Megan Abbott Books in Order (Updated February 18, 2026)

Megan Abbott is an American crime and psychological suspense writer whose novels are mostly standalones.

Reading order is simple: you can pick almost any title that matches your mood, because there isn’t an ongoing series timeline to protect.

Pick your starting point

• Want “classic Abbott” teen pressure-cooker suspense: Dare Me (2012) or The Fever (2014)
• Want adult ambition and rivalry: Give Me Your Hand (2018)
• Want the newest entry point: El Dorado Drive (2025)

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The novels in publication order (cleanest reference list)

1. Die a Little (2005): A noir-leaning story where a brother’s marriage draws his sister into Hollywood secrets and quiet corruption.
2. The Song Is You (2007): An obsessive love story tilts into danger as a man can’t let go of the woman he thinks he knows.
3. Queenpin (2007): A young woman is recruited into a criminal mentorship that teaches power, appetite, and the cost of both.
4. Bury Me Deep (2009): Three women chase reinvention in Jazz Age Los Angeles and find themselves tangled in a true-crime-shaped nightmare.
5. The End of Everything (2011): A girl’s best friend vanishes, and the search reveals how desire and secrecy distort a whole neighborhood.
6. Dare Me (2012): Cheerleading becomes a hierarchy of loyalty and threat when a new coach changes the rules of devotion.
7. The Fever (2014): A wave of mysterious seizures in a small town triggers panic, blame, and the unspooling of private truths.
8. You Will Know Me (2016): Elite youth gymnastics, parental sacrifice, and a death near competition collide in a tightly wound family story.
9. Give Me Your Hand (2018): Two scientists with a shared past enter a ruthless lab world where an old secret turns toxic again.
10. The Turnout (2021): A family-run ballet school faces sabotage and scandal as control slips and long-guarded history resurfaces.
11. Beware the Woman (2023): A newly pregnant woman visits her husband’s family and senses something wrong behind the hospitality.
12. El Dorado Drive (2025): Three sisters get pulled into a women-led money circle that promises rescue and delivers escalating peril.

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Does Abbott have any “series” you must read in order?

Not in the usual sense. Themes and fixations echo across books (female rivalry, closed worlds, pressure, desire), but the plots and casts do not require sequence reading.

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Recommended reading order (three simple routes)

Route A: Start early, watch the style evolve

1. Die a Little (2005): Noir entry point with classic crime DNA.
2. Bury Me Deep (2009): Big, lush historical-crime energy.
3. The End of Everything (2011): The pivot toward psychological dread.
4. Dare Me (2012): Teen world, adult consequences.
5. The Fever (2014): Community panic and private shame.
6. Give Me Your Hand (2018): Adult rivalry sharpened into menace.
7. The Turnout (2021): A closed institution under stress.
8. Beware the Woman (2023): Gothic-leaning, bodily unease.
9. El Dorado Drive (2025): Money, family, and social machinery.

Route B: You only want two books

1. Dare Me (2012): Fast social power dynamics.
2. Give Me Your Hand (2018): Adult ambition with a knife-edge friendship.

Route C: You want the newest first

1. El Dorado Drive (2025): Current-era Abbott in full control of pressure and complicity.
2. Beware the Woman (2023): A clean step backward with a different flavor of dread.
3. The Turnout (2021): Stay in the “closed world” lane and keep going.

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Nonfiction and other books (separate category)

• The Street Was Mine (2002): A nonfiction study of hardboiled fiction and film noir, separate from the novels.

If you’re here strictly for thrillers, treat this as optional background rather than part of a “reading order.”

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Latest Releases

Latest Releases: The recent book released by the author is: El Dorado Drive (June 24, 2025).

As of February 18, 2026, I did not find a reliably confirmed publication date for a next Megan Abbott novel beyond El Dorado Drive.

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FAQs

Can I read Megan Abbott out of order?
Yes. With the novels, you won’t spoil an overarching series plot, because they’re designed to stand alone.

Which book is most representative of her teen-focused thrillers?
Dare Me (2012) is the cleanest gateway into that lane.

Which book is best if I prefer adult protagonists and workplace-style tension?
Give Me Your Hand (2018) is the most direct fit.

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Conclusion

If you want the safest, simplest path, follow publication order. If you’d rather jump in immediately, start with El Dorado Drive (2025) and move backward to whichever setup (gothic, ballet school, lab rivalry, teen hierarchy) sounds most compelling.