After a reasonably strong start, Freida McFadden lost me along the way. I was largely entertained by this psychological thriller but struggled to find any characters someone could relate to, even Millie, the principal protagonist (until a second act perspective shift).

The story is mainly about Millie, a young woman with a criminal past, who grasps at anything to keep her new live-in housekeeper job, even after finding out her primary employer, Nina, suffers from mental health conditions (and has no problem taking her issues out on the hired help). Nina's daughter isn't much better — a rude little pest who could use a timeout.

From the start, some of the micro-aggressions and abuses don't make a lot of sense, let alone Millie's willingness to grin and take it. But, they are interesting enough to enjoy the ride for a while, right up until McFadden changes the point of view, leaving Millie behind in favor of her employer, Nina, because it's Nina who knows precisely what is going on (even if Millie's inability to figure out it is what keep us going to begin with).

The revelation in the second act brings everything into focus but not necessarily in any enjoyable way. It's mostly a rehash of everything that went on before Millie arrived and after, but this time from the one person with all the answers. The epiphanies can feel a bit forced, although we never really find out why the daughter is a brat despite an attempt to have us forgive her past transgressions because of what Nina knows. Yeah, I'm not buying. The kid is a brat because she wasn't privy to her mother's plans. 

Still, there is something likable about a page-turning story, even one that never reaches its true potential. Many people rave about act three and the foreshadow it ends on. But mostly, it made everybody a little less human.