"The Cleaning Woman," "The Teacher," "The Psych"... Why are Freida McFadden's novels, which you might devour during your vacation, such a hit in bookstores?

Her eye through a keyhole peers at you on the bookstore shelves. The Cleaning Woman, a thriller by American writer Freida McFadden , has become the best-selling book in France in 2024 and is now approaching two million copies sold, according to its publisher. The novel has since had three sequels ( The Secrets of the Cleaning Woman , The Cleaning Woman Sees Everything and The Cleaning Woman Gets Married ) and will be adapted for the screen in December with actress Sydney Sweeney in the title role.

The discreet novelist, who has topped the bestseller lists in eight countries, as Le Monde points out, has become a global phenomenon in popular literature. Advertisements for her latest work, The Teacher, published in the spring, are displayed in the corridors of train stations and metros, "clearly targeting departing travelers," writes Libération . Perhaps you yourself have slipped her books into your suitcase for the holidays. But what is the 45-year-old author's recipe for captivating millions of readers? Franceinfo tried to uncover her secrets.

A slew of twists and turns

In The Housekeeper , we follow Millie, a young ex-convict, who becomes a governess for a wealthy New York family. Her boss, Nina Winchester, a bourgeois woman with an unpleasant character, is rumored to have tried to drown her own daughter. What could her husband, the "handsome" Andrew, with his charming smile, see in her? From the small attic bedroom of the house, the housekeeper will investigate this family and discover that "danger sometimes lurks under deceptive appearances," warns the back cover.

With Freida McFadden, "the bad guys are the good guys and the good guys are the bad guys," summarizes Le Nouvel Obs . "The formula may be systematic, but it works," the magazine acknowledges. The novelist masters the art of endings that seem to captivate her readers every time. "She always manages to fool us," assures Virginie, who reviews the author's books on her TikTok and Instagram accounts under the name Beeonmyshelf.

"At first, we think we understand where she's taking us, but her specialty is adding a piece of information in the epilogue that changes everything."

Virginie, book reviewer on TikTok

to franceinfo

Freida McFadden maintains the suspense throughout the book. Each chapter ends with a twist, arousing a "slightly morbid curiosity" that makes reading addictive, another fan tells France Inter . "I felt from the beginning that there was something gripping. I was glued to it, I finished it that same evening," confirms Frédéric Thibaud, director of City Editions, which publishes the American's novels in France, to franceinfo. "It's as fine as Stabilo," tackles on its side Libération . But it is clear that it is devoured like fast food, in the first or second degree."

Domestic thrillers and female heroines

Freida McFadden's world is made up of closed doors, creaky parquet floors, and "characters who could be ordinary people," explains Frédéric Thibaud. The writer has established herself as the queen of the domestic and psychological thriller. "We're not in the classic codes of the detective story: it's never a cop or an investigator who solves the mysteries," according to her French publisher.

"The cleaning lady saves women who are being attacked and I liked this feminist aspect," says Sylvie D., 67, who devoured the saga. Freida McFadden's heroines are often women from modest backgrounds "who turn out to be very strong at the end of the book," continues Frédéric Thibaud. "They exert a kind of revenge, a social revenge, on the male characters, and that's something that's also very appealing." The Teacher, for example, is both a criminal intrigue within a high school and a story of control within a couple.

"I wanted these two books to be stories of girl power, where women triumph over a man who has power over them," the novelist confides about The Housekeeper and The Teacher . "I like this kind of story, and I try to support other women as much as possible, so, in that sense, I am probably a feminist," she proclaims in Le Parisien .

Accessible writing that converts neophytes

With her short sentences and chapters, Freida McFadden manages to convert a new audience, usually distant from reading. And this is certainly her greatest feat. "Due to a lack of training" and "lack of concentration," Sylvie D. read "very little" before discovering The Housekeeper "last winter. " However, "in three or four days," she devoured the 368 pages. "It's so easy to read that you think you could write it yourself," the sixty-year-old says with satisfaction.

"Some will tell you that it is not great literature, but at least it gave me a taste for reading."

Sylvie D., reader of Freida McFadden

to franceinfo

Virginie also praises the first-person writing and the length of the novels , "which doesn't discourage too much." "I've always read a little on vacation, but since I came across The Cleaning Woman , I've really gotten into it," adds the 28-year-old TikToker, who now devours an average of three books a week.

Bookstores flooded with new releases

In 2013, Freida McFadden self-published her first book, The Devil Wears Scrubs , inspired by her memories as a medical student. Since then, the writer has been discovered by a publishing house and has published around twenty other novels.

In France, six were translated and published by City Editions between January 2023 and April 2025. Three of them are also available from J'ai Lu, in paperback ( La Femme de ménage , Les Secrets de la femme de ménage and La Psy ). Two new releases are expected: Le Boyfriend , which will be published in October, and The Tenant , scheduled for February 2026, City Editions announces.

The French publishing house makes no secret of it: Freida McFadden's writing pace is "an asset." "There's a real appetite for new things among her readers," Frédéric Thibaud rejoices. "Once again, it's the addictive side that's at play ," he judges. " They quickly seek out Freida McFadden's world again after reading one of her books."

But how does the author manage to be so prolific? "Some suspect she uses artificial intelligence," reports Virginie. These suspicions are dismissed by Frédéric Thibaud: "Freida McFadden doesn't use it." "You'll never be able to achieve this finesse and subtlety in the characters with AI," he argues.

Word of mouth on social media

Freida McFadden owes her success to social media. During her first eight years of self-publishing, the author relied on fan promotion on BookTok , the Chinese social media's sub-community for literature lovers. Since signing with a publishing house in 2021, her career has taken off, and her fan base has continued to grow. Today, her books are commented on by thousands of people on TikTok .

For "four months," Virginie has made the writer "the center of [her] content" on TikTok. In the meantime, her account has grown from 4,000 followers to 18,000. On Instagram , her video listing recommendations for fans of The Cleaning Woman has generated more than a million views. The young woman also reviews other authors in similar literary genres, but "none generate the same interest as Freida McFadden" on social media, she assures.

A writer who cultivates mystery about her life

Freida McFadden goes by a pen name and reveals little about herself. All we know is that the American lives "with her family and cat in a century-old, three-story house overlooking the ocean, with stairs that creak and groan with every step, so no one can hear you if you scream ," her website says. "Unless you scream very loudly."

The forty-year-old is a brain injury doctor who lives in the Boston area. She still practices "one day a week" to avoid "losing" her touch and keeping "the option" of returning full-time one day, she told Le Parisien in an email interview. The New York Times, for its part, had to settle for a phone conversation. Freida McFadden gives almost no interviews and doesn't attend any book signings due to her "social anxiety." In her rare photos, she wears a wig to preserve her anonymity.

"I've always been very shy, and I've always considered writing a solitary activity," she explains to Le Parisien . "Using a pseudonym allows me, for example, to be less affected by criticism, since it's not 'me' who is criticized," she explains. The writer wants to be as mysterious as her literary universe.