Dare Me by Megan Abbott

I have said before that this type of book doesn`t normally fit into the genre`s I read but like Gillian Flynn`s Gone Girl, this one also ticked all the boxes.
A well written page turner, Abbott`s book is set in the dazzling world of High School Cheerleaders a world that is probably known to most for all the wrong reasons and frankly this book won`t change a lot of those opinions but its not here to.
The books axis is the long time intense relationship between the manipulative and controlling Beth Cassidy and her Chief of Staff Addy Hanlon, two adolescents who are both sophisticated and charming and as dangerous as it is possible to be. Enter Coach, Colette French who has an agenda of her own, a personality that is as equally dangerous as Beth Cassidy`s, too whom she takes an immense and visceral dislike which is returned in intensity by the much younger Beth.
Boundaries are crossed, allegiances shifted,loyalties set asunder, rifts developed as the person charged with supporting these young girls does anything but and the battle to control the minds and souls of the team commences...
Well drawn characters who are  quirky, powerful and engaging this book zips along as the story unravels along with the lives of those who populate its pages, from the first page I was pulled in and I had to keep reading as I wanted to know what it was that would happen next and to whom it would happen.In many ways I think it was the fact that the characters of Beth, Addy and Coach in all their nastiness and manipulative angst were so strong that made this such a great read coupled with the twist and turns that bumped it along.I also particularly liked the atmospheric mist of night time that lay over this book,the night time rambles really gave the book a darkness that added to the mix.. I also like the way that the lesser but just as important characters  were developed and how they were used to add another dimension to the story, their weaknesses were a strength and they allowed the story to stretch out, they added a richness; there was some great black humour and some dazzling one liners too.
A great read especially when you feel like a little darkness!
Published by Pan MacMillan in New Zealand, this book is available in Trade Paperback and also via the Library System.