Media Reviews
What Megan Abbott knows, as so many maestros of the heebie-jeebies do, is that it's not strangers who are scary; it's the people you think you know and love . . . Abbott is in top form in this novel. She resumes her customary role of black cat, opaque and unblinking, filling her readers with queasy suspicion at every turn. * New York Times *
The underlying tension she sustains is so beautifully unbearable, you may be unable to leave the couch. Scene by scene and moment by moment, she keeps you on edge - the same way Breaking Bad did, without the meth or machismo . . . unputdownable . . . Abbott is a literary descendant of Richard Yates, John Cheever and other writers who captured what used to be called lives of quiet desperation. Abbott's fiction is also indebted to such noir stylists as James M Cain and Patricia Highsmith. * Chicago Tribune *
What puts flesh on the bones of Abbott's flying cheetah of suspense is her insight into parenting, marriage and various sorts of interpersonal rivalry, here embodied in Katie and Eric Knox, their hugely talented daughter, Devon, their sweet younger son, Drew . . . Why do you always leave me by myself? wonders her little son, continually abandoned in the car, in the bleachers, or at home. Good question, kid. The complexity of the answer is what lifts Abbott above other writers in this genre, making her something of a Stephen King, whose work hangs right on the edge of the literary while making your skin crawl. * Newsday *
Almost unbearably tense, chilling and addictive, You Will Know Me deftly transports the reader to the hyper-competitive arena of gymnastics where the dreams and aspirations of not just families but entire communities rest on the slender shoulders of one teenage girl. Exceptional. -- Paula Hawkins, bestselling author of The Girl on the Train
Like stepping into a world with slightly too little oxygen. Dark and compelling, this is a 2 a.m. novel. -- Lucie Whitehouse, author of Before We Met
You Will Know Me is powerful and unsettling, a portrait of a family where tenderness can mean pain as well as love. Megan Abbott is exceptionally good at teasing out telling moments to reveal deeply buried truths. -- Jane Casey, author of The Missing
You Will Know Me takes you into the dark heart of family, a journey that feels more menacing with every page. Abbott cranks the tension up in this disturbing tale of exactly what we are prepared to do for our children - I was reading compulsively into the night. A beautifully written, gripping read that feels unshakeably real. -- Kate Hamer, author of The Girl In The Red Coat
That rarefied sweet spot between unnerving psychological suspense and a family drama with heart, You Will Know Me induces equal parts dread and unease, empathy and warmth. The pages couldn't turn fast enough as I dug deeper into the peculiar and fascinating Knox-family world, trying to figure out who was lying, who was telling the truth, and who was dangerous. Luscious writing, a timely and unique premise, and an ending that will haunt you all summer long. -- Jessica Knoll, author of Luckiest Girl Alive
Is there anything Megan Abbott can't do? We will have to wait for the answer to that question because You Will Know Me continues her formidable winning streak. This story of an ordinary family with an extraordinary child is gorgeously written, psychologically astute, a page-turner that forces you to slow down and savour every word. -- Laura Lippman, New York Times bestselling writer
I had my heart in my mouth from first page to last and raced through this high-stakes story of what can happen to a family when its primary dynamic is ambition. Beautifully written and observed, tightly plotted and as nail-bitingly tense as an Olympic final. -- Gilly Macmillan, author of Burnt Paper Sky
Megan Abbott's latest thriller plunges readers into the shockingly realistic life of young, female gymnasts whose severely regulated lives come with unthinkable consequences. Gritty, graphic, and yet beautiful and dreamlike in the way the story unfolds, You Will Know Me comes barreling at you with all the power and urgency of a high-speed train, as Abbott asserts herself as one of the greatest crime writers of our time. -- Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl
The tension starts in the second paragraph of page one and insinuates itself brilliantly throughout, unsettling and wrong footing me. I read it, holding my breath like Devon before the big leap. Loved every minute. -- Fiona Barton, author of The Widow
Slick, pacy and full of a pulse-quickening intensity, You Will Know Me is both a tightly plotted thriller and a forensic examination of family dynamics, set against a backdrop as alien to most people as it is fascinating - the world of competitive gymnastics. -- Ruth Ware, author of In A Dark, Dark Wood
You Will Know Me is poignant, real and beautifully written . . . a brilliant, gripping book about the sacrifices and compromises parents make in the name of love. -- Claire Kendal, author of The Book of You
Abbott proves herself a master of fingernails-digging-into-your-palms suspense. * Kirkus (starred review) *
A piercing look at what one family will sacrifice in the name of making their daughter a champion . . . keenly examines the pressures put on girls' bodies and and the fierce, often misguided love parents have for their children. * Publishers Weekly, starred and boxed review *
Had me at page one and didn't let me go. Insightful, chilling and fascinating, the most gripping novel I've read this year and her best to date. -- Rosamund Lupton, author of Sister
Megan Abbott writes like a dream and grips like a vice. Weeks later, I still can't stop thinking about You Will Know Me -- Erin Kelly, author of The Poison Tree
Chillingly believable, beautifully written...You Will Know Me is Megan Abbott's best novel to date. A triumph -- Paula Daly, author of Just What Kind of Mother Are You?
Abbott has a knack for dissecting the dark, beating heart of the most all-American activity . . . dazzling . . . It's vivid, troubling and powerful - and Abbott totally sticks the landing * Booklist *
Abbott's ability to build suspense and feed on readers' fear is nearly unparalleled . . . Her thousands of fans have been hungry for this book for a while, and with good reason: it's both terrifying and gripping. * Elle USA *
A chilling thriller from a great writer clearly destined for even greater things * Red *
Abbott is outstanding at illuminating the dark drama at the heart of family life . . . brilliantly begs the question of whether good people are capable of bad deeds. * Sunday Express *
Megan Abbott is America's finest exponent of psychological thrillers, her novels looking with a forensic eye and lyrical prose at the turbulent psyche of teenage girls . . . utterly gripping. * Big Issue *
Another star of the genre . . . specialises in seamy pageturners probing dark desires in the pristine picket-fence suburbs of her native Midwest . . . the truth in this story of chilling sacrifice proves morally knottier than we can guess * Metro *
The US has long boasted a full complement of excellent women crime writers and Abbott is one of the most inventive . . . a psychological study of real perception * Independent *
Chock full of tension and suspense . . . gripping . . . will make you question how far you will go to achieve your dreams. * InStyle *
While the crime plot is impeccably handled, what captivates is Abbott's portrayal of the subculture of sporty teenage girls, observed with the eye of an anthropologise and . . . the pen of a poet. * Sunday Times *
A masterful tale that's both suspenseful and an eerily accurate portrait of the way teenage and parental cliques operate . . . It's Abbott's psychological smarts that make You Will Know Me such a standout . . . never lets the suspense flag . . . Abbott steadily commands our attention with a suspense plot that unexpectedly somersaults and back flips whenever a landing seems in sight . . . ingenious. * Washington Post *
Her books are driven as much by intricate character development and rhythmic sentences as they are by plot. * Wall Street Journal *
A must read . . . observed with the eye of an anthropologist and intermittently described (in trademark flashes of lyricism) with the pen of the poet . . . mixes an incredible crime plot with beautiful writing. * Sunday Times *
Brilliant . . . beneath the glittering carapace of Abbott's lush, skillful, subtle writing, it's impossible to know what we're supposed to think. One of the strengths of this novel is that it doesn't mind what we believe - it is coolly at peace with whatever our take on matters might be . . . we, as readers, are made entirely responsible for our own theories and conclusions. In that sense, this is an exceptionally plausible work of fiction . . . The wrong kind of ambiguity in a crime novel can be fatal. Abbott judges it impeccably here . . . all of this Abbott pulls off with breathtaking skill . . . excellent. -- Sophie Hannah, New York Times Book Review
The bestselling Abbott is a past master of the psycho thriller, turning a cool and knowing gaze . . . a foot-perfect performance. * Daily Mail *
Megan Abbott has found fertile ground in the intensity of female adolescence . . . her writing is taut and elegant, carefully balancing suspense and sharp twists with psychological insights. Abbott excels at showing us the kind of teenage girl we are prone to dismiss, or idealise, or both - and then subverting our expectations . . . Abbot more than holds her own against the competition . . . Abbott is unafraid to push the limits of the genre: You Will Know Me is as much a relatable and authentic interrogation of parenthood as it is a psychological thriller exploring the dangers lurking within what looks like a perfect family . . . [an] elegant page-turner. The prose is sharp and precise . . . for the reader, entranced, it certainly is compelling. * Irish Times *
You Will Know Me is a stunning, original and remarkable novel . . . viscerally evoked and the tension simmering away in an ordinary community is depicted with both precision and lyricism . . . Abbott's prose is precise and striking yet somehow also contains a dreamlike quality. * Big Issue *
No-one does the dark side of girlhood like Megan Abbott . . . this new book, which mixes mother-daughter relationships with an atmosphere of seeping dread, is something very special. * Stylist *
No one writes about teenage girls the way thriller writer Megan Abbott does . . . Abbott is a genius at writing about ambitious teen girls who are more complicated, deep and fascinating than society gives them credit for. You Will Know Me is a suspenseful, wicked, eerily smart book. * Esquire *
Megan Abbott will draw you in with plot - there's a crime, a hit-and-run - and keep you reading with weightier questions * NPR *
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