I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
Three sisters grew up rich but when the auto industry went bad so did their dollars.
An idea formed— the wheel— a way to make money. This was exciting as their money grew, a wild ride, until it leads to a murder!

Now THIS is how you write a book! I've become a fan of Megan Abbott recently, and her writing, which at times is almost poetic- she's one of those authors who can genuinely make you FEEL something. In fact, without giving a single thing away, the very end of this one actually made me shed a tear (or ten). While parts of this book were obviously a little dark, a little sad, it was also incredibly well-written. There were a few red herrings, and although I was starting to think one person in particular could be the killer, I was super surprised to find out how <<someone>> was actually killed, and who (perhaps 2 people?) was behind the death. In no literary world did I see the reveal coming, which was such a nice treat. This is the type of book that stays with you long after you finish it, and I'm incredibly grateful that I had a chance to read an early copy. Of course I will be recommending this to everyone who walks into our store, as well as my friends, family, strangers at my son's soccer games... it really is THAT good.

Megan Abbott’s latest novel is about three sisters and how they’re pulled into a MLM/pyramid scheme women’s group called The Wheel, leading to one of their deaths.

I love Abbott’s sharp prose and the noir like tone but ultimately this novel didn’t quite grab me the same way her other books like Dare Me had. The plot felt a little underdeveloped and the sister’s motives to gain back the wealth they had as kids a little weak.

At the heart of El Dorado Drive is the interpersonal dynamic of a trio of sisters, and at the center of the action is a female-lead pyramid scheme that seems too good to be true, and it is just that, bringing more than just a cash windfall to the table. This newest offering from Megan Abbottt is a little less intense than her usual fare. The domestic drama is still riveting, but somehow the tone is more lighthearted, even the good deeds turn deadly.

This one was a hard one to review. I definitely didn't see the end coming which was great and probably the best thing about the book but I just didn't know how I felt about the book while reading it. I always have people ask me what I am reading and I had a hard time telling them about the book. I think part of my issue was that I didn't like any of the characters and when that happens I don't generally rate books that high. It was such a dark and depressing storyline and I wanted it to have more thriller vibes. It was overall ok. I didn't hate it but didn't love it.

Megan Abbott is noir Gillian Flynn--GF's instinct for female-centric stories that expose uncomfortable truths about the dark underbelly of the human psyche, plus the noir lushness of prose rich enough to bathe in. EL DORADO DRIVE is no exception, focusing on a trio of sisters raised to the pearls-and-country-club lifestyle and now struggling as adults with failing marriages, difficult kids, and of course money troubles. The mysterious Club comes along at just the right (or wrong) time for all three, promising ra-ra sisterhood and neverending cash to its members, but this pyramid scheme is destined to expose the fault lines in all their relationships, to lethal effect. I read it in two nights, breathlessly turning pages. Anything Megan Abbott writes, I'm here for.

El Dorado Drive was another really good novel from Megan Abbott. I loved the concept and I thought the characters were really flushed out. But even with it's choppy chapters (which I tend to like in thriller novels) the pacing felt off. It definitely felt repetitive and dragging at times. But even so, I didn't want to put it down and needed to know how it ended. I wasn't disappointed by the ending, but just the overall flow and pacing. But there is no one who writes feminine rage like MA. I look forward to whatever she writes next.

3.5/5

Megan Abbott does it again with another suspenseful Thriller of a novel. When Harper moves in with her sister Pam she is surprised to find she is doing so well . She finds out how when she is asked to join a club called The Wheel. I loved the dynamics of the sisters and the the thrill of hpe everything would turn out. This is a real page turner

Woman helping woman with a chance to make your financial problems go away. The pacing was extremely slow so I almost gave up reading. The bishop sisters had so much family trauma growing up. I liked all the drama between the sisters. Everyone couldn’t wait for their turn to run the wheel. Pam had a feeling something bad was going to happen.

This was good just not action packed or twists that shocked me. I had to finish to see how it ended. I preferred her other books more.

This novel reminds me, again, why Megan Abbott is one of my favorite contemporary suspense writers. The start of this book was slow, intentionally so, really focusing on this one often dysfunctional family, and their deep histories and resentments and love. It churns along, tackling themes about money and power and desperation in a Michigan once prosperous but hit hard by layoffs and industry shifts in the early 2000s. And then comes the revelation as the dread builds and the pace quickens and the opening pages come back into view: this is leading somewhere tragic. And I breezed through the last thirty percent of the novel in pursuit of an ending that was both surprising and inevitable.

Desperate housewives meets pyramid schemes - this would make a fantastic tv series! Loved the twists towards the end and thoroughly enjoyed this one.

I’ve been a Meg Abbott fan for a long time and this one lived up to her unique qualities of suspense that I love. Her suspense just always feels DARKER to me, and gets at the root of human motivation and desire.

I loved the pyramid scheme component of this and the way it drove home the deeper themes of sisterhood and desire. Unsettling in the best ways!

When Harper Bishop hits rock bottom and moves in with her sister, she gets roped into a financial club for women with her sisters, a club that sounds suspiciously like a pyramid scheme...

I don't take ARCs very often any more but how often does a Megan Abbott ARC fall into your lap?

Megan Abbott has written a variety of books but the ones about the secrets women share are easily the best. Cheerleaders, gymnasts, and now three sisters remembering the upper class life they had as teens and the yearning to get back there.

Harper, the black sheep of the three Bishop girls, carries some baggage with her and can't wait to get back on her feet. Pam is trying to finally be rid of her soon to be ex-husband and Debra's in debt up to her neck because of her husband's medical bills. While they're all smart women, they're also desperate to climb out of the financial holes they've found themselves in and that's why the pyramid scheme they get roped into seemed so promising.

When something seems too good to be true, it probably is. The big event is foreshadowed in the frantic first chapter and the second half of the book is the consequences. Master that she is, Megan had me guessing who the killer was a few different times. I did not see the ending coming and it hit me like a hammer to the head.

I will never get tired of Megan Abbott and her brand of girlnoir. Four out of five stars.

It’s a rare thing for a novel to hold in its heart both a captivating mystery, all greed and noir and sleaze and a thorough examination of the human animal, namely how we grieve and how we love. Abbott has always done both—familial ties and the lengths we can stretch them until the break make frequent appearances in her work—but El Dorado drive finds the author at her best.

Few novelists today understand the dark violence that nestles in the hearts of women the Megan Abbott does. Even fewer delve into those dark hearts with such empathy. Abbott delivers unflinchingly unlikeable women and makes us love them. We become complicit in their crimes. Worse still, we want to see our sharp and steely heroines get away with them. The Bishop sisters in El Dorado Drive, like the Durant sisters in “The Turnout”, are sharp, flawed, fraught, and captivating. The dynamic of three sisters, set against the backdrop of Detroit in the throes of economic collapse, propels the novel forward as much as the twists and turns of the plot which are many, layered, shocking, but never tawdry.

I’ve never managed to read an Abbott novel in less than a day and I fully intended to spread this one out over at least a few days, but I devoured it in the space of hours. Quite simply, like the women in this novel, I needed to know the secrets and once I got a taste, I was hungry for more. Dear reader, I gorged myself.

Very engaging and interesting read. Very well developed and ambitious. Will be recommending to library collection and patrons.

Set around 2008 from my best guess (it didn’t really specify but it is an uncorrected proof) this story centers around the 3 Bishop sisters. This is told from the middle sister Harper’s point of view. Harper is broke, giving riding lessons to the rich people in town, the story is set in Detroit so this was the time when the auto companies were moving out of the area and a lot of people that had been wealthy all their lives are now struggling to find gainful employment. Harper is single but owes a very large debt, her older sister Debra is married and her husband has cancer, they are struggling with medical debt and then Harper’s younger sister Pam is beloved by most everyone except her teenage daughter Vivian and her ex husband Doug. Their divorce got ugly and the teenage children are out in the middle. Pam and Debra have recently joined a women’s “investment” group that is basically a pyramid scheme. Unfortunately this didn’t work for me, I love the idea of a thriller with this set up but the execution did not work for me. I felt like this was a slog to get through. I didn’t like anyone not even in a love to hate way. For me there wasn’t enough explanation of how the wheel worked where it really made sense, the amount of money along with the time and effort it took the women to get there just didn’t feel like it was believable. Then someone gets murdered and everything just gets silly from there. I think I just don’t mesh well with this author. Her books always sound great but then don’t work for me. I think this will be a very popular book though and will definitely work for a lot of people. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book.

Legit amazing. Had me on the edge of my seat! Pyramid scheme with middle age women and I kept thinking, could I end up in something like this?!! Read this as soon as you can. It’ll be a great summer read for sure.

I won’t say it was bad but it wasn’t great either. I felt like the story moved slower than necessary with not enough drama, action and twists to grab me. Wanting to know how it ended is what kept me turning the pages, I just didn’t want to give up on her book. The end was satisfying enough and I was rewarded with a little twist I wasn’t expecting.

I recently finished El Dorado Drive by Megan Abbott, and it was quite the ride! I absolutely loved Abbott’s earlier book, Give Me Your Hand, so I was excited to dive into this one.

The story follows three sisters—each grappling with their own personal challenges—who get drawn into a mysterious women's group that essentially turns into something resembling a pyramid scheme. One of its members is murdered. I have to admit, some of the antics of this group were a little over the top for me, but that’s part of what made the book so intriguing.

At first, the pacing felt a bit slow, but once the story picked up, I was hooked. The last third of the book had me on the edge of my seat. I loved how Abbott’s signature writing style—full of suspense and unexpected twists—shines through, keeping you guessing. I honestly had no idea who the real culprit was until the very end.

I’d definitely recommend El Dorado Drive to anyone who enjoys a dark, twisty mystery with a psychological edge. And a huge thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This was such a fun read. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review!