Press Reviews

• Harlan Coben

  Tense, chilling and beautifully written, El Dorado Drive is an absolute knockout

• Karin Slaughter

  Layer by magnetic layer, Megan Abbott reveals the story of a family coming undone beneath the paralyzing weight of material pressures. Abbott is a skilled storyteller, and EL DORADO DRIVE is a smart, twisty, and riveting family drama

• Dennis Lehane

  El Dorado Drive is a silky devious ride. It's suspenseful as all hell but also beautifully observed and filled with trenchant observations about the price of greed and the debilitating weight of modern womanhood

• Crime Reads, Most anticipated crime books of 2025

  Abbott is among the most gifted stylists at work in crime fiction today, and she brings a poetic appreciation for flawed humanity to her new novel, which is as atmospheric and compelling as any of her best books

• Chris Whitaker

  Sharp, shocking, beautiful and brilliant. El Dorado Drive is a thrilling, clever and powerful story of family, class, money and morality. Megan Abbott is a phenomenal storyteller

• Gillian Flynn, bestselling author of GONE GIRL

  As surprising and electrifying as a summer storm, EL DORADO DRIVE deftly examines hope, need, greed and the complicated angles of sisterhood. It is suspenseful, beautifully written and, quite simply, exquisite

• Sarah Hilary

  An incisive evisceration of the American Dream, served up as a noirish novel about sisters, envy, and innocence. Exhilarating, explosive and hugely entertaining

• SA Cosby

  El Dorado Drive is a dizzying ephemeral journey where Megan Abbott confirms what many of us already knew. She is one the finest writers to ever put pen to paper in the crime genre. A rare tour de force

• NPR

  Abbott is a superstar of the suspense genre

• Library Journal (starred review)

  [Abbott] effortlessly excels at exploring the complexities of women's relationships with suspenseful, atmospheric storytelling. Unsettling and darkly clever

• Booklist

  Abbott strikes gold again with this taut, suspenseful story . . . Another top-flight thriller from a genre master

• Publishers Weekly

  [A] nerve-shredding thriller . . . Abbott probes the minefield of sisterhood to harrowing effect, using staccato prose to amplify the inherent apprehension and anxiety of the siblings' relationships. The result is a tense and twisty delight

• Kirkus

  Abbott is the queen of charged atmospheres, where a restrained surface often hides a torrent of deception

• Lit Hub

  Abbott is one of the reigning queens of suspense and her latest promises to be another dark knockout

• Maris Review

  Megan is the reigning queen of feminist neo-noir that's equal parts brainy and suspenseful, and every single time she publishes a new novel it's an occasion

• BookPage

  Explosive ... Abbott's novels are notable not just for their beautifully penned suspense but also for their nuanced relationships between women

• Boston Globe, Best Books of the Summer

  Abbott, a pro at exploring the underbelly of suburbia, mines the desperation of those both fallen from wealthy heights and mired in tricky family dynamics

• Los Angeles Times

  Abbott + women + pyramid scheme = winner, winner, chicken dinner

• Irish Times

  A dark, satisfying delight. Abbott's writing has always been hypnotic, projecting a powerful sense of women's inner lives and desires through the prisms of noir and suspense ... Abbott subtly moves her characters through slyly crafted surprises to a satisfying conclusion that betrays none of the book's intoxicating depth

• Los Angeles Times

  Leave it to Megan Abbott to tap into the American zeitgeist and play on her readers' fears like a conductor leading a doomsday orchestra . . . Abbott delivers a revolting revelation that sets up a series of twists that propels the story to its inevitable, but no less satisfying, conclusion

• i paper

  As much a smart family drama and exploration of class as it is a thriller

• Morning Star

  Abbott cements her reputation as a poet of decline and regret, as well as a very fine thriller writer

• Mail on Sunday

  A brutally well-observed suburban thriller

• People

  The Queen of Noir takes on the world of multi-level marking and the darker side of life in the suburbs. 'Money was rarely about money.' So smart!

• Elle

  A riveting thriller centering suburban women and their pyramid schemes

• E A Aymer

  Washington Post

  Megan Abbott is a modern master, and I'll read anything she writes

• Chicago Tribune

  Megan Abbott is my favorite suspense/crime fiction writer working today . . . Abbott packs more emotion and information into a single sentence than some writers can do in a page, making for a gripping reading experience

• Paste

  The latest buzzy thriller from the always excellent author . . . Twisty and addictive, you can almost picture the Netflix documentary that will inevitably get made about these characters

• South Florida Sun-Sentinel

  The sense of danger simmers below the surface of El Dorado Drive as Abbott's superb plotting and character studies keep the story on point, making this one of the best novels of the year

• Dayton Daily News

  [A] deeply emotional and convoluted tale about a group of women who are trying to repair their lives. Money can be quite a deadly problem to solve

• Book Riot

  Megan Abbott strikes gold again . . . El Dorado Drive captivates from start to finish, and Megan Abbott's star continues to shine. The story promises shocking surprises in its early pages, and it delivers on multiple fronts, including a spellbinding denouement. Readers who enjoy a well-rounded and suspenseful mystery will enjoy this book

• Shelf Awareness

  Another stealthy-steely triumph from Megan Abbott, arguably the foremost living author of feminist noir . . . [It] gives readers the thrill of watching from a safe distance as characters face tough choices, make the wrong ones, and give every indication that they will do so again

• Bookreporter

  El Dorado Drive marks the first time that Megan Abbott has set a story within the confines of her hometown of Detroit. The result is a thriller that not only works well, but also holds up as a sobering mirror reflection of a once-mighty American city that is now trying to rebuild itself

• Rowan Beaird

  WBEZ NPR

  Abbott's novels are exactly what I want to read during the summer (or really, any season): beautifully written page-turners embedded with razor-sharp insights about what it means to be a woman in today's world

• Judicial Junkie

  [A] vodka-soaked ride through suburban angst and the seductive logic of a scam

• Red Carpet Crash

  Another well-written character-driven novel by author Abbott, who never disappoints

• Irish Times, Books of the Year

  Intoxicating contemporary noir