The Hunting Wives by May Cobb

Sophie left behind a career in big-city Chicago to settle down with her husband and young son in small-town Texas. But soon she's feeling bored and restless, until she becomes obsessed with Margot, an alluring socialite who is part of an elite clique secretly known as the Hunting Wives. 

Sophie slips farther away from the safety of her family and deeper into Margot’s nest of vipers until the body of a teenager is found, and she finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation.
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This one is all of the S’s: salacious, soapy and steamy. It’s perfect for fans of Desperate Housewives or Big Little Lies or those who love The Real Housewives of any city, but especially Dallas (since it’s set in TX). At times I saw these ladies as self-absorbed characters making poor life choices. At others, I saw them as females exploring the sides of themselves that, as women, they’re supposed to suppress. But no matter how I felt about their behavior in any given moment, I could NOT look away.
 
The main character, after settling into small town life, is suddenly terrified by what’s expected of her as a wife and mother --  the sheer monotony of it, so she becomes obsessed with Margot. Through Margot, she can explore the less responsible, and darker, parts of herself. This includes the sexual desires most women are expected to deny or sublimate. 
 
This results in her making one life-destroying decision after another. I felt myself wanting to backhand her at the very same time I was rooting for her. In her defense, the seeds of her destruction were planted in her childhood, which wasn’t storybook. 
 
This is a slow burn until about the midpoint, and then the pace picks up. But at no point, from start to finish, did I ever feel bored. 
 
The cover of this book is perfect. It works so well with the story.
 
This is coming out May 18!

Thank you Berkley for the ARC!
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