Every day, millions watch Mia Wright, the “trad wife” queen, on her idyllic 300-acre farm. With her handsome husband, seven perfect children, and a life of from-scratch meals, she’s an icon of modern femininity. But behind every perfect image is a lie.
Desperate to save her tarnished career, journalist Jenny Kaplan arrives at Black Swan Farm to profile Mia. Jenny is ready to write a scathing exposé, determined to uncover the deception behind Mia’s curated life.
But there’s something wrong at the farmhouse.
It slithers through Jenny’s dreams when the children sing strange nursery rhymes at night. She’s losing time. She’s losing her hair. She starts to worry that she’s losing her mind.
There is a horror at the heart of Black Swan, and it’s waiting just for Jenny.
Dark bleatings, my lovely tribe. I love Sarah Langan and I pre-ordered this novel the second I heard about it (breaking a self-imposed book buying ban, I might add!). I’m fascinated with the “trad wife” phenomenon that is suddenly resurfacing, and have been eating up any and all horror I find that discusses it. Apparently I’m not the only one because this is almost a new sub-genre of horror.
Anywho, what the devil is going on in this book? Jenny is a journalist that reached a lot of people with a previous piece, some from the manosphere that were less than impressed with some of her revealing talking points. Now, she has her sights set on exposing Mia, a very successful Trad Wife Influencer. For those not in the know, in the real world, a trad wife influencer is someone who promotes a traditional lifestyle online (and is probably selling you products in the process). Man makes the money, woman stays at home to take care of the house and the kids, and serve her husband.
I immediately loved Jenny for noticing what has always been obvious to me – that this is a grift. There’s nothing wrong with being a “traditional” wife, but what I personally take issue with as far as influencers go is that a lot of them are liars and hypocrites. They stage things that they claim are a part of their normal day, and they promote the idea of financial dependence on a man while they’re making bank off their subscribers. What they’re telling women is desireable and often a religious requirement isn’t even happening behind their own closed doors. As Jenny watches Mia’s content, she notices discrepencies in the supposed authenticity, and can’t wait to blow the lid off what she views as a toxic projection of how women should live.
It shocks her when Mia, apparently a fan, actually invites her to her home to observe and participate in her lifestyle so that Jenny can write her article. Jenny accepts, but grapples with the guilt of liking Mia but refusing to relinquish her journalist integrity by rose-tinting the truth about what she sees. And what she sees is…well, not only what she suspected but a hell of a lot more.
The kids are all different, and the older ones are a bit…off…in different ways. Mia at first seems like an absolute powerhouse of a woman but quickly abandons part of the facade. And what’s happening with Jenny? The longer she’s there, the more she feels she can’t leave. There are weird smells and occurances. People are saying weird things.
I loved this novel so much and genuinely have no critiques. It was perfectly paced, the spookier details emerging at perfect times to heighten the intrigue, and Sarah obviously put some research into this real-world trad wife rise in popularity because she even included the MLM (multi-level marketing/pyramid scheme) side of the coin, which isn’t often discussed. Additionally, in true horror fashion, there’s an almost folky and definitely culty edge to this whole things that hints at the supernatural, but you’ll have to read it to find out if there’s something otherworldly going on or if this is just good, old-fashioned human manipulation.
5/5 easily! I think this novel is a great read for everyone of all genders, and will be particularly frightening to both feminists and those who lean more into the traditional set up.
If you’d like to check out the book or the author, I’ve popped some links below for you:
Bleeeeat!
Happy Goat Horror 
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