Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for my electronic ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book took way too long to grab my attention but I felt obligated to finish since it was an ARC. Too many characters and too much back and forth starting from 8 weeks prior to the day of the BBQ...and a death.

I stuck with it because I wanted to know who did it. It definitely picked up the last quarter of the book and kept me guessing until the end. So many possibilities and motives...

Review posted on GoodReads.

Set in London with 12 members of an ante natal group, The Push is a locked room type mystery. We know someone in the group does, but we have to. Slowly learn about everyone’s back story I’m order to get there.
The premise was interesting. But the characters were all flat and pretty much interchangeable.

The story is about a couple attending a birthing class with a mix of other expectant parents. The interesting thing about the main characters is that their ages have quite a difference. For a change she is much older than him. They appear quite in love but she is very self conscious about the age difference.
Eventually the birthing group has a bbq at a member’s luxurious house. At that bbq someone falls or is pushed from near the roof. The rest of the story, that I read, continues with the police investigation from different perspectives. There is character development. Despite reading the book for a week, and usually a book doesn’t take me that long from beginning to end, I never felt invested. I had no desire to see what really happened and who it happened to. Since I was unable to finish the book I don’t feel qualified to write any more. My first book review and it’s not very well done. My apologies.

Believable characters with good suspense. Drags a bit in places and the paranoia of the main character gets to be a bit repetitive, but overall a good story with a few interesting twists

Loved this book! A thoroughly enjoyable read, good plot that kept me guessing till quite near the end.

Tantalizing story about several couples who gather to learn how to cope with pregnancy and childbirth. What occurs at their final gathering isn't what they expected.

3.5 starts. I didn't particularly like any of the characters, which I think was the point. This seems a tad far-fetched and requires the reader to suspend disbelief in order to think that all the pieces could come together to result in the climax. I didn't hate the story by any means, though, and I mostly enjoyed the journey The Push took me on. I would read more books by this author for sure.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for the advanced copy.

Two and a half star rating.
Several women + partners meet at antenatal classes. What a bunch they turn out to be, more parodies than real people. They all have something to hide and the trouble is that it’s pretty obvious, well apart from the police that is! They were all unpleasant and it would be nice for once to read about a policewoman who doesn’t have domestic problems. The writing style was fine apart from some sections were a tad repetitive. An easy to read, entertaining story of various domestic dramas as all the characters had secrets they wished to keep.

I love this type of mystery. A group of people on an island, a retreat, a resort, or even a small community. This one is a party and one of the guests falls from the balcony. The guests say accident, police not so sure.

I think I wanted to like this book more than I did because the premise was so intriguing.
Six couples at a barbecue are reuniting after meeting at a prenatal class, and while they are there someone falls (is pushed?) off a balcony.

However, there was a lot about the book that meant I just didn't enjoy it as much as I could have.

The characters are generally horrid and Monica, the host of the BBQ, is abhorrent. There is a lot of micro-aggressive behaviour and dialogue here. From things like a lack of regard for the dietary requirements of vegan and Muslim characters, to outright racist/sexist/classist/body negative comments. It made it difficult to like any of the characters when they were so intolerant. The detective, Alison, seemed ok at first but then she seemed overly self obsessed and dogged to the point of unprofessional.

The plot is a solid concept but I guessed all of the secrets and twists way before they were revealed. The hints to each of the secrets were so obvious that they might as well have been followed by a "hint hint" or wink emoji! I also question the fact that Alison was allowed to investigate this for so long with no more evidence than some hairs and her hunch. One of the characters, Jax, has a background story that is designed to distract our attention but it ended up just feeling pointless to me.

The story is told from many points of view. It also jumps from many weeks before the birth of the babies to the current day of the investigation, and to the day of the incident, so you do have to really pay attention.

I did enjoy the writing style and overall pace but it was just an ok book for me when it could have been so much more.

Thanks Amazon/Thomas Mercer and Netgalley for access to this eARC.

I tried to get into this one but just could not.

The different POV and timeline made it really difficult to follow.

DNF for me, unfortunately.

Finally a thriller that’s punchy and not so easily predictable. Interesting throughout, a real page turner characters were all well developed and individual story lines held their own. Really enjoyable book. .

This book took me awhile to get into which is rare because I love this author! I’m glad I kept going because it gets better. There are so many possibilities of what could have happened and just who was hurt that day, that this made for a fun read! I loved how everyone was hiding something and it made me turn into detective mode to figure out just what was going on! Definitely recommend this and other books by this author as well!

This story was about a group of very different couple. They had a common interest but were as diverse as could be. I enjoyed the twist and turns and the suspense. The story had you guessiing to the end , but was dramatic and and hard to put down .

One party 13 people and by the afternoon 1 of them will be dead. An excellent murder mystery with lots of twists and turns. A great story with good characters

The Push by Claire McGowan is not a disappointment! I have read some of her books and this one is so good that I couldn't put it down. Follow this murder,a woman fell to her death and there are so many suspects. Someone,everyone,has something to hid,secrets flow all over this murder and that have to be separated on the case at hand! So exciting and adventure to be seen! Received this book from Net Gallery!

This one didn't do it for me. It seemed so wholly unbelievable in many ways. But I guess, with that said, it did keep me turning the pages, and I did like some of the characters. I'll continue to come back for more Claire McGowan because in general I really enjoy her books.

I received an electronic copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is not what I expected. I thought this book was going to be more of a mystery/thriller vs a fictional drama. I read the preview and I was thinking there would be some fertility/infertility baby drama, but this is actually the whole premise of the book with a little bit of police detective work.

This book hit almost all the sensitive topics plus some: infertility, miscarriage, IVF, adoption, infidelity, racism, domestic abuse, gambling addiction, "me too", sexism, and so much more. This does not scream mystery/thriller to me.

It was well written and I enjoyed the different POVs, but I just couldn't get past the drama.

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

This is a very dark psychological thriller, which I found incredibly though provoking.

The story focusses on whether or not new mother Blythe can break the generational cycle (her mother and grand mother) of cruelty, neglect and a lack of maternal instinct towards their daughters after Blyth gives birth to Violet? As her daughter ages, she shows signs of hatred towards her mother/Blythe while mother becomes resentful, whilst Blythe husband finds nothing wrong with Violet’s behaviour which isn’t helped by Violet being a daddies girl. Things truly begin to unravel after the birth of baby Sam, particularly when Violet sees her mum fondness towards her Sam which she felt that she never had. Expectations of motherhood, misplaced trust, psychological manipulation and resentment give way to an excellent page turner that ends in tragedy.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book in return for an open and honest review

Thrilling and addictive! Flew through this one and enjoyed the crazy ride I was on.

This was my first McGowan book and I hope there are others to dive into over the holidays.