A new coach arrives, things change very quickly and very soon she and Beth engage in a battle of wills.

[3] The Independent called the book a "mesmerising piece of prose combining deep characterisation and insight with a truly nerve-shredding crime plot.

"[4] Publishers Weekly said the it is "deliciously slick and dark, matching her characters’ threatening circumstances, and the plot is tight and intense.

"[5] Entertainment Weekly gave the book an A− rating and highlighted that it makes a traditionally masculine genre feel distinctly female.

It feels groundbreaking when Abbott takes noir conventions — loss of innocence, paranoia, the manipulative sexuality of newly independent women — and suggests that they’re rooted in high school, deep in the hearts of all-American girls.