⭐️⭐️/5. El Dorado Drive by Megan Abbott. Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy. You can’t win them all, and this one was not an enjoyable read for me. It dragged on and on plus it bordered on ridiculous. Harper is barely keeping her head above water financially. Her sister Pam is going through a contentious divorce. Her ex even stole their children’s college accounts! The oldest sister Debra is struggling too as her husband has cancer. These three sisters grew up wealthy in Grosse Point, Michigan where fortunes were made in the auto industry. The heyday of American car manufacturing has passed though, and many people in their town are looking for extra cash. Bubbly Pam turns everyone on to The Wheel. It’s a club - an investment club. Very quickly, these women start to see returns. New cars appear, then even some fur coats. Is it illegal? Do they care? The women will do anything to get their rewards, and it turns deadly. I finished it, but it wasn’t a winner. I say skip this one. #bookstagram #whatiread #whatsinyourbeachbag #meganabbott #bookgram #netgalley #goodreads #books #bookworm #reading

El Dorado Drive is a slow-burn psychological family drama set in the Detroit suburbs, and I really enjoyed it. This was my first book by Megan Abbott, and now I get the hype. Her writing is intense and atmospheric in the best way. The story centers around a mother-daughter relationship that starts to unravel after a mysterious incident, and the tension just builds from there. I don’t want to give too much away, but if you’re into stories that dig into family secrets, complicated emotions, and suburban unease, this one’s for you. As someone who lives in Metro Detroit, I thought all the local references were totally spot on. It really added to the authenticity for me. The setting felt real, not just a backdrop. I’ll definitely be checking out more of Megan Abbott’s books after this. 4.t stars rounded up to 5. Thanks to #netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Three middle-aged sisters find themselves mired in debt after the auto industry, and the whole economy, go pear-shaped in 2008. Harper moves in with her sister Pam, who’s two years removed from a nasty divorce. And yet, Pam seems to be doing better than ok: nice new car, big parties, money for her kids’ college. Pam shares her secret: The Wheel. Seems an innocent women’s support group at first, and their other sister Debra’s already in. But after Harper joins, a murder sheds light on the shady operation. Everyone’s a suspect, even Pam’s wild-child daughter Vivian.

I went on a true crime kick a few years ago. Probably need to get back. It’s both tragic and flabbergasting that people fall for these awful get-rich-quick scams.

That’s what happens in the first half here: we learn what The Wheel is REALLY about. Abbott does a fine job depicting the inner workings of a pyramid scheme. You have your rhythmic chants, your typical “marks,” and your recruiting practices. And, of course, outlays of cash. I liked how Harper “marked” Sandy: a sad, broke gambler who just wants to fit in. I liked the secrecy and the distant promise of “running the wheel” and finally pulling in the profit.

But isn’t Harper a little too smart to get roped into this? And was her desperation enough to compel her to engage in this all too obvious scam? And the payoff didn’t seem all that huge, a life-changing windfall. I wasn’t sure how Pam was affording all these luxuries, unless she did it all on credit. She “runs the Wheel” once, and stashes cash in a secret place. It just didn’t seem enough to make her a kingpin. And it wasn’t even sufficient to pay off Harper’s debt to a shady relative. Using a pyramid scheme to set up a violent crime is a good idea, but the execution here stretches my belief.

We get a preview of a murder in the first few pages, then the actual act around 60%. This is the strength of the book: anyone could’ve done it, and there are red herrings galore. All those debts and promises and rivalries come hurtling toward each other and end in a terrible collision. It’s emotional, tense, scary at times, and well-constructed.

Scene transitions and descriptions of action are often confusing and unclear. Maybe it’s just the ARC formatting, but there were breaks between action scenes or even conversations. Some paragraphs open with no indication of time or place. A guy can get lost. I also thought a little communication between sisters (and extended family) might’ve avoided some tragedy, but they’d had years of unresolved bitterness, so…ok.

That said, some readers didn’t like the ending, and it did go on for a while. But I thought the reveal was clever and the culprit / culprits (no spoilers!) made sense. Abbott also deftly and tastefully portrays the family tension and conflict when one or more members are LGBTQ. She encourages respect and understanding without making the issue political or overly rational.

All this makes me curious what the author can do with a more traditional murder-mystery storyline. With a less complicated premise, I’ll bet she can tell a heck of a story.

Every book has its audience, and while I may not have been the right fit for this one, I’m confident others will find it good/thrilling. Grateful for the ARC nonetheless

Ooooof. I have really enjoyed some earlier Megan Abbott novels, but this one did not hit for me. I found all of the characters to be unlikable and the ending really disappointed as well. Would definitely try this author again based on previous books, but this one is one I won’t be recommending.

Full Disclosure: I received an Advance Reader's Copy of El Dorado Drive by Megan Abbott from Penguin Group Putnam via NetGalley. It will be published around June 24, 2025.

El Dorado Drive by Megan Abbott is about three sisters, struggling to make ends meet, who get swept up in a pyramid scheme. There can be a lot of money earned for those who get in early. It can solve some problems and create plenty of others. The interplay among the sisters felt realistic. I kept thinking that this is why my mother said never to have three children. There are also plenty of secrets that keep you guessing up until the end.

3.5 stars for me. Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for the eARC. I appreciated the themes in this book: sisters, loyalty and betrayal, having a comfortable life but then having that upended. My only issue is the book itself read a bit choppy and disconnected due to the very short scenes and frequent changes in character voice. It didn't feel like you got deep enough with any of the characters. The concept of "The Wheel" and its club like environment caused me to struggle a bit. It felt somewhat farfetched like people would go from Mahjongg or a book club to something like the Wheel which felt more like your typical pyramid scheme that I hope most people would be smart enough to recognize and stay away from. But the amount of characters that were sucked in was surprising. I did appreciate the author's ability to keep me guessing on who the true villain was and I would read another Megan Abbott book in the future.

El Dorado Drive is an interesting read.  It is about three sisters, Harper, Debra, and Pam, who each have a need for money in 2008 Detroit, before the financial and housing crisis hits. Each sister is college educated but went from a privileged background to being down on their luck for various reasons.  They find an opportunistic financial windfall that will surely end poorly, but convince themselves all is fine and drag others in. 

This “opportunity” leads to an unspeakable tragedy, with fingers pointing in all directions.  The first half of this book sets up the women’s financial opportunity but is less interesting and sometimes requires the suspension of reality to believe these smart women are doing what they do.  Keep reading, though, as the second half of the book has twists and turns that will keep you reading. I only gave it three stars because I had a hard time believing these smart women with so much to lose would do something so obviously illegal and harmful to others, no matter how desperate they were for money.

Thank you NetGalley for an Advance Reader Copy.

Prime Megan Abbott; dark and twisty, with great emotional depth and understanding of familial relationships.

Honestly, I should’ve DNF ELDORADO DRIVE, but something kept compelling me to push through 😬 This was not the “thriller” for me. I wouldn’t categorize it as one either.

The writing was very straightforward and juvenile, the dialogue was not great, and the characters were all unlikeable with no redeeming qualities.

My advice: skip on this one.

I have to admit that I’m a Megan Abbott fan. Her books are an auto buy for me. El Dorado Drive is her newest release and I’m glad that I got a chance to read it. This book is more of a slow burn that her previous books and it also one of the first that I can remember that involves the dynamics of sisterhood.

This one deals with the three Bishop sisters, a family that lost wealth in the past and their growing desperation to somewhat return to semblance of stability. The sisters get involved in a pyramid scheme with the other women of their community but things start to get out of hand as greed takes over.

As I said before, this book was a little bit of a slow burn. It takes its time to set up the world and characters. You get to see the dysfunctional family dynamics before the sisters and other family members. But it doesn’t take long for the story to ramp up and once things start to go wrong, you’ll want to keep reading to find out what happens next.

Abbott is a master of mystery and she delivers again with a book about family, wealth and betrayal.

Ughhh I just love everything Megan Abbott does. I'm a huge fun of John Updike's books and Megan Abbott gives me the same strong "something's wrong in suburbia" vibes as Updike. (This book in particular reminded me of The Witches of Eastwick.) But listen, Megan Abbott is *better* because she really understands girlhood and womanhood and how to convey those experiences. I just love all the details of this book -- the cookie jar, the fuzzy pink mittens, the box of tampons... There's just a bit of a surreal feel, and Abbott's most recent books give me just a touch more horror, like she's been book clubbing with Mona Awad and Ainslie Hogarth.

OK so what's wrong in suburbia this time? It all comes down to money. We are introduced to three sisters: Harper, Pam, and Debra. They grew up well off in Detroit, but their standards aren't quite being met as adults. Pam in particular is struggling as she's going through a contentious divorce and her ex-husband Demon Doug has taken her for a ride. What's a woman to do besides join a pyramid scheme with a bunch of waif-y blonde women who love to make cocktails and make cash gifts? It's like a book club without the books. It turns out Harper is also in Doug's crosshairs and she needs money too. The book opens with fragmented scenes -- Harper and Pam digging in the yard, Pam's dead body... and then we backtrack to understand how it all went so wrong. The characters are great, the setting is so real, and the story arc is fantastic. If you love Megan Abbott, this book is one of my favorites by her, and if you haven't read her yet, this is a great place to start.

For this reader, Abbott is the poster child for reliable. While I cannot claim this one as a favorite, it ticks all of the boxes for domestic suspense. It's a little light, a little ridiculous, absolutely well written and, as always, entertaining as hell.

This book bothered me. I just couldn’t relate to the characters and found myself judging them. A group of women used to have money but they have fallen on hard times. They find themselves caught up in a pyramid scheme. Instead of using the money wisely to dig themselves out of a hole they spend it on flashy things like clothes, purses and cars. They are trying to put on a front and look good for the neighbors. I thought this book would have vines of Good Girls but it did not. It was hard to relate to this level of greed.

Whenever I read a book involving siblings, one of two things happens. Either, I’m thankful that I’m an only child, or I think, wow supportive siblings would’ve been amazing. The Bishop sister’s, Harper, Pam, and Debra have a good relationship. They are each struggling with different issues, involving what else but money. It did seem to me that if push came to shove, they would support each other though.
Money troubles push them to fall for something that just might be the answer. I am not going to say much about what they got involved in, something known as the wheel, since spinning in that direction, there are spoilers galore.
I did close the book, not feeling that I missed out by not having siblings. I enjoyed all the twists and turns, but never really felt a connection to any of these sisters. That might just be a me issue, just having no experience understanding what sibling relationships are like. 3.5 stars.

Megan Abbott’s books are often hit or miss for me—but El Dorado Drive was definitely a hit. This slow-burning, tension-filled novel follows the three Bishop sisters—Debra, Pam, and Harper—as they navigate shifting family dynamics, lost wealth, and growing desperation. Once part of Detroit’s elite, the sisters have fallen from privilege and each finds herself grasping for stability. Enter the Wheel Women’s Club—a supposed sisterhood that operates more like a glittering pyramid scheme.

The novel starts off a bit slow, deliberately setting the mood and establishing the emotional weight of the Bishop family’s past. But once the mystery kicks in—with a murder that casts suspicion on everyone involved—the story becomes impossible to put down. Abbott delivers her signature psychological intensity and unflinching look at ambition, loyalty, and betrayal.

The Bishop sisters grew up wealthy, but after the industry collapse the three sisters find their selves struggling to make ends meet. When they are invited to join The Wheel club, it seems their troubles have been answered. But when a murder occurs the sisters start to wonder what this group really is and if it is too late to get out.

I enjoyed the backstory of the sisters, but I found each of them unlikable. I also felt that they seemed too smart to ALL fall for this weird MLM type club, making a lot of the story feeling too unbelievable.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A good mix of family drama and chaos in your daily life. I wanted it to be a bit more fast-paced, but I enjoyed the story overall. Not having a sister, I could only imagine the kinship that this trio had in their truly dysfunctional family of their youth. Some of the characters were over-the-top which made me LOL literally. Solid story though a bit slower.

Rating 3.5 stars It took a few days for me to get through this. Normally I read much faster but I found this easier to put down. The plot finally started to take flight around the halfway point. The three sisters were pretty close and the story sort of surrounded Pammy as she navigated her divorce.

The author did her best work the last 15% The plot twisted twice in big ways then, pulling together the whole “who done it “ part.

I would have liked to see a cleanup in the beginning. Shorten the wordiness and tighten the relationships a little bit. There was a lot with Pammy’s son Patrick and a lot on her extravagant backyard graduation party.

This book takes you into the world of the side hustle and how these money making gigs can have a dangerous side. The sisterhood and networking that are promised come with a price and unfortunately that is a hefty, life altering price for some characters in this book.