A review by emperorcupcake
Beware the Woman by Megan Abbott

dark mysterious tense

4.0

I was curious to read Megan Abbott's new book, after loving <i>The Turnout</i> and <i>The End of Everything</i> and then DNFing <i>Dare Me</i>. This was a solid 4 stars. I often don't like thriller/horror that revolves around pregnancy, I don't have kids and I can't relate. It often seems like the same story, too. Like, I get it! And so was this; this was exactly what you think it is, a pregnant woman being controlled and gaslit by folksy men. But it's all in the telling. I found this genuinely gripping and tense, even slightly scary, due to Megan Abbott's narrative style. This same story could have felt slight, or redundant, but the writing kept me glued to the pages. And there was a reveal that surprised me.

This was an effective way of showing the creepy and dangerous control men have over women's bodies, especially regarding pregnancy. It's not subtle, but I thought the small, intimate setting really brought home how widespread an issue this is. This happens everywhere, all the time, maybe not to this extreme but the metaphor hits home. I'm not giving this 5 stars because even though I really enjoyed it, I thought it felt a little unfinished. Like there were things alluded to that were never explored, so the end felt a little anti-climatic after all that tension building. Some of it just never went anywhere. (Like why did Jed change?) But there was one part of the ending I absolutely loved!
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