At 1:30 Saturday morning, I finished reading GIVE ME YOUR HAND. It was worth every one of those late minutes!

Kit Owens and Diane Fleming are not your normal teen girls. (I'm not sure if Megan Abbott has written any stories about normal teen girls, come to think of it.) They are good students and they both jog. They push each other to be better runners and they both come to realize that they want to be scientists. Every since the beautiful and mysterious Dr. Severin came to their school to talk about her lab work and what it meant to perform studies and to do research, they both dedicate themselves to their goal. Then Diane shares a dark secret with Kit, one that Kit can't get out of her mind-one that's eating her alive. But eventually Kit gets past it and they both graduate and move on with their separate lives.

Fast forward a number of years and Kit has achieved her goal. She works in Dr. Severin's lab and is vying for an important spot on a team studying PMDD, a horrible offshoot of PMS that causes all kinds of problems for women. She's almost certain to obtain that rare position-that is until she's told that Diane Fleming is also vying for the same spot. How will Diane's return affect Kit? Who will get those valuable positions on Dr. Severin's team? What about the secret they both share, how will it affect them now that they are together again? You'll have to read this to find out!

Megan Abbott's writing is pure gold and this book is no different. Inside the warped minds of teenage girls and then again inside their heads as women, she nails it. Not only that, she unflinchingly depicts what it's like for women in the mostly man's world of scientific academia. With fierce competition at hand these men are respectful...until they're not. As a woman in a mostly man's world, (just cars, nothing hoity toity like science), I could identify with these women and what they went through. In the end though, a scientific world and some chauvinistic attitudes are only a small part of this twisted tale.

I felt that the pacing of this story was fast and I had a difficult time pulling away from it. Just when I thought I'd read one more chapter something else would happen and I was compelled to read on. This is my favorite Megan Abbott book so far, (though I still have a few to read yet), and it was partially because I'm a super fan of the THEN and NOW format and it worked beautifully here. It helped build the tension and suspense and just kept me going on. And on. And on...until the stunning denouement that floored me. Floored me, I say!

GIVE ME YOUR HAND was an excellent mystery/thriller/suspense novel full of interesting and mysterious characters and it was a BLAST! I highly recommend it!

Available everywhere on July 17th, but you can pre-order your copy here: GIVE ME YOUR HAND

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*

No other crime fiction author can so perfectly and eloquently distill the complexities of female relationships in the way that Megan Abbott can and does repeatedly. Whether she is writing about classic femme fatales, kidnapping victims, high school cheerleaders, or elite athletes, Abbott has proven again and again that while her novels always center around crime, it is the female characters at the core that are truly worth exploring. With Give Me Your Hand, Megan Abbott once again excavates well below the surface in a story of female friendship, jealousy, and rivalry amidst extreme professional pressure.

Kit Owens and Diane Fleming meet in chemistry class at Lanister High. There is an immediate bond, a linkage that will follow them through life. What starts as a friendship morphs towards a competitive angle, with mutual respect and more than a note of fear always present. When both girls apply for the same STEM scholarship, a repeated pattern of healthy competition begins to emerge.

“…you don’t have a self until you have a secret.”

But then Diane tells Kit her darkest secret and the tentative nature of their friendship is shattered. The two part ways and life goes on. Kit continues with her interest in the world of science, rising up through the ranks within her laboratory-based career. When she hears that her idol, Dr. Lena Severin, is launching a new research endeavor examining the causes and effects of severe premenstrual dysphoric disorder, Kit immediately wants to be part of the team. The problem is, so do all her fellow Severinites at her current lab. Confident that she can beat any of them, Kit’s plans are suddenly thrown into disarray when Diane Fleming shows up also coveting a spot on Dr. Severin’s project.

“To be so ordered and so out of control.”

Bringing these two women together again stirs up the memories of their past together. Megan Abbott tells this story from the point of view of Kit Owens, so readers are only granted one half of the full story. This structure grants Abbott the ability to slowly build suspense around what exactly Diane’s secret is, to such an extent that it will have readers begging for relief. And when Kit does finally reveal the truth, the ramifications are felt both for the reader and for the narrative.

“Give me your hand…”

Not only is this the title of the book, but when those words are uttered at almost the precise middle of the book, the fate of these two women is forever linked and there is no turning back. Readers will have long felt the dangers at play within the novel’s tension and Megan Abbott makes that moment both shocking and inevitable. Many writers would lack the finesse necessary to pull off such a major moment, but Abbott allows it to flow naturally from the characters she has crafted. The idea of putting the book aside from this point to the final conclusion will never be an option for fans of psychological suspense tales.

“The blood is the life…”

On the surface, Give Me Your Hand would seem to be a story about women, for women, and of course, by a woman; and yet, Megan Abbott has proven over and over that she is able to draw men under her spell. She never shies away from going to difficult or controversial places, but she does it with measured restraint and beautiful language that is free of judgment. Much can be learned about our society by looking at how these two women ended up in their situation. The key to community is empathy and Megan Abbott is gifted enough to lead readers there without getting didactic or pedantic along the way. The scientific setting of Give Me Your Hand is so on-point with current trends that it makes for a refreshing change of pace within the crime fiction genre. It is too Megan Abbott’s credit that she never attempts to make this feel revolutionary, because while it may seem like a new angle for fiction, it is a journey women have traveled for years in reality. The verisimilitude of every action will send shockwaves while also entertaining any reader who dares open the cover.

Give Me Your Hand is another in a long line of successes for Megan Abbott. Don’t miss this novel – it’s sure to be one of the most talked about books of the season.

There is just so much good stuff in Give Me Your Hand, Megan Abbott's newest book. Women in STEM, the power and potential darkness in friendship between women, mental health, the issues around the lack of research into health problems that only affect women- it's a lot to pack into one story but Megan Abbot makes all of this into a completely mesmerizing pageturner. This story kept me guessing, and while it was an engrossing thriller, it managed to make really interesting observations about the topics it was handling. I'm a newer Megan Abbott reader, but I'm tempted to dive into the backlist I have yet to read to see if anything can top it- but I doubt it.

Megan Abbott does not disappoint! Loved the focus on female researchers studying an extremely female topic, and the psychologically acute characterizations.

I am a fan of Megan Abbott, and was truly looking forward to reading her latest effort. However, it was not for me. I found the scientific element a bit boring and not something I was anxious to see "what happens next". Kit and Diane become friends in high school and although Kit is a good student she doesn't really push herself for excellence until her new friend begins to push her to excel. Diane has ambitions. She plans to study with a renowned scientist and expects to win a scholarship, and she is certain Kit can do it too. Years later when their paths cross again, the competition is fierce, but Kit still remembers a dark secret shared when they were girls and she doesn't know if she can keep it much longer.

Another Megan Abbott book with a totally unique premise! I loved that our protagonists were both very strong women in science. The book is bleak- there's a lot of unhealthy relationships and addictions here- but Abbott's ability to capture the essence of feminism and female friendships is unquestionable. There was not much plot- but I found there was quite enough to keep me turning the pages, once I got into it. There was tons of blood imagery- It made me uncomfortable, but did a great job at setting the creepy tone. And the inciting incident made me gasp! Overall, not as strong for me as You Will Know Me, but still an enjoyable ride.

I can't believe I've never read anything by Megan Abbott before. This is my favorite kind of fiction: firmly within genre, but with gorgeous prose worthy of any literary shortlist out there. I am a bit skeptical of thrillers that play with time since I find it so frequently used to beef up an otherwise pedestrian plot, but in Abbott's capable hands it unfolds effortlessly. Some of her descriptions are so vivid and perfect they made me smile, like when she compares a stern Russian lab tech tending the mice to an aristocrat strolling through his garden. A taut pace and memorable characters make this an easy one to recommend.

How does a secret define a friendship? Smart, hard-working Kit Owens and brilliant, ambitious Diane Fleming bond in high school chemistry class until a revelation on Diane’s part changes everything. A dozen years later, the two find themselves competing for a prized position in a groundbreaking research study. Memory dies hard.

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Give Me Your Hand follows two ex-friends forced into a competition over a spot in an elite chemistry team, and in joint past-and-present tense, develops into a slow burn thriller. This book is about the nature of keeping secrets for people close to you, and how the darkness of someone near you can be what kills you.

Okay first of all, Megan Abbott is one of the most talented authors in the adult thriller genre. Her descriptions give her entire writing this very sinister feel, and it’s glorious. But there’s also a hint of sardonic humor to her writing.

What’s interesting here is none of the characters, including the lead, are good people. But perhaps the strongest antihero of the book is Diane. And I… empathized with Diane. A lot more than expected. Which I think is perhaps the most transcendent part of the book; that we find so much sympathy for these characters, even though we shouldn’t.

This book also thrives primarily off a relationship between two women, and just as the relationship between Beth and Addie in Dare Me, it is wonderful and fucked up. They are at once each other's biggest rivals and each other's biggest allies and Kit's feelings for Diane are so wonderfully complicated.

Megan Abbott’s work never really sustains itself off plot twists or reveals for me; she’s more of a talent at creep factor and character work. But I will say there’s this particularly nasty twist towards the end, and I didn’t think there would be another twist, and it’s kind of the most fucked up part of the entire book.

This book is fantastic and creepy and atmospheric and fucked up, and I can’t wait to read more by this author.

Kit Owens works in a prestigious lab studying PPMD, an uber-PMS that often manifests in extreme violence. She never would’ve gotten there in life without the influence of Diane Fleming, a high school classmate whose intense drive pushed Kit to succeed. But Diane has a secret, and sharing it with Kit lead to the end of their friendship. Years later, Diane pops back into Kit’s life as a new hire in her lab, and Kit’s knowledge of Diane’s secret ripples out to unexpected and terrible results. Told in chapters alternating between “Then” and “Now”, this book is propulsive and eminently readable, and her female characters are complicated and compelling. You’ll want to know what happens next!

This was the first book I've read by Megan Abbott and didn't have any expectations going into it. It is a psychological thriller based in a science lab that studies premenstrual dysphoric disorder. I found it to be an engaging read, but incredibly over the top and unbelievable.

A twisting, compelling thriller that I really enjoyed. Really captures the dark side of teenage life and friendship. Megan Abbott never disappoints!

I absolutely love Abbott's novels and this one was just as good as the others I've enjoyed. Alternating past and present, the book follows protagonist Kit and friend Diane as they meet in high school, go their separate ways, and then are reunited at the lab where both hope to work on a promising scientific study about women with raging PMS that causes violent tendencies. But a secret that Diane revealed all those years ago to Kit unleashes a whirlwind of events and emotions that will ultimately result in catastrophe for all involved. I love flawed (and even devious) characters and Abbott is a master at plot and dialogue, creating tension at every turn. Still a big fan!

I wasn't overly thrilled with this book. It seemed to me the author wasn't quite sure where they were going with it until the very end when it tightened up and actually was entertaining for about 20 pages. However, the flipping back and forth between unrelated memories in the past without any sort of logic made it a difficult read and hard to follow, especially the ending. While this may work in some books when the author is working their way up to a big reveal that was not the case here and it instead seemed superfluous. I also wasn't able to connect or even sympathize with any of the characters so all in all not worth the read.

Jumping from Then to Now, this book unravels the dark history between Kit and Diane and the even darker present. Kit tries not to get sucked back into the secrets and horror that Diane embodies, but finds herself back into the web. A fantastic psychological thriller that kept me reading right until the last page! I would recommend this to anyone that likes a suspenseful read!
I received this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest opinion and review

I received Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott at Day of Dialog and I just finished it!
I have enjoyed all of Megan's titles- I find the drk minds of her female characters intriguing. Plus she is a fantastic writer. There is nothing better than a good plotline that also has strong, deep characters and amazing writing!
Fantastic Read—kept me going until the end.

Megan Abbott is a very hit or miss author for me, but I really liked her previous book so I was hoping that GIVE ME YOUR HAND would be another stellar thriller. But unfortunately it left me generally underwhelmed. I liked the two narratives, the 'then' and 'now' where we would jump back to high school and then to the present day, as that allowed the secrets and reveals to come out at their own pace. But I kind of wish we'd spent more time in the teenage years, as the crux of the conflict happened then. Once the secret was revealed, we kind of left the teenage timeline for good, and I liked it better of the two. I also felt like I had to suspend a little to much disbelief for some of the plot points to occur the way that the did, and that the ending was a little too quick for my tastes. Overall I would consider it to be a good book to pass the time on an airplane (which is exactly what I did with it), but had I not been as much of a captive audience it may not have held my attention very well.

I really enjoyed YOU WILL KNOW ME so I was pretty excited to dig into GIVE ME YOUR HAND. Although the writing is strong and the story seems fairly suspenseful at first, ultimately I came away feeling a bit disappointed. Primarily my concerns are twofold--first, the characterization feels weak, the characters almost sketch/cardboard-like. Second, the plot lacks any real surprises, resolving in exactly the way I expected. I'm not giving up on Abbott--in fact, I think she's an excellent writer--and overall this story of rivalry in a science lab IS entertaining.

Not quite as good as You Will Know Me, in my opinion, but still another great example of why Megan Abbott is one of my favourite authors.

I can't recall any writer this adept at crafting complex, flawed female characters and the relationships between them. Abbott crawls deep inside the female brain - to all its dark places, thoughts and jealousies - and captures it in such a way that I can feel the story getting under my skin. Her novels are novels of atmosphere and a creeping impossible-to-ignore sense of wrongness under the mundanity.

Give Me Your Hand is about the friendship and rivalry between two bright and brilliant women - Kit and Diane. As teens, they were inseparable, with Diane fueling Kit's ambition and offering the drive she needed to stay on track for the Severin scholarship. Dr Severin is famous for her studies on female disorders, and particularly PMDD - PMS's nastier and more debilitating sister.

After Diane reveals a dark secret to Kit, their friendship falls apart and the girls go their separate ways, both to successful careers. In the "now", Kit is employed in Dr Severin's lab and working her ass off to get onto the research team for PMDD. Everything seems to be going well until Dr Severin hires an amazing researcher from Harvard. Diane, of course. Then, Kit's life gets turned upside down again.

Abbott combines the difficulties of being a woman with a tense, slow-burn thriller. She gradually lifts the curtain on Diane's secret, piece by piece, until I was dying to know what happened. And Diane herself is allowed to be a bit sinister, a bit villainous, without ever feeling like a caricature.

This book is about the power of secrets, the past's habit of coming back to haunt you, and also the fine line between female friendship and rivalry (as most of Abbott's thrillers are). It's something that fascinates me. Women often have deep, all-encompassing friendships built on loyalty and sharing secrets, but we are also pitted against one another. When two female celebrities wear the same dress, it’s all about who wore it best. There has to be a winner; some kind of hierarchy. It's so easy for friendship to turn sour; for an ally to become a rival.

At the root of this book, there are so many themes of female passion, ambition, and weakness. Everything from the casual misogyny of the male scientists to the PMDD present obstacles for women, and I really liked how every single female character who walks into this book shines with her own distinct personality. Even the female detective - who we should view as an enemy of the protagonists - is likable in her brief scenes.

I can't quite decide if Abbott thinks that women are wonderful, worthy of the utmost admiration, or if she thinks they are as ferocious and terrifying as men have suspected all along. It's probably a bit of both.

I knew from the beginning that this was going to be a difficult read for me. I am not sure where the disconnect was this time but I didn't get swept away as I usually do when reading Abbott's latest release, Give Me Your Hand.

I liked the Then/Now format but I didn't like the characters Kit or Diane. I could not connect with them or the situations and I think that played a big role overall. Still, it was well written and the pace was acceptable. 4 stars.