October has a way of making murder feel almost romantic. Longer nights, colder air, and terrible things happening behind the windows of seemingly perfect homes. Except this time, our nightmare begins in a nightclub.
Sipping my iced Diet Coke, as per usual, I can’t help thinking how exhausting it is to be a woman. I’d love to believe there was a time when women were feared, worshipped, and treated like goddesses. Then again, men were literally burning them for being inconvenient. So much for the good old days.
Filthy rich. Devastatingly handsome. Possibly a monster.
When Natalie’s best friend, Cara, ends up in a coma after a night with a mysterious stranger, the trail leads straight to Geoffrey, a powerful millionaire with a spotless reputation. Natalie decides to investigate by becoming a housekeeper in his luxurious mansion. Naturally, there’s a missing maid, sinister rules, and enough red flags to decorate the entire property. She came looking for answers. She might have walked straight into a nightmare.
Now, nothing against Freida McFadden, but GOD, am I tired of the housekeeper trope. I had no idea this book was going there, and considering I’d just DNF’d Please Enjoy Your Stay because of yet another nanny situation, my patience was already hanging by a thread. But I love Iliana Xander, so here we are. The things we do for our favorite authors.
At first, things seemed promising. Natalie befriends Nick, who helps her get hired at Geoffrey’s mansion, while the other employees act like she’s voluntarily signed up for her own funeral. Julien and Rosalie clearly know something about the previous housekeeper, and when Geoffrey starts showing interest in Natalie, everyone loses their minds. And frankly? So did I.
The dynamics annoyed me, the endless crypto nonsense bored me to death, and Geoffrey’s big twist made me want to throw my Kindle across the room. I came for a fast-paced, deliciously twisted thriller. Instead, the pacing dragged, the characters irritated me, and the ending was the final nail in the coffin. The killer getting away? Absolutely not. And Luke? Don’t even get me started. Turns out the biggest mystery wasn’t who the monster was. It was why I kept reading.
Leave a Reply