To outsiders, Natalie Heller Mills looks like she has an idyllic life. She lives in a beautiful farmhouse on acres of land, with a handsome, rich husband, a gaggle of adorable children, a cow, and some chickens affectionately referred to as her “ladies”. She lives simply, only using organic products, and runs the farm the “old fashioned” way. That she makes it seem so easy and never looks anything other than radiant has earned her a legion of adoring followers on social media but also a small cadre of detractors who refuse to believe what she’s selling.

We quickly learn that the latter party is right to find her incredulous. A small staff helps the family get everything done, large scale appliances are hidden from view, and the farm’s produce may not be quite as organic as implied. In reality, the “tradwide” lifestyle involves a lot of hard work, of the sort which Natalie does not have the time for. As she sees it though, she’s merely selling a fantasy. A platonic ideal of a good, traditional Christian woman. What her followers don’t see won’t hurt them, as long as she inspires them to do better in their own lives.

You can imagine her surprise when she awakens one morning and sees her house and her family are changed. Her husband is a more rugged version of himself. The children look like theirs but off a little, with different names. And the employees and modern amenities are all gone. It’s as if she’s been transported back in time, to the era she’s been playacting at. But time travel isn’t possible, right? She wonders if she’s been kidnapped or placed into an elaborate reality show of some kind, but as her predicament becomes increasingly real, she wonders if she’ll ever return to her real home.

Author Caro Claire Burke has cooked up a pretty clever scenario here, that allows her to generate a great deal of suspense and mystery while also delving into a number of interesting and timely topics. The “tradwife” and “manosphere” trends at the core of the story are ripe for parody and lend the book its tinges of dark comedy, though it can sometimes be a little too on the nose. They also allow her to demonstrate the myriad ways that the expectations placed on women haven’t changed over the years, despite the progress that’s been made.

Told in chapters that alternate between Natalie’s online life and the harsher reality she finds herself in, we are left to try and figure out the exact nature of what’s going on along with her. As more and more information comes our way and we become increasingly aware of Natalie’s somewhat unstable mental state, we grow closer and closer to a truth that very few will likely guess before it’s revealed.

Burke’s voice is clear and compelling throughout, only occasionally starting to lag. The frontier-era chapters are slightly more intriguing than the present-day sections, though the latter are not without their pleasures, especially as we near the conclusion. Said ending is likely to be a little polarizing, but it worked well for me, closing with just the right note of bittersweet schadenfreude. Sharp, witty, and thought-provoking, this strong debut novel is a perfect choice for an adventurous book club. ★★★★

★★★★★ = Excellent | ★★★★ = Very Good | ★★★ = Good | ★★ = Fair | ★ = Poor