In a Q&A tacked onto the end of Freida McFadden’s bestselling thriller, The Housemaid (2022), the author notes how hard it is to surprise today’s readers, because “everything has already been done. You have to step out of the box of ‘The suspects were A, B, C, D, and A is the killer.’…It has to be E is the killer because he is actually B, and was the victim’s mother and his daughter, and also was dead the whole time.” The Housemaid starts off with a straightforward premise—a young woman gets a job as a live-in housekeeper for a wealthy family with dangerous secrets—but McFadden livens it up numerous twists that even seasoned genre fans are unlikely to see coming. This carries over to a very entertaining movie adaptation, directed by Paul Feig and starring Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried, and Brandon Sklenar. It hits theaters on Dec. 19.

The novel starts with a brief prologue in which police question an anxious, unnamed narrator about “the dead body in the attic upstairs,” tipping off readers that 20-something Millie Calloway’s new housemaid job will be an eventful gig, to say the least. The narrative then jumps back three months to Millie’s initial interview with wealthy Nina Winchester, who’s looking for a housekeeper and cook, as well as an occasional caregiver for her young daughter, Cecelia. Millie doesn’t mention that nearly everything on her resume is a lie. In reality, she’s an ex-convict on parole, quietly hoping that prospective employers won’t run background checks. She’s desperate for work, living in her car, and barely scraping by—and she’s frankly shocked when Nina offers her a live-in position at the family’s sprawling home on Long Island.

However, it’s soon revealed that Nina’s husband, Andrew, a handsome and charming tech-company owner, was unaware that his wife was hiring new help. Before long, Millie finds that Nina may not be as cheerful—or as stable—as she initially appears; her mood swings are so severe and her orders so capricious that the new housemaid soon wonders what she’s gotten herself into. Against her better judgment, Millie develop a crush on Andrew,—and he seems to return her feelings.

Needless to say, not all is as it seems, and McFadden is a master at confounding readers’ expectations. It initially appears that the story is embracing the problematic notion that mentally ill people are inherently scary and violent—but it doesn’t go there at all. Neither does it misguidedly paint ex-convicts as impulsive and irresponsible, as so many works of fiction do. It’s a melodramatic story—one pivotal conversation, for instance, takes place during a wild thunderstorm, for no other reason than that it makes for a lively backdrop—but a consistently enjoyable one. The author keeps the action moving at a brisk pace, but she thoughtfully addresses serious topics along the way, touching on issues of class, trauma, and abuse with notable insight. It’s a lively and satisfying read—and a prime candidate for a movie adaptation.

Feig is a fine choice of director, as he knows his way around clever, twisty thrillers; he helmed 2018’s A Simple Favor (and its 2025 sequel, Another Simple Favor), which are known for their sly reveals. He and screenwriter Rebecca Sonnenshine wisely deliver a very faithful adaptation, and it’s one that makes great use of its talented cast. Sweeney ably portrays Millie as a relatable Everywoman but also someone  unafraid to do whatever it takes to survive, while Seyfried skillfully plays the complex, shifting character of Nina through all the story’s complications. Viewers who saw Sklenar as the nice-guy love interest in 2024’s It Ends With Us will appreciate his depiction of Andrew, which mines similar material but unearths a very different character. (Big’s Elizabeth Perkins is also a standout in the brief but memorable role of Andrew’s troubling mother.) It’s a somewhat lengthy film for a thriller—more than two hours—but it goes by at a fast clip, just as the novel does, and it’s certainly never boring.

It ends with the book’s satisfying sequel hook, which calls to mind the premise of the underseen but unforgettable 2019 movie A Vigilante. Viewers will likely seek out McFadden’s own sequels, The Housemaid’s Secret (2023) and The Housemaid Is Watching (2024), but a few more adaptations of this caliber would be a welcome twist.

David Rapp is the senior Indie editor.