El Dorado Drive by Megan Abbott ~ A Review

by Susan Roberts

A simmering, atmospheric novel of friendship and betrayal, following a women-led pyramid scheme in suburban Detroit.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site.  A free book was provided for an honest review.

June 2025; G.P. Putnam's Sons; 978-0593084960
audio, ebook, print (368 pages); women's fiction

Three sisters live in the Detroit area.  Their family was once very wealthy and lived the high life in Grosse Pointe.  Now all three sisters are struggling with money, but all of a sudden, the oldest, Pam, has lots of money.  She admits to her sisters that her money has come through a women's only group called The Wheel. The group meets twice a month, and new members bring $5000 in cash.  All of the cash goes to the member who has brought in the most new recruits.  As soon as you read about The Wheel, it's apparent that it's a major Ponzi scheme, but the women aren't really money savvy despite their college degrees at Michigan.  They just know that they need more money to gain back their once lavish lives, and The Wheel is the answer to their problems.

Pam is the oldest sister.  She has gone through an ugly divorce and has moved to lower-class El Dorado Drive from her home in Grosse Pointe.  She has two children - one is ready to go into college, and the other is a very difficult teenager who doesn't get along with her mom at all.  Pam's ex has used up most of the family's money and is stealing money from the kids' college funds.  It's Pam who first finds out about The Wheel, and she recruits her sisters into the group.

Debra is married and facing huge medical bills for her husband, who has cancer.  As soon as Pam tells her about The Wheel - she's in!

Harper is the black sheep.  She's gay and spends her days working at a riding facility for the local countryside, and takes care of horses.  She moves in with Pam because she is really broke.  She's the only one of the three sisters who questions the premise of The Wheel and the women who attend the meetings, but she's broke enough to become part of the group, hoping that she can pay her debts once it's her turn to get the money at the club meeting.

Once all three sisters are part of The Wheel, things begin to look shaky from Harper's view, but she is so desperate for money that she doesn't question anything -- at least not until one of the three sisters ends up being murdered.

This was an interesting book.  The dynamics between the sisters created a lot of conflict in the story, as did the difference between the money they had growing up, compared to the money they have now.  The three sisters were all fairly intelligent, and I was surprised that none of them really questioned the whole pyramid scheme, but I guess they were so desperate for money that they ignored the possibility that they were part of something illegal. The ending was perfect.  It was well written, and there were a lot of clues, but I didn't see it coming, so it was a real surprise to me.   

This is my first book by Megan Abbott, and I enjoyed this book so much that I plan to read the books in her backlist.  Many reviewers mentioned how much they enjoy books by this author.

Buy El Dorado Drive at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.   

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