Borrowed in Brooklyn

BPL · Book · 2024

The housemaid is watching

Freida McFadden

"You must be our new neighbors!" Mrs. Lowell gushes and waves across the picket fence. I clutch my daughter's hand and smile back: but the second Mrs. Lowell sees my husband a strange expression crosses her face. In that moment I make a promise. We finally have a family home. My past is far, far behind us. And I'll do anything to keep it that way... I used to clean other people's houses - now, I can't believe this home is actually mine. The charming kitchen, the quiet cul-de-sac, the huge yard where my kids can play. My husband and I saved for years to give our children the life they deserve. Even though I'm wary of our new neighbor Mrs. Lowell, when she invites us over for dinner it's our chance to make friends. Her maid opens the door wearing a white apron, her hair in a tight bun. I know exactly what it's like to be in her shoes. But her cold stare gives me chills... The Lowells' maid isn't the only strange thing on our street. I'm sure I see a shadowy figure watching us. My husband leaves the house late at night. And when I meet a woman who lives across the way, her words chill me to the bone: Be careful of your neighbors. Did I make a terrible mistake moving my family here? I thought I'd left my darkest secrets behind. But could this quiet suburban street be the most dangerous place of all?"--

Demand pressureDemand pressure: composite score across the 12 tracked branches — rewards low availability, branches all out, recent drops, and (when exposed) public hold counts. Higher = harder to get borough-wide.
558
Available
4/18
Branches all out
6/9
Public holdsPublic holds: BPL exposes 'people waiting' at the bib (record) level — one number per work for the entire 60+ branch BPL system, NOT just the 12 tracked branches. We capture the number when it's there. 'Not exposed' means BPL didn't expose it on this scrape — we never substitute zero for missing data.
not exposed
Public holds: not exposedPublic holds: BPL exposes 'people waiting' at the bib (record) level — one number per work for the entire 60+ branch BPL system, NOT just the 12 tracked branches. We capture the number when it's there. 'Not exposed' means BPL didn't expose it on this scrape — we never substitute zero for missing data.

ISBN 9781464221132

NYT Bestseller

Trade Paperback Fiction

Last appeared Feb 21, 2026
Weeks on list
13 weeks
Peak rank
#6
reached Dec 20, 2025
Last rank
#12
Feb 21, 2026

Also appeared on

Combined Print & E-Book Fiction· 2w · #15

Source: NYT Best Sellers. List membership is national, not Brooklyn-specific.

Current availability across the 12 tracked branches

BranchAvailableTotalHolds
Bushwick010
Coney Island022
Flatbush010
Kings Highway041
Sunset Park010
Williamsburgh021
Brooklyn Heights130
Greenpoint110
Bay Ridge230
How we measure popularity →

7-day movement

06-1806-1906-2006-2106-2206-2306-24

Recent movement