You Will Know Me

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
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 *
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. * 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
A taut murder mystery, yes, but also a mesmerizing – and, at times, alarming – look into the hearts and minds of parents and children with their hearts set on gymnastics stardom * Boston Globe *
The gymnasts in Abbot’s psychological thriller are not the bedazzled sweethearts we’re used to cheering on during the Olympics. No, these teenage girls are ambitious, cunning and perhaps not who their parents think they are. When Ryan, a young hottie who works at the gym, is killed in a mysterious hit-and-run accident, the girls and their parents must grapple with the truth of their situation—and how little they know about one another * Time Out (US) *
I’m a huge fan of Megan Abbott and loved You Will Know Me just as much as her previous explorations into the dark, disturbing, strangely heroic world of teenage girls. She’s the queen of the uncanny analogy (someone carves a ham, ‘pink as a newborn’) and knows just how to draw the reader into the characters’ dangerous, painful lives and how to make those lives mysterious. Her newest novel is intriguing and entertaining from the first page. -- Emma Healey * Guardian *