Megan Abbott joins Carol Fitzgerald to talk about her latest thriller, The Turnout, which is the 10th book in her award-winning career.
Set against the world of ballet, The Turnout follows Dara and Marie Durant, two sisters who trained in ballet since they were children. Their parents ran the prestigious Durant School of Dance. After their sudden death, the girls take over running the dance school together, teaming up for the parts of teaching that suit them best. Working with them is Charlie, a young man who was a ballet student but was injured early in his career. Charlie was like a son to the family and he is now married to Dara, the older sister. At the height of one of the most important events of the year, the annual performance of “The Nutcracker,” a suspicious accident occurs that throws this troika and the entire studio into a tailspin.
Their conversation is fast-paced as they talk plot, characters, and what a “turnout” is, as well as how tension is built in Megan’s writing. They each have fond memories of their childhood moments in dance studios, where neither was destined to star. They also talk about Megan’s film work, both on HBO’s “The Deuce” and her role as the creator, Executive Producer and showrunner of the adaptation of her book, Dare Me. She will be adapting The Turnout for film as well, and they talk about the differences between writing for a book and writing for the screen.
Books Discussed in This Episode:
The Turnout by Megan Abbott https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/the-turnout
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Photography Credit: Greg Fitzgerald