I absolutely loved this book. It's dark, upsetting, and I couldn't put it down. It's not exactly a mystery, but has an anxiety-filled, fast pace that makes it feel a bit like one. Clove is living a lovely normal life built on lies, and a letter she receives sends her into an anxiety spiral, convinced her life is about to explode. She's reliving (mostly) traumatic memories that she has avoided for years as her current life marches onward unaware of all Clove is hiding, and it's a wild ride being in Clove's head. The way the past and present collide is so satisfying and the ending is perfect. Maybe my fave book I've read this year!

Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker: ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
When I saw the cover and read the blurb, I knew this book would deliver. And boy did it ever! In Madwoman, Bieker writes of a woman haunted by her childhood spent in an abusive household. Having built a new life for herself after she escaped from the generational cycle of domestic violence, Clove is now a wife and mother, living what looks like a charmed life, until one day the buried past comes back from the grave.
Working in a field in which I often encounter people affected by domestic violence, I found Madwoman to be a dark but accurate portrayal of child abuse and its far reaching effects. Bieker writes Clove’s character so authentically in the 1st person POV, that its hard for the reader to distinguish this as a psychological thriller and not a memoir. By no means is Clove a model character- she made many, many mistakes along the way- but I think many mothers and daughters will find her position and anguish relatable.
The story was both captivating and devastating, and the writing was powerful and deep. My digital copy is filled with highlights and notes. Madwoman is a true psychological thriller where the real threat exists in our main character’s experience. Thank you to Little, Brown Publishing Company for the ARC of Madwoman, which is available now.

Whoa! This book is a slow burn that increases to a speed that left me breathless. Turning the pages as fast as possible, small pieces of paper floating through the air around me. Settling into every crack and crevice, my mind spinning as fast as it could go. The characters of this book are incredible. They are all linked by threads. Becoming trapped and knotted with others. As the years have passed, each knot becoming tighter, each character struggling just a bit more, until it is all too much, and the threads that have been holding the past at bay, breaks.

Clove has an amazing life. A husband that is calm and patient, never raises his voice. Always there for comfort. They have two adorable children, who want for nothing, and want everything. Clove knows that as the mother she needs to care for the children. Never raising her voice, they can only eat the healthiest foods, she hovers knowing that something could happen at any moment. Of course, Clove is like this. She escaped the abusive confines of her childhood when she was still a teenager. Running from the tragedy that took place in their apartment building. She witnessed her father beat her mother. Each beating a little worse. Each beating a step toward the end. The final hit that would kill her mother. In her own life Clove has set up strict rules, so her father cannot creep through her an infect her children. This carefully constructed life comes crashing down the day she receives a letter from her mother from prison. Asking for help, she wants to be free. This cannot happen. Clove has told everyone in her life that her parents both died in a car accident. Her father fell to his death from the 33rd floor of their apartment building. From this moment on Clove is on damage control and begins to spiral dangerously out of control. She cannot help her mother under any circumstances. She cannot have this infect her family.

This is one intense, heart wrenching read. It made my blood boil, my eyes stream, and my hands clench. How can a man do this to his family? This book gives you an inside picture into the trauma that some families experience day in and day out. To get out from under his thumb you must have tremendous strength and bravery to do so. Thank you to Chelsea Bieker and Little, Brown and Company for this unforgettable read. I cannot wait for the discussions to be had at book club!

I thought this was so good! A little twisted which I love!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 ⭐

This is the energy that Colleen Hoover thought she was bringing to IT ENDS WITH US.

Chelsea Bieker gave me whiplash. this book went from 5-star vibes in the beginning to borderline DNF-material in the middle, to (finally) a twist i didn't see coming to wrap it all up in the end. extreme trigger warnings for domestic violence, physical+emotional abuse

Thank you Little, Brown, & Company for the copy! What a remarkable meditation on surviving domestic violence and building a life following childhood trauma (which for many survivors is perhaps one of the most excruciating and seemingly unattainable ambitions to envision). Though a novel, Madwoman takes many other forms as an ode, a plea, a prayer; at the core of it all, however, is a complex didactic reflection on the nuances of enduring abuse and the invariable grief and anger that stagger in the wake of its reproach.

Madwoman is structured in a way that ostensibly panders to the thriller genre it's been tagged to. It flips from past to present, enabling the reader to bear witness to the atrocities of Clove's abusive father while later seeing the mental repercussions that Clove must undergo as a grown adult and all the ways she attempts to subside her internal suffering. And while that narrative setup is perfect for driving suspense, there's still an added layer of brilliance and rawness where adult Clove's narration is written in constant conversation with her mother, whom she hasn't spoken to since she was a child.

There's also something incredible in Bieker's demonstration of the modern woman's necessity to utilize wellness as a bandaid to her emotional afflictions. How many times have we been encouraged to take a bath / put on a face mask / prioritize health at the behest of a self-betterment that can only be physically extrapolated? For Clove, her life is encapsulated by wellness podcasts, niche supplements, high-end health food groceries.

Being beautiful and "healthy" can feel godly, it's true — or at the very least, it will grant one the privilege of abstraction, a disembodiment from one's humanity and with it, the subjugation and proximity to human agony.

What I appreciated most in this book is how it explored the nuances in familial relationships undergoing collective abuse. In this case, Clove and her mother are both victims of the father / husband's abuse. There's a sense of disdain from Clove towards her mother for staying all those years and allowing her to grow up under the same roof, which is entirely fair and frankly realistic for many survivors of child abuse. But in equal parts to her antipathy is also pity and of course, love, for she cannot deny her disposition as her mother's daughter.

Victims of domestic violence are often undermined by tactless rhetoric. People shouldn't have to endure a certain type of trauma to gain the capacity to understand and empathize with such plights; and yet, abuse continues to be an experience that so many struggle to conceptualize when they have not been marred by its terror. Just look at the repugnant public response to victims like Amber Heard and Meg — survivors whose experiences were publicized and televised for the world to rip apart like bloodless hounds. Despite public spotlight and monetary resources, these women were criticized to the bone, their victimhood somehow eclipsed by vapid "discourse" over whether their real life experiences were true, all the while neglecting accountability for the actual abuser at hand.

As a survivor, and one from Hawai'i nonetheless, this book hit home in ways that the limitations of language could never be capable of illustrating. What I can say though is that survival is replete with complexities that are unimaginably difficult to comprehend, let alone examined gracefully through the mode of storytelling. I'm always appreciative of a novel that speaks justly on the very layered and oftimes inexplicable experience of survival. For MadWoman, I am eternally grateful

Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker is a haunting and raw exploration of trauma, motherhood, and survival. Set in the 19th century, the novel follows a young woman named Eliza as she navigates a world of mental instability and societal repression. Bieker’s prose is poetic and unflinching, offering a gripping portrayal of female rage and resilience. The book’s vivid descriptions and dark atmosphere pull the reader into Eliza's turbulent mind, making it both uncomfortable and impossible to put down. Madwoman is an intense, deeply emotional read that lingers long after the final page.

Madwoman is an electrifying and unforgettable novel that takes readers on a raw, emotional journey. I've loved all of Chelsea's previous books, so I wasn't sure what to expect with this one being a darker book than her others. Her prose prose is fierce, vivid, and captivating. Her exploration at themes of female madness, resilience, and survival is deeply compelling, and the characters feel heartbreakingly real in their struggles and desires. Bieker doesn't shy away from the messy complexities of human experience, making this a powerful, intense read. Every page pulses with tension and emotion, leaving a lasting impact long after the book is closed. One of my favorite reads of the year!

In the narrative of a psychologically flawed character as her life starts unravelling. The madness that comes from her trauma was felt through every page, raw and upsetting, while keeping me immersed and wanting to know more. A type of thriller I’ve never read before.

I can’t wait to read more from Chelsea Bieker.

Chelsea Bieker has become one of my favorite contemporary writers, and Madwoman is no exception. It feels, almost, like the logical next step, the type of character we see in her previous two books all grown up, resentful of an abusive father. Bieker's prose hits hard. Which isn't to say there isn't humor in Madwoman, the narrator addicted to spending. All said, another triumph for Bieker. Can't wait to see what she does next. Thanks to the publisher for the e-galley.

NOT a traditional thriller AT ALL. Very literary and a little bit trippy in style. I advise you to read a chapter and see if you want to be in Clove's (the narrator's) head for the entire book. It was a lot, but if you like out-there literary stuff, this is for you!

I appreciate the irony of the title. At first the book SEEMED to be about Clove, a health food-obsessed upper middle class mother of young children who is struggling with motherhood and the fact that her own parents were killed in a car accident. But NO she is struggling with a huge amount of trauma and some batshit-level secrets she has hidden from everyone. And the skeletons are ALL falling out of her closet...

Clove, such a complicated maternal character. I loved her present self, hanging on to parenthood sanity through latching on severely to the wellness culture. Bieker writes with such precision the violence that Clove and her mother experienced. It was haunting, and raw. I believe many will not be surprised by the twist, and some will struggle with the second person point of view, but many will find this a popular Fall read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown and Company for the ARC!

“𝓢𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮𝓼 𝓲𝓽'𝓼 𝓸𝓴𝓪𝔂 𝓽𝓸 𝓫𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓮𝓿𝓮 𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓸𝔀𝓷 𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓼. 𝓘𝓯 𝔀𝓮'𝓻𝓮 𝓵𝓾𝓬𝓴𝔂, 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓼𝓮 𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓼 𝓱𝓮𝓵𝓹 𝓾𝓼 𝓼𝓾𝓻𝓿𝓲𝓿𝓮.”

✂️ P L O T L I N E
“Madwoman is a gripping story of motherhood and motherloss and the brutal, mighty things women do to keep themselves and each other alive.”

💭 ⓂⓎ ⓉⒽⓄⓊⒼⒽⓉⓈ
This book definitely gave me similar vibes to “The Push” by Ashely Audrain. It was gripping and page turning and had all the flawed characters and drama that you might crave. I thought it was a great book, but my only issue was that I figured out all the major twists waaaaayyyy early on. It still kept me turning the pages to see if I was correct. It just made the ending a little underwhelming for me. Still a great read if you are looking for a mystery that explores motherhood and the complexities of mother-child relationships.

📚 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
💡Exploration of motherhood
🖤Resilience and survival
🤐Lies and secrets
🎭Family drama
❌Flawed characters
🗣️Unreliable narrator

⚠️ 𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨: domestic abuse, violence, toxic relationships.

𝕄𝕐 ℝ𝔸𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔾
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

💕Q U O T E: “𝐼 𝓇𝑒𝓆𝓊𝒾𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝑜𝓁𝑒 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓎. 𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓉'𝓈 𝓌𝒽𝓎 𝒾𝒻 𝐼 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹 𝒶 𝓃𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁, 𝐼 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹 𝒾𝓉 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓃𝓊𝑜𝓊𝓈𝓁𝓎, 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝓉𝓌𝑜 𝒹𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝒷𝓁𝑜𝒸𝓀𝑒𝒹 𝑜𝒻𝒻, 𝓈𝑜 𝓂𝓎 𝒷𝓇𝒶𝒾𝓃 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒾𝓂𝓂𝑒𝒹𝒾𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝓈𝑜𝓁𝓊𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃."

🙏 Thank you NetGalley, Little Brown and Company, and Chelsea Bieker for this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts 💕

“We put diseased animals out of their misery, we don’t want them to suffer, to infect the rest of the lot. We let men live.”

Bloody hell, feminine rage is so fucking beautiful.

MADWOMAN was an astounding, but also deeply uncomfortable and challenging, read. I have to admit, I really struggled with Clove as a character, but I think that’s the point: innately, people are not who they appear to be on the surface, and the routines and compulsions that one person might find annoying, disturbing, or overwrought actually represent, for another, the act of survival—the razor-thin line between safety and violence. A lot of the reviews I've seen have raved about Bieker’s realistic portrayal of abuse and domestic violence, which is absolutely fair and deserved, but I was also personally moved by her portrayal of Clove’s anxiety and OCD (which she doesn’t name as such in the book, but it seems clear to me that’s what’s going on) as a trauma response. Abuse, be it physical or emotional, is never just the act of a single moment—it can lash out at you, bind you, hold you hostage, in the most unexpected and seemingly unrelated ways for years. Bieker’s representation of this was difficult and devastating, but also humbling, deeply necessary, and sensitively conveyed.

Setting aside the importance of the subject matter, I did have some writing quips. The pacing of the ending and that final “twist” was a rare misstep from Bieker, transforming the tone of this book from a dark, intimate, and complex character study into something more emblematic of a stock psychological thriller, which I was categorically not a fan of. It also completely disrupted the flow of the narrative, which, up to that point, seemed to have been building towards Clove’s reunion with her mother—such that I almost wish the scene at the prison hadn’t happened, certainly that it had happened differently, because all the gravitas and significance of that moment had been completely blown out of it by Clove’s revelation about Jane.

But honestly, those are minor issues by comparison to the importance of the rest of it. Everybody should read this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for providing this book, with my honest review below.

Madwoman was such a great book to read while visiting LA because it had me looking a little side eyed at each woman, wondering which ones might have some of the intrigue Clove brought to the table behind her Earth mother & Erewhon surface.

It’s safe to say this book is completely unexpected in the events it presents to the reader and the mysteries upon mysteries around and about Clove. I was left feeling sorry for many but also a little puzzled… how could all this terrible stuff be part of Clove’s life and those around her? Masterfully written, it felt completely believable while reading this book and stayed with me for far after I finished!

I was expecting to like this book but didn’t predict this would be one of my favorites of the year. The ending tied up a little too nicely considering how honest the rest of the book felt but overall it was such a great story. I also realized while reading this book that while my favorite sub genre is women spiraling, my favorite sub sub genre is woman suddenly become obsessed with a complete stranger while on her spiral. Highly recommend!

Thank you Netgalley and Little, Brown and Company for the advance copy.

Clove has outrun her dark past. Having fled Hawaii and settled in Portland, Oregon, her past was like a low hum in the background of her mind. It is there, and she is conscious of it, but she has developed coping mechanisms to prevent it from effecting her in her day-to-day life. She has a beautiful family, and beautiful home, and a small shopping addiction, but everything is under control. That is, until she receives a letter from a women's penitentiary.

I couldn't wait to get my hands on the book because I knew it would speak to me as a mother and as a domestic violence case manager/advocate. I think Chelsea did a beautiful job exploring heavy topics like domestic violence without victim-blaming. We watch as a daughter desperately wants her mom to leave her father, even resenting her at times for staying, while also witnessing the ways emotional trauma and mental manipulation keeps a victim in its grasp.

I did guess the end, but it didn't feel like it spoiled the reading experience in any way. I was here for the journey, and with plenty of tension and good pacing it was worth it for sure. There was even a sprinkle of humor, and there was more than one one-liner that made me laugh out loud. it was a nice reprieve given the gravity of the story-at-large. Chelsea is clearly a talented author and I will surely be picking up her future work.

Outlier alert! The subject matter of this book really appealed to me, but I didn’t love it like I wanted to. I think an opportunity may have been missed here, but that’s just my own opinion. Much felt unevenly paced and disjointed – and the twists were predictable. I’m sorry I didn’t love it more.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Chelsea Bieker's "Madwoman" was a wild emotional ride from start to finish. Ashley Audrain's quote on the cover—"emotional suspense at its best"—hits the nail on the head for describing Clove's intense journey. As you dig into Clove's life, you'll see a mother who's simultaneously thriving and struggling, and it's only when her past begins to unravel that the real tension kicks in. This isn't just a thriller; it's a deep dive into the powerful, complicated connections between mothers and their children. There were moments when I honestly couldn't put the book down.

Now, here's where my only issue came in: pacing. I tend to love stories that grab me by the collar and don't let go, so the slow-burn style was a bit of a challenge for me. However, I will say that even when the pace dragged, the emotional turmoil kept me hooked.

Chelsea Bieker clearly knows how to write characters. Clove is full of secrets, living a life propped up by lies, yet she's incredibly complex and relatable. Bieker really knows how to explore the messy gray areas of human nature, and I found myself reflecting on Clove for a while after I finished the book. It's the first time I've read anything by Bieker, but it won't be the last.

If you're on the fence about "Madwoman," give it a shot. Even if you usually prefer a faster pace, like I do, it is worth the read. While it may not have become a personal favorite, I'm still glad I experienced it. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for an emotional, thought-provoking story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for an advanced readers copy in exchange for a thoughtful and honest review.

Many thanks to Little, Brown and NetGalley for my review copy in exchange for my honest opinion. I'm back home and at work for the new school year, but I reading Madwoman brought me back to my recent Hawaii trip because Madwoman takes place, in part, in Hawaii!
Madwoman is an intense book. I was completely engaged throughout, reading the book in large chunks, but I didn't know if I “liked” it or not 🤣 Considering the plot depicted domestic violence through the main character’s childhood memories, there were some hard-to-read portions. In general, reading this book was akin to driving past a car accident - you know it's going to be bad but you still slow down to stare as you pass. The anticipation of the climax increased my anxiety to a point where I HAD to stay up and finish the book! The propulsive nature of the writing is really impressive - I had some correct guesses about where the story was going to go, but it did not feel predictable. When I finished it, I was SHOOK and had to read a few chapters of a light romance to calm down enough to sleep. Final decision: I loved the book, but the reading experience was very stressful. Bravo to the author for the suspenseful writing - I can't wait to read her previous books Godshot and Heartbroke. Madwoman is a current Book of the Month pick, and I look forward to hearing what other readers think. I'm happy to discuss this one if you've finished reading it - feel free to message me!