Liz's Reviews > The Housekeeper

3.5 stars, rounded down
The Housekeeper is a slow burn psychological thriller. Jodi may be the younger daughter, but she’s the responsible one. Her aging parents’ care falls more and more to her, so she finally hires a housekeeper to help look after them. At first, Elyse seems perfect. She manages to charm Jodi’s. cranky father and she’s the perfect caregiver for her mother with Parkinson's.
The book is written looking back in time. As Jodi “speaks” to the reader, she makes comments like - looking back, I should have seen or this should have given me a clue. So, from the very beginning, we know things won’t end well.
Jodi was meant to be a sympathetic character. She basically supports her jerk of a husband, still trying to finish his second novel after ten years. If women marry men like their fathers, she’s done just that. Because her father is equally hard to please, doting on Jodi’s older sister who has never found a way to support herself. I wanted to see Jodi grow a pair and walk out on the lot of them, instead of constantly apologizing and trying harder to please. Flip side, her sister has the best line in the whole book when asked what she would do about a particular situation.
The story isn’t entirely believable. (view spoiler)[ at least in the states, elder abuse is a huge deal. I can’t believe the police would not have investigated the difference in theft claims made between daughter and father/housekeeper. (hide spoiler)].
The story also isn’t original, in fact it was very predictable. I enjoyed seeing how many of the supposed big twists I could guess before they occurred. The answer was every one of them. That said, the book is entertaining in a mindless sort of way.
My thanks to Netgalley and Random House/Ballantine Books for an advance copy of this book.