At first, this book reminded me a lot of a Liane Moriarity book- a group of mismatched people gather at a barbecue and then tragedy strikes. I enjoyed this one because of the multiple points of view, including the detective assigned to the case. It was fun trying to guess exactly what had happened and why- some of the secrets I figured out, and some of them took me completely by surprise. All in all, I would definitely recommend this one!

A gathering of an antenatal group is ruined when a barbeque ends in murder. The story follows Detective Alison as she investigates and interviews all of the members of the parenting group and their partners. Each member has a secret they are hiding and most have lied to the police about the events of that day, leaving Alison confused as she struggles to untangle their web of deceit. Our protagonist, Jax, is in her late-thirties and is extremely self-conscious about the fact that her boyfriend (soon to be baby daddy) is only in his early twenties. Jax turns out to have more than one secret she has buried that ends up getting revealed as the investigation unravels. So who died at the barbeque that day and why?

Jax is a really whiny protagonist. I had a really hard time connecting with any of the characters. There’s a lot of them as each member of the parenting group also has a partner that gets implicated in the story and they all just become a bit much to keep track of. The plot line itself is pretty slow and this book is way too long in my opinion. Nothing really grabbed me and the big twists were easily figured out except for the last one. This is my second Claire McGowan and will probably be my last, both have just been meh for me. The length of this one really just made it a burden and I had to push myself to finish it.

This book confused me so much. Not only did it jump from character to character, it also jumped from the past to the present so I had a hard time following who was who and what was what. I ended up having to skim through some of the chapters. Once I got to the end it got a little more interesting but I wouldnt recommend reading it as the ending doesn't make up for the whole jumping back and forth. It was a head wrecker

Talk about a thriller. #thepush #clairemcgowan #netgalley #netgalleyreads a groups of husbands and wives, boy friends and girlfriends, same sex couple, and a couple trying to adopt overseas. All together for an antenatal class. Two weeks after everyone’s babies should have arrived there’s a bbq and one ends up dead. Who died? Why? You will NOT believe this plot twist at the end. We read everyone’s viewpoints and get glimpses into each of their lives. Definitely go grab this #book and get lost today #bookstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagrammer #netgalleyreview #booknerd

The synopsis of this story had me instantly intrigued. One of my favorite thriller themes are friend groups with interpersonal issues and secrets. Unfortunately this book fell flat for me and wasn't what I was looking for. I also felt there were unnecessary moments that bothered me that demonstrated racism and sexism. I'm disappointed that this book was not for me.

Thank you for allowing me to discover such a good new author in my favourite genre! The brilliant plot line, and interesting characters, I highly recommend

Tricky thriller with a small cast of suspects. Lots of twists and surprises,no one is quite what they seem.

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. Trying to figure out what really happened proves makes it for a suspenseful read! Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If I could give this book 10 stars, I would be happy to do that. This was one of the most enjoyable, attention-keeping books I read in all of 2020. The story is a murder mystery. But you only get little pieces of information all throughout the book. In fact, you don't even know who was murdered for quite a few chapters of the book. And then the suspect is revealed at the end of the book and it isn't at all who I thought it was. I loved how the clues are all spread out and really kept you guessing. I would definitely recommend this book and now want to read more of this author.

What a fantastic psychological thriller! This is a well written page turning story. There is a party and when one of the party guests falls off the balcony the story begins to unfold and secrets are revealed. Great book!

This book was shocking and unique! I unexpectedly couldn’t put it down!
It was my first read by this author, but it won’t be my last.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

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 like 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 like 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 like “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.

The Push is centred around just that. A push. Or was it a push?

Someone has died. We don't know who. And we don't know if it was an accident or murder. It was at a 'reunion' of attendees to a baby group. It's only a week or two after they've given birth and they're all catching up.

There's certainly motive for it to be a murder. But everyone has a motive. Alison, the police officer dealing with the case is sure it's murder despite pressure from her boss to close it off as an accident.

This was a gripping story as we're told the events from differing view points - predominantly Alison and Jax. Jax narrates the weeks leading up to the events at the party - Alison everything after.

I felt invested in the story - I enjoyed the way the story was told and how it unfolded. My only criticism with it is there are A LOT of characters and it took me a while to get to grips with them all. I should also probably point out it should come with a shed load of trigger warnings, from gambling, infertility and infant death, through to abuse, stalking and paedophilia.

Overall though, it's a solid thriller/suspense novel and well worth a read. You WILL get your head around the vast number of characters reasonably quickly and I was definitely quickly invested. There were lots of twists throughout - some a lot less obvious than others! Definitely one for thriller fans.

'The Push' is an entertaining and interesting book. It focuses around an eclectic bunch of people in an antenatal class and a death that occurred at the reunion after the births. The characters, though mostly horrible, did capture my attention. There were a few things that I found hard to read, the whole book was very condescending and judgey in tone. There weren't any big twists or secrets because the clues early on came like sledgehammers, and I found a lot of the medical and legal issues that came up completely unbelievable. Despite these, I did spend an enjoyable day reading and I liked the multiple POV style. I would read other books by this author.

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.

Couples from the antenatal group, post delivery, came together for a barbecue. Someone fell. Who was it? Was it murder? Cops were called. Alison, who was struggling with infertility issues, headed the interrogation. Talk about rubbing salt on wounds…

My first book by author Claire McGowan was interesting in its premise. I liked knowing the lives of these women in the weeks leading up to the death. Each one had issues they struggled with.

But…

The story was slightly slow; there was a lot of discrimination. Racism, ageism, all the ISM you could think of, was present in the group. Unlikable characters they were in reality. That was difficult to get through. Once I started accepting the group for what they were, the plotline turned interesting.

The format of the book was good with the story jumping between the past and present. There were many details about their lives, some I thought, was to create the red herrings. I hopped, skipped, and jumped down the parts I didn’t deem important to get to the ending.

The finish was explosive and unexpected. A reaction that was sudden and impulsive. Overall, it was a murder mystery where the identity of the victim and the motive were unlocked at the end.

New parents come together to celebrate. Then someone falls from the balcony. For much of the book we are left not knowing who has fallen. The book goes back over the previous months to uncover the secrets everyone is hiding. Excellent from start to finish plenty of twists and turns right to the end. Would recommend

This was an ok mystery. 6 couples meet at an ante-natal group and after their babies are born, someone gets pushed off a balcony at a party. The story is told in multiple time-lines, before, during and after the incident and the reader is left to work out whodunnit.

I quite enjoyed reading the book . I liked the way the characters were brought to life with their background stories and at no time did I feel that there was some information lacking or that the character did not feel complete. I wouldn’t call it a thriller but it was still a good read.

The Push by Claire McGowan
Available Now

Content warnings for pregnancy loss, failed adoption, fertility issues, domestic abuse, and parental death. Apologies for those I missed.

What appears to be an accidental death at a backyard barbeque quickly reveals itself to be far more sinister in this gripping psychological thriller from Claire McGowan. A group of parents, with nothing in common besides their upcoming parenthood, come together every week as a prenatal support group. There are couples struggling with fertility, some with unplanned pregnancies, some planned, and some waiting on babies to adopt. The more DS Alison Hegarty investigates the death, she uncovers secrets from every couple involved, with some secrets far more sinister than others. Dealing with her own fertility issues, Hegarty is quickly swept up in the drama and secrets of the group, and struggles to find out who is actually telling the truth.
The story jumps back and forth through time, from the viewpoints of all the characters. It is no exaggeration to say that every character has something to lose in this story, and so it’s incredibly difficult to tell if and when anyone is telling the truth. While I found myself reading through the story very quickly, it did feel like there were some parts that did slow the story down a bit, but overall, it’s a well written thriller.
I really enjoyed the variety of characters included in the novel. From an ultra wealthy couple who seemed far too perfect, to a lesbian couple with a strained relationship, to the devout Muslim couple who married quickly and didn’t seem to every speak to each other. Our main character Jax, seems to have the most secrets to hide. She was involved in a highly publicized legal scandal and has tried to put the past behind her. Now working at a nonprofit and unexpectedly pregnant by her much younger boyfriend, she is convinced that someone is using her past to jeopardize her career and soon-to-be family. Watching her juggle the stress of pregnancy, the uncertainty of her career’s future, and the strain it all put on her relationship with her boyfriend was intense. This was a tense novel and Jax’s character sure bore the brunt of it.
If you are a fan of locked-door mysteries with a dose of rich people problems, this is a great pick for you. I highly enjoyed this novel and look forward to reading more from this author.


Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.