You Will Know Me (Abbott)

Book 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.... You Will Know Me revisits some of the author's favorite themes—community hysteria, the chaos of adolescent sexuality—but with a slight twist. Usually, teen-girl misanthropy and anxiety figure prominently into Ms. Abbott's novels. Here, the author is far more interested in the way adults recapitulate teenage behaviors, fretting and sniping and stirring the pot.
Jennifer Senior - New York Times


 [B]rilliant.... There's a stroke of genius in this: The reader appreciates the satisfaction of the solution, which is simple, shocking and perfect. At the same time, the purpose of solving the mystery is, arguably, to undermine the idea that mysteries can ever be solved in a meaningful way.... We imagine we have our bearings, and then the murder knocks us off course. Then with each new fact that emerges, a piece of what we thought we knew is dislodged, leaving in its place a mystifying blank patch. By the end of the novel, everything...is an unanswerable question. All of this Abbott pulls off with breathtaking skill.
Sophie Hannah - New York Times Book Review


[Abbott's] books are driven as much by intricate character development and rhythmic sentences as they are by plot. They could easily be shelved with literary fiction.
Lucy Feldman - Wall Street Journal


Megan Abbott must have ice in her veins. In hijacking young-adult fiction for her own devious grown-up purposes, she writes from such a chilly remove you may want to turn up the thermostat. But the underlying tension she sustains is so beautifully unbearable, you may be unable to leave the couch.
Lloyd Sachs - 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.... The characters of the adult women in this book, none completely likable, are knowingly depicted.... Abbott [is] 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.
Marion Winik - Newsday


Megan Abbott is the mistress of noir.
Sarah Bryan Miller - St. Louis Post-Dispatch


Abbott seems to tap into that thing that makes ordinary teen girls so dangerous in that toxic mix of hormones and lack of sense of self, and then she dials it up a tick or two to homicidal.
Richard Alley - Memphis Flyer


The twists are good, as they are in any page-turner worth its salt. But Abbott is exceptional because she writes characters that are as careful as her plotting.
Kevin Nguyen - GQ.com


[You Will Know Me] will keep you glued to your beach blanket.
Marie Claire


You Will Know Me is the kind of tense, haunting tale that only Megan Abbott could tell, and once again cements her place as one of the most talented storytellers currently working in any genre.
Barry Lee Dejasu - New York Journal of Books


(Starred review.) [A]piercing look at what one family will sacrifice in the name of making their daughter a champion.... Abbott keenly examines the pressures put on girls' bodies and the fierce, often misguided love parents have for their children.
Publishers Weekly


In true Abbott style, nothing is predictable here; the plot consistently confounds expectations with its clever twists and turns. Verdict: Admirers of Patricia Highsmith, Laura Lippman, and Kimberly Pauley (Ask Me) are in for a treat. New readers have a backlist to explore! —Frances Thorsen, Chronicles of Crime Bookshop, Victoria, BC
Library Journal


(Starred review.) [E]veryday lives changed forever by an exceptional individual—in this case an Olympic gymnastics hopeful.... Being a parent is hard. Being a parent to an anomaly is something else entirely. Abbott proves herself a master of fingernails-digging-into-your-palms suspense.
Kirkus Reviews