I just read The Housewife by Natalie Barelli, a psychological thriller, about a woman who deep cleans constantly and cooks like Julia Child to cover up her dark past. If keeping a secret requires keeping a spotless house and creating creme brulee at a moment’s notice, I’d rather just be totally honest at all times. While I wouldn’t hang out with the main character, Jodie, for a single second, this fast-paced thriller gave me Freida McFadden vibes, and you just know that secrets and blood are going to hit the fan.
Rating: 🧹🧹🧹🔪 (3 brooms and a knife)
To read a summary of the book!
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Pages: 368
Published on: June 30, 2026
Vibe Scorecard:
Pacing 📈⚡ Fast and addictive. It gives major Freida McFadden energy.
Main Character Likability 🛑☕ A big nope. I would not hang out with Jodie in real life.
Jodie’s Cleaning Level 🧼✨ Terrifyingly spotless and clinical.
My Housekeeping Level 🌪️🤷♀️ The literal opposite. It’s a good thing my hubby likes it, though.
From the publisher: From bestselling indie thriller writer Natalie Barelli comes a new deliciously dark novel about a woman who married the man of her dreams, only for him to become her worst nightmare.
My Thoughts on The Housewife:
The Characters:
I didn’t like a single character in this book, however, I couldn’t help but to still root for Jodie. With her internal dialogue and strange way of working things out in her mind, I was fascinated by her throughout the book. While I wouldn’t hang out with Jodie in real life, her social awkwardness and intense perfectionism didn’t actually feel entirely alien to me. As a teacher, her need for absolute control over her environment instantly reminded me of many gifted kids who have sat in my classroom over the years. What I CAN relate to is her need to avenge her sister’s killer. No one messes with any of my sisters!
Jodie’s husband, Dr. Roy Davies, and the housemaid, Marie, were a little predictable. They reminded me of some other popular books, but I still wanted to find out how they tied in to the whole story.
Wait, there were two characters that I really enjoyed, but they were so minor. Dolores? The housekeeper next store? And her son, Mikey, who is deaf? I would totally hang out with them. You just knew they both had a good heart.
Pacing:
Thank you, Natalie Barelli, for the short chapters. In my opinion, shorter chapters in psychological thrillers are required. They make the book move much more quickly, even though I keep saying I will only read one more chapter. The ending was a little redundant when it was explaining things and how everything was connected, but I still enjoyed it.
The Audio:
I read half of the book, and I listened to half of the book. The narrator, Karissa Vacker, is excellent. I listened to it at normal speed, and her voice and inflection throughout the story is spot-on. I’m so glad I was able to listen to Jodie’s internal dialogue through the audio version. It made me laugh each time. I especially loved knowing that Jodie kept saying Marie’s name (the housekeeper) as “Mary,” instead of “Marie,” just to make her angry. In the book, it’s still written as “Marie,” so it’s a little confusing.
Vacker’s high-energy performance made it almost more enjoyable to listen to than to read the book. She definitely added to the dark humor.
My Rating:
Ultimately, I gave The Housewife a solid 3.5 stars. The plot was incredibly intriguing and kept me hooked, even if the final twists felt a bit predictable. While I wished I had liked more of the characters, I suppose that’s the tax you pay with a high-society thriller. I’m not one to want to grab a coffee with snobby people anyway! The pacing of the book is actually what made it for me.
Where to Buy The Housewife and More:
Purchase The Housewife by Natalie Barelli here!
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What to Read Next!
If you enjoyed The Housewife by Natalie Barelli, I would add these three incredible psychological thrillers to your TBR list next:
- The Marriage Rules by Samantha Hayes | Buy on Amazon
- Read my full review here
- Why it’s similar: In The Housewife, Jodie uses the literal, rigid rules of domestic perfection—flawless cleaning, mechanical baking, and absolute order—to cope, survive, and camouflage her hidden dark past. In The Marriage Rules, Jason enforces an actual list of literal, extreme house rules to control Fiona and his daughters (everyone in bed by 8:00 PM, no social media, locks on every door, and zero talking about the past).
- Lies He Told Me by James Patterson & David Ellis | Buy on Amazon
- Read my full review here
- Why it’s similar: Both plots hinge entirely on a historical trauma or crime that breaks into the present day. Neither Jodie nor David can escape what happened years ago. The central question for the reader in both books becomes: How well do you actually know the person you married, and what lengths will you go to when the truth finally comes out?
- Dear Debbie by Freida McFadden | Buy on Amazon
- Read my full review here
- Why it’s similar: In The Housewife, everyone underestimates Jodie because she seems like a quirky, submissive housewife obsessed with cleaning. In Dear Debbie, the main character, Debbie Mullen, has an actual IQ of 178. Her neighbors and book club think she’s just an ordinary New England housewife who isn’t sophisticated enough to understand literature, but she is secretly the smartest person in every room she enters.
Disclosure: Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, Poisoned Pen Press, and Natalie Barelli for my free copy of this book. This is my honest opinion.
To read more about Natalie Barelli.
Let’s Chat!
Do you need to actually like the characters in a thriller to enjoy the book, or do you love a high-society setting where everyone is a little bit toxic? Who is your favorite “unlikable” main character that you couldn’t help but root for anyway?
