Ever since I picked up "Dare Me" off a random table in B&N in 2013 due to the cover I've been working my way through Megan Abbott's catalog hoping for another book that hit me as hard as that. "Beware the Woman" came damn close. 

The story follows Jacy, pregnant with her first child, as she & her new husband, Jed, visit his father in a remote cabin in Northern Michigan. Jacy is the daughter of a single mom, & Jed is the son of a single father. Their relationships with their parents have heavily influenced how they view the other gender. There is a lot of reflection on the versions of ourselves we revert to when around our families, for better or worse, & how they can impact our other relationships in life. Jacy realizes there's a lot she doesn't know about Jed, & the more time she spends with his charming but reserved father, the more uneasy she becomes about his influence on her marriage. Things escalate when Jacy has a medical scare, & the men's reactions have her feeling more trapped than cherished in their isolated location. Their conviction in their opinions leads her to question herself & her perception of reality. 

I binged this in less than 24 hours & am tempted to skip around my TBR to go directly to another Abbott book to keep the vibes going. I have a hard time explaining why I love her writing so much, but she has a talent for writing women & complex relationship dynamics & showing the threatening edge behind pretty things. In this story, the setting does a lot of that work & is a great backdrop for the mercurial relationships between the characters: the summer heat can be comforting as well as oppressive, the nature soothing but also harsh. If you enjoy reads that are heavy on atmosphere & vibes, this might be for you. But I will caution you to check trigger warnings, particularly if you have any sensitivities around pregnancy. This book actually ended up scaring me a lot more than some of my recent horror reads, because at the end of the day, what's more horrifying than humanity?

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, & the author for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.