If you’re a fan of well-written psychological thrillers, then you really should be reading Megan Abbott. The American author is a modern queen who’s pushed the genre forward with her incisive storytelling, outstanding prose, and masterful touch for exploring real-life issues through her crime tales. Netflix users may be familiar with Dare Me, the fascinating series set against the world of cheerleading that’s based on an Abbott novel. Abbott’s also explored the darker side of ambition and female rivalry in gymnastics and science in recent books. Now in The Turnout she peels back the skin of suburban ballet.

For Dara and Marie Durant, ballet is life. And the annual Nutcracker performance by their family ballet school is the high point of their year. Together with Dara’s husband Charlie, once their mother’s star pupil, the sisters run the school where their late mother once reigned. Tutoring young ballerinas, coaxing them through pain to performance. When a suspicious accident threatens their building, leading to weeks of chaotic renovations, the square-peg presence of Derek, a beefy contractor, threatens even more. Will the tight-knit trio of Dara, Marie, and Charlie stick together, or shatter? Abbott delivers a delicious thriller that takes readers backstage to witness the suffering and drama behind the elegant veneer of ballet. Unsettling and exquisite.

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson