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

This giveaway is sponsored by Macmillan

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I received The end of everything.

It's brilliant! I'll give proper feedback tonight but I loved it!

Read part of "The Fever", I am enjoying it so far. I like reading about the different characters and seeing things from various points of view. The illness is mysterious and I am intrigued to find out what is the cause, what is is all about. I will definitely keep reading and hope to enjoy the rest of the story,

Ok I'm back. I read The End of Everything.

First few pages I thought Oh no this is going to be hard going, as it wasn't immediately gripping. Fortunately it did get better as the characters develop. The story line has a big twist and it keep me turning the pages way too late on a work night.

I think some of the language was too unrealistic for a 13yo girl and I didn't particularly enjoy reading the Dusty storyline.

However, overall it was a good read and I'd be keen to read the others by this author.

I read The End of Everything and I absolutely loved it. It captures perfectly the chaotic, uncomfortable, confusing world of the teenage girl. Many sections were difficult to read and even felt claustrophobic but I suspect this was the point. I remember my own teenage years feeling like this with heightened emotions and confusing feelings adding to the intensity. The characters were very believable as was their relationship. The differences in them as they developed were an interesting contrast and something I suspect many teens deal with as friends realise they are changing and growing into
unique individuals.

The story of a girl willingly going with an abductor and then realising the horror of what she had done is terrifying. It is all too likely and teenage girls are so vulnerable to this attention. It rings true of many conversations me and friends had about adult attention - thank goodness we just giggled about it and nothing horrific happened - thinking back though it could so easily have become what happened in this book.

Terrifying and grippingly realistic. Loved it and I will be hunting out more of this authors books.

So, having read 'Dare Me', I was surprised to get a copy of 'The Fever' a couple of weeks later as well. I've just started it and as with Dare Me, I'm finding the characters one dimensional and thoroughly unlikeable. I will try and persevere as I presume the storyline is as pacy and chilling as her other books.

I received The Fever and so far I am enjoying it. I am about half way through and I am liking the way the story flows and is keeping me guessing so far. I would recommend this book.

I received my copy of The End of Everything.

I thought the plot was realistic, the teenage girl playing dangerous games and not realising how dangerous her abductor was.

I also liked the portrayal of the girls' friendship. I thought the author captured the intensity of teenage girls' relationships well.

I didn't like the storyline about Dusty, I didn't really see the relevance of it.

I think a lot of people would enjoy the book but the style of writing didn't appeal to me. The book moved too slowly for me.

I read The End of Everything.

First impressions - the cover would not have interested me in a shop. The book also looked quite short.

On starting reading I thought at first it was a book for young adults, I guess as it was about 2 teenage girls and their relationship with each other and other close family members.
I took a while to get into it and wasn't too sure I liked it but after a bit I got really into the story and couldn't wait to find out what had happened.

I thought the story about Lizzie hiding things in the neighbours garden for the police to find a little far fetched.

There were some very messed up / inappropriate relationships going on and it made for uncomfortable reading at times.
There were lots of aspects that were not fully explained and left you wondering after you'd finished reading.

Overall I found the book interesting but not an enjoyable read due to some of the subjects delved into.
However, it certainly left me thinking about it long after the book was finished.

Couldn't put it down! Cracking read

Brilliant. I love thrillers and “The End of Everything” had it all. The nativity of childhood intertwined with the horrific events witnessed. Well written and engaging. Easy to get into and has characters you really get a feel for. It was annoying that real life kept me from reading more pages at a time, I felt absorbed into the story and didn’t want to come out. Loved it. Would definitely recommend and will be looking to buy more from the author. Thanks for selecting me, it’s given me a new author to follow.

I'm about halfway through Dare Me, and I'm really struggling to finish it. I'm not finding any of the characters likable, the relationship between the coach and the girls is very bizarre and somewhat creepy, and at times I've felt like I must have skipped a page because the scene changes are all a bit jarring.

I'm American (in addition to being British) and grew up in America, and tbh I don't find this setting or these characters reflective of high school there. Where are their families? How do they have so much freedom? Granted, it's been awhile since I was a teenager, but I'm really struggling with the level of selfishness and bitchiness that these girls have exhibited so far.

Okay, back off to read. I'm determined to finish it tonight, if only so that I don't have to bother with it anymore. I'm sincerely hoping that the storyline gets better.

Thank you for my copy of The Fever. I am almost halfway through the book, and whilst I do want to continue to the end to (hopefully) find out what is happening to the girls, I can’t honestly say that I’m gripped by the story.
I wonder if perhaps the demographic it is aimed at, is the same as the books’ characters...teens? I don’t feel very engaged with the characters, and can’t really relate to their reactions to the strange set of circumstances that is unfolding.
I have to agree with a previous reviewer - the book isn’t really encouraging me to try another Megan Abbott novel. I feel like I’ve picked up a book from the ‘young adult’ section in the library, by mistake.

I finished The Fever ages ago, about half a day after I started it (wrote about starting it somewhere way up there) ^^ I just loved it. I thought Megan Abbott's ear for language was spot on (I'm American, and that did make it easy for me to "hear" the characters). Also the way she was able to create real, page-turning suspense out of in some ways ordinary, daily experiences was nothing short of masterly. To me the book really went beyond the thriller genre into literary territory: In the way of some of the best genre writers out there, she's created a window onto the real world--in this case contemporary middle America, with its disjointed teenspeak, the rampant rumour-mongering via social media, the paranoia, the polluted and bleak landscape. All of it added up to a really affecting (and morbidly fascinating) read. I loved the old-fashioned twist, which at the same time was entirely unexpected in this up-to-date Gothic world! I'll definitely look to read her other books!

I received the end of everything but still haven't managed to finish it. I'm about half way through and although I'm finding it easy to read, sick kids have made it difficult to get any further and it has gripped me enough to reach for it constantly. So far it seems quite slow despite being short. Im not liking the relationship between the girls and don't get the constant reference to Dusty but maybe that will change. I'll keep going with it though and update with proper feedback soon although it will be after the deadline. Hoping I actually enjoy it in the end.

Thanks for my free copy of The Fever.

I really enjoyed this book, although I suspect the target audience (reader) is younger than I am, at forty.

I loved the start and the mystery around the symptoms and started off thinking this was going to be a kind of dystopian novel so liked the different twists and turns during the story. I found the depiction of the teenage girls fairly plausible and also liked how the absent mother didn't return to 'save the day', as I thought was going to happen at one point.

The ending took me by surprise though and I found it a little anti-climatic after the tension that had been building throughout the rest of the story.

Despite that, I did really enjoy this read. I found it easy going and, having never read anything by Megan Abbott previously, I would certainly buy another book by this author in future.

Firstly, thank you to Mumsnet for giving me the opportunity to read Dare Me.
The storyline for this one is a little strange and something I am not used to. It is about an American high school cheerleading squad, something I do not know much about as it is totally different from our culture. The lead character is Addy and her friend Beth, who is the head cheerleader until the coach turns up and is a hard nut and having an affair. The coach draws the girls into her world and eventually it leads to murder.
The storyline itself sounds good but reading it was particularly hard work. I think that it has got great potential but it just does not read well. There is so much going on and so much emotion in these girls that it is difficult to grasp the story.
There is a lot of bullying and bitchiness amongst the girls which I personally do not like and although I know it goes on in reality, I didn't enjoy reading it. There is also lots of sexual parts and drinking and it focuses largely on the training through the first 3rd of the book.
The book did however show what teenage girls can be like or think like, and that in itself is quite scary as a mum of a girl. Megan Abbott definitely understood what girls go through and what they think and feel.
In saying that, reading Dare Me wasn't a particularly enjoyable one, if I am honest I would not recommend it unless you were into cheerleading, the storyline of the murder etc was lost and that was disappointing. The thing is there is so much potential within the book, it just seems to have gotten lost.

Just finished reading this book and have to say I really enjoyed it. It wasn't as obvious as I thought it was going to be and I enjoyed the secrets revealed throughout. It was interesting that it wasn't as straight forward as a girl just being kidnapped from the streets. There was a lot of infatuation throughout the book from all parts really and I must admit I thought something was gonna come out about Dusty and the dad as I wasn't sure where that part of the story was going. There is a lot more to it than just a girl going missing though and I'd definitely recommend giving it a read!

The book I had was The End Of Everything by the way :).

I received The Fever. I'm about half way through and it's a reasonably enjoyable read. Abbot successfully depicts all the intense emotions and pressures of teenage life in this thriller set in an American high school. But as a pp said, the target audience is probably teenage to twenties rather than older mums, so it hasn't quite gripped me yet. It does remind me of my Judy Blume reading days though, and there's nothing wrong with a bit of nostalgia!

I’m really trying to get into the end of everything but I’m struggling to like the main characters.
I think the book is heading to an uncomfortable read for me, but I shall persevere and hopefully finish before the deadline

Thank you mumsnet for my copy of Dare Me. I’m sorry that my review is a little late. However I really struggled to engage with the book. I didn’t think any of the characters were particularly likeable and like other readers felt that the murder storyline was a little lost behind all of the cheerleading. It hasn’t really inspired me to want to read any of her other books as I was a little disappointed with it.

Thanks very much for The Fever, and sorry my review is late; I had a dense doorstop book to finish first.

This wasn't my usual type of read, and there was a YA feel about it that made it seem more for people whose teens aren't a distant memory, as they are for a 40-something like me! That said, I thought it was nicely written, well plotted and very atmospheric. You could really feel the sort of town it was, and the descriptions of the school and lake were very evocative (although why you would swim in the latter, I don't know!) The characters and their relationships were believable and easy to empathise with, except Skye, who was pretty dreadful but clearly had her own issues, judging by Lise's late-revealed narrative.

All the kids seemed to have already suffered a great deal by the beginning of the book: they were missing parental figures or had already experienced trauma. No contented nuclear families, which seemed a little over the top on the misery scale. This served to make the subsequent hysteria quite believable but also meant the overwrought atmosphere never really let go throughout, there wasn't much light in the shade.

Anyway the book is successful in building quite a sickening and tense storyline, and I thought it was a good ending, too, not a let-down as so many of these thrillers are! Bravo, Ms Abbott.

I received a copy of Dare Me, and I'm sad to say that I was so disappointed with it that I didn't persevere and finish it. I only got a quarter of the way through it. As you'll have gathered if you read this thread, the story is set around a team of cheerleaders and their new coach.
I found the characters quite one dimensional and shallow, and I didn't feel that I could connect to them at all. I found some parts uncomfortable reading. There was a great pressure put on the cheerleading team to be slim and tight, and book demonstrates the demands that the coach puts on the girls to reach the standards that she wants, for example eating very little.
I really wouldn't be happy to have a teenage daughter (not that I have one) reading this book, and in fact I would go as far as to say that if a girl with issues with her body image read this book, I would say it would be harmful to her wellbeing. That's not the case for me however, but I cared so little for the book that I gave up. There are so many better books out there that I can spend my precious time on.

Congratulations to @StitchesInTime who was our feedback winner. Happy spending!

I finally read The Fever! I'm sorry, the copy I was sent disappeared for a few months in our house move and I unearthed it last week
It was an easy going, page turner; partially because I wanted to see if it really could be an anti vax diatribe. I didn't think it was great to be honest, the writing was ok but the story itself fairly dire with flat unlikeable characters. I wouldn't bother with another by the same author.