We all became May Cobb obsessed in 2025 (if we weren’t already) with the release of the Netflix adaptation of The Hunting Wives. This crazy, over-the-top Texas drama had audiences begging for more. And though there is a Season 2 officially on the way, we can get even more of May Cobb’s special brand of women behaving badly with her new releases, All the Little Houses. Set in Texas in the 80s, we follow the toxic intertwining of small town adults and their teens in this absolutely perfect follow up to the show’s debut. Get to know more about the new book, May and the upbringing that brought about this story in our exclusive interview with the bestselling author.

She Reads: Thank you so much for joining me. I wanted to start by talking about All the Little Houses. I loved it. It’s the fastest I’ve read a book in a while, and it was just so much fun. Would you tell our audience a bit about the new book? What sparked the idea and the inspiration behind it?

Cobb: Basically, it’s my twisted wink and nod to Little House on the Prairie. I grew up in the ’80s, and I watched that show like it was the only thing on television. Years ago, back when I was on Twitter, I tweeted, “Little House on the Prairie, but make it horror.”

I’m good friends with Riley Sager, and he replied, “Ooh, I would watch that.” And then I just couldn’t stop thinking about it. I was like, okay, I don’t write horror—but what if I set it in the ’80s, put it in Texas, and make it a soap opera with murder? Perfect.

SR: It absolutely was all of those things. I love that it came from Little House on the Prairie. I remember watching it when I was younger—I can still picture that intro so clearly.

Cobb: Oh, that intro!

SR: It felt like it lived in the same world as The Hunting Wives, but still completely stood on its own.

Cobb: That’s really good to hear. And yeah, I love writing about mean girls. I was obsessed with Nellie on Little House,so I wanted to do an updated, rich-bitch version of her.

On Generations, Mean Girls, and Never Growing Out of It

SR: What made you want to bridge generations—teenagers and adults—and blend those dramas together?

Cobb: When I think about what the book is really about, it’s Nellie and Charlie’s relationship. In so many ways, they’re each other’s best friends, but it’s super codependent and intense. I love a good toxic mother-daughter dynamic.

Charlie’s trying to come from a good place—I want to give you the life I didn’t have—but she also sees Nellie as a reflection of herself. So she’s molding her every step of the way. Of course, it doesn’t work out. I don’t want to spoil anything, but… yeah.

SR: No, that totally answers the question. And it leads into this bigger idea—do we ever actually grow out of that high school level of drama and pettiness?

Cobb: In this book? Absolutely not. And honestly, probably not in real life either. That impulse is always there. Hopefully we’ve evolved into our higher selves, but jealousy, pettiness, backstabbing—it still comes out sometimes. That’s why things like Real Housewives are so popular. And Heathers—I love Heathers. I wish I had written that.

SR: Same. Absolute perfection.

Cobb: Winona Ryder forever.

Texas, Heat, and Small-Town Chaos

SR: As a Texan who often sets stories there, what does Texas bring to your books—especially this one?

Cobb: Texas brings a special kind of messy chaos. I grew up in Deep East Texas, where the book is set, and it was a real party town. Everything’s bigger, the personalities, the accents, the hair.

It was also this mix of middle-class life and deep oil wealth. I wasn’t part of that world, but I was adjacent to it. I’d get invited to a slumber party at a massive mansion and just observe that pressure cooker from the inside.

SR: Climate also seems to play a role, the heat feels almost claustrophobic in the book.

Cobb: I love that you noticed that. I tend to set my thrillers in Texas summers because the heat becomes a character. It’s oppressive. It makes people meaner. It makes everything feel more intense, swimming, drinking, bad decisions.

It’s like a powder keg. Is it the heat? The alcohol? The entitlement? Probably all of it.

Why the 1980s?

SR: Why the ’80s specifically?

Cobb: Partly because that’s when the Little House audience grew up. But also because there’s no cell phones, no internet. If you’re out in the woods in the middle of the night, you’re really alone. It’s creepier.

Even if readers didn’t grow up then, the mean girl dynamics and toxic adult behavior are evergreen.

SR: It almost feels like you have to set books in the past to make it believable that teenagers are out swimming at a lake unsupervised.

Cobb: Right? Everyone’s tracked now. I honestly feel for teenagers today, they don’t get to get into trouble the way we did. And nothing was documented!

Unlikable Women & Publishing Reality

SR: There’s so much focus on perfection and image in small towns. Is that something you’ve experienced personally or in publishing?

Cobb: Growing up, I was lucky. My parents were grounded, and I had good friends. But I definitely witnessed the social hierarchies and pressure other kids were under.

In publishing, I was genuinely surprised by the reaction to The Hunting Wives. There was a lot of love, but also backlash, especially around unlikable female characters. I didn’t realize how much of a thing that still was.

At first I was like, What have I done? But then I realized—those just aren’t my readers. I love morally gray characters. I love not knowing what they’re going to do next. I don’t want to impose my own moral compass on them.

Mystery, POVs, and What’s Next

SR: With so many POVs and potential suspects in All the Little Houses, did you know who the killer was from the start?

Cobb: For this one, yes, which is unusual for me. The trick was keeping readers guessing.

There were also surprises along the way. Jackson was originally going to be a very minor character, kind of the Greek chorus of the town, but I fell in love with him.

SR: He ended up being one of the most redeemable characters.

Cobb: Which is a low bar in this book, but still! [Laughs]

SR: And there is a sequel coming?

Cobb: Yes. It hasn’t been announced yet, but it will be soon. I ended on a cliffhanger because I knew there was more story to tell.

The Hunting Wives TV Phenomenon

SR: What was it like watching The Hunting Wives explode the way it did?

Cobb: Completely surreal. Rebecca Cutter did an incredible job with the show. She made changes that elevated everything, like adding the political stakes with Margot’s husband.

I honestly think the show is better than the book. It’s more fun, more chaotic, more expansive.

SR: It really did feel unhinged in the best way.

Cobb: Exactly. I couldn’t have been in better hands.

Rapid Fire Questions

SR: What are you reading right now?

Cobb: An early ARC called Killer Vibes by Jack Friday. Texas-set PI novel—loving it.

SR: A book you recommend to everyone?

Cobb: Girls and Their Horses by Eliza Jane Brazier. Obsessed. It’s Heathers meets horse-girl drama.

SR: What are you watching?

Cobb: The Gilded Age.

SR: Favorite drink?

Cobb: Margaritas.

SR: Favorite snack?

Cobb: Dark chocolate.

SR: New Year’s resolutions?

Cobb: Nope. I break them immediately.

SR: This was such a fun conversation. Thank you so much for taking the time.

Cobb: Thank you! This was a blast.

All the Little Houses by May Cobb

Set in the small town of Longview, Texas, Nellie Anderson is the misfit, untouchable daughter of a powerful family who always gets what she wants. With the help of her socially savvy and sometimes ruthless mother, Charleigh, she maintains her status to the displeasure of all the teens around her forced to be her friend. Charleigh clawed her way up from being a poor, shunned outsider, and will do anything to protect the empire she built. When a prairie-perfect family threatens to unravel everything, she’ll stop at nothing to take down the mother-daughter pair threatening her and Nellie’s position. In this fight for social dominance, someone won’t make it to the end as rivalries heat up, affairs ensue and secrets become deadly.

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