The Mad Wife - Meagan Church

The Mad Wife

By Meagan Church

  • Release Date: 2025-09-30
  • Genre: Historical Fiction
Score: 4
4
From 482 Ratings

Description

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

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.

Reviews

  • Slow burn

    1
    By VMJCTZ
    It could’ve have been a short story. It was informative had to put it away 3x because of how slow the story moved.
  • Keep reading

    5
    By golfclubbookclu
    This book is good and keeps you wanting to read. A little slow in the beginning, but keep reading. Makes you step back and look into your life.
  • Fell flat

    2
    By BearNotBear
    This story felt very promising but it feels like the author lost control of the plot ending. Felt like the start of the book was a different genre than the end of the book.
  • Wow

    5
    By Bun lover 2000
    Really well written. Ending was exactly what it needed to be.
  • It was ok

    3
    By Zei18
    I wanted to be done reading honestly, I loved the idea the subject, the reality of going through such a difficult situation. I can definitely relate, but I kept zoning out every time I was reading. I would reread the same page twice. I gave myself a few days break and read again and it was the same. I got bored by the writing. I’m sorry but it’s wasn’t for me.