Oh, no! This is bad! I’m so grumpy whining bitch who didn’t get her full thriller intake!

Beep beep beep: this is the alarm sound is coming out of my head. I am too tired to write an unpopular review because the book sucked my entire energy!

I haven’t seen so much toxic energy and bunch of irritating characters since I watch any kind of housewives reality shows or Fox News!

I wish all those characters killed each other and last one standing committed the suicide. That’s how I could give more than two stars to this reading! But my wishes didn’t come true.
I’m leaving my two stars on the counter. Keep the change. I gotta run to pull the plug off my brain which needs an urgent restart to erase any memories about this book!175 s Farrah221 740

Oh... My God

This book presents itself as a standard thriller. It has a bunch of suspicious characters, alternating POV's, a mystery to be solved etc

What I was unprepared for is the utterly shocking amount of racism, sexism, ageism.... really ALL possible isms. And I don't mean these traits are used just as a way to show someone's character, this book is ignorant from cover to cover.

I debated leaving this book unfinished at 30% but I had to know just how offensive it could get. The answer is very.

Also, all the 'twists' are corny and very, very easily predicted. Except the endings 'big reveal', but only because it's completely random and isn't connected to anything that happened in the book.

I was given an advanced copy from Net Galley (they may never approve me for a book again after this review!) and this book will be released in November. I predict a lot of angry from other unsuspecting readers.155 s BridgettAuthor 29 books515

I've had a terribly long run of vapid books in the past few weeks, which sucks because I have very little time to read these days. I literally only have time for my ARCs from 1 to 3 or 4 AM. Seriously.

Unfortunately, The Push failed to break my streak.
Hmmm...how to describe this book?

1. Full of horribly unable characters - some are racist, some are sexist, some are ageist, some are homophobic, some believe parents shouldn't have the right to make decisions about their own children, and some suffer from classism and sizism. This book has it all, folks, and it's truly deplorable.

2. Every twist in this book will be easily intuited by the reader, despite the fact each borders on improbability.

3. I was actually thrilled when the victim was confirmed...this person was reprehensible and truly deserved to die.

I will say that I enjoyed the alternating points of view, which offer an alternate timeline.
Otherwise, this book was a hard pass.

Available November 12, 2020.

**Despite my less than enthusiastic review, I do appreciate having the opportunity to give my honest thoughts. Many thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for my review copy.arc56 s Anissa915 284

A 2.5 read for me. I picked it up because I was looking for a quick read to balance out a science fiction book I'd began. This is a very quick read about the worst antenatal (prenatal for US) group you could ever imagine culminating in a murder at a party. There are some highly unlikable characters (not a drawback for me but YMMV) and those who weren't I felt a bit bad had to suffer the others. Some of the revelations were obvious but others weren't but this moved along at a pretty good clip somewhere near the 50% mark.

This was my first read by McGowan and I'd read another.

2021 brit-chick-lit british-fiction-uk-ireland ...more28 s Linzie (suspenseisthrillingme)460 299 Read

Six couples who met through a prenatal group come together for a party after the births. A detective, struggling with infertility, called in to investigate. They all have secrets they want to keep hidden…for one, that includes murder.

I tried for about 50 pages to get into this book, but try as I may, I could not bear the flagrant sexism, classism, ageism, and racism with which this book is riddled. On top of that, on flipping through pages after I stopped reading, quite a few of the twelve characters that are central to this book are included in the alternating point-of-view narration. Too many in my opinion. It had a great premise, but I just couldn’t get beyond all of the -isms. Such a shame. I’ll try reading another by Claire McGowan, but this one is toast. Rating of 1 star (DNF).dnf domestic-thriller psychological-thriller26 s1 comment Christina551 210

I was really excited to read this book by Claire McGowan! I had recently read The Other Wife and d it very much. This book has a lot of the same elements I d from The Other Wife: hidden identities, suspense over who was even killed or nearby at the time through tricky narrative devices, and a host of suspicious characters. Unfortunately though, this book did not hang together as well as The Other Wife for me and I did not enjoy it as much.

This book surrounds a killing at a “Mommy and Me” type group gathering. There are six couples involved, which to start off with is a pretty large number of suspects. Throw in a lot of these people as narrators and it gets somewhat hard to keep everyone and their motivations straight right off the bat.

The other problem was that I just didn’t a lot of these characters. In particular, I really did not the main couple, Jax and her younger husband Aaron. I particularly did not Aaron, who seemed to me to do little throughout the book to contribute to either the plot or to his relationship. It made me find it hard to get invested in side plots his search for his birth mother, etc. (Also, can I just say how tired I am of the “search for my birth mother” trope in domestic suspense novels in general?)

I also found most of the others in the group to be equally unable/unengaging, and struggled pretty hard to find someone I d enough to root for. There were a lot of subplots I found rather creepy, such as Jax being called a “pedophile” for being with a younger man (an actual man well into adulthood at the age of 24, I might add). Stuff this made it hard for me to go where the plot wanted me to go and just ended up making me uncomfortable with the book. The end was drought with an almost ridiculous amount of twists (one out of nowhere) that left me ultimately not too satisfied with the plot.

I’m disappointed I didn’t this book more because I know I the way this author writes, and really enjoyed her last book. I’m hopeful McGowan’s next book will have different subject matter and a character I can and root for again.

Thanks to Thomas and Mercer, NetGalley and the author for the advance copy.23 s Tonya565 116

Wow! The Push by Claire McGowan was much better than I thought it would be, given the mixed I had read. It reminded me a bit of Big Little Lies. It starts with a murder. The reader is left in the dark about the victim and murderer. The resemblance however ends there. Many of the unlikable characters are racist, sexist, ageist, classist, and homophobic. These unacceptable and appalling traits lead each to their downfall. This book proves that money and education have nothing to do with strong, moral character.
The plot picked up at the halfway mark, twisting and turning to the final jaw-dropping conclusion. Although some of the story was predictable, I still raced to the end, waiting to find out how this whodunnit would end. This book was slow to start, but definitely worth reading. ????????
Thank you Thomas and Mercer and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.netgalley17 s Lisa1,318

Not my cup of tea I'm afraid. It's so whingey and full of angst (people are allowed to feel this btw...I just don't want to read about it).
I had to skim a lot of it but still got the gist of the story...and didn't really care.
Oh and the attitudes of these people suck!audio14 s Michelle1,458 138

Thank you, Amazon Publishing, and NetGalley for a copy The Push by Claire McGowan. I have heard good things about this author, so I was happy to receive a copy of this.
Six couples from completely different backgrounds join an ante-natal group to learn the joys of babies and parenthood. The story centres around each individual couples’ points of view. Not all the couples get on together. When one day they are all invited to a barbecue, a party for the couples before the babies arrive. But, one of them falls over the balcony to their death. In comes Alison to investigate the death and taking statements from each couple to find out who has the motivation to kill. But the investigation is not straight forward as it seems.
This book I am afraid not for me. I didn’t anything about it. The characters the storyline nothing. I thought there was too much bitchiness and racist. This is said to be a Thriller, but I didn’t find that. This book reminded me of an American reality TV show which I can’t stand. Sorry I find this so bad I couldn’t finish it.

11 s 8stitches 9lives2,856 1,660

The Push is a cross between a psychological thriller and a domestic drama and concerns a group of strangers who originally all meet at an antenatal group held at a local community centre in London as they all prepare for imminent parenthood. The book opens in the immediate aftermath of a tragic incident, or quite possibly worse—murder, which occurred at the last group meeting. Held at Ed and Monica’s five-bedroom, ultra-modern, multi-million-pound home in the South London suburbs, the crew and their new babies come together for a catch-up, and a boasting session, at a luxury barbecue garden party one Saturday in sunny June, and before they know it Detective Alison Hegarty and her partner DI Diana Mendes have been called to the property when a ”fall” from a high, glass-sided balcony is reported. There's blood spatter covering the rockery directly below the ledge and strangely no one appears to have seen or heard anything out of the ordinary beforehand. There are several suspects with a variety of possible motives and definitely enough opportunity to do the deed, so can Alison prove someone committed the crime or will a killer get away with murder?

I found this a compelling, thoroughly enjoyable and cleverly plotted psychological thriller with some police procedural aspects to it and the fact that McGowan takes the time to soundly develop each of the characters was what really made this work so well; if the cast had been neglected then this wouldn't have been anywhere near as deliciously devious as it is very much a character-driven story and none of them are able. The large cast consists of people from all walks of life—some are millionaires mixing with those who are working class and often close to the breadline, many of the groups members want for nothing in life and will be giving their children the same treatment whereas others struggle to make ends meet. Some of the couples conceived almost immediately whereas others have been through the wringer. All of these differences and contrasts can often give rise to the green-eyed monster—jealousy. This is a well written, pacy and compulsive read and the investigation kicks into high gear despite attendees playing dumb and the large cast equals a large pool of suspects making this a fun, entertaining and unpredictable story. Many thanks to Amazon for an ARC.11 s L.A.566 220

Thank you NetGalley! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and author in exchange for my honest review. I hesitated in requesting this book due to the low but so thankful I had the opportunity to evaluate it myself.
The avenues Claire McGowan depicted with the use of humor, irony and exaggeration was brilliant. Some people may disagree with the depiction of real people, but with my head out of the sand these people exist. I found myself absorbed in the characters’ lives. Exposing six couples, some with clear issues, with current times of the world, was a direct hit on real people and their interactions. You may hate or love the characters but be assured the representation captured many people and their satirical view.
In the beginning, a death has occurred at a cookout/reunion for 6 unly couples and 4 babies that were connected by one common thread....a prenatal care class taught by the suave Nina. The web of characters are uniquely peeled an onion by 2 detectives set out to disprove the death was an accident. It is not revealed at the beginning who died, so I found myself picking through the characters to see who was left........The couples’ suspicious behavior have more to hide than the “incident”, but also secrets, flaws, and personalities are brought to surface with each interview. You may disagree with some characters, but allow yourself to be absorbed into their lives to appreciate the satire especially in Jax.

The character Jax made me laugh aloud and cry for her inability to grasp the maternal instinct that some parents can grasp so easily. I found myself anxiously awaiting for her chapter to roll back around....wanting to skip directly to her story but settled down to each one that had a story to tell.

“Maybe that was why my generation found pregnancy and motherhood so hard. In the past, people knew not to make plans. They knew that life was something that happened to you, not something you directed yourself.” ...Jax... She portrays the ugly side of prenatal and postnatal depression and an exhausting, foggy brain. Feeling deprived of this maternal instinct, is triple fold by an apparent sabotage on her life, relationships and career by an unknown person.

The delivery of past and present has become an addictive, frustrating style. Carrying you through sorrow and compassion with what should have been 6 babies/couples sadly dissolved to 4 babies and disconnected adults, which is clearly delivered in the beginning....this kept me going to find out the how? Why? What happened to them?
I was not disappointed and I hope you will not be.11 s Amanda948 279

The Push, is about a group of women who meet at a baby group. Now they have their babies they have been invited to a party, to celebrate their new arrivals and to have a catch up with the other mothers. The hosts Ed and Monica live in a luxury home in London and are having a barbecue.

Unfortunately at the party one of the guests falls from a high balcony and is killed. At first we are not told who died but as soon as Detective Diana Mendes and Alison Hegarty arrives it soon becomes apparent that this wasn’t just an unfortunate accident.

No one seems to have seen what happened and they all appear to be holding back the truth. Who can be trusted?

An easy to read book that will keep you guessing.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.11 s Martie Nees Record726 167

Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Publisher: Amazon UK
Pub. Date: Nov. 12, 2020

Itsy Bitsy Review

Four women and their partners meet for prenatal meetings. The characters are all different and interesting. Some you will and some you will not care for in a big way. Would you want to hang out with a racist, a homophobic, an ageist, an enabler, or a classist? I promise they are all not that. Some will break your heart. After the babies are born there is a reunion at an over the top mansion of the richest in the group. Someone is pushed over a balcony and dies. Does the plot sound familiar—yup for me. This novel is a “Big Little Lies,” wannabe. If you ignore all the isims it can read as a good thriller but I have already read this story just with a different name. The ‘woman’ investigator, again “Lies” is having problems conceiving, which influences her judgment on the suspects. Okay, a nice touch, and there are twists (not too hard to guess) but I still think this is a wannabe novel.

I received this Advance Review Copy (ARC) novel from the publisher at no cost in exchange for an honest review.

Find all my book at:

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https://www.pinterest.com/martienreco…\11 s Riya Reads136 36

The blurb was interesting with six couples, a summer barbecue and then someone falls of the balcony and dies.
The only common thing between all these couples is they are "expecting". They all are strangers who happen to incidentally meet in a antenatal group therapy and become friends. Every character is different and have their own story. This event where the unfortunate death takes place is a party where they are supposed to be flaunting their squishy, tiny newborns.

Our investigating officer is Alison who suspects foul play and not accidental death. We still don't know who has died though, its just being talked about without any real names. Alison feels they are all making desperate attempts at hiding something under the nonchalant demeanour.

- I found the multiple POVs and timelines to be off- putting, they were just too many.
- Some parts could be obliterated and the story could have a short read.

It was a decent read but missed the surprise/thriller element. My purpose of picking up a thriller after reading the riveting blurb is to be surprised and when that doesn't happen I just cant be invested enough in the story.

3/5 stars

Thankyou NetGalley and Claire McGowan for n e ARC in exchange for an honest review.netgalley-9 s AlexaAuthor 5 books3,398

I picked this up b/c I stumbled into a mini reading slump and really wanted a guaranteed smooth read, which this certainly was... though man I keep making poor choices for myself. Started one book with a dead mom (sigh) and walked right into a book predicated on the stresses of geriatric pregnancy. Still, I knew McGowan is a good go-to for emotionally immediate and engrossing thrillers, and this delivers there. I thought about half way in this might become my favorite of hers, but the whole picture of the book didn't quite sing for me on that level, though I still had a good time.

THAT SAID... I did guess all the punches the plot was pulling very easy, and grew slightly impatient as the book pressed on in trying to hide those very obvious things. I would be shocked to find a reader who didn't feel the same way--things were just SO clearly telegraphed and obvious and yet still we have the various POVs pretending not to notice things/put things together? Basically if you're a thriller fan who just cannot with multi-POV books where people are lying intentionally not only to the police but essentially to the reader in their POVs? This one will bug you.

Still, it was an interesting approach to lots of angles of motherhood and Keeping Up With the Joneses, with well drawn characters as always, and an anchor/main character I particularly got emotionally wrapped up in. Poor Jax. And to that end I have to say: the book tries to play both sides, re: Jax and Aaron and it's one of the several things where the conclusions of the book have me sitting here going "no actually I hate that." ... I don't care about Aarons fweeeewings... he was HORRIFIC to his heavily pregnant girlfriend who expressed real emotional concerns to him and he was gaslighty and abusive. Nope I don't forgive him and did not Jax taking the blame for how he treated her. And also felt a bit gaslit myself that the narcissistic mum plot was wrapped up in a weirdly neat bow NO HER MOM IS A NARCISSIST WHY ARE WE PLAYING HAPPY FAMILIES. (prior to that I d that Jax was a character who had established boundaries and low contact?)

The biggest thing that left a super sour taste in my mouth isn't even a huge thing... but maybe it is? The thing with social thrillers-where you are using a thriller angle to portray lots of different angles of serious social issues/ideas, as McGowan does, is that every choice matters. I will put the specifics behind a spoiler tag, but in the abstract: the book's takeaway on adoption is atrocious imo. First, its representation of Aaron as a former foster kid is... I mean taken in whole I'm really not sure it's good. But then in a book demonstrating many angles of motherhood and pregnancy, including geriatric pregnancy, post-partum depression, as well as miscarriage... our couple who are adopting from America don't get the baby. Fine, ok. It's tragic. But McGowan chooses to have this character Anita be her character who realizes it's ok if motherhood isn't for her... because "She thought about what they'd been told. Only older children, only damaged ones. Behavioural issues. Trauma." Anita decides to give up on adoption because of that. Because if they can't have a bloody newborn it's not worth it. Don't want those DAMAGED older children. Da fuq, book.

look... it's perfectly valid to have a character who has struggled with fertility for years and then suffered a huge blow with adoption (they are ghosted by their agency around the time the baby is due and then told the mother changed her mind) to decide it's OK to not be a parent. But Anita isn't counterbalanced by a SINGLE other character or even mention in the book of fruitful, happy, fulfilling adoption. So I have to believe the author thinks only pristine perfect babies are worth anything, fuck all those traumatized broken older kids in the system. And literally AARON IS A CHARACTER WHO WAS TRAUMATIZED BY THE SYSTEM? I am just... floored! You spend a whole ass book making us care about a character who is traumatized, lived his whole life in foster care and was never adopted... and that's where you leave Anita?

At the end of the day, the book makes it very clear that it's bio kid or bust. Baby or bust. Which is... a choice in a book where multiple older women struggle to become pregnant or struggle with geriatric pregnancy. It's a primary plotline for Jax, Alison the detective, and Anita. I'm just... yeah I hate it. I'm an older woman who hopes to have children, but you know what if my body isn't up for it, I am adopting. Probably an older child. Because they are NOT GARBAGE, book. They're human beings who deserve a chance? , yeah, the system sucks and it's super broken but the answer is not to decide all those older kids aren't worth it?

I also want to say briefly about our token lesbian couple... I'm not sure how I feel about Cathy's secret/the dynamics between her and Hazel/how it went down? It's just... ok you give us a lesbian couple having a baby! Great! And then... the preggo one's secret is she cheated on her wife, actually, and got knocked up by a dude. And look she's bi, so that's fine... but it means we get a whole ass book where Hazel is Very Stereotypically Butch Lesbian and is kind of... aggressive and terrible at turns (b/c the book is trying to build suspense off Cathy being dodgy and Hazel being aggressive), and it means one of only TWO "alternative" pregnancies demonstrated in the book--Anita and Jeremy adopting and Cathy and Hazel conceiving via donor sperm... well, Anita and Jeremy don't get the baby and Cathy didn't use donor sperm after all, she cheated on her wife with a dude she met at the clinic! ... it's a choice? (the book is aggressively heteronormative/there is one way to have a baby basically)

Also the happy ending was completely unrealistically stupid: there is NO WAY IN HELL Dan and his infertile wife (another one!) won't be suing the SHIT out of Cathy and Hazel for shared custody of that baby. I LOLed at the walk into the sunset and block his number ending. Y'all are going to court and Arthur's gonna have a weird life!

Ultimately... man I wanted to it more than I did. But the reading experience was still mostly good, and McGowan is still a steady-on thriller author for me. This one just took some passes at motherhood that feel myopic/limited/questionable and have left me feeling a bit meh. thrillers9 s Vikki PatisAuthor 9 books199

A really gripping read, easy to get into and difficult to put down. I really d both Jax and Alison, their characters were realistic, often humorous, and easy to relate to. A solid, pacy whodunit with a cast of excellent characters and enough twists to keep you guessing.7 s Jennie981 10

This book is about a group of women who are all expecting a baby around the same time. There is one woman who is adopting. Monica who host the meetings has a beautiful home and a 15-year-old daughter and a new baby. Nina is the coordinator of the group and towards the end she said some hurtful things to several of the members. All the women including their husbands or partners attend each meeting. You do not figure out who fell or was pushed off the balcony until about halfway through the book. The rest of the book you’re trying to figure out who pushed who or if someone just fell. All of the couples have some problem that they are dealing with for example looking for birthparents or have gambling debts. So in addition to solving the mystery you learn all about everyone’s lives. Plus the book is not told from start to finish. It flops back and forth-a week ago,two days after the birth, or three weeks ago and it’s very hard to keep up with everyone.7 s Louise Wilson3,154 1,665

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

The party should have been perfect: six couples from the same baby group, six newborns and a luxurious house. But not everything goes to plan. Some were there to celebrate while others had their sorrows to drown. When someone falls from the balcony of the house, the secrets and conflicts within the group begin to spill out. DS Alison Hegarty, who is struggling with infertility, is called out to investigate. She's convinced the fall was not an accident. She also finds the new parents have a lot to hide.

The story is told from multiple points of view and it unfolds at a steady pace. The more DS Alison Hegarty digs the more she realises that everyone has got something to hide. I didn't any of the characters and the pace was slow in the first half of the book. There is two different timeliness, one in the present day the other was leading up to the birth of the babies. I did figure most of it ut but that doesn't spoil a story for me.

I would to thank #NetGalley, #AmazonPublishingUK and the author #ClaireMcGowan for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.7 s Ira Therebel711 45

The book has a lot in common with Big Little Lies. There is also a fall from the balcony, we don't know who it was and who did it and go from he past towards the event. My kind of a crime novel. But it had a lot of its own developments and twists and interesting characters. I could actually connect to Jax in the beginning and she was the one whose story was told the most.

Were all twists all that surprising? Not so much. One of the major twists was pretty clear. I know the "what" just wasn't sure about "who" for some time. Another also got clear before it was revealed once we found out more about the characters. But at least I didn't predict the very final twist. And I did the plot leading towards it.

I just couldn't understand one thing why did some of the characters lie about what happened? Cathy wanted to make sure she isn't suspected because she was right there. But what about Aisha and her husband? Their "big secret", his gambling problem really ad nothing to do with it. Were they just trying to protect the one who pushed?

Definitely a good book and I d it. I was reading it fast and looking forward to the ending not because I was sick of it but because I wanted to know how it ends. I will most ly read more from the author. But it was kind of sad that some of the "mysteries" were dragged on for so long when they were already very obvious.crime-mystery fiction7 s Susan1,062 199

I wonder about authors who make the choice to write a book full of unlikable characters. Why would you tie yourself for months on end to people that are just unpleasant to be around? Do you think. "Well, I'm stuck in the house enduring this horrific pandemic so I will surround myself with the most disagreeable people I can imagine?"

That's the choice this author makes. There are six couples of expectant parents who take a pre-baby class. They have nothing in common and all come to parenthood in different ways. They are all due to be parents about the same time. The leader of the class, Nina, is no better and full or snarky comments and horrible stories. The only bearable one to be is young Aaron who at 24 has a 38 year old partner, Jax, having her first child. Jax is a first class whiner.

The action varies between classes and a barbecue held two weeks after the babies are born. Someone dies. Their identity is hidden most of the book. You don't really care. There are multiple people you wish it would be. A policewoman struggling with fertility investigates the murder.

I wish I didn't have the gene that compels me to finish books no matter how much I dis them. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.net-galley6 s Renee(Reneesramblings)1,128 43

What is a detective to do when someone falls off/is pushed off a balcony, and nobody saw a thing? Well, the easy answer is to call it an accident, close the case, and move on. But something seems off to Alison, and this detective is determined to discover the truth.
Six very different couples who met at a prenatal class facilitated by Nina, attend a barbeque hosted by one of the new mothers, Monica. They don't know each other well, but they are bonded by their shared experiences. What should have been a lovely get together is anything but a good time. Somehow, there are only four babies in attendance, almost no one is telling the truth, and oh yes, there is that little issue of a dead body.
The story is told from multiple perspectives, starting ten weeks ago leading up to the barbeque, and Alison's investigation of the incident. The identity of the deceased is not immediately revealed, so I was trying to figure out who was missing from the interviews Alison held. Once I knew who died, then it was a guessing game to figure out which of them did it or if it was just a tragic accident.
I didn't particularly any of the characters. Not only do they have no qualms about lying to the police, but they easily lie to their partners. All I could think about was one of the endings to Clue, the movie, where all of them were guilty. Then I could picture Alison, who was trying to have a baby raising all four infants. No way these kids would grow up normal with this group of parents.
But, I digress, there was no butler, so you can at least rest assured that he didn't do it. A fast-paced read that came together in a way that I didn't imagine. I enjoyed putting the clues together, though if this had been a jigsaw puzzle, mine would not have shown the killer's identity.2020-netgalley6 s Fizah(Books tales by me)657 64

Thank you, NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for giving me this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Six couples, who are different from each other in every expect, the only thing connected them is that they are expecting. They met at an antenatal group. Now they are supposed to meet in a party showing off their little bundle of joys, Everything is supposed to be perfect. Until one person falls from the balcony.

Alison is assigned to this case, she doesn’t think it is an accident. There isn’t evidence which supports her gut feeling, but she is not going to get it away. As investigation proceeds, she found it nothing is perfect. Everyone got secrets, grey or black.

There were a lot of POV, from different couples, from Alison, from past and present. So it took time to distinguish one voice from another.

It took time to reveal who is dead, which was interesting and kept me hooked. I the story and pace. But the mystery? Two major secrets were in plain sight. I guessed many things even before 50% of the book, which made me sad. What is the point of mystery when you already know things? There wasn’t any twist or turn which shocked me. So it was kinda plain for me.2020-read netgalley6 s OutlawPoet1,486 69

I enjoyed this one. I mean…I hated almost every character, but I hated them equally and I was totally invested in who died and why.

I did love the fact that the author gave us such a diverse group of characters – not only in race, but age & economic status. While they all had impending parenthood in common, they had little else in common and that really added to the tension in the book.

Finally, it was a solid police procedural. The author did a good job of using different character POVs to build out the story and our solution to everything was satisfying.

Would read the author again!

*ARC via Net Galley


6 s Tracy Frenette175 16

The Push by Claire McGowan
Pub Date 11/12/2020

I really enjoyed this book it has my favorite set up to it. The "locked room" mystery.
One party, thirteen guest, one dead before it was over.

I love trying to figure out a good whodunit story. This one you even had to figure out who was murdered before the big reveal. I also loved to hate most of the characters. My two favorite characters were definitely Jax and the detective Alison.
I would most definitely recommend this book to a friend.
????
Thank you to the publisher and to #netgalley for the book.netgalley6 s Vanessa Menezes465 155

The party should have been perfect: six couples from the same baby group, six newborns, a luxurious house. But not everything has gone to plan, and while some are here to celebrate, others have sorrows to drown. When someone falls from the balcony of the house, the secrets and conflicts within the group begin to spill out

The premise was intriguing and for almost half the book I was excited and thrilled.

The plot is narrated through multiple POVs of the different couples involved as well as of DS Alison. As I read the book for me the main mystery was identifying who had fallen from the balcony. Once that was revealed half way through the book, I did not find much suspense remaining in the remaining part of the book.

There were quite a few secrets revealed about the various couples but I did not find them very exciting. Also the two main twists in the plot were quite obvious to guess.

Overall, an okay plot but with the writing being fast paced, it becomes an easy read.

Thank You to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for this ARC!netgalley5 s Shelley230 80

DS Allison Hegarty is called to investigate a horrific scene at a gathering for a baby group. Ds Hegarty, who has been struggling with infertility, begins to suspect there was no accident and that some of the parents are involved. Ed and Monica have a newborn and a teenager who is not allowed to leave the house. Hazel and Cathy have finally conceived via sperm donor--or so Hazel thinks. Anita and Jeremy have planned to adopt a baby from America, but the child has not arrived. Kelly, who has a violent and abusive partner, has lost her baby but still came to the party. Pregnant Jax has been feeling strange lately, as though someone is trying to harm her. Which one has committed murder?

This one was just okay. The whole obsession with pregnancy and babies is not my favorite thing. The murder plot itself was fairly interesting, though.5 s PinkAmy loves books, cats and naps 2,440 231

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of PUSH by Claire McGowan in exchange for my honest review.***

2.5 STARS

Six babies. Twelve parents. One party. One dead. Many secrets.

Allison, a detective struggling with infertility investigates the death of party guests’ support group leader. If not for Nina’s group, the diverse group of couples would have ly never met.

Told from multiple points of view and timelines, the pieces of the group participants’ lives, what they show themselves and others, slowly emerges with many twists, turns and surprises.

PUSH is more mystery/domestic drama than thriller. Most of the characters aren’t very likable or easy to root for. At times I found myself hoping one narrator or another was the culprit so she could be jailed.

McGowan wrote each point of view in a way that showed the narrator’s prejudices and faults, rather than telling me, the reader how I ought to feel, which is something I appreciate from a writer. The characters were complex with enough dimension, not all bad or good. I won’t say which narrator was my favorite, to avoid any possible spoilers, because I’ll bet most readers will have the same reaction to the turn of events in her life.

PUSH is a quick, fun read but one that ly won’t stick with me for long. When I finished, I didn’t think, “I want to reread this to see what I missed” the way I do with my favorite mysteries. I didn’t want more from the characters of hope for a sequel. I thought about what I wanted to read next.4 s Stacy40pages1,621 215

The Push by Claire McGowan. Thanks to @amazonpublishing and @netgalley for the e-arc ??????

Six couples, all very different, all in the same stage of pregnancy get to know each other during a expecting parents course. After the babies are born they get together one more time, but someone ends up dead. As the detective investigates into the couples, secrets and scandals are revealed.

The story and premise were interesting. I loved getting to know the couples and sitting in the baby classes with them. However, the mystery and reveals were all predictable. I knew how it would end earlier on and had figured a few things out earlier than I should have to make it an enjoyable story. There was so much unnecessary racism in the story. I understand there is a difference between a racist plot and a racist character, but did so many people have to hold problematic beliefs? None of the characters were able or easy to root for. Overall, I still found it an enjoyable read that kept the pages turning.

The Push comes out 11/12. 4 s Vickie1,899 58

This was a book that was hard to love but actually easy to . It was a combo of various genres, including thriller, mystery, domestic drama and with a tad of police procedural thrown in. Told from the points of view of multiple characters, the plot was at first slow and a little hard to follow. Then, I decided to write down each character’s name and their relationship to each other and the whole thing started making more sense to me and the plot moved along at a steady pace. With a large cast of characters, all of whom have some kind of secret, it was much easier for me once I had the list down. The whole premise of the book is that a group of pregnant couples meet at antenatal meetings and then have a huge party at the luxurious home of Monica and Ed. The plot really takes off when one guest falls from the balcony and murder is suspected. Two more characters enter the scene, DS Alison Hegarty (dealing with infertility issues) and her new partner Diana Mendes. Alison is well-developed but I never felt that I got to know much about Diana. Some of the members of the couple teams were more well-developed than others, mostly because they were the ones with the secrets, but none of them was particularly likable or three-dimensional. Although I enjoyed the story and getting to know the characters, there was so much going on from chapter to chapter that I was glad that there were not too many twists. I was very engaged, but part of the reason for that was that the victim’s identity was not revealed for a long time and I really wanted to know who had plunged to their death. The ending was not a complete surprise but was well done. All in all, I do recommend this book, with the proviso that the reader keep a list of characters handy to make understanding the story easier.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”4 s Fay Flude715 39

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