All the Little Houses by May Cobb
This is the first May Cobb book I’ve read, but it sure won’t be the last – I’m hooked!
Cobb has received tremendous acclaim for her deliciously twisty best-selling domestic thrillers in the past such as The Hunting Wives which also went on to be a hit TV series on Netflix.
And she really hits it out of the park once again with her new book All the Little Houses – about a small Texas town in the 1980s filled with secrets, jealousy, betrayal, ruthless social climbing and ultimately murder behind the closed doors of the seemingly peaceful houses and people who live there.
A Murder Sets the Tone From the First Page
You know something very bad is going to happen from the opening page of the book when Cobb writes:
“Under the spotlight of the full moon, the normally placid lake roils, its metallic surface disturbed by both the torching summer breeze and the body recently thrust there.
“It’s not sinking fast enough. Not as fast as I imagined it would.”
But who dies?
And why?’
And who is the killer?
Before answering those questions though, Cobb takes us on a searing, wicked and totally entertaining view of the deceptive little town of Longview, Texas where nothing is what it seems to be and everyone there appears to be capable of murder to achieve that they’re seeking out of life.
The story – which combines the best elements of a delicious soap opera drama and a riveting, twisty thriller – is told from four viewpoints of the major characters, who are the kind of terribly flawed people that we all love to hate.
Flawed Characters With Everything to Hide
Charleigh Anderson – Born on the poor side of East Texas, she married a wealthy man and soon became the queen of her own self-made social empire in Longview. Described as “blonde, beautiful and ruthlessly cunning,” she will do anything to maintain that regal status she has achieved in the little town.
Nellie Anderson- the troubled daughter of the Anderson family dynasty: a classic, spoiled “mean girl” who can never seem to achieve anything on her own – success, friends, romance – so she and her mother will do whatever it takes to make sure she always gets what she wants.
Jane Swift – The new girl in town who is pretty and popular and who immediately makes Nellie obsessively jealous of her – and willing to go to any lengths to bring her down. But, as we soon find out, Jane and her family have their own deep, dark secrets that they’re hiding.
Jackson Ford – A gay interior director in the who is Charleigh’s best friend and confidante – until he becomes so deeply involved in the soap opera relationships in Longview that he has to decide whether or not to put his own sexual needs and desires ahead of his loyalty to her.
Nellie describes her bizarre relationship with her mother this way at the beginning of the book:
“I don’t have any friends – not any real friends…I’m a bully, a mean girl, people say, and Mom’s always had to bribe my way into acceptable society. People have to be friends with me. So I’m in with the rich bitches, even if they don’t like me.”
And then Nellie talks about her jealousy and hatred of the new girl in town, Jane.
“When they first got her, Mom and I were downtown…we spotted her and her mother on the sidewalk…I said in a low voice to Mom: ‘I don’t like her.’
“I don’t like her either,” Mom said.
“That’s just how we are with each other. She knows to always agree with me.”
A Twisty, Addictive Ride With a Deadly Payoff
This is the kind of book that is so compelling the pages just fly by – and you’ll find yourself compelled to want to finish it in one reading without ever putting it down.
Because it’s set in the 1980s, there are many pop cultural references to that time period including the TV show Little House on the Prairie – which has led to some people calling this “Mean Girls Meets Little House on the Prairie.”
Yes, May Cobb has filled this book with entertaining mean girls, mean moms and plenty of mean other people too in Longview too – exposing the dark side of small town living and the deadly secrets and scandals that are hidden there.
The result is a wonderfully addictive novel (with an ending you’ll never see coming!) that will make you glad you don’t live in a town like Longview – even though you’ll love reading about it!
About May Cobb:
