The Housemaid
by Freida McFadden
A woman with a shady past takes a housekeeping job for a wealthy couple and finds that nothing in the house is what it seems. Twisty, quick, and addictive. Read the full description
Best for: Thriller fans who love twists
The Housemaid is #96 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 48 out of 100.
The Housemaid: reading interest over the past 12 months
Sources: Open Library’s public reading-log and ratings data (dump of 2026-08-31), Wikipedia page views and Wikidata. Monthly counts are exact; they show relative interest among readers of these public sources, not total readership.
Ranked against the other books on this list, The Housemaid’s reading interest has run from #16 to #61 over these 12 months. Interest rank blends shelf adds, Wikipedia page views and rating activity, each compared with the other 99 books that month.
Shelf adds by month
The Housemaid was added to Open Library readers’ shelves 908 times in the past 12 months, peaking in October 2025 with 136 (80% above its monthly average of 76). Over the latest three months (Jun 2026 to Aug 2026) shelf adds were down 30% on the three months before. 91% of the adds were “want to read”, 4% “currently reading” and 6% “already read”.
Want to read Currently reading Already read
Wikipedia page views
Its Wikipedia article was viewed 2,214,137 times in the past 12 months, peaking in December 2025 with 556,919 views. The latest three months were down 50% on the three before.
Source: Wikimedia monthly page views for the article The Housemaid (novel).
Adaptations
- The Housemaid (film), 2025
Adaptations are listed from Wikidata; a release date near a rise in the charts above is context, not proof of a cause.
What the data says about The Housemaid
- Moderate swings. Monthly shelf adds averaged 76 with some ups and downs.
- Busiest and quietest months. October 2025 was its busiest month (136 adds), about 4.2 times its quietest, August 2026 (32).
- Against its genre. It had 23% more shelf adds than the average Thriller and mystery book on this list.
- Share of the list. It accounts for 0.9% of all shelf adds recorded for the Top 100 over these 12 months, #38 of 100.
- Its age. First published in 2022 (4 years ago), it is older than 4% of the books on the list.
Each finding is computed from the public data above and shown only when the numbers support it.
The Housemaid on the Top 100: rank history
First charted in September 2026. The chart gains a point with every monthly update, so its peak, climbs and falls will show here as they happen.
| Month | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | #96 | 48 |
Is The Housemaid rising or falling?
Cooling It ranks lower this week than over the past year, so interest is softening from its recent level.
On Open Library, The Housemaid ranks #43 this week, #59 this month, and #46 over the past year. A longer bar means a higher position. Comparing the three windows shows whether readers are arriving faster than the book's long-term pace. Readings as of 2026-09-30.
Why The Housemaid made the Top 100
The Housemaid made the list mainly on momentum (+28.2 points) and staying power (+10.7 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+0). The BookWard Score blends five public signals, each scored from 0 to 100 and weighted as shown.
The reading-now, rating and rank signals come from Open Library’s public data, not from BookWard’s own readers. The score measures reading interest, not quality or sales. How the score works.
Open Library reader stats for The Housemaid
Source: Open Library public reading logs, as of 2026-09-30. BookWard’s own monthly snapshots are added to the picture, and anonymous BookWard reader data will be layered in as the community grows.
More readers have The Housemaid open right now than 6% of the other books on this list. These counts come from one public source, so they show relative interest rather than total readership.
Where it sits among Thriller and mystery books
It is #5 of the 5 Thriller and mystery books on this month’s list.
About The Housemaid
A woman with a shady past takes a housekeeping job for a wealthy couple and finds that nothing in the house is what it seems. Twisty, quick, and addictive.
Why it’s here: It is the beach-read thriller of its moment, and readers speed through it.
Best for: Thriller fans who love twists
At a glance
- First published
- 2022
- Genre
- Thriller and mystery
- Also described as
- thriller, psychological fiction, domestic fiction
- Series
- Housemaid series, book 1
- Length
- about 336 pages (the median across its editions)
- Original language
- English
- Languages
- editions in 6 languages listed on Open Library
- Editions
- 17 on Open Library
- Setting
- Long Island
- Characters listed
- Nina Winchester, Andrew Winchester, Wilhelmina "Millie" Calloway, Cecilia, Enzo Accardi
From Open Library and Wikidata public records. Missing rows mean the records do not list that fact.
Themes
- Secrets
- Danger at home
- Class
What reading it is like
A fast, twisty domestic thriller.
At about 336 pages it is a longer read: roughly 7 hours at an average reading pace (about 250 words a minute, 300 words a page). Audiobook and edition lengths vary.
Good to know
First of a series. Includes abuse.
The premise
Millie, desperate for a fresh start, takes a live-in job with a wealthy couple, and soon finds that the home is far more unsettling than it seems.
What you’ll get
- A twisty thriller
- Fast chapters
- A big reveal
You might skip it if you dislike domestic-abuse themes.
Pairs well with: The Silent Patient
Keep exploring the chart
Also on the chart at #95 and #97
Questions about The Housemaid
What rank is The Housemaid on the Top 100 books?
The Housemaid is #96 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 48 out of 100.
Is The Housemaid rising or falling?
Cooling. It ranks lower this week than over the past year, so interest is softening from its recent level. On Open Library, The Housemaid ranks #43 this week, #59 this month, and #46 over the past year.
Why is The Housemaid on the Top 100?
The Housemaid made the list mainly on momentum (+28.2 points) and staying power (+10.7 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+0).
How many people are reading The Housemaid right now?
Open Library's reading logs show 106 readers currently reading The Housemaid, 1,977 who want to read it and 90 who have logged it as read (as of 2026-09-30). These are counts from one public source, not all readers.
How much interest has The Housemaid had over the past year?
908 Open Library shelf adds in the past 12 months (peak October 2025, 136); latest three months down 30% on the prior three; 2,214,137 Wikipedia views in the past 12 months (down 50% over the latest three months); Adaptations on Wikidata: The Housemaid (2025). Figures come from Open Library and Wikipedia public data.
Who is The Housemaid best for?
Thriller fans who love twists.
Ask a question about The Housemaid
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How we know
This page is built from public data: Open Library’s dated reading-log and ratings dumps, Wikipedia page views, Wikidata, and BookWard’s own monthly Top 100 snapshots. The interest rank blends shelf adds (45%), Wikipedia page views (30%), rating activity (10%) and, for months where a snapshot exists, BookWard’s own score (15%), each as a percentile among the Top 100 books. Every month shown is real data; nothing is estimated. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Last updated September 2026. Read the full methodology.
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