The Housemaid by Frieda McFadden

 The Housemaid

Author: Frieda McFadden

Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Drama

Narrator: Lauryn Allman

Audible length: 9 hours 46 minutes

3.5/5

The Housemaid by Frieda McFadden is a mystery thriller book, part of three novel series started in 2022. The first book is told from a few different first person narrative, mainly from the two main female characters. Nina Winchester is a rich housewife who is well-known in the community as the wife of a famous and wealthy businessman, Andrew Winchester. She decided to employ a housemaid to take care of the household, Millie Calloway, a beautiful homeless young woman trying to rebuild her life

The book is quite enjoyable. I listened to it in about a week during the long drives that I had to do back in March. There is a lot of twists and turns, however it was quite easy to guess who the main villain character is in the story. Despite having the antagonist being quite easy to guess from about the first quarter of the book, it did not diminish the fact that The Housemaid is an interesting story that is engaging but still easy to consume. Frieda McFadden used a lot of everyday language that are easy to understand, which as a second language speaker in English, made The Housemaid easy to follow.

The first person narrations were pretty consistent throughout The Housemaid. It brings out the characteristics of Nina Winchester and Millie Calloway in a clear manner, making the story feels more personal. However, there were a few plot points that I think The Housemaid could have dug deeper into. One example would be the antagonist's backstory and motive, which seems to be a bit thin and could have been intertwined in the story more; maybe even giving that antagonist a first person voice. There are also some things that are just illogical, like the language barrier that exists even when Millie Calloway is armed with a smartphone (I think it was an iPhone) which is most definitely loaded with Google Translate, or the ability to surf the web and the internet to go to the web version of Google Translate.

All in all, if you want some easy reading with a lot of twists and turns that will grab your attention, Freida McFadden achieved that with The Housemaid.

Get the audiobook version on Audible or the physical version on Amazon (not sponsored)

Mr Mercedes by Stephen King

 Mr Mercedes

Author: Stephen King

Genre: Crime, Thriller, Mystery

Narrator: Will Patton

4.5/5

Mr Mercedes is a crime thriller novel by the world renowned writer, Stephen King. This book is a first of a trilogy and was published in 2014. There are references to sensitive topics, so just be aware before your start reading.

The book grabs you from start to finish. I listened to the audiobook in the span of a week and a half. I was so glad that I picked this book to start because I had some long drives to do in that week. 

Mr Mercedes was the perfect companion as you follow retired detective William "Bill" Hodges, also sometimes referred to as Kermit. Falling out of his daily rhythm, Bill Hodges contemplated an end to his existence, until something else from his past life came back to haunt him. A letter, personally addressed to him with details no one else but Bill Hodges would ever know, signed by Mr Mercedes himself. His last case is back taunting him.

Bill Hodges has to dust off his languishes and use his instincts again to outsmart Mr Mercedes, bring justice back to the people he did wrong in the past. He ended up teaming up with the two most unlikely side kicks, however they ended up bringing specific useful skills that Kermit Hodges lacks.

This is definitely a quality thriller book. There are many details and nuances that Stephen King peppered in the story that make the story a lot more gripping. The way Stephen King built up Mr Mercedes throughout the story was perfect, unveiling his characteristics and his motive throughout the story. He is quite a sophisticated criminal, a highly intelligent, tech-savvy, and unassuming member of the society. However, Mr Mercedes is young and green, so it is interesting to see how he navigates his interactions.

Bill Hodges as a character is also a great mix of your classic retired cop; grumpy but smart, but still has some unique qualities to him that makes you root for him and his team. The story moves in a great pace, albeit a little bit slow at the start, which is common in these types of books as it establishes context and background for the story. I was sort of expecting just a straight battle between the protagonist and the antagonist, but then again this is Stephen King. All the characters play a weighted importance that makes the story more cohesive and enjoyable to follow. The audiobook was also performed very well by Will Patton. He did different voices for different characters, but none of them sounded comical that you can still concentrate on the story.

If you are interested in crime thriller books, this is definitely a worthwhile read or listen. I will try and continue to read or listen to the following books in the series and review the same!

Buy the book on Amazon or listen to the audiobook on Audible (not sponsored)