Some people aren't aware they are in a toxic relationship until they are well out of it. That's not the case with lifestyle journalist Sophie O'Neill who, with her architect husband, Graham, and preschooler son, Jack, moved seven months ago from suburban Chicago to slower paced Mapleton, Tex., "small enough to feel quaint... big enough to have a Chipotle." There, Sophie finds a honeycomb of society women oozing with noxious gossip and backbiting--and Sophie desperately wants in. May Cobb (Big Woods) compellingly explores the dark side of female friendship in The Hunting Wives, her second novel.
Sophie becomes infatuated with queen bee Margot Banks, whose family has "oil money dripping out of their ears," and her three women friends. Sophie trolls them on social media and wangles invitations to parties where they will be. She's finally invited to join their "Hunting Wives" club, which involves a lot of drinking and shooting skeet at Margot's remote lake house. Then comes barhopping, which moves from flirting with strangers to adultery. Sophie's fascination with Margot puts her marriage in jeopardy, ignoring that she isn't a pal but a pawn in their risky games--until a fatality occurs.
Cobb plumbs the depths of Sophie's ennui as she realizes that this small-town life that she craved--"the quiet ticktock of the street"--begins to feel "oppressive." Sophie sees the manipulative Margot as a "glamour fix," an outlet for her restlessness. Cobb intelligently imbues The Hunting Wives with unexpected twists, accented by witty dialogue, leading to a surprising finale. --Oline H. Cogdill, freelance reviewer