Scandalous trad wife thrillers that read like an episode of ‘The Hunting Wives'

USA Today

7 hours ago

If there's one thing thriller authors do well, it's turning the zeitgeist into something sinister and creepy.
Such is the case with 'The Hunting Wives,' the Netflix adaptation of May Cobb's 2021 novel of the same name. In it, an East Coast woman moves to a Texas town and finds herself pulled into a seductive circle of affluent red-state housewives. There's more than just gun clubs, church groups and gossip to 'The Hunting Wives" – a murder mystery is at the heart of the story.
If you're dying for more entertainment like the Netflix adaptation, or just looking for a twisted take on those viral trad wife baking videos, then these seven books are sure to scratch that itch.
'Everyone is Lying to You' by Jo Piazza
'Everyone is Lying to You' is about Lizzie and her former best friend Bex, who disappeared after college and reemerged 15 years later as a 'traditional wife' influencer famous for her videos of her family ranch life. Lizzie, on the other hand, is a struggling magazine writer. Unexpectedly, Bex asks Lizzie to exclusively interview her about her ranch and influencing career. But rather than being a career-making moment, Lizzie arrives to find Bex missing and her picture-perfect husband murdered.
'House of Beth' by Kerry Cullen
This new book follows a young woman named Cassie who escapes to her suburban hometown after a gutting breakup and a horrific work incident. She reconnects with her high school best friend, Eli, now a widowed father, and quickly slides into his life as his new wife and stepmother to his children. But there's something eerie beneath the picturesque life, including gory, haunting visions and the shadow of Eli's late wife.
'The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires' by Grady Hendrix
Book club goes awry in this 'blood-soaked tale of neighborly kindness gone wrong.' 'The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires' follows Patricia Campbell, a woman with a workaholic husband, independent teenagers and needy mother-in-law. Her crime book club of close-knit Charleston women is the only thing keeping her going. But she finds her community at risk after a series of strange events including a violent attack by an elderly neighbor, a handsome man coming into her life and disappearing children.
'The Tradwife's Secret' by Liane Child
'The Tradwife's Secret' is a 2025 release about a trad wife influencer who spends her days baking sourdough, picking vegetables, preparing dinner for her husband and caring for her children at their Montana homestead. But their life is a lie. Find out what really goes on behind the cameras in this twisted domestic thriller.
'Comfort Me With Apples' by Catherynne M. Valente
Housewife Sophia lives with a seemingly perfect life with her seemingly perfect husband in Arcadia Gardens in 'Comfort Me With Apples.' She's devoted to being a good wife, but things spiral when her husband grows absent. Sophia begins to question the darker sides of her husband and life, including the locked basement she's not allowed to enter and the neighbors that won't look her in the eye.
'Motherthing' by Ainslie Hogarth
Absurd, creepy and hilarious, 'Motherthing' starts when married couple Ralph and Abby move in with Ralph's mother, Laura. Abby hopes Laura might become the mother figure she never had, especially as she and Ralph are trying to start a family. But Laura is cruel to Abby, and living with her is hellish. The situation becomes actual hell after Laura dies by suicide and begins to haunt the house.
'The Sinful Lives of Trophy Wives' by Kristin Miller
The trophy wives of San Francisco elite get up to trouble in the neighborhood in this thriller. 'The Sinful Lives of Trophy Wives' follows newcomer Brooke Davies, a mystery writer with a much older husband who demands perfection; Erin King, a famed news anchor balancing maintaining her image and keeping her husband from straying younger; and Georgia St. Claire, rumored to have murdered her first two husbands for their money.
Murders, ghosts and crime, oh my!: New thriller books to read this summer
Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY's Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you're reading at [e-mail].