The Turnout by Megan Abbott - Starting August 3rd 2021

[Dannii]

Bestselling and award-winning author Megan Abbott's revelatory, mesmerizing, and game-changing new novel set against the hothouse of a family-run ballet studio, and an interloper who arrives to bring down the carefully crafted Eden-like facade.

Ballet flows through their veins. Dara and Marie Durant were dancers since birth, with their long necks and matching buns and pink tights, homeschooled and trained by their mother. Decades later the Durant School of Dance is theirs. The two sisters, together with Charlie, Dara's husband and once their mother's prize student, inherited the school after their parents died in a tragic accident nearly a dozen years ago. Marie, warm and soft, teaches the younger students; Dara, with her precision, trains the older ones; and Charlie, back broken after years of injuries, rules over the back office. Circling around each other, the three have perfected a dance, six days a week, that keeps the studio thriving. But when a suspicious accident occurs, just at the onset of the school's annual performance of The Nutcracker, a season of competition, anxiety, and exhilaration, an interloper arrives and threatens the delicate balance of everything they've worked for.

Taut and unnerving, The Turnout is Megan Abbott at the height of her game. With uncanny insight and hypnotic writing, it is a sharp and strange dissection of family ties and sexuality, femininity and power, and a tale that is both alarming and irresistible.

[Karen]

My memories of ballet are of a fearsome woman called Miss Fencott, who quickly made clear I had no chance at ballet…beautiful to watch but requires extreme dedication.

[Dannii]

Karen wrote: "My memories of ballet are of a fearsome woman called Miss Fencott, who quickly made clear I had no chance at ballet…beautiful to watch but requires extreme dedication."

I love to watch ballet but I don't think I could ever have had the dedication to make it as a ballerina. I'm a quarter of the way into this one and the amount of blood and blisters and feet injuries this has already mentioned has doubly convinced me of that!

[Karen]

First quarter. The graphic description of the behind-the-scenes stuff really does sound awful, I agree. Dara and her sister are unusual characters. They feel almost stunted, like they haven’t formed fully. There is a definite suggestion that the contractor is up to something.

[Dannii]

First quarter - (view spoiler)[I'm loving this, so far, like I have really loved all of Megan Abbott's thrillers. She writes of competitive individuals and toxic friendships so well, which can also be seen here.

Maria and Dara are very different individuals. I found it odd that Maria continued to live with Dara after her marriage. Not that there is anything wrong with that in general, of course, but it is odd in this context, given how many times Dara has likened her sister to a child that doesn't want to grow up.

I wonder if the reason she eventually fled their home was due to something occurring between Charlie and her? There is definitely
a secret there. Charlie has noticed a coolness between the sisters though, so maybe he isn't the cause. I also wonder if the fire Maria started in Studio B was on purpose, to rid them both of their ties to dance?

I don't like the contractor who came in to fix the space, nor do I trust the intentions of Bailey's mother, who recommended him and hasn't been seen near the studios since.

So far, all these mysteries are pretty quiet ones, with the majority of the focus remaining on dance and rebuilding before The Nutcracker performance. (hide spoiler)]

Second quarter - (view spoiler)[I'm enjoying this less now the focus is no Marie and her affair with Derek. I hope she doesn't get too hurt though, as she seems completely under his spell. (hide spoiler)]

Third quarter - (view spoiler)[Oh wow, I didn't anticipate Derek's death! (hide spoiler)]

Fourth quarter - (view spoiler)[Damn, so Charlie's PT was Derek's wife!? I didn't anticipate that either! (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Second quarter - don’t trust their contractor at all, and he seems to have an eye on their home property.

[Dannii]

Karen wrote: "Second quarter - don’t trust their contractor at all, and he seems to have an eye on their home property."

Ugh, he was such a creepy and sly individual!

[Karen]

Third quarter. Well, Danni, that certainly confirmed the view of Derek. Curious about what, exactly, he was aiming to do. I should feel more saddened by what happened, but I am curious about Dara. Her reaction to the memory of her mother and her Charlie suggests she may know more than she’s let on.

[Dannii]

Karen wrote: "Third quarter. Well, Danni, that certainly confirmed the view of Derek. Curious about what, exactly, he was aiming to do. I should feel more saddened by what happened, but I am curious about Dara. ..."

(view spoiler)[Her memories were so disturbing and created an entirely different picture of their childhood and relationships. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Finished. Review on home page. So much not said, and this was quite different to what I imagined in places.

[Karen]

Dannii wrote: "First quarter - I'm loving this, so far, like I have really loved all of Megan Abbott's thrillers. She writes of competitive individuals and toxic friendships so well, which can also be seen here.
..."

The first quarter really set up a lot of potential mysteries. Initially, I wondered if the strange relationship between the three was too obvious - but I did think it was going to be relevant in some way.

[Karen]

Dannii wrote: "First quarter - I'm loving this, so far, like I have really loved all of Megan Abbott's thrillers. She writes of competitive individuals and toxic friendships so well, which can also be seen here.
..."

(view spoiler)[ The moment we worked out the link between Derek and his other women, I wondered if there was a bigger story at play than the close relationship between Dara and Marie. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Dannii wrote: "Karen wrote: "Third quarter. Well, Danni, that certainly confirmed the view of Derek. Curious about what, exactly, he was aiming to do. I should feel more saddened by what happened, but I am curiou..."

Yes, I felt there was a lot of hints initially and then we got Dara's memory of her mother. I'm afraid that once I read that part I immediately switched thoughts about who/what might be responsible for some of the strange events.

[Karen]

Finished. Dannii, now I'm home and on pc I've tried to respond to your comments. Wish I'd seen these as I reached similar points in the story - a curious read. It didn't go where I expected, (view spoiler)[ and I still wonder whether Dara was responsible for the accident involving the parents. (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

Karen wrote: "Finished. Dannii, now I'm home and on pc I've tried to respond to your comments. Wish I'd seen these as I reached similar points in the story - a curious read. It didn't go where I expected, [spoil..."

Yes. It was hinted at but I found myself wishing for some concrete answers. (view spoiler)[I think I got a bit confused there as were we meant to believe that her mother purposefully rode their car off the road, as it is mentioned that her father usually drove but her mother was adamant to on this occasion? (hide spoiler)]