Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary advance reader copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this book. I spent the first half of this book trying to figure out who was dead; I spent the second half of this book trying to figure out who did it, or if it was really just an accident. This book had lots of twists and turns and I really enjoyed the ending. It was a quick read, I read it over the weekend. This book was a great whodunnit. I liked the way the story was told, going back and forth from the present, the day of the incident and to the weeks leading up to the incident. I found the characters to be a little too judgemental of one another and even themselves and felt this could have been toned down somewhat. Overall, great story and good book.

This book sounded like a great thriller from the description but I had to put it down mid-way through. The twists and turns were a bit predictable and it wasn’t as thrilling as I thought it would be, I was honestly a bit bored while reading.

I’ve read other books by the author that I did like, but this one wasn’t for me

A group of mis-matched people become acquainted at a local ante-natal meeting who have each got their own deep and dark back-drop stories which come to a climax at a party held once the babies’ due dates have passed and at which there is an incident necessitating the police having to delve deeper into their lives. This book is a great psychological and exciting dramatical saga, another unputdownable winner by this author.

Absolutely excellent thriller, starts off slowly and builds to a crescendo. Very cleverly written and organised and though the time swings back and forth constantly it's never an issue, you never loose where you are and it all adds to the story and suspense. Brilliantly well written.

The Push was a book I couldn’t put down, reading way into the night to find out what had really happened.
DS Alice Hegarty is the investigating officer in this revealing thriller. Alice has to find out if her theory is right or if it really was an accident but she needs to find out fast. Someone has fallen over the balcony at a party but did she fall or was she pushed. The party is a group of couples that are from very different backgrounds, they met at an anti natal class. The party is supposed to be so they can all get together and show of their children but as DS Alice finds out the routes to parenthood for this group are all rather different and after questioning who was where when the accident occurred she has a hunch there are a lot of secrets being withheld.
I enjoyed this thriller and the reveal was done at a good pace keeping you interested all the way with the dynamics of the group all being very different. All the characters were different and interesting so this also helped to keep you interested.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

This was a book that was hard to love but actually easy to like. 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.”

I loved this book about the first post-birth meet up of an ante-natal group. It starts with a body on the rockery, but did they slip or were they pushed? Alison, the first police officer on the scene believes a push sent the victim to their death and is given just one week to prove it by her boss, who prefers to believe it was an accident.
This book is full of great characters – at first I thought I would never remember them all as there are a lot, but each is so different that before long I had sort each one out in my head. I started guessing some of their secrets as the book moved along, but this added to my enjoyment. I thoroughly recommend this book. I would also recommend it as a YA book and have got my 14 year old daughter reading it.

After the births of their babies, an antenatal group get together for a BBQ. A tense afternoon ensues and not everyone lives to see another day. Every couple has a secret and a motive but was it murder, or did the victim fall? This book was a quick and entertaining read. While I figured out most of it at the 30% mark, I wasn’t exactly sure how it would all pan out, and I enjoyed the overall story.

Six women, all expecting to become mothers, meet through a neighborhood antenatal group to prepare themselves. After the babies are born, they all attend a party that ends up with someone dead. Who did it, and what is everyone hiding?

I was grabbed by the characters and their realness, their vulnerability. The book was told from different perspectives as each chapter was a different character's experience. It moved quickly and as I read each chapter I tried to put the pieces of the puzzle together myself.

I was able to solve some of the mystery, but other pieces were a surprise. Good read if you like psychological thrillers.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

4/5 stars..

There are six couple who are in a pre-natal class. All of them are very different. There is a party to celebrate the births of these children and a woman fall off the balcony. Did she fall or was she pushed?

I enjoyed the multiple points of view even though with so many people, at times it was hard to keep track of everyone. The suspense of the story going back and forth in time kept me wanting to read just one more page at night. Everyone at the party had their own secrets. Was it enough to push someone over the edge. literally?

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC of this title which came out yesterday. Sorry, I’m a bit behind with my reviewing.

Six couples attend a prenatal class and then after the babies are born attend a barbecue held by two of the parents in the group. Told, alternately from the present at the party, and from the past at the different classes, a mystery reveals itself. Someone falls or is pushed off the balcony at the get-together and is killed. You need to get way into the book before you find out who that is.

Each of the couples has their own issues. The main narrators, Jax and her much younger partner, Aaron, must overcome their perceived age difference as a game changer to everyone else. One couple is adopting from the U.S. (this is a book from the UK) only it looks like they’ve been scammed. Another couple is gay and so on.

Their secrets are all slowly revealed as you read.

I disagree with most of the other readers on Goodreads. I thought the book had a unique premise, kept me reading without any lags and surprised me at the end.

I have two reasons for giving it four stars – one is that I felt the ending was manipulated and not really set up enough throughout the pages before. The other is I got confused with so many characters and couldn’t quite keep all their names straight. Still I recommend it.

Via multiple points-of-view and dual timelines we slowly learn how a baby group began, and how it ultimately ended in death. The author does a great job demonstrating how much people are judged for birth and fertility related decisions, and how painful all of this can be.

Content Warnings:





Racism; homophobia; ageism; misogyny; xenophobia; pedophilia

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions in this review are honest and my own.

I am going to start by saying that I think The Push is miscategorized as a thriller. It involves a death and there are secrets and lies but it is more of a mystery. This book was a very slow read for me and I struggled to connect with the characters. I think going into it, expecting a thriller, affected my experience and I would have enjoyed it more if I had expected a mystery/fiction book instead.

There are not many surprises and I had figured out most of the secrets long before they were revealed. I don't necessarily mind that because every book doesn't need huge twists and turns. It’s an interesting premise and the characters are dealing with a lot of issues that many can relate to. If you like slow builds without shocking twists, you might enjoy this book. I felt like closure was needed after what they had all gone through so I enjoyed that the author ended with where the characters ended up.

There are a lot of characters so it takes a bit to "meet" them all and get going into the story. Many women will be able to relate to the issues these characters are facing, between motherhood and infertility. The male characters are a little harder to connect with because they remain such mysteries. I would have loves to get to know Aaron more because his backstory was really fascinating and shaped a lot of how he acted. We primarily learn about him through Jax and I found myself hoping for a happily ever after for him.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

A very entertaining story about an eclectic group of people who meet at a birthing class. Mix in a death at a group party and you’re in for a great story!

This book sounded like it would be such a great thriller, and even when the murder occurs it keeps you in suspense by not even telling you who the victim was, I liked that a lot, but the story itself is rather lacklustre and disappointing. Ive read other McGowan books where I've actually been shocked at the twists and turns, this one I think would be good as a book to get you into mysteries because it pretty much spells every thing out before you're even halfway through.

Its more about the unfortunate series of events of a group of people rather than the murder.

Claire McGowan does a great job weaving together a tale of the anguish of infertility and how it impacts the lives we lead while dreaming of becoming parents. Six diverse couples are united in an "antenatal group" and the unique coupling leads to a good old fashioned murder at the elegant home of one of the antenatal parents. As each members' secrets start slipping out during the investigation (led by a woman also struggling with infertility to up the tension) the mystery factor ramps up. Tight writing, interesting characters, and the developing dynamic duo of the women investigating the case kept me reading into dawn.

There are multiple stories going on in this complex murder mystery. It’s a thrilling page turner. There are so many twists and turns throughout that makes for lots of suspense. I cannot lie - I did have a bit of trouble following all of the characters stories, but all in all, it’s very entertaining I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and this is my honest review

What I really enjoyed about this book was that it was something different. Yes, it was a mystery with lots of secrets, but the background stories of each couple and their expectant children was truly interesting. I loved finding out what each of them was hiding, and how their stories/pregnancies would end.

That being said, I dont think I liked any of the couples actually. I don't know if it was the way they were portrayed, or what, but I didn't "book bond" with any of them. And I actually loved to hate more than one of them.

I do want to thank the author, the publisher and #netgalley for the advance read on this. This did not impact my review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Part psychological thriller and drama rolled into one.
Six couples that meet at antenatal class become close and after the births they decide to throw a bbq to celebrate.
Only things aren't always what they seem and one of them dies from falling of a balcony, was it a accident or was it murder?

This was a quick and enjoyable read. One of the characters has died after a fall during a party and the inspector interviews each guest to see what actually occurred. I thought I’d figured out the mystery early on, but there were several details that surprised me at the end.