The Shiver

From the New York Times bestselling author of Where You End, a thrilling tale of psychological suspense set in gritty, glitzy ’90s New York that asks: Would you stake your fate on the roll of the die?

New York City, 1995: Three women join a mysterious therapy group, intent on transforming their lives. Jo, a gossip columnist, plans to be a serious investigative reporter; Greer, a publicist, has disavowed her silver-spoon origins to strive for success on her own terms; while Anna, a Ukrainian bartender with uncertain immigration status, just wants a green card.

Leading the group is Coach X, a charismatic guru who proposes a radical form of treatment. There’s only one rule: Patients must make all decisions according to the roll of a die. Only then, she insists, will the women shed their sexist societal conditioning and realize their full potential.

Falling under the spell of Coach X’s strange, seductive philosophy, the trio move beyond safe and easy dice choices and begin to yield to their darkest, most primal desires. When Jo’s pursuit of a news story results in a man’s death, the women become both predators and prey on an ever more dangerous path, where the next step is always—entirely—up to chance.

With razor-sharp observation and coruscating wit, Abbott Kahler takes readers on a thrill ride through the city of mega clubs, Giuliani, and the Genoveses, posing the unsettling question of whether, in a chaotic world, anyone can truly be master of their own destiny.