In Westbrook, wives are currency.  Belonging has a price. And the most dangerous thing a woman can do is change her mind.

MARNI
I didn’t come here to be brave…I came to disappear. After New York, after the firm, after everything that broke me, Westbrook felt safe. Predictable. A place where the rules were clear, and someone else made the decisions. Elke chose me. That meant everything.

I learned how this town really works – the rankings, the favors, the silence. I learned when to smile, when to look away, and which questions never get asked. Now I’m pregnant. Now I know what happened to the women who stepped out of line.   And now I understand the truth Elke never says out loud: Westbrook isn’t about tradition.  It’s about control.

#TheTradwifesLie X(Twitter  @ZooloosBT #ZooloosBookTours #blogtour #booktwitter 
Instagram  @zooloosbooktours #bookstagramELKE

I built Westbrook from nothing. A town of order. Tradition. Women who want to be told who they are. They see cherry orchards, homemakers’ fairs, and smiling wives. I see loyalty, hierarchy, and power that works because it looks beautiful. 

The Cherries follow my rules. They check in when I tell them to. They show up when I summon them. They don’t ask questions. And when someone threatens what I’ve built, I don’t hesitate. Perfection only survives if you protect it.

My Review

After reading The Tradwife’s Lie I thought I’d do a bit of research on the phenomenon. I looked at the main influencers such as @ballerinafarm, @naraaziza and @esteecwilliams. They promote living a simpler life with defined gender roles, akin to the 1950s, where husbands were the breadwinners and wives embraced domesticity. Tradwives look after the children (often home schooling), cook from scratch, bake their own bread – you know where I’m going with this. But why would it attract Gen Z? It is believed that they are struggling with doing it all, having stressful jobs while taking care of the family.

But one of the main differences between now and then is that some ‘tradwife influencers’ are making a fortune from being on social media, thus monetizing the whole movement. Hypocritical? Elke in the book is a prime example. She is the power behind the Westbrook community. The women – Cherries, Blossoms and Orchards (the hierarchy) have to post at least three times a day with pictures and videos of their wonderful lives. Elke demands loyalty, but it’s about control.

But life isn’t always as wonderful as it looks in Westbrook. Everyone has their secrets including Marni, who fled her law partnership in New York, and is now married to a doctor, Diwa who knows more than she should, Elke’s business partner Rebecca, and the mayor’s wife Bruna amongst others.

Podcaster Simone Bator went to university with Marni. She hosts a successful podcast called Sociology After Midnight and is going to feature her findings in the next episode. She won’t be pulling any punches – she is going to reveal the truth. She can see that ‘something is rotten in the state’ of Westbrook and she’s going to find out what, even if it puts her safety at risk.

I so loved this book. I was on holiday in Dorset when I read it so it only took me two days. I’d never heard of tradwives, so that gave me the added enjoyment of finding out more about them. I love a bit of background research. And no, I don’t want to be one. It would be too exhausting.

Incidentally, I discovered I have something in common with the author. No not my talent as a writer – I also have a small dog with delusions of grandeur.

Many thanks to @ZooloosBT  for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the Author

Dr. Bella Ellwood-Clayton writes twisty domestic suspense about the secrets we hide from those closest to us. Her novels include The Tradwife’s Lie, The Swimming Group, and Weekend Friends, praised as “unputdownable” by bestselling author Nicola Moriarty.

Born in Canada, Bella now lives in Melbourne with her family and a small dog who has delusions of grandeur.

Get a free short story when you join her newsletter at www.drbella.com.au

Where can you find her?
Social Media Handles
Instagram: @BellaEllwoodClayton
Facebook: DoctorBella
X (formerly Twitter): @BEllwoodClayton
Website: www.drbella.com.au

Goodreads: 
www.goodreads.com

Purchase Links: 
www.amazon.co.uk