You Will Know Me - Softcover

Abbott, Megan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1447226364 ISBN 13: 9781447226369

Publisher: Picador, 2017

Synopsis

Katie and her husband Eric have made their daughter Devon the centre of their world. Talented, determined, a rising gymnastics star, Devon is the focus of her parents' lives and the lynchpin of their marriage. There is nothing they wouldn't do for her.

When a violent hit-and-run accident sends shockwaves through their close-knit community, Katie is immediately concerned for her daughter. She and Eric have worked so hard to protect Devon from anything that might distract or hurt her. That's what every parent wants for their child, after all. Even if they don't realize how much you've sacrificed for them. Even if they are keeping secrets from you.

A mother knows best. doesn't she?

Plotted with all the brilliance of Dare Me, and written with the compassion of The Fever, the astonishing You Will Know Me - dark and tender by turns -is an unforgettable novel by Megan Abbott.

About this title

Review

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)

Book Description

A perfect daughter. A tragic accident. A deadly secret . . . You Will Know Me is Megan Abbott's most sensational psychological thriller yet.

About this edition

• Publisher: Picador
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1447226364
• ISBN 13: 9781447226369
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352