THE HUNTING WIVES by May Cobb
Berkley; 5/18/21
CBTB Rating: 4.5/5
The Verdict: juicy and unputdownable summer suspense
Summer reading just got a whole lot spicier. May Cobb’s deliciously juicy and wickedly entertaining THE HUNTING WIVES might just be the most gossip-worthy suspense novel of Summer 2021. Centering around an elite clique of wealthy housewives with secrets as big as their home state of Texas, THE HUNTING WIVES invites readers into an exclusive and glamorous world with a dark side. When Sophie relocates her family from Chicago to a small East Texas town, she hopes to give them the kind of peaceful, stable upbringing that was missing from her own childhood. But Sophie’s world is turned upside down when she meets charismatic and mysterious Margot, the ringleader of a group of local affluent housewives who call themselves “The Hunting Wives.” As Sophie falls under Margot’s spell, she is drawn into a dark and dangerous world of parties and hookups. And when someone close to the group turns up dead, and suspicion falls on Sophie, her world threatens to be destroyed forever. THE HUNTING WIVES is dripping with glamour and excess, a razor-sharp thriller about the complexity of female relationships wrapped up in an irresistible, reality-TV-worthy package. Fans of Desperate Housewives and Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies will relish this irresistible story of wealthy women behaving very badly, and the (maybe not-so-) innocent woman caught in their crosshairs.
Plot Details:
Sophie O'Neill left behind an envy-inspiring career and the stressful, competitive life of big-city Chicago to settle down with her husband and young son in a small Texas town. It seems like the perfect life with a beautiful home in an idyllic rural community. But Sophie soon realizes that life is now too quiet, and she's feeling bored and restless.
Then she meets Margot Banks, an alluring socialite who is part of an elite clique secretly known as the Hunting Wives. Sophie finds herself completely drawn to Margot and swept into her mysterious world of late-night target practice and dangerous partying. As Sophie's curiosity gives way to full-blown obsession, she slips farther away from the safety of her family and deeper into this nest of vipers.
When the body of a teenage girl is discovered in the woods where the Hunting Wives meet, Sophie finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation and her life spiraling out of control.
If you could put the ingredients for a perfect summer thriller in a blender and mix them up with a dash of Real Housewives-level drama, a pinch of murder mystery, and a healthy dose of sinister obsession, you would get May Cobbs’ irresistible suspense novel THE HUNTING WIVES. If there’s one thing this book most definitely is, it’s addictive. I devoured THE HUNTING WIVES in a couple of breathless sittings earlier this month, and dare you not to do the same. THE HUNTING WIVES falls into what I like to call the “popcorn thriller” category: those suspense novels that are so entertaining and page-turning that you want to devour them just like a bowl of popcorn. THE HUNTING WIVES begins with a seemingly innocuous premise: Sophie, a mother and wife, moves her family from Chicago to East Texas, chasing the stable, idyllic suburban life that was denied to her during her own childhood. But Sophie soon finds this stability monotonous, and goes searching for alternate forms of entertainment. Find them she does, in the form of Margot Banks, an enigmatic local socialite and the leader of a group of similarly-wealthy housewives who refer to themselves as “The Hunting Wives.” This elite friend group meets periodically at Margot’s lake house to go skeet shooting, drink cocktails, and gossip. Sophie is immediately drawn to Margot, and can hardly believe when she is invited to join The Hunting Wives for an evening of target practice. Before she knows it, Sophie is “in” with this exclusive group, and finds herself privy to the group’s inner workings: the partying, illicit hookups, and deadly secrets that they are keeping from the outside world. And when someone close to the group is found dead on Margot’s property, things take a darker turn still. Will Sophie be able to extricate herself from Margot’s influence before it’s too late?
In THE HUNTING WIVES, May Cobb expertly delves into the dark and dangerous side of female friendships. In many ways, THE HUNTING WIVES reads like Mean Girls all grown up: taken at face value, this book is all juicy drama and gossip, but dig a little deeper and readers will find a gripping deep-dive into the treacherous dynamics of an exclusive friend group. Outsider Sophie is the perfect guide through this maze. Sophie is a complex character, a woman who has it all but still wants more, and is willing to risk it all to get it. From the outside, Sophie’s life is picture-perfect. She has a doting husband and an adorable young son, and a growing lifestyle blog to boot. But Sophie has a dark side, and when she meets Margot, she finds herself increasingly drawn to give in to her darker impulses. Sophie is an intentionally unlikeable yet irresistible protagonist: readers will find themselves both wanting to shake her and tell her to snap out of it, while also being utterly unable to turn away from the destructive decisions she is making and their fallout. Author May Cobb lends authenticity to Sophie’s sometimes hard-to-explain decisions with an exploration of Sophie’s backstory, delving into the experiences in her upbringing that have contributed to her psychology as an adult. Margot, meanwhile, is everything that your average “queen bee” could dream of being and then some. Gorgeous, fabulously wealthy, and married to a successful husband with movie star-worthy good looks, Margot is the undeniable top of the social pyramid in her East Texas town. But Margot’s ego needs to be fed constantly, and when she can’t get those needs met at home, she goes looking elsewhere—even in illicit, highly inappropriate places. The connection between Sophie and Margot hums with the tension of a live wire, and readers will be riveted watching these two women rocket towards the disastrous end that we just know is coming. For any reader who has ever felt themselves on the outside of a friend group looking in, Sophie’s willingness to do anything to earn her place by Margot’s side will ring true, no matter how wild and dramatic this story’s plot may become.
THE HUNTING WIVES is a delicious story of juicy, sexy drama that morphs into a murder mystery while never losing its glitzy, glamorous edge. When someone close to The Hunting Wives is found dead on Margot’s property, the women suddenly find their under-the-radar activities subject to intense scrutiny, and not only from their spouses and peers in town, but from the police as well. While THE HUNTING WIVES remains firmly in the lighter suspense category throughout, my mystery-loving heart was delighted by the way May Cobb weaves a murder mystery into this otherwise light and dramatic suspense novel. The stakes are raised when Sophie finds herself a person of interest in the murder investigation, and readers will be on the edge of their seat to find out if Sophie can prove her innocence before the cunning and manipulative women she has come to consider her friends can throw her to the proverbial wolves. May Cobb pulls off a thrilling and shocking conclusion to this suspense novel that will leave readers chilled by the secrets that even the most picture-perfect friendships can hide. THE HUNTING WIVES is a “popcorn thriller” served with a serious side of spice; this juicy, wickedly fun story of secrets and manipulation in East Texas packs a perfect summer reading punch. Pick this one up for a sizzling summer read best paired with a cocktail and a book club discussion with your best friends.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. All opinions my own.
Book Details:
Publisher : Berkley (May 18, 2021)
Language : English
Hardcover : 368 pages
ISBN-10 : 0593101138
ISBN-13 : 978-0593101131
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