The Tradwife’s Secret by Liane Child tells the story of Madison March who has a perfect life in front of the camera. I admit I had to look up the term and didn’t realize it was a thing. Madison is a traditional wife but has a huge following on social media. A bit hypocritical?? The book takes us behind the scenes of this family and their lives.

The characters are interesting. Each with a different purpose for the story. The new tutor Callie and Lori who is Madison’s best friend and Rose the ex-wife. The secret is a big one and it kept me reading. Very descriptive writing so I felt like a was in Montana.

Thank you to NetGalley and Edelweiss for sending me the ARC.

a truly wonderful read! Who is Madison March really? This unpredictable entertaining page turner will keep you wondering until the very end! A haunting story filled with interesting complex characters. A must read!

The Tradwife’s Secret, a gripping psychological thriller, explores the world of social media influencers who promote traditional gender roles in marriage. The story centers around Madison March, a woman who appears to lead a perfect life on her Montana homestead, sharing idyllic moments with her family. However, beneath the surface, her life is far from perfect, and the book unravels the secrets she hides from her millions of followers.

The book has a gripping narrative and unexpected twists. It really kept me engaged throughout the whole story. I was on the edge of my seat!

For those interested in exploring the complexities of influencer culture and the secrets that lie beneath seemingly perfect lives, The Tradwife’s Secret offers a wonderful read!

Thank you NetGalley, Harper 360 and Liane for the eARC!

Rating: ✨✨✨✨
Publication Date: May 27 2025

Being a mom during the time of social media is not for the faint of heart. We've all seen the accounts of moms whose lives seem perfect: the mom is gorgeous, the husband is attractive, their kids look like little models. Their lives seem like an endless amount of happy times and adventures in their perfectly aesthetic clean houses. There have been times where I have found myself comparing my life as a mom to other moms on social media, and it definitely makes me feel like I am not doing enough. I have to remind myself that I cannot compare my life to the lives of these mom influencers, and no matter how perfect someone's life may seem on social media, they are still human and likely have their own struggles behind the cameras. This book is really a perfect reminder of that, and I thought this one was really interesting! It is a good reminder that not everything is always as perfect as it seems. We've heard some of the horror stories, and I have a feeling as time goes on, we may hear more. This book is perfect for any mom who has ever compared herself to the mom influencers online!

This was definitely a fun read especially since I often find myself sucked into trad wife TikToks. I can’t understand why anyone would want to live this lifestyle and this book did nothing to change my mind. It took me a while to feel like I really understood the characters but I enjoyed the twists and the ending.

The Tradwife's Secret by Liane Child - Madison March is the perfect wife who does it all. She cooks, sews, crafts, does all the housework herself along with raising her four, perfect children all seen through the camera. She has a mansion with a working farm husband who has his own successful life. Well, it all looks like she's the perfect "tradwife" from her followers on her influencing site but behind the camera, her life isn't as it all seems. All of it is a lie. Madison is holding a dark secret from her followers. Cally is the new home schoolteacher brought in as the last teacher left quickly. Cally signs an agreement to never discuss her job or what happens while living with the family. Briana is a new bride who ran away with her high school boyfriend to have the perfect farm life as she's been seeing on all the social networks. This book will twist and turn until you gasp for air upon the last few pages of reading. It does cover triggers of domestic abuse and more, so research first before reading if you have emotional triggers. I gave this book 4 Stars.

Such an easy book to binge. My fyp on tiktok has been full of homesteading and I stumbled on some tradwife accounts, which was so crazy. This book follows the tradwife expert, Madison March and her perfect family. But of course, nothing is as it seems.

Was this book slightly over the top and parts were not completely believable? Yes, 100%. But was it extremely easy to read and absolutely fly through? YES.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc, all opinions are my own

I had heard a great deal about this book and was thrilled that I was chosen to read it. It did not disappoint. I will be sure to keep an eye out for more books by this author.

This book is extremely well written with vivid descriptions that really set the scene and put you in the storyline.
The storyline was captivating and addictive from the first page until the last and I was completely invested in it.
Such a well paced and suspenseful book! The twists were believable and not predictable.
It had excellent writing and a fascinating plot.
The Tradwife’s Secret by Liane Child is a book which kept me thoroughly engaged from beginning to end.

The Tradwife’s Secret was such an unputdownable book! I was hooked from the start by this perfect tradwife that appears to have it all together but everything she does is for show, literally. I loved that the chapters altered back and forth between this oh so put together tradwife and a new tradwife struggling to make her life into what she imagined it would be, as well as a character that is completely removed from the tradwife life besides it being her new job to work for one.
I would recommend The Tradwife’s Secret for thriller lovers looking for something they could read in a sitting. Fantastically done modern suspense.

I was drawn in by the premise of the Tradwife's Secret--who doesn't want to find out something diabolical is happening behind the scenes?--but for me this one failed in plot and execution. The story moves between multiple POVs: we have Madison, our tradwife with a thriving social media business; Brianna, a teen attempting to become a tradwife for real, homesteading with her boyfriend; and Cally, Madison's new "Yankee" nanny hired under sketchy circumstances but the money is too good to pass up.

Presumably the Cally character is introduced to provide a liberal/outsider eye on Madison's lifestyle, questioning what she's seeing (and Madison explains her anxiety about bringing in anyone her husband would find appealing, so someone from the NE with a nose ring should be the perfect turnoff), but her backstory for being there felt farfetched and unnecessary to the story. Great pay is a great motivator, and even someone inclined in a conservative direction could have gradually come to question the reality of Madison's life and evidence that it was all a charade for the cameras.

As the story went on, I also questioned why Madison put up with what seemed like a pretty unhappy marriage with an abusive, unpleasant man given her independent success (this wasn't explained, other than "she always wanted a man to take care of her"). I don't mean this in the questioning why do victims of abuse stay, but rather that she could have had her trad life with some other traditional man...why this one?

The book also relied on farfetched twist which is not something I enjoy in a thriller. It felt like it made the story weaker rather than stronger. The author also appears to be from the UK and I found myself distracted by various British-isms throughout the book that are clearly not how Americans say or do things (or a non-American's fantasy of life in Montana, e.g. that they would call someone from the NE a Yankee, or references to them having a twangy accent). All in all, 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

(Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC)

The Tradwife’s Secrets
By Liane Child
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Review Title: A Fresh and Addictive Spin on the Modern Murder Mystery
This book was an authentic and refreshing twist on the classic murder mystery. From the very beginning, I was completely hooked. The main character felt like a breath of fresh air—complex, intriguing, and a powerful reminder that what we see on social media is often far from the full picture. Her persona echoed that of a real-life tradwife, which added a fascinating layer of realism and cultural commentary to the story.
The narrative was full of twists and turns that, while a bit confusing at first, ultimately built toward a jaw-dropping finale that had me on the edge of my seat. The payoff was well worth the initial disorientation. What stood out most was how this book broke away from the typical husband-and-wife psychological thriller formula. The storyline felt new, and the character development was vivid and distinctive, breathing life into a genre that can sometimes feel predictable.
Highly recommended for fans of twisty domestic suspense looking for something a little different and thoroughly engrossing.

Everyone by now should be familiar with tradwives. The perfect wives and mothers who make everything from scratch, whether it be food or their children’s clothing. Perfect makeup, perfect hair, and perfect marriages— these women have it all as they live in a world of peace and serenity.

Meet Madison, tradwife extraordinaire and wife to Michael. They have it all— the lavish house, the beautiful children, and the Instagram following to prove they are a success.

But the new tutor Cally starts her job with the Marches and suddenly things aren’t quite what they look like from behind the lens…

This is definitely a book that keeps you turning pages. I was really happy when it came up in my book lineup because I’ve been dying to read it. It had lots of surprises that I definitely did not predict!

This book is set in Wyoming, but is written by UK author Liane Childs. Her characters are American and her narration is first person; however, her writing contains a lot of European grammar and slang. I believe this is her first book, which is promising. I would definitely read more of her work. I would only advise that an American editor assist with American editing if characters are going to try to pass as Americans. It by no means took me out of the story. I thought it was cute, and I’ve read plenty of books by authors from the UK so I wasn’t confused. I could see this being a problem for other readers.

I gave this book 3 stars on my reading calendar, but now that I’m thinking about it again, I think this is a 4 star book.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #Harper360 for the advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This absolutely had me captured from the very beginning. I could not put it down and I was thrilled! Moreover, it totally threw me for a loop as I kept reading. I cannot recommend this one enough. It absolutely, positively, must be on your list to be read this Summer!

Looking effortlessly perfect all the time for your adoring fans takes a lot of work. So much work, in fact, that Madison has a whole team keeping her children and herself camera ready and prepared to boost engagement at all times. Such is the life of a Tradwife on social media--working hard to sell a fake ideal of domestic bliss where women don't "have" to work. It may seems like Madison has plenty of money, but her husband controls the purse strings. What he says goes, and that's the way they both claim they want it to be. But Madison has a past. And it seems to be catching up with her. When a woman desperate for a second chance arrives into their idyll to tutor the children (in husband-approved topics only, of course) she brings an outsider's perspective and quickly realizes not all is well. This thriller expertly deploys social media and its demands on creators, making for an exciting plot that feels up-to-the-minute and offers commentary on what happens when living your life in front of a camera goes wrong.

Do you watch #tradwife videos or shows like The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives? If so, especially if you watch more for the impending train wreck than as an instructional video, you are going to love The Tradwife’s Secret.

On her videos, Madison looks like the perfect traditional wife, waking up early to fix her husband a healthy breakfast, homeschooling their four perfect children, and doing picturesque farming activities. In real life, she can’t cook, never cleans, and has both a cook and a nanny. Her husband, Michael, is a demanding idiot, who has cheated on her in the recent past. Cally is the new nanny seeing behind the curtain for the first time. Briana is just 18 and trying to emulate Madison’s heavily curated online life with her boyfriend. All these women will discover the secrets hiding behind the influencer’s smile and beautiful lighting choices. No one feels quite so good about the sausage after seeing how it was made.

The Tradwife’s Secret successfully incorporates a social media trend into a domestic thriller format. The book has a few surprising twists and a great conclusion. It is a fun read but may have possible triggers for some readers for domestic abuse. For the rest of us, it is a compelling tale that is not to be missed. 4 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper 360 for providing me with an advanced review copy.

Living your life online is not recommended, and when you do, be prepared for everything that can come your way. The trad wife trend is fed by those who would have you believe their way is the only way. When the truth is revealed.....let's say it made for a very good thriller.

This book is a twisty ride.

We meet Tradwife blogger and Social Media Sensation Madison March. She is struggling to create content for her popular but declining page while being the perfect wife, mother, and homemaker. Things are rarely as they seem. When she hires a tutor for the kids, one she hopes won’t attract her husband like the last one did, strange things start happening on the ranch and Madison March is trying hard to hold all her lies together before her life goes up in smoke.

I don’t read a lot of thrillers but this one instantly drew me in. Social media is just as much a pivotal character in this book as Madison March. Madison obsessively works to try to find content and make herself relevant in a growing crowd of Trad wife influencers. What you don’t expect from this book is just how much of a complete sham her entire life is. Madison is smart and she has used her brain to create a complete fiction and build the life she wants to portray to the world. Some twists you won’t see coming, some twists you will but what is so refreshing abbot this novel is that it says so much without ever taking a real stand. I have to say that this book is unsettling but in the best way. I enjoyed the ride and it kept me engaged until the end. Fun read and work adding to your TBR. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the opportunity to read and voluntarily leave a review.

Thank you so much for this ARC!

WOW, I was excited to read this but did not think it would be one of my favorite reads of 2025 so far. LOVED everything about it. The multiple POVs, the social media aspect and getting a glimpse into the traditional lifestyle.

Madison is an awful character but I loved it. Cally and Lori were great to read and I was so intrigued by Brianna in Wyoming's place in the plot. WHOA!

Honestly, there are a LOT of trigger warnings in this book. I thought it would be a simple and easy read but there are very heavy themes throughout. Cannot wait to read more by Liane Child. 5 stars for me!

The Tradwife's Secret was an excellent book. At first, it was a little hard to follow, but the more you got into the book, I had a hard time putting it down. As someone who has learned a great deal about what a Tradwife is, I realized that for some people, it's what they live for. But for me, it is not. I loved the book and for not knowing what else was around the following pages. This is a book that is a must-read, and I highly recommend it for those who enjoy good books and ones that are impossible to put down!