The Push centers around six expecting couples who attended a before-birth class and their group leader. Each couple lives in the same area of southeast London and each had similar due-dates. Two weeks following that date, one of the women holds a reunion barbecue. During the barbecue someone falls to their death from a high glass-sided balcony and DS Allison Hegarty and her partner, Diana Mendes, are called in to investigate the death. Though their boss believes it to be an accidental death, Allison believes the person was murdered and sets out to prove it.

The six couples are as different from the others as they could possibly be. Dysfunction, ageism, sexism, racism, homophobia and every other possible discrimination is well represented throughout the book. I found none of the characters sympathetic and some were downright awful people.

I enjoyed the before and after narrative which included the POVs of each character and Allison. I also was curious as to who died, but other than that, this book really failed to engage me. In many places, it just seemed absurd. Overall, not one I would recommend to my friends.

My thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for providing me with a review copy of the book which is scheduled for publication on 11/12/2020. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

The story centres around a group of mums to be who meet at an antenatal group. The main characters are Monica (prim mum of the group), Jax (first time older mum), Kelly (first time young mum), Cathy (part of a lesbian couple - baby via donor), Anita (adopting from overseas), and Aisha (having a baby after an arranged marriage). The group is diverse, and is run by Nina. Nina comes across as a little bit picky and not pleasant. After all the babies are born Monica arranges a party at her home for everyone to reconnect with their new offspring. At the party there’s an accident and a death. We don’t find out who has actually died until about 50% of the way in - which was great as it gave plenty of time to guess who you think it is. We read the story in two different times - weeks before the arranged party and what transpires in the groups lives, and the actual day of the party and events leading up to it. Reading the story it’s clear everyone has motive, and everyone has secrets.

I loved this book, the story was great. I guessed a couple of the twists, but it didn’t make it any less enjoyable. The characters were great - a real mix of horrible and kind characters, and if you look at your own group of mum friends it’s very easy to spot similarities with the characters here. I enjoyed the fact we were introduced to the two detectives earlier on, and also seeing one of those characters having their own personal struggles with motherhood. There were some subjects in this book that could be upsetting, but I was grateful to see them being explored, especially some that are taboo, even in this modern world. A great book!!

“The Push” is another addition to the mystery genre, this one with a slight twist in that the main protagonists are a group of new parents who had attended ante-natal classes together. Following the birth of each of their babies, one of the cohort throws a party for the whole group at which one of the guests dies in suspicious circumstances – was it accident or murder? One of the police officers attending after the death is not convinced it what an accident and decides to look into the case in more depth.

Each member of the ante-natal group has a different experience of their pregnancy or, in one case, adoption.

All the characters are introduced in one fell swoop towards the start of the novel, an unusual plot device which leads to some confusion in the reader as to who’s who as the story progresses.

The book flits from one point of view to another with each chapter, some of which are only a couple of pages long, as well as jumping around the timeline. Additionally, some are written in the first person, others in the third. The net result of this is that it is difficult for the reader to feel any empathy or engagement with any of the characters.

Most of the characters are driven mainly by money in one way or another, there is little real difference between any of them. The Muslim couple only seem to have been included as a box-ticking EDI exercise, although the same sex couple are dealt with better.

The police officers are a new partnership, having not worked together long, and there is some tension between them at the start of the book. However, this doesn’t really come across.

This genre is well established and shelves are groaning under the weight of new thrillers/mysteries/detective novels. To stand out in the field a book needs to have something very special and unfortunately this doesn’t – there’s no tension, no mystery (it’s not hard to guess what happened) and neither of the two reveals at the end come as a surprise.

There needs to be more characterisation in the book, and ideally at least one engaging character.

On a very picky personal level, the constant use of “alright” rather than “all right” annoyed me. It is becoming a more accepted usage, but still seems wrong. I haven’t let that influence my scoring of the book, though.

I read the description and requested it because it sounded like a good story, and it might have been a good story if it was a linear story line. Way too much jumping from present, to past, to different past, back to present and each chapter is "voiced" by a different character in the story. While a chapter per character doesn't normally bother me, this time it did, maybe because there are SO many characters! This was my first time reading a Claire McGowan story, maybe her other books are better? I'll have to check them out and see. This one just wasn't my cup of tea.

This review is based on an ARC from NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. All opinions are my own.

The Push by Claire McGowan
Six couples from extremely different walks of life come together for a “New Parent Baby Class”. Their lives will be forever changed because of it. “Everyone has secrets. Everyone had something they didn’t want the world to know about.” But, what if someone was aware of your secrets? What if someone was slowly exposing those secrets to the world? How does it affect you and those you love? And at what cost? How do you cope? What will push you over the edge?
Pick up this gripping, psychological story. The story is told from varying points of view. It is really good. It will draw you in and not let you stop til you figure it out. But, be careful because you don’t know as much as you think you know.

Six couples, who met at an antenatal group, get together for a party after the babies are born. A tragic incident at the party becomes the subject of a police investigation. Has this been foul play, or not?
Claire McGowan is a good writer. The Push is a well-paced, hard to put down whodunnit. All six couples and their strained relationships are unpleasant, the conclusions are mostly easy to guess and there is at lease one very unlikely reveal but for all that I really, really enjoyed it. The small touches – like keeping the reader guessing as long as possible or dropping in important information casually here and there- smooth out all the rough edges.
The Push worked for me.
With thanks to Amazon Publishing UK and Netgalley

An antenatal group set up by Nina to allow very pregnant women and partners become a support group for each other seems almost too good to be true. S idly it turns out to that way. There is a sudden death after a photo shoot of all the babies born to the group.
Alison is the detective who becomes convinced the fall that killed Nina was murder and not an accident. She has to interview all the people there at the time. They all have secrets that Nina seems to have discovered that all the couples are keeping so almost everyone has a motive.
Jax with her toy boy boyfriend has a life that seems to implode around hers he is the only one who had an invite through the door for the class.
This is an amazing read that keeps us guessing right until the very end. You will have favourite characters but are you right with your assumptions?
I loved this story, which is cleverly constructed and beautifully written. McGowan is an excellent writer and one to be recommended and her other books are well worth a read too.

The pacing of the book was wonderful. It drew the mystery out quite nicely, and the reveals about the characters were wonderful.

I did know well ahead of time, what some of the reveals would be, but loved it nonetheless, because it was just so nicely developed.

I will recommend this to friends.

I really enjoyed this Agatha Christie style 'whodunnit'. The characters are mostly awful people and there are few you can root for but this doesn't take away from the need to read on. Some of the twists were predictable but I still felt a sense of achievement for guessing them! I loved the fact you didn't find out who was murdered until half way through the book and I truly didn't have a clue who the murderer was either 🤷🏻‍♀️

Six couples attend anti natal classes every week. Six more different couples you couldn't find.
After the births one couple invites the others to a barbeque but at the end of the day one person will be dead.
DS Alison Hegarty is the officer in charge of the investigation and she is convinced it was not an accident.
Each couple has their own secrets within their lives and relationships but can Alison unravel them and find a murderer. If so, why were they murdered? or was it an acident?

6 couples. 1 prenatal care group. 4 babies. 1 death.

This tale is told from alternating viewpoints and alternating timelines as we try to piece together multiple puzzles. Who died? Why are there only 4 babies? Was it an accident? Or was it murder? And who has it out for Jax?

There are aspects of the story that I figured out early on (I had hoped they'd be red herrings but nope), but I kept reading to discover how everything came together. I always enjoy alternating timelines, as it's fun to learn the details bit by bit. While I'm a bit burnt on domestic thrillers, which, along with some of the obvious twists, took away some of my enjoyment of this novel, I still found it to be a fun ride.

This is the first book I read by Clare McGowan and I absolutely loved it. I loved the different points of view throughout the story and time line. I love that everyone had their own secrets and felt like this was multiple smaller stories in one overall story. I loved the way it was written and even though not surprising I still loved the plot and storyline. I also just ordered a bunch of her other books from Amazon since clearly I have been missing out on this author.

I fell in love with this book! Wonderful concept and the characters, plotline, and way it is all weaved together is brilliant! You will be on the edge of your seat while reading. What is each character hiding? How is it impacting the here and now? Interesting and could not put it down until I hit the last page.

The Push by Claire McGowan is a straight up murder mystery, with little (and some rather big) breadcrumbs scattered throughout that will keep the reader engaged in trying to figure it out from the first page until the last. The story centers around a group of disparate characters who have little in common other than they live in London and are all expectant parents. We meet them at a community group for expecting parents run by boho-chic Nina. The primary expecting Mom the readers meet is Jax, a 38-year-old first time who is pregnant with her much younger boyfriend, Aaron - a handsome bartender she meet at a speed dating event. Almost immediately, we're plunging six months ahead in the story - to a group BBQ where the group reunites after all (well, most) of the babies are born. At the party, one of the characters falls to their death from a balcony and from there we jump back and forth between the modern day investigation of the case and each of the characters prior to the fateful party. We learn more about Jax's tumultuous past, Aaron's dramatic past and that the not-so-perfect lives of their fellow birth classmates as the investigation continues. Claire McGowan keeps us in the dark about who the victim even was until about half way through. Twists and turns aplenty, some clues are easy to piece together but others are definite jaw droppers. This reminded me of an old-fashioned Agatha Christie kind of murder mystery with many suspects and dark secrets being doled out one by one. I really liked this and would PUSH you to read it, too! Thank you #NetGalley for the advance reader copy.

The Push is the story of a group of people who happen to meet at an antenatal class. Having all witnessed a person fall from a balcony , the story follows the investigation into whether this was an accident or not.
McGowan creates a plot full of intrigue and lots of twists and turns. No one is really quite what they seem to be, and as the story unravels this proves even more true.
The Push is definitely worth a read and one you will remember and tell your friends about

There was lots about this book that really appealed to me. A diverse group of mothers-to-be and their partners, each with their own secrets, get together for ante natal classes. There’s something a little off about the sessions, and why they all kept going back was beyond me.
The mums were a really mixed bunch, and I didn’t give many of them much chance of happy ongoing partnerships with their other halves. Jax, significantly older than the other pregnant women, is hooked up with a handsome boy much younger than her. Gay Cathy is hiding an enormous secret from her partner, while Kelly’s partner seems to be an aggressive wreck. Although Alison and Jeremy seem happy and well-suited, things are not going well on the adoption front for them. Aisha barely seems to know her husband, who’s hiding an ugly secret.
Then there’s the ghastly snob and social climber, Monica, and her very rich new husband, Ed. They plan a reunion for a few weeks after the babies are due. At this party, thrown mainly to show off their very expensive home, someone dies after falling from a balcony. Was it an accident – or murder? And if the latter, who of that small group of people was guilty?
The story is told mainly from the points of view of Jax and Alison, the DS investigating the case. The timeline moves between the present and the weeks leading up to the death.
With all their past secrets, lies, alliances and individual missions, it’s hard to tell what actually happened, and who was responsible. For quite some time, we do not even know who has died.
The Push is interesting, gripping and tantalising. I raced through and thoroughly enjoyed it. I particularly liked the policewoman, Alison, who was facing her own issues around motherhood. I enjoyed her spunk and the fact that she’s no walkover. I also liked the relationship that started to form between her and her new partner, Diana. At first the latter appears a little stand-offish and prissy, but as Alison gets to know her better, so her true character and sense of humour begin to reveal themselves.
While on one level this was a crime thriller, it was also a glimpse into ordinary lives and an examination of the joys and horrors both of pregnancy and having a newborn.

Six couples from a baby class, a party to celebrate the babies, secrets everywhere and one person falls from a balcony. Or, was the person pushed?
A suspense filled novel with lots of secrets, twists and turns and unexpected outcomes. You will be trying to figure out what secrets each person or couple are hiding. Who fell from the balcony? Are the police on the right track in their suspicions? I have not read Claire McGowan until now but will be looking for her books to catch up.
This book also has infertility and miscarriage story lines in case you are sensitive to these issues.
Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this book for a fair and honest review.

I was looking forward to spending a cozy time reading The Push, it didn't come through for me ,although the idea was inviting. It's a story of six couples who find each other after seeing a flyer for an antenatal group. Without knowing each other, or liking each other, one of the couple invites everyone over for a barbecue where one person falls from a balcony. The detective has many of of her own issues and insecurities that she is totally out of touch with the couples. Thank you for the opportunity to read The Push and best of luck! #NetGalley#ThePush#Thomas&Mercer

This is my first read by Claire McGowan. I found ‘The Push’ storyline reminded me of Big Little Lie’s, a variety of characters all collaborating their stories about a fall/push but over a balcony this time not down some stairs. I guessed the twists before they happened and found although there was a good variety of characters there were possibly too many as I wanted more depth from them all. I read this book fairly fast and while it kept my interest for the most part unfortunately I didn’t love it. If I could I would have given this book 3.5🌟

Six couples, who first met at an antenatal class meet up to show off their newborn babies and have some photos taken. One person is pushed off the balcony. The story then goes back and forth in time to find out what happened.

The storyline wasn't too bad. It had a lot of characters and was told from different points of view. I actually like this kind of writing style. I did find it hard to connect to some of the characters. Its a slow paced murder mystery. The twists were decent. Overall I enjoyed it