie, "Pericolo", meaning 'danger' in Italian.
The book reminded me of 'Verity' by Colleen Hoover right from the beginning. I could almost predict how it was going to end. Sure, I was shocked by Nina's behaviour, and sympathetic towards Millie, but I was not too impressed by the plot overall. I thought it wasn't a bad read, but nothing special; not exactly a page turner, and yet not so boring I would leave it unfinished. How very wrong I was.
Halfway through the book, it was almost like the ground fell away from under my feet. I cannot say too much without giving something away, except for the fact that I wanted to abandon everything else and keep on listening until the book was over. I would never have seen the plot twist coming, and yet it made perfect sense. Freida McFadden does a brilliant job of omitting details to twist our perceptions of characters, only to reveal them later and change the whole situation. We never truly know what anyone is capable of.
While I respect that graphic violence can really add to the effect of a thriller, this book does not have to resort to that to be extremely compelling, which is a testimony to the author's skill. Even then, I would label this book as 18+ due to other themes, which I do not want to give more details of for fear of giving away spoilers. While I do not know what an expert would say, I thought that the psychological nuances were well thought out. Sometimes I was a bit unconvinced by them, but I believe that is due to my own lack of knowledge. The book also had a fair bit of an emotional portion at the end, but not overdone.
The narrator Lauryn Allman's posh accent for Nina, and a gritty Brooklyn accent for Millie, were impressive. Over and above that, the narration was respectable and quite good.
I really enjoyed this book as someone who wanted something fast-paced, but has read one too many books whose graphic visuals remained printed on the insides of my eyelids for weeks after. I listened to this as I went about my day, and rather embarrassingly, often found myself gasping out loud in public as the author gave out little bits of information that changed everything as I knew it. There is a sequel (sequels, in fact), and I am slightly apprehensive that it might be repetitive, but I am almost certain I will be proven wrong about that. Judging by McFadden's talent as demonstrated in this book, who knows what I might be in for?