The Hunting Wives

“A decade spent in the lifestyle magazine business has me hardwired toward shallowness.”

Sophie makes this admission to justify and explain why she sometimes finds Erin boring and unfashionable, even though she knows the other woman to be a kind and loyal friend. By making this statement so early in the narrative, she foreshadows that her interactions with this new group of women will also be “hardwired toward shallowness.” Her outlook also explains her extreme vulnerability to Margot’s manipulation; she is easily seduced by Margot’s beauty and her sophisticated lifestyle.

“Margot Banks is not a nice person.”

This bald statement from Erin alerts Sophie to the fact that the object of her fascination is not all that she seems. The comment is significant because Erin has lived in Mapleton all her life and is therefore a much more reliable source than Sophie is herself when it comes to assessing Margot’s character. Thus, Erin’s warning is a narrative device that stands in opposition to Sophie’s largely unreliable narration. Unlike Sophie, Erin is not dazzled by Margot’s beauty and wealth, and she therefore has a more accurate impression of Margot’s true nature.

“But maybe my mother’s transient nature is in me, too. Maybe that’s why I’m feeling so restless.”

In this moment of introspection, Sophie muses about the impact of her childhood and wonders how it has shaped her present decisions. The scene shows that Sophie is somewhat self-aware, but it is also clear that she tends to blame others rather than looking for ways to improve herself. Instead of taking responsibility for her own decisions and embracing the need to find a more fulfilling life, she merely assumes that she has an innate predisposition to being dissatisfied.

“Even with my blog and Instagram posting, there are all these endless hours to fill.”

This passage acknowledges the listlessness and understated despair inherent in Sophie’s largely empty life. Because she is so focused on attaining external validation from strangers via her blog and Instagram account, it is clear that she is predisposed to being manipulated by Margot’s calculated attention and praise. She sees Margot’s cadre as an ideal way to improve the level of excitement in her life, and her fixation on Margot is essentially Self-Destruction Masked as Escapism. The quotation reflects the author’s understated critique of the mainstream social expectations around motherhood, for although Sophie is doing everything “right” by society’s arbitrary standards, she cannot be expected to have all of her own emotional needs met when she dedicates her life to nothing but caring for her family.

“I wanted to be near her. For her to notice me, too. The idea of it took my breath away.”

The sexual longing in this passage reveals the burgeoning infatuation that Sophie has for Margot. Even before they start spending time together, Sophie is obsessively interested in Margot’s online life, and she even goes so far as to lurk in places where she might encounter the woman in person. Rather than pursuing her interest in women in a healthy way, she feels compelled to hide it, and her fixation on Margot is not based on reality but on an idealized illusion that does not exist. As time goes on, Sophie grows ever more susceptible to Margot’s deceptions because she fails to properly interpret the warning signs that Margot is not who she seems to be.

“As it turns out, you can’t outrun who you are. My darker urges simply followed me here and are even more amplified because it’s so quiet, and sometimes so boring.”

In this quotation, Sophie reflects on her pattern of reckless and self-destructive behavior. In a moment of quiet honesty, she readily admits that her decision to move to a small town was not prompted solely by ideas of improving her son’s well-being. As she contemplates the realities of her current life, her complaints about the “quiet,” “boring” small town suggests that she feels compelled to engage in risky behavior to feel more deeply alive. This moment of reflection therefore develops the novel’s focus on self-destruction masked as escapism. The scene is also used to generate a greater sense of foreboding, given that sinister secrets lurk beneath this seemingly idyllic surface.

“What bothers me, though, is the creeping sense that whenever I’m around Margot, I’m out of control.”

Sophie reflects on the unhealthy dynamic that ensues as she begins to spend more time with Margot and engage in risky behavior likes flirting with Jamie and helping to hide Margot’s illicit relationship with Brad. Sophie knows that she is edging closer to dangerous territory, but she also feels powerless to put boundaries in place because she is overcome by the excitement of spending time with the person she so deeply desires.

“People who’ve never been abandoned don’t know what a hole it leaves.”

The bitter tone of this thought reflects Sophie’s sense of isolation and resentment. As Sophie reflects on her experience of having an absent father, she realizes that this aspect of her childhood has shaped her current experience of attachment. She blames her unstable childhood for her inability to find true contentment and emotional stability in life, and she consciously contrasts her experience with Graham’s. However, there is an element of sulky, self-indulgent anger in this comment, and the narrative suggests that Sophie is using her fraught past as a justification for her risky and selfish decisions. By this point, Sophie is an adult and a parent herself, but she continues to abdicate all responsibility for the choices that she makes.

“‘I’m straight, though,’ I quickly added. ‘I was just experimenting.’”

In this retrospective scene, a younger Sophie hurriedly (and falsely) reassured her husband-to-be that she did not have any romantic or sexual interest in women. She explained away her past encounters in this realm by claiming to be “just experimenting,” and she actively dismissed a deeply vital part of herself to conform to a more conventional expectation of romance and dating. In many ways, this earlier act of deception became the origin of her dissatisfaction as a married woman, as she has denied her own desires to craft a lie of a life that does not satisfy all that she is. Her rush to deny her own sexuality also suggests that she has internalized a measure of antigay bias herself.

“I’m still turned on, though, but it’s not Jamie I really want, it’s Margot.”

Sophie has this thought after she engages in sexual activity with Jamie but stops short of having intercourse with him. She admits to herself that her superficial desire for Jamie really arises from her repressed and redirected desire for Margot. The teenage Jamie also represents an illicit relationship for the married Sophie, but this lesser form of societal rebellion allows Sophie to maintain the illusion that she is only attracted to men.

“Look, I can’t have anyone finding out about me and Brad. No one needs to know.”

Margot makes this declaration when she urges Sophie to follow her suggested cover story after Abby goes missing. Notably, Margot is not concerned with helping find Abby, nor is she worried about the girl’s safety. Instead, her primary concern is to protect herself and avoid the consequences of her actions. Margot therefore coerces and blackmails Sophie into lying and concealing information during the initial investigation, thereby revealing her true character in a way that not even the infatuated Sophie can ignore.

“Abby is no longer missing. Abby is dead.”

This blunt, stark declaration reflects Sophie’s horror and her struggle to assimilate inescapable facts that will have devastating consequences for her life. It is also clear that her own conscience is finally affected by the circumstances, as once Abby is found murdered, Sophie becomes fixated on discovering who killed her and why. The flat, concise statement also mirrors the finality of death itself; once Abby’s body is found, all of life’s more mundane concerns become unimportant in comparison.

“I dunno, isn’t the boyfriend always a suspect?”

Tina asks this rhetorical question as she and Sophie gossip about the news that Abby has been found dead. Initially, in a show of loyalty to Jill (and, by extension, Brad), the women insist that Brad could never be the killer, but with this comment, Tina draws attention to the generic convention that governs many true-crime narratives and suspense thrillers: the idea that a male partner often harms a female victim. Ultimately, the suspicion of Brad turns out to a red herring that detracts from the true killer, Jill.

“I no longer wonder if Brad did it; I’m certain he did. And I’m positive Margot helped him.”

This quotation shows how swiftly Sophie comes up with a new theory after Abby’s body is found, and it is notable that she quickly turns against the object of her infatuation and concocts a half-baked theory implicating Margot in Abby’s murder. Because of her intimacy with Margot, Sophie does have unique insights into the mystery, but she becomes overconfident in her ability to understand what truly happened. Her habit of leaping to conclusions reflects the novel’s focus on The Danger of Emotion-Based Misperceptions.

“When they pulled the shotgun from the woods, they were able to recover fingerprints.”

In this scene, Detective Flynn leads up to the statement that Sophie herself is now the primary suspect in Abby’s murder, as her fingerprints have been found on the murder weapon. Given the narrative structure of Sophie’s first-person perspective, the police’s incorrect theory injects an element of dramatic irony into the plot, as it is clear that the real killer is still at large. Hearing this, Sophie now becomes desperate to find the identity of the killer and clear her own name.

“Margot. That bitch. She framed me.”

This passage once again reflects the danger of emotion-based misperceptions, as an enraged Sophie leaps to the conclusion that Margot herself has implicated her in Abby’s murder. She relies on her own sense of outrage and a few pieces of circumstantial evidence to form this belief, and her snap decision that Margot is framing her reveals the underlying tension between the two women, even though Sophie is still enamored with Margot.

“I don’t tell him that it’s because I became entranced by her and, therefore, was the easiest prey.”

This quotation occurs after Graham questions why Margot would target Sophie and frame her for the crime. Because Sophie cannot bring herself to be honest about her own sexuality and desires, which would conceivably jeopardize her marriage, she continues to protect herself by withholding information. She also once again shows her propensity to blame others for her own misfortunes. By labeling herself as “prey,” she robs herself of agency and plays the victim, exhibiting a sudden rush of bitterness. The image of predator and prey also reflects the novel’s recurring motifs of hunting and shooting.

“Here I was, trying to be the cool, evolved husband that lets his wife blow off steam with the girls, and all the while you’ve been playing me.”

Graham’s bitter statement to Sophie reflects his sense of betrayal upon finally learning that she has engaged in sexual activity with Jamie. By emphasizing his previous attempts to give Sophie space in the social sphere, Graham delivers a calculated—if justified—guilt trip. In his mind, he tried to live up to a social ideal of being a supportive spouse, and he also hints that Sophie has exploited his kindness and patience. In this moment, although Sophie has been able to hide her deceptions for a long time, she must now face the consequences of her rash actions.

“I don’t know if I fully buy it all, but it dawns on me: Margot doesn’t seem capable of loving someone enough to kill for them.”

This admission shows that Sophie is finally shifting away from her belief that Margot was involved in Abby’s murder. Ironically, she can only come to this conclusion by giving up on the illusion that Margot is a caring person. Only when she realizes the woman’s shallow, self-centered worldview does she accept the fact that Margot does not truly care about her relationship with Brad—at least not enough to kill a girl whose presence threatens that relationship.

“Surely, it was a one night stand for Margot, too. She doesn’t really love me.”

Sophie reflects on this thought after she and Margot finally have sex. Sophie is determined never to sleep with Margot again, and she rationalizes the encounter by reflecting that the night was likely meaningless for Margot. While Sophie is still sexually titillated by the interaction, she no longer trusts Margot and is fully aware that Margot only ever acts in her own best interest. Although Sophie is still making rash decisions, this scene suggests that she is becoming more shrewd and less enamored of Margot.

“I can’t imagine Margot dead. It’s impossible. She seems too powerful. More powerful than even death.”

This quotation captures Sophie’s shock after she learns that Margot has been found dead in the lake. While Sophie has ambivalent feelings about Margot, she never imagined that the woman would meet an untimely death. Sophie’s shock signals that this event will drastically affect her own life, given that she is already under suspicion for one murder. Her assertion that Margot “seems too powerful” to die also suggests that, even in the midst of her disillusionment, she still places Margot on a pedestal to a certain extent.

“It wasn’t Margot at the clinic. Sophie, it was Jill.”

In this scene, Detective Flynn delivers crucial information in a voicemail to Sophie, and the urgency of his tone adds suspense to the moment, given that Sophie receives this message when she is alone and in Jill’s power. The confluence of events sets the stage for the novel’s climax, and Jill’s subsequent willingness to admit to her guilt places Sophie in an extremely dangerous situation, as Jill can hardly allow Sophie to live if she herself wants to keep her actions hidden from the rest of the world.

“The little bitch was standing in my son’s way; I had no choice. Both of them were, actually.”

Jill uses derogatory language to refer to her two victims, and even her attempts to justify her actions reveal that her worldview is deeply unbalanced. In essence, she has become a warped version of the nurturing mother figure, taking her protective role so far that she ends women’s lives in the belief that her actions will protect and ensure her son’s bright future. Jill believes that she had to kill Abby and Margot because both women had the power to entrap her son and interfere with his ambitious plans. Jill’s twisted worldview is further complicated by her implicit jealousy over her son’s sexual partners.