“It was so hard to explain.How much of their adulthood was about mourning the life they‘d lost, secure, comfortable, serene. A life they were born into by chance, luck. But had it felt secure or comfortable or serene? Their parents, with their gin and tonics, and their private miseries … It was really in one another that the sisters found their anchor, their buoy.” (p.347)
pickThree striving sisters in Grosse Pointe get involved in a pyramid scheme, and we see each of their efforts to stay afloat or get ahead (though really the book focuses on 2 of them). And then there‘s a pesky murder to contend with as well. This book had a lot to say about capitalism and greed. It was good, but not my favorite of Abbott‘s.
pick💙📚BOOK REVIEW IS UP📚💙
⭐️⭐️EL DORADO DRIVE BY MEGAN ABBOTT⭐️⭐️
⭐️QUICK THOUGHTS⭐️⭐️
⭐️ A tale of greed and desperation!
⭐️Everyone is lying!
https://reecaspieces.com/2025/07/11/el-dorado-drive-by-megan-abbott-bookreview-p...
pickMoney is at the heart of this tense drama about a pyramid scheme in the guise of a women's empowerment group. The Bishop sisters grew up wealthy until their father lost his job: now in their 40s, they are struggling: Debra, under the weight of her husband's medical bills; Pam, in battle with her duplicitous ex; and Harper, still reeling from a break up that left her with a debt she cannot pay. The Wheel promises prosperity, but at what cost?
pickIn between a pick and a so-so.. it‘s well thought out, and twisty, but it‘s a slow burn and jumps around a lot.
pickWhy don‘t more people talk about Joy Fielding? Cul-de-sac is another gem—tension-filled, character-driven, and packed with secrets, lies, and a deadly twist. Desperate Housewives meets Big Little Lies.
panAn in depth, pre-Snowden journalistic investigation into the world of whistleblowers and data leakers.
This was a tough read to get into. Interesting, but dry and dense. Every chapter is also an interweaving of multiple people‘s stories. Pair all that with intentional misgendering and deadnaming of Chelsea Manning and glossing over Julian Assange‘s sexual assault allegations, this is not a book I need to keep or revisit. 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑
pickFamily drama center with this one! Morgan and Benji are getting married after secretly dating for years. Their families are reunited for the event in Maine, and for the first time start truly dealing with Benji‘s older sister‘s suicide a decade earlier. From multiple perspectives, this character-driven novel reels you in from the start! Definitely would make for a good book club pick, as there is plenty to discuss!
pickSomewhere after I started reading this, I thought: This is going to be messy! I love messy, so I was intrigued. What I was not prepared for was the level of this messiness!
This story centers around Benji and Morgan‘s wedding weekend in Maine. We learn early on about the loss of Alice, Benji‘s sister and Morgan‘s best friend, to suicide. How has that loss affected the families? And what secrets do they keep?
Read this!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
TW: Suicide
