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Mad Wife
4.5 (2 ratings)

Mad Wife

A Novel

From bestselling author Meagan Church comes a haunting exploration of identity, motherhood, and the suffocating grip of societal expectations that will leave you questioning the lives we build--and the lies we live.

They called it hysteria. She called it survival.

Lulu Mayfield has spent the last five years molding herself into the perfect 1950s housewife. Despite the tragic memories that haunt her and the weight of exhausting expectations, she keeps her husband happy, her household running, and her gelatin salads the talk of the neighborhood. But after she gives birth to her second child, Lulu's carefully crafted life begins to unravel.

When a new neighbor, Bitsy, moves in, Lulu suspects that something darker lurks behind the woman's constant smile. As her fixation on Bitsy deepens, Lulu is drawn into a web of unsettling truths that threaten to expose the cracks in her own life. The more she uncovers about Bitsy, the more she questions everything she thought she knew--and soon, others begin questioning her sanity. But is Lulu truly losing her mind? Or is she on the verge of discovering a reality too terrifying to accept?

In the vein of The Bell Jar and The Hours, The Mad Wife weaves domestic drama with psychological suspense, so poignant and immersive, you won't want to put it down.

Pages: 352

ISBN: 9781464236747

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Reader Reviews

4.5

2 ratings

Matt D.

Mar 9, 2026
Lulu wants to be the perfect wife, but lately just isn’t herself. It doesn’t help when a strange couple moves in across the road. As Lulu tries to learn more about the mysterious couple, her world begins to fall apart. Sometimes perfection is just a mask hiding the broken world beneath it.

I found this book to be very engaging. The author even manses manages to throw a twist in that made me consider reading the book again to try to find clues. I found the second half of the book to have a slightly quicker pace than the first half. Definitely a very interesting read.

Jolene C.

Feb 8, 2026
This story is a hard hitter. Set in the 1950s, it shows how women’s struggles were too often dismissed as “hysteria.” Lulu Mayfield’s fight to survive under impossible expectations felt all too real, raw, haunting, and unforgettable. A chilling reminder that women’s pain deserves to be seen and heard.