After their debut novel, Serial Killer Support Group, I knew I would want more from Saratoga Schaefer. Their sophomore novel, Trad Wife, blends social commentary with raw, visceral horror. Schaefer peels back the facade of influencer-style domestic bliss with an unsettling, timely, and impossible to put down tale.
When Camille Deming isn’t cooking, cleaning, or homesteading in her picture-perfect country farmhouse, she’s posting about her tradwife lifestyle for her online followers. She takes inspiration from other tradwives on social media, aspiring to be like them, but Camille’s missing a key component: a baby. And contrary to what she posts online, things with her husband Graham have been strained. Pressured by her eager followers, Camille fears that without a baby, her relationship will suffer and her social media will never grow out of its infancy.
When Camille discovers a mysterious, decrepit well in the wheatfield behind her house, she makes a wish for a baby. Afterwards, she has unsettling experiences that she convinces herself are angelic in nature, and when she’s visited one night by a strange creature, her wish comes true.
Camille’s pregnancy announcement gets more engagement than anything she’s ever posted—so what if Graham’s reaction is lukewarm? Camille’s life is finally falling into place. Never mind that her pregnancy is developing freakishly rapidly and she’s suddenly craving raw meat. Being a traditional wife is worth it.
Saratoga Schaefer has done it again. After the original concept behind Serial Killer Support Group, Saratoga has crafted another standout novel with Trad Wife. A chilling blend of horror, social media culture, and trad wife ideology. While I was on board with SKSG, Trad Wife has made me a big fan of Schaefer’s work.
I already find social media influencing unsettling on its own, not to mention those seeking to influence others with the trad wife lifestyle. But Schaefer cranks the horror up even further in Trad Wife. The protagonist, Camille, believes her life is perfect…except for one missing piece: a baby. (Maybe a spine would help too, but hey, who am I to judge?).
As a father, I know how deeply fulfilling it is to have a child to love. But having a child just to fit an image, even worse, using that child to boost your social media presence, is just flat-out disturbing. While this is a work of fiction and I want to believe there isn’t anyone who would really do this, But the scariest part is knowing people like this really exist.
The premise of Trad Wife hooked me right off the bat, but as the story progressed, things got weird…in the best possible way. The book quickly turns visceral, bloody, unsettling, and dark. The twists come hard and fast, and the good deal ‘what the hell’ moments caught me completely off guard, making for a truly enjoyable experience. The sheer madness of what takes place pushes the story to wild extremes, and had me rapidly turning the page to see what happened next.
Saratoga Schaefer’s Trad Wife is one of those novels that truly sticks with you. It blends real horrors with the supernatural in a way that’s timely and deeply unsettling. Schaefer delivers a brutal, bloody story that gets under your skin and stays there. My only hope? That a #TradWife stumbles on this book thinking it’s something completely different and ends up along for the ride.
Trad Wife hits bookstores everywhere on February 10, 2026 from Crooked Lane Books.
