Review: Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott - The science behind survival of the fittest

Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott

Released: 31st July 2018

Published by: Picador

Genre: Adult thriller

Source: Publisher

Pages: 339

My Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Goodreads | QBD | Booktopia

Kit Owens harbored only modest ambitions for herself when the mysterious Diane Fleming appeared in her high school chemistry class. But Diane's academic brilliance lit a fire in Kit, and the two developed an unlikely friendship. Until Diane shared a secret that changed everything between them.

More than a decade later, Kit thinks she's put Diane behind her forever and she's begun to fulfill the scientific dreams Diane awakened in her. But the past comes roaring back when she discovers that Diane is her competition for a position both women covet, taking part in groundbreaking new research led by their idol.

Soon enough, the two former friends find themselves locked in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse that threatens to destroy them both.

Thank you to Pan Macmillan Australia for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Megan Abbott's latest psychological thriller firmly cements her position as a master of writing dark, addictive stories about the boundaries of friendships and what it takes to succeed. From Dare Me, The Fever, The End of Everything and You Will Know Me, I became enthralled by her intelligent, whip-smart prose and ability to capture the malignant undercurrents behind even the closest relationships. In Give Me Your Hand she has once again lifted the bar, this time bringing the drama into the scientific world, among the labs, burners and microscopes which hone in on what remains unseen with the naked eye. 

Sometimes it feels like life's about understanding how much opposites meet. Kill to cure, poison to immunize, sacrifice to save. 

Competition can be both a propellant to greatness, or lead to an all-consuming quest to be nothing but the best. It's always fascinating to see how Abbott brings in these elements of human nature, and pushes her characters to their limits. Kit and Diana had been best friends for years, driving each other in high school to always be at the top of their game, and reach the heights of the careers they had dreamed of. But Diana had always been an enigma at heart, the type of person one could admire until they saw that there was something ominous behind her pragmatic facade. There is some primal instinct that linked the main characters and their work, a force that was both brilliant and dangerous. As the novel switches between then and now, the contest to be on the research team reached unexpected twists that went further than I could have anticipated. I was totally gripped by the secrets revealed about not just these two, but everyone else working in lab G-21. In a Megan Abbott novel the suspense is always cleverly framed by the characters' vices and deepest flaws, revealed in elegant prose that pulses with tension and leaves you wanting more. 

When you're in the sciences, when you know about things like neuronal biochemistry and the complex interplay between, say, hormones and emotion, you might imagine you have a deep understanding of the mind. Explain to me why I feel this way, think this way, dream this way, am this way. But consider it: Would you really want to know? 

A good piece of writing can also require some solid research to back it up, and it's clear that Abbott has done the groundwork in this case. I may not know much about the sciences or PMDD, though I may have learnt a thing or two after reading this. The sterile setting of a science lab contrasting with the messy web of secrets, back-stabbing and cover-ups made for a winning combination. Far from the sports field, small-town gossip or world of elite gymnastics of her previous books, Give Me Your Hand feels more mature in this professional workplace context. Notably, she never loses sight of the people that these women were before they reached the pinnacle of their careers and how the experiences in their teens shaped who they would become. It is this depth of character development which is always a stand-out, and part of what makes Give Me Your Hand so compulsively readable.

But to understand, you need to see so much more. Because everything affects everything else. One small speck in one narrow recess and everything else is dark with its shadow. And working with Dr Severin, I know I'll see it all. And I'll be a part of the grander seeing, the illumination of darkness. The hand outstretched to all those women in the shadows. Come with me, come, come. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Give Me Your Hand is not a psychological thriller for the faint-hearted, but it's the most addictive one I've read in a long time. Smart, dark, and subtle in its revelations of the truth, as always I can't wait to see what Megan Abbott will write next.