The Housekeeper: A twisted psychological thriller

Revenge is best served cold. Claire sets out to get Hannah and follows her for a bit and snaring the housekeeper job for the family. Hannah is your rich wife, and the mother to the baby Mia. When she finds a diary, her game plan changes. A well planned story that flows, setting you up for shocking end. An enjoyable read!

Overall, I really liked the book. The characters are unlikeable at first, but they grew on me throughout the story. The suspense of the plot kept me wanting to read more, and there were some intriguing twists. I thought the ending was a little bit rushed and disappointing. It was too sudden a change in characterization too quickly. Though, I still enjoyed reading it and would recommend it.

This book surprised me in many ways, but I like surprises! The main character is such a mess, and it's hard to decide if you should feel sorry for her or just dislike her...and then everything starts to change in very unexpected ways. I liked the humorous way it was written and the unexpected plot twists. A fun read!

2/5 for the plot but 4/5 for the suspense. Overall the main character (housekeeper) acts like a pre-teen with her plans. And her only 'friends' around her not only listen to her idiotic reasoning behind her actions but enable her.However, I suspended my disbelief for light night reading and was enjoying the twist and seeing how it would play out until about 65% through the book the editor must have quit/fallen asleep because I started to notice typos and missed sentences. Then, when we get to the action-packed finale all of a sudden whole pages seemed to be missing. In the middle of the final chapter the scene jumped around like crazy and was hard to follow - I had to re read multiple times. I think with better editing/story telling this could have easily have been improved so it's a shame no one sat with it to make it a keeper. Hopefully the author learns from her mistakes and the next one has a plot to match the suspenseSPOILERS BELOW- She asks her hook up/guy she doesn't know to take embarrassing photos of a 'friend' at a gala when he has plans and he does??- This same amazing guy who volunteers and turned his life around is also willing to drink too much, where a strangers clothes and play a weird role playing game?- April - a very kind/considerate/normal person - doesn't disagree with Claire's weird plan to take seduce a married man for blackmail?- They agree she has to go back to the house where she might be in danger.. why? why not go to the police or social services to protect mia? instead they were worried claire might be framed but she would have had an alibi

I would have given this very compelling, suspenseful novel five stars if not for the ending and what is in effect an epilogue after it. I worried that the author had “bitten off more than she could chew” and would not be able to “stick the landing” and that was what happened.An overused literary trope was the fulcrum to explain this riddle of a story and tie up the loose ends. After this trope was used, the story went from being a thrilling and unpredictable read with lots of twists and turns (80% to 90% of the story) to one that was rushed, implausible, yet as predictable as a stone rolling down a hill.Still worth a read for the clever set-up, interesting characters (except for the boyfriend who was not believable at all nor was the protagonist's relationship with him, for that matter), and intriguing “keep you guessing” plot.The first-person POV was perfect. I questioned the narrator’s reliability from the word go. Kept me off- balance, which was good.

I just loved this novel! The writing was on point. The main characters were so realistic, I felt as if they were living, breathing people. The character of Claire Peterson was the m.c. I thought she was a horrible person! Full of hatred, bitterness & resentment, she destroyed her life after her parents died. She was a liar, thief & manipulator. She was 24 years old & had no goals or ambition. She lied & stole her way through her life. Until she found & began to stalk Hannah Carter FKA Hannah Wilson. Hannah had destroyed her life when Claire was 14 years old, & she was going to make Hannah pay.This book was a page-turner! The ending was a surprising & shocking twist. At 87% of the novel, I began to have a bit more sympathy for Claire. I also saw, beneath Claire’s unlikeable personality, a veneer of love & courage. By the end of the novel, Claire, with the help of some good friends, had began to reinvent herself.This is the first book I've read by Natalie Barelli, & I plan on reading more of her novels in my TBR collection.For those readers who enjoy & suspense & psychological thrillers, this book is a worthwhile read. The author has constructed a remarkable & realistic novel.

This is a quick read and an easy one, but highly entertaining. Despite how messed up the main character is, you get sucked into her life. Claire had it all when she was young. A happy home life, rich parents, tennis lessons, pony rides. Then Hannah waltzed into her world as a nanny for her younger brother and her life took a nosedive. I’d say more about why, but that’s part of the story, and I don’t want to spoil anything.Fast forward ten years and Hannah is now married to a wealthy doctor, living the high life in a beautiful house. She’s in need of a housekeeper who will also help care for her infant daughter from time to time. Through a series of pretty “out there” circumstances, Claire changes her appearance, assumes another identity, and lands the job. She’s there to upend Hannah’s life and exact revenge.This is a juicy read which alternates for the reader between disliking Claire and cheering for her. Written in first person POV, there is plenty of snarky asides sprinkled throughout as well as a steady build of suspense and tension. There aren’t many characters to keep track of, but all play an integral part in the story, and the ending is well worth the ride. This is my second book by Natalie Barelli, but I like her work so much, I’ve already picked up another two for my Kindle.

The book is not so good but not so bad either, the ending is a little disappointing. It is ok!

Not my usual kind of book, but this was a real page turner. The characters were well rounded and thought out, the plot was clever and was written in an easy to read style. There were some good twists thrown in along the way to keep it interesting. I will read more from this author

This was such a good read, I read so many thrillers but this really stands out to me. Brilliantly written, witty, I usually try to figure out the ending but this took me by surprise.I would definitely recommend this book!

Easy read. Enjoyed from beginning to end. Lots of twists. Loved the characters. Looking forward to reading more of her books!

There definitely is ebb & flow during the latter part of the story. It'd have helped to dwell more on Harvey's character. Otherwise, its a good read, especially when the author writes bout Claire's character.