I just discovered Claire McGowan this fall and was eager to dive into another of her propulsive novels. In that respect, The Push delivered. It was hard to set down; because each short chapter is told from a different point of view, I kept wanting to read about the other characters' perspective on a given event. And while I knew part of the mystery before even the halfway point, I didn't know who was responsible until very near the end. McGowan writes plot well, especially when she's showing all the different ways humans can be horrible with each other while still keeping up appearances.

Unfortunately, reading this book a few months after having read McGowan's "The Other Wife," I noticed quite a few familiar of the same nefarious actions happening in this book, too. That was distracting and removed some of the surprise for me. I lost track of who some of the characters were--there were a lot of moms to keep straight, and one of the couples in the antenatal group was so underdeveloped the story might not have needed them. Finally, the ending wrapped every couple's story up into happiness a bit too neatly.
The book needs a trigger warning for: infertility, infant death, intimate partner violence, and forced maternal/child separation.

I will keep reading McGowan's novels because I enjoy losing myself in a complicated mystery that's impossible to put down.
#NetGalley

Rating: 3.5 🍷 🍷 🍷1/2
Book: The PUSH
AVAILABLE NOW- November 12, 2020
Author: Claire McGowan
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
⚠️ Trigger warning- Adoption and conception issues

Sipping Synopsis: A group of pregnant or expecting women meet up for baby classes. Everyone was expecting births all around, but no one was expecting a death, let alone a possible murder. I really liked the concept of this book-a classic whodunit. The problem was is that there were SO many characters and they were so hard to keep up with. So much so, that I had to take notes and write down who was whom. I think you can figure out early on 2 reveals if you are paying attention. The actual whodunit remained a mystery to me and I was happy at who McGowan decided to make the guilty party.

Final sipping thoughts: I like McGowan’s writing style and this one did not let me down. It definitely made me work harder to keep track of who was narrating. That was one aspect I did not like. I had to pause and review my notes until I got the hang of the characters. I think that McGowan purposely dropped early clues for us to figure out parts of the story but left us dangling as to who might have pushed someone off the balcony. All in all, I would say this was an easy-going, quick read that I do not regret reading.

Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley, @AmazonPublishingUK and @Thomas&Mercer for an advanced copy of @ThePush

#ThePush #AmazonPublishingUK #Thomas&Mercer #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #AmazonReads #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #bookreviewer

The Push is a thriller that chronicles a detective as she investigates a falling death at a party. It was a quick read and had an intriguing premise, but I figured out most of the twists early in the book. This one was just okay for me.

A well plotted, tightly drawn cast of characters which made this book a great read. I actually stayed up late last night to finish it as I was intrigued as the what had happened at the fateful post baby party and the dark circles under my eyes are worth it.

Unfortunately this book wasn't for me. I found it rather boring, so I probably would not recommend it.

Perhaps the reality is that British thrillers don't do it for me. I could not get into this one. did DNF this book about 70% of the way through. None of the characters were unique enough to effectively keep track of, even with POV chapters. I was hoping for more of a whodoneit with a multi POV in mind and that just wasn't the feeling I get. This reminds me a lot of a Ruth Ware book a lot, so maybe her many fans would enjoy this? A lot of self loathing and miserable approaching middle aged protagonist vibes and it was just an overall drag.

I found myself unable to put this book down once I started reading it. The storyline gripped me straightaway and the characters were easily visualised. A murder mystery that kept me guessing right up until the very end. A group of people brought together by child birth with each character’s back story unpacked through the use of multiple narrators. The switch between each is fluid enough so as not to cause any confusion. Also as I was invested in each character and the storyline each chapter was of an equal amount of interest.
This is the first book I have read by Claire McGowan and I want to thank NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review it. I also want to thank the publishers Thomas&Mercer. And last but not least a huge thank you to the author Claire McGowan, I am looking forward to reading The Fall, The Other Wife and What You Did before tackling the Paula Maguire series. #books #reading #bookworm #secondreview #5stars #netgalley #clairemcgowan #thepush

Part psychological thriller and part domestic drama, this was a fun read. While I didn't particularly like any of the characters I did enjoy the author's development of them, especially because they were all so different. It is told from multiple points of view, and time periods, which gave it a little more depth. The mystery unravels with plenty of twists and turns and I was surprised with the ending. Thank you Net Galley for the advance copy.

If you are looking for a whodunnit style book then look no further.

Thirteen people attend a party but one of the guests ends up ‘falling’ from a balcony to their death. Was it just a accident or was it something more sinister ?

As it turns out all of the guests have something to hide but will the truth be discovered along with how the ill fated guest died ? Were the secrets worth killing for ?

This is a great whodunnit style that will keep you guessing. There are plenty of suspects and plenty of secrets, all of which are gradually revealed.

Thank you to Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

I received this as an eARC to read for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for giving me access.

Don't let the ratings scare you. If you enjoyed Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, then you'll love this. Essentially a similar story but in England and with everyone getting together because of babies.

This one had me guessing the whole time as to who done it. There was only one thing that I was able to predict and it was a stretch of a prediction.

I'll definitely be reading more by Claire McGowan.

I love twisty thrillers. I like unreliable narrators. I dig red herrings.

This book wanted to have/do all these things...but it just didn't work.

The twists were too predictable; the unreliable narrators were unlikeable; and I simply wasn't thrilled by this story.

A disappointment.

Enjoyed this one from start to finish. Great characters interacting in surprising ways. I did not see the ending coming. Looking forward to more work from this fine writer.

I absolutely loved this book and found it easy to follow the characters as the author introduces them and revisits them regularly by using short chapters to keep reader engaged. The plot was well thought out and it kept the reader guessing right to the end. A real good old fashioned 'who done it'

The storyline was based around a baby group and a central character named Jax. It was very well written with an easy to do,low narrative.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a good thriller.

This fast-paced mystery follows six women and their partners who are preparing for the birth of their babies. At a barbecue set to celebrate what is supposed to be the joyous event of each birth, secrets and heartbreaks rise to the surface and to add to the chaos, there’s a mysterious death. Was it an accident or murder?

I really enjoyed how McGowan set the timeline of the story up with alternating views of each couple in the weeks leading up to the barbecue, during the party, and covering the aftermath. The coverage wasn’t really balanced however with certain people receiving more coverage that made it somewhat difficult to follow along. Each couple also had secrets and lies that were being covered up, but a few of them were mentioned so infrequently that their storylines were very shallow and hard to care deeply about. The characters also weren’t really likable, which I sometimes expect in a mystery (I mean there has to be a villain, right?), but I actually thought many of them showed growth throughout the story which was a positive. Still, the constant mentions of age (apparently 38 is downright elderly) and body image were a lot to take.

Another unique aspect of this thriller was that we actually don’t even know the identify of the victim until halfway through the book. For a bit this adds intrigue, but eventually grew tiresome. The Push lacked the twists and turns that I hope for in a thriller, and those that came were predictable or heavily foreshadowed before a too-late reveal.

There were some inventive aspects about The Push that made it difficult to put down and for a mystery it was good enough, but there were also some aspects I wish had been much stronger. With that said, I enjoyed the chance to read and thank Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for the e-ARC copy.

*Content Warnings: Infertility, Miscarriage, Body Shaming, Ageism, Emotional Abuse, Toxic Relationships, mention of Pedophilia

The Push by Claire McGowan is about 6 couples that meet during an antenatal class. They get together for a party and one ends up dead. It has everything that you'd want in a mystery/thriller: an intriguing plot, suspicious characters, etc. It is told from alternating POV's and timelines which can be difficult to follow sometimes, but I thought the author did a good job with giving each character their own voice. Overall, I think the story was just average. It doesn't really have anything new or special about it and was predictable in many ways. This won't deter me from trying a different title from this author though! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read/review it :)

A really riveting read.

I've read several books by Claire McGowan, this one is my favourite.

Cleverly plotted as it's clear someone is dead.

Was an accident or were they pushed?

At first it isn't clear who is dead.

It keeps you gripped by flirting between the characters.

Highly reccomended.

For fans of Big Little Lies, The Push takes a look behind the scenes of a moms' group that has very little in common other than the secrets they're all keeping. When someone dies at one of their barbecues, the policewomen in charge have to figure out whether she fell or was pushed, and if pushed, who did it?

A suspicious death at a party leads to the investigation of everyone there. Everyone has something to hide. Told with varying points of view and at different points in time. Interesting enough to keep me reading

A death occurs at a party for a new mothers group. Was it suicide or murder? No one at the partly is completely innocent; everyone has something to hide. The story is told from different perspectives as you learn why each attendee may be a suspect. It’s tied together at the end, but there are a LOT of characters to keep track of. As any new mom can tell you, that time is incredibly stressful, and maybe for that reason I was sensitive to/not wanting any of the new moms to be proven as a murderer... but I did read quickly, wanting to see the ending. An engaging read, even if it did have a lot of characters to remember.

A decent murder mystery centered around five couples in an antenatal group. You slowly get to know each couple and their complicated backstories, as well as the group leader Nina and the two officers assigned to solve the murder. The narrator Justine Eyre does a good job, but I didn’t care for her British accent, it was much snootier than I’m used to and I’m a big fan of British accents. The Push is available for free with Kindle Unlimited and comes with Audible narration.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ / The Push by Claire McGowan / Pages: 367 / Genre: Mysteries & Thrillers