Megan Abbott has been a favorite author for many years, always an auto-read and I think El Dorado Drive might be her best yet. Beautiful prose, suspense that never relents, and commentary on the world around us - a perfect combo.

Some books are for you, some are not.
I found this one hard to get into, but stuck with it. The cover drew me in immediately. The writing is good and the idea is well executed.

I possibly wouldn’t have stuck it out, thinking it totally unbelievable, if I hadn’t just finished a podcast about pyramid schemes and hearing from real people who were involved in such stupid, product-less pyramids. As other reviewers have said, Abbott’s latest novel leans more towards family saga than the thriller it’s billed as and I think that’s largely because of how long it takes to get to the action although once it got there it was a page turner.

Not much of a thriller I didn’t think but more a fairly depressing family saga with a backdrop of failing on all fronts.

This is women's fiction rather than a thriller, or at least it is up to the point I abandoned it. I find all three of the sisters unlikeable, money-obsessed types who seem to feel that the world and men owe them a living. As for the teenager, she's a good argument for contraception. Reviews suggest that a plot does develop at some point, but too late for me, unfortunately. The unlikability of the characters and their obsession with money means I have developed no interest in their lives.

I really liked this novel, but it took too long to get to the conflict. Riveting read with a satisfactory ending with a cast of characters you love to hate

More family drama than thriller as we meet 3 sisters trying to make money via a very dubious pyramid scheme
Set in a Detroit that is devoid of any real money or industry it is a stark reminder on how a town sometimes relies on one thing for survival and if that commodity goes then the town crumbles
Good dialogue between characters and many secrets come along to keep the story active and interesting
Overall a good read

oh to be coming to this book fresh and new again. because what a book it was. and i want all the new waves of emotion and cleverness to come back t me as i did on first reading it. what a special read.
Harper needs someones help. she is broke and down, shes lost so much and has no options left. so she goes to her sisters. there she is surprised to find this sister with money? she has just been financially ruined bu her ex after he cleaned them out. how can this be? well the secret is reveal to be the Wheel. its a woman's investment group Pam attends. all you need is yourself and in return you get sisterhood and wealth. buuuut we all no the line dont we..." if its too good to be true....?" but haha we are not ready for what Megan brings us next. there is more, much more to come and whole lot of suspense and little gleeful gasps as the plot is slowly revealed to us.
its about to get a whole lot darker for our sisters. they thought they weren't surviving in their own lives before the wheel. but now they might just need to be fighting for survival from the wheel.
you've got a cult like pyramid scheme going on. but so much more. not least for how the bond and relationship between sisters comes into the story. there is layers of depth woven throughout this book that pulls you in and adds even more jeopardy to it.
this book was so clever. its got into your mind, soul and skin. you find yourself needing to know whats going to happen to to the plot but so much more about the sisters to. and Megan shows and shares the inner working of this relationship with delightful and deep ease.

I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I expected to, the author has previously written novels that I have thoroughly enjoyed but this one was a real slow burner for me that didn’t quite add up. Unusually it took me a while to get into it and ever really got me hooked over and above a story that was okay but I struggled to find the interest to keep reading it.

The plot related to women in a community who decried to do something for themselves and agree to setting up a secret society where there is an entry fee for joining, by invitation only, and then as you work your way up the hierarchy eventually you will reap financial rewards.

I didn’t really warm to any of the characters and the murder and plot from there didn’t keep me guessing.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book via Netgalley.

Shamefully, this was my first Megan Abbott, but I loved it. Eerie and suspenseful with multiple layers of truths, lies and secrets. Now off to read all her other books....

As someone who enjoys a good family drama with a side of mystery, I was intrigued by Megan Abbott’s latest novel, “El Dorado Drive”. The premise of three sisters in Detroit, desperate to turn their fortunes around by joining an exclusive women’s club promising empowerment—and danger—sounded promising. And Abbott, known for her sharp character work and atmospheric storytelling, certainly delivered a compelling portrait of sisterhood, family secrets, and economic decline.
The novel’s strength lies in its vivid depiction of Detroit’s decaying urban landscape and the nuanced relationships among the Bishop sisters—Pam, Debra, and Harper. Abbott masterfully explores themes of class, loss, and resilience, capturing how middle-aged women navigate financial hardships they never anticipated. I appreciated how she portrays these women with empathy and depth, especially in their struggles with medical bills, divorce, and secret debts. The backstory of Detroit’s auto industry boom and bust adds a rich layer of context, grounding their personal crises in a broader economic narrative.
The storyline, at least in its first half, reads more like a slow-burn family drama than a thriller, which I found refreshing. It’s about the quiet desperation, the unspoken resentments, and the bonds that hold these sisters together—elements I found quite compelling. Abbott’s portrayal of these women’s complex emotions and the subtle tensions within their relationships kept me engaged, and the novel made me reflect on the fragility of family ties and the societal pressures faced by women in mid-life.
However, where the novel lost me was in its shift toward a murder mystery. Once the murder occurred and everyone became a suspect, the story veered into more conventional thriller territory. The intricate web of motives, alibis, and red herrings felt somewhat disconnected from the powerful character study that preceded it. I found the mystery elements to be somewhat contrived, and the pacing suffered as a result. It felt like the story was trying to do too much—covering family secrets, economic struggles, and now a murder—without fully satisfying any of those threads.
Overall, I enjoyed “El Dorado Drive” as a quick holiday read. It offers interesting insights into family dynamics, secrets, and the decline of the American Dream, especially through the lens of middle-aged women trying to make sense of their lives. While I appreciated Abbott’s nuanced characterisations and atmospheric setting, I think the novel’s pivot into the murder mystery genre was a bit of a misstep for me. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy character-driven stories with social commentary, but if you’re expecting a full-blown thriller, you might find it a bit uneven.

The book is suspenseful and intriguing. Somethings gave me eerie vibe. The book is compelling and characters are really interesting. Author’s writing is so good. I loved the pace of the book and something about the writing gave me warm feeling too. I couldn’t see some of the twists coming. I was definitely not expecting that ending

Set in Detroit. There are three sisters; Pam, Debra and Harper. Other than being sisters, one more thing connects them and that is their need for money so they join an exclusive women’s club but they didn’t expect a shocking death. Then the unthinkable begins to happen and mystery gets dark. I must say the story has so many layers of mystery, secrets and buried truths. As I read further, the author slowly unveiled the mystery. With each chapter, a layer of mystery unveiled. But the revelations at the end were still shocking. The book is clever, suspenseful, dark, and eerie.

Thanks to the Publisher

El Dorado Drive is typically excellent as I've come to expect from Megan Abbott- not my favourite of hers but definitely a very good read.

Family secrets abound, three sisters navigate life and of course things go horribly wrong. This is decently twisty with a great group dynamic of characters that keep you turning the pages to find out what happens to them.

The writing is superb as always, overall I thoroughly enjoyed it.

When three very different sisters seek to find solutions to their money problems define a solution that almost seems to good to be true (and is definitely not a pyramid scheme)...

Set in the decaying urban location of the once-mighty city of Detroit, the story touches on themes that range from the bones of sisterhood, of family dynamics, the challenges of mid life, and the secrets people keep from one another. Even those supposedly closest to them.

This one was a mixed bag, but provided some interesting insights into family ties and family secrets.

This book wasn’t bad and it was a quick holiday read for me but I wouldn’t have categorised it as a thriller and is much more family/neighbourhood drama with a small mystery element in the second half of the book. You have a bizarre pyramid scheme, jealousy, difficult family relationships so was enough to keep me interested to finish it.

Thank you to netgalley for providing an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoy Megan Abbots books, and I thoroughly enjoyed her new one. She is an excellent writer and really stands out from the rest. Its good, dark, creepy neighbourhood vibes, loved it xx

Megan Abbott is spectacularly good at writing about the darkness that lies beneath the polite and respectable veneer of American suburbia. Previous novels have looked at staples of polite, middle class family life such as competitive gymnastics and private schools. El Dorado Drive turns its focus to a mainstay of suburban life in late stage capitalism: pyramid schemes.

Set on the outskirts of Detroit and centred around three sisters who find themselves embroiled in a women's club called The Wheel, the book feels quasi-dystopian at times, with its images of a crumbling city, abandoned when the car industry moved production overseas, and characters who are clinging to survival with their fingernails, as healthcare costs and insecure employment drive them to take desperate measures.

A pacy thriller with characters I utterly believed in, this is one of Abbott's best yet.

Although elements are in place for a thriller/mystery – three sisters, one teenage daughter, a get-rich-quick pyramid scheme and a brutal murder – this is more of a slow-burn literary novel about family dynamics and is likely to appeal to fans of that genre.
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.
Upon publication, I will post this review on my blog and on GoodReads.

This book wasn't quite what I expected, and a refreshing change from the more usual super rich characters associated with US based psychological fiction. I particularly liked the intergenerational exchanges. Abbott is a stunning writer. Not my favorite of her books, but every one is well worth a read.

Disappointing - loved her earlier books but this felt oddly rushed. Couldn’t really invest in the characters. Gave up before the big change everyone is talking about.