The Tradwife’s Secret by Liane Child
Social media influencer and ‘tradwife’ Madison March has the perfect, conventional lifestyle. She spends her days in domestic bliss, cooking, and playing with her children until husband Michael comes home for dinner from working in their homestead ready to join into the perfect family life. Madison posts their idyllic lifestyle on Instagram. Except, that veneer of perfection is completely false and nothing is as it seems.
The Tradwife’s Secret: book review & synopsis
The Tradwife’s Secret simmers with tension from the very first page because there’s instantly a feeling that, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. The menacing control illustrated by Jonah over Brianna, by Michael over Madison and by Madison over her social media content, seeps from the page into the reader’s psyche so that they feel unsettled, mesmerised and slightly terrified throughout. It’s such clever writing. As that level of control begins to increase and, also, begins to unravel, it makes for a whirlwind of a narrative that engages and surprises.
The plot is excellent, albeit very tricky to review without revealing too much. Told mainly through the perspectives of Madison, Brianna and Cally it snakes along at a breathtaking pace towards an ending that is heart-thumpingly exciting and satisfying. This truly is a book that retains the reader’s attention completely.
The characters are striking and lifelike. Each person is flawed, believable and realistic. When Madison’s secret is finally revealed, it stops the reader in their tracks. What I found so disturbing is the way the most heinous of their actions can be justified by the characters in ways that feel both wrong and understandable.
The Tradwife’s Secret tackles some serious topics
The Tradwife’s Secret is so completely compelling because of the disturbing picture Liane Child paints of those with extreme views. Traditional binary roles of males and females, wives and husbands are presented alongside the terrifying reality of preppers like Michael so convincingly that it’s very unnerving to read about them.
With themes of coercive control, family, motherhood, atonement, and the role of social media in everyday life, this is a fantastic story. It’s also a cautionary tale that shows just why we shouldn’t immediately believe what we see in the media.
The Tradwife’s Secret is exceptionally good. If you’re looking for excitement, realism and the very best entertainment, with added social awareness, this is the book to read. It is gripping from start to finish. I thought it was superb.
The Tradwife’s Secret by Liane Child is out now (from HQ in paperback £9.99) and available from Amazon.
Read more fiction reviews by Linda Hill including Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney, A Skye Full of Stars by Sue Moorcroft, Foster’s Mill by Val Wood, All I Want For Christmas by Karen Swan, City of Silk by Glennis Virgo, Things We Lose In Waves by Lucy Ayrton and Beautiful People by Amanda Jennings.
