Find out what Mumsnetters thought of Megan Abbott's books

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Megan Abbott is an award-winning writer of contemporary crime fiction and these three books are bound to have you up all night.

Lizzie and Evie are inseparable - until Evie goes missing, and Lizzie suddenly realizes their friendship wasn't quite what she thought. The End of Everything is a suspenseful novel of friendship, loss and the more sinister side of adolescence.

There's something dangerous about the boredom of teenage girls - Coach said that once. She said it like she knew, and understood. Dare Me tells the dark and tension-filled story of the new cheerleading coach and the deadly game she's playing.

When Lise Daniels collapses to the floor during maths class, unfortunately she's not the first. As hysteria swells in The Fever, the safe world they've been building for their children starts to come apart.

We ask all winners to share their thoughts about the book(s) on this discussion thread. Everyone who gives detailed feedback on the thriller of their choice by end of day, Friday 29 September will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 Love2shop voucher.

Buy books by Megan Abbott on Amazon from 99p

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I got The End Of Everything and I couldn't wait to read it, it was such a great book the characters and the story were very well written. I can't wait to read more of her books.

I have just finished reading 'The End of Everything' - and I found it to be an uncomfortable read at times but definitely a gripping book. The ending left a lot of unanswered questions which is not necessarily a bad thing, however it left me wanting to have a lot more about the minor characters filled in. Why are people the way they are, when they used to be different?

I don't want to give too much away, in case people are still reading it, but the only time I got a little bored was just after the disappearance. My attention wandered - but after some things are remembered it picks up again and I then finished it in one sitting.

I would definitely read another book by this author.

I've now finished reading my copy of Dare Me, thank you.

I read The Fever by the same author earlier this year, and definitely enjoyed Dare Me more. It's a much more gripping read.

Narrated by Addy, one of the main girls in the schools cheer squad, and second in command to the popular Beth. Everything changes when the new coach, Colette French arrives. Coach seems determined to take charge and push the squad towards winning competitions, while Beth is pushed aside, which Beth doesn't take well too. And one thing leads to another, culminating in a suspicious suicide. The final outcome had me guessing almost to the very end of the book.

The characterisation of the girls was believable to me - Addy's infatuation with coach, and Beth's increasingly destructive personality and actions.
I struggled a bit more to believe in the coach though. Pushing the girls to practice more, practice harder, yes. Encouraging, or at best turning a blind eye to anorexia and bulimia in the squad I can just about believe in. But having the cheer squad over to her house after practices, complete with drink and cigarettes and sleepovers.... really? They're teenagers in high school! I don't know, maybe things are more relaxed in the USA, but it seems like a massive blurring of normal teacher-pupil boundaries, and surely something that could lead to professional trouble for a teacher?

Plus I've learnt a lot more about cheerleading. Turns out it's a lot more athletic and dangerous than I'd imagined from watching American films.

Thrilled to have won a copy. Cant wait to be able to sit down and read without interruption.

Started to read 'Dare Me' and found the writing style quite strange. However I am persevering with it as it sounds like a really good storyline.

I've not got very far with this (house full of chicken pox) but so far the characters seem interesting - I hope it picks up pace a bit as it isn't the fastest pace so far!

I've read the first few chapters of The Fever and am enjoying it so far, though I'm not sure where the plot is going... Thus far, it doesn't seem to be a "crime" novel as such, more a story about American high school kids and the friendships and families that make up their lives. Hopefully it's building up to something bigger, I'll find out soon no doubt!

I received dare me and was really looking forward to reading it on a long train journey I had. Unfortunately I really struggled to get into it. I'm more than halfway through but I put it down over a week ago and I still haven't picked it back up

I found the characters really hard to relate to and them quite 1 dimensional. The writer clearly has taken as she is very good at describing places and situations to make them seem tangible but the characters didn't seem to fit into the story. They seemed very harsh.

I will carry on reading and maybe it'll come together but unfortunately this isn't a book I'd recommend.

OH TO BE BACK AT SCHOO - Again

Received my book - very excited!!!!
Just started reading and it definitely is one of those books you won't be able to put down once you start it!!! Thank you for my book!

I have read about a quarter of my book up to now. It's really good, I can't put it down, just waiting now for the 'plot to thicken', I am liking it up to now, will update again as I read through it.

I received my copy of Fever last Thursday (31 August 2017) and have read the first few chapters. Some of it is quite chilling and as I have a teenage daughter who has just started high school, I'm finding it quite scary even though I know it's fiction! I am interested to find out what happens later in the story. Thanks for giving me the chance to review this book.

I was lucky enough to receive The End of Everything and I've loved it! I found the book really engaging and loved working out what next - I think I'd even started to guess right.
Really recommend anyone whose thinking of a different author to give it a go

I received my copy of The End of Everything a week or so ago, but I only sat down last night to begin reading. I finished it all in one go.

It was very gripping and suspenseful. I didn't guess most of the twists which really is an achievement. The story was dark, uncomfortable at times, and certainly while reading it, it didn't feel too far fetched, sadly. However, some of the insights and language used by the main character felt a little out of place in a 13 year old.

Her fixation on Mr Verver as a father figure with blurry lines did seem realistic, but I am still not sure what the author was getting at with Mr Verver and Dusty. Perhaps that was intentional, so the reader can make their own interpretation.

On the whole, the book was a quick and gripping read that left me with some questions and the need to make my own mind up about what was going on. I would definitely recommend this book and I now want to read the other two books!

Megan Abbott The End of Everything. This was written in an interesting if sometimes drawn out way. Although I became involved enough to find out what happened I did not find the characters particularly endearing nor necessarily believable. Evie and Lizzie, their families and school friends were perhaps too entrenched in American culture. I may well try another story by this author.

I have just finished my copy of "Fever".

Interesting start, a bit "Sweet Valley High" in places. I found there were too many characters for my liking, though.

Thank you for my copy of The Fever. I really enjoyed it, I enjoyed the 3 different perspectives and it was a very easy read and not predictable. Thanks again!

I'm about a third of the way through The end of Everything and I love the way it is written. Very gritty and portrays the confusion which is the young teen and their world perfectly. It's so sad and heart breaking that this happens

I'm part-way through The Fever and really enjoying it. The slow-build thriller is full of suspense and intrigue, and at this stage whilst we know the girls are getting sick there isn't a clear answer as to why. Theories fly about, of course, and it is the realism of how rumours and thoughts of conspiracy can spiral out of control that adds to the tension.
Well worth a read.

I've just finished Fever and thoroughly enjoyed it. A strange tale, but well written and seems less about crime than the antics of the High School girls but interesting.

Many thanks for the copy of 'DARE ME' by Megan Abbott.

From just the book title and cover, the target audience appears to be older teenage girls, all the more so if enthusiastic about cheerleading. And there are similarities to books written for this audience group. The story tackles the angst and anxiety associated with growing up and fitting in, and with the rivalries that form within teenage peer groups. However, the big difference is that, as illustrated in a diagram at the back of the book, the story fuses four different themes/genres together - sexual awakening, competitive sport, crime noir and Americana. And upon reading, it becomes clear that the contents are actually pretty adult. Promiscuous, alcohol consuming, prescription drug taking, car driving 16-year old girls put through intense training regimes by their demanding new coach in their bid to become cheerleading ‘champions’, obsessively competitive in getting one up on each other. Teachers sharing alcohol with pupils and embarking on torrid extramarital affairs. Students embroiled in murder investigations. Despicable behaviour leading to what would be statutory rape. Etc.

This is the author’s sixth novel and the scope exhibits the confidence and ambition of an established writer. However, although the narrative is well composed overall, the prose, in particular the pacing, is uneven at times. One can get lost in the teenage slang and drawn out exposition surrounding the cheerleading moves (for which there is a glossary of terms at the back of the book, but which may have been helpful if placed at the beginning). And without giving away spoilers, veterans of crime novels will find the mystery surrounding the crime leading to a predictable conclusion. It becomes obvious very early on that the ‘killer’ is one of 3 people. And if you discount the ‘red herring’, the eventual reveal confirms the most obvious suspect as the culprit.

( SPOILER ALERT .... And the lesbian ‘twist’ at the end was just TOO palpable.)

Having said that, the mystery is compelling enough keep general reading audiences guessing. Plus, the story is intriguing enough to want to learn who wins out in the immense battle of wills. Readers of similar kinds of books will enjoy it, no doubt.

I received The End of Everything, thank you

My first impression was what a short book it is, I wouldn't usually pick up such a thin book. I did find it easy to read and no trouble to finish but I didn't particularly enjoy it.

The shortness means that there is hardly any substance to the story, nothing is explored in any detail, we don't find out anything about what happened when Lizzie was away apart from one detail.

I don't see how this can be described as a thriller but having read other comments I hadn't realised that the book isn't aimed at adults, maybe if I known that beforehand I would have viewed it more positively.

There was too much unexplained for me and I didn't understand all of the italic/flashback? parts

It wasn't clear when the book was set, as there is no mention of mobiles I assume it must be based decades ago which maybe explains the almost total lack of any attempt to find Lizzie and the fact that a 13 year old would be out alone at night in other people's homes, that part was very unrealistic to me.

None of the characters rang true to me, again this may be because they are American but I couldn't relate to any of them

I don't think I would read another book by Megan Abbotts unless it was written for adults

I received my copy of Dare Me by Megan Abbott - a brilliant read I really enjoyed it and hard to put down once started. Certainly makes you feel that teenage girls are truly scary. I went to an all girls school and thank goodness it was nothing like this. A compelling read and will certainly read more of Megan's book.

I have just finished The End Of Everything

it took me a little while to get into it and to get used to the writing style, but once established I enjoyed that aspect

The story itself was gripping, and while I had guessed more or less the ending, it was left somewhat ambiguous. That seemed in keeping with the background theme of memory and how things are remembered.

I did find the portrayal of the various male characters as something like helpless victims of their feelings / the women around them rather irritating, but on reflection this may have been deliberate due to the unreliable narrator - there was lots going on that she did not understand or notice, so who knows what the real circumstances might have been

I will definitely look at other Megan Abbott books now

I seem to have abandoned my book again, I just haven't found it gripping at all.