Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of sexual content, physical abuse, emotional abuse, death, and graphic violence.

Freida McFadden is a bestselling American author of over 25 suspense and thriller novels. McFadden is her pen name. She initially self-published her work but gained popularity with the publication of her #1 New York Times bestseller The Housemaid (2022), as well as its sequels, The Housemaid’s Secret (2023) and The Housemaid is Watching (2024).

One component of McFadden’s novels is her strong female protagonists. Most of her primary characters are women—both her protagonists and her antagonists. In this way, she often subverts the typical murder mystery genre, which primarily male villains dominate. For example, the star of her Housemaid series is Millie Calloway, a housemaid who dedicates her life to helping physically abused women find a way out of their marriages. Similarly, in Want to Know a Secret?, the novel centers on strong female characters. Even though most of the men are disloyal and cheat on their spouses—including Keith and Elliot—the women do not allow the men to control or manipulate them. Instead, April acknowledges Elliot’s infidelity but chooses to stay with him, preferring her social status and financial security provided by their marriage. Similarly, Julie is unbothered when she discovers that Keith is cheating on her, remaining in her marriage only as long as it is convenient for her and then dismissing him and kicking him out of her home to pursue her career.

Another element that is prevalent throughout McFadden’s work is her use of a shifting first-person narration. This technique allows her to explore the psyche of several different characters, focusing on the psychological impact of the events of the novel on her characters—rather than the events themselves. The shifting perspective also allows her to hide secrets about her characters, presenting multiple views of the same events to build suspense and offer a surprise ending. For example, in her novel Never Lie (2022), McFadden explores two different timelines through the perspectives of Tricia and Adrienne. The shifting narration explores the present, where Tricia and her husband are stranded in a home during a snowstorm, and the past, where Adrienne is murdered—revealing dark secrets about all their lives. Similarly, McFadden’s The Perfect Son (2019) alternates between the perspectives of Erika and Olivia, exploring the relationship Olivia has with Erika’s son, Liam. McFadden uses the first-person point of view to obscure the identity of the novel’s killer, setting up false expectations that Liam is responsible and building suspense around Olivia’s safety when she is with him.

In Want to Know a Secret?, McFadden uses a similar technique through her shifting point of view between April and Julie. For much of the novel, the reader thinks that April is innocent, with someone stalking her and trying to ruin her life. McFadden leads the reader to agree with April, who becomes convinced that Maria is responsible for what is happening to her. However, after the point of view shifts to Julie, McFadden revisits the same events from a new perspective. The reader realizes that April is an unreliable narrator and the novel’s antagonist. After building suspense around April’s safety, the novel reveals who April truly is beneath her façade.