Six couples, part of a pre-natal class gather at the swanky home of one of the couples after the birth of their babies to celebrate and someone falls from a balcony to their death. Though it appears to have been merely a "fall", an intrepid Detective Sergeant Alison Hegarty suspects that might not be the entire story. And of course, she's right. The 'fall' was in fact a 'push' but there are so many suspects, and so many secrets ...

As the story develops, it's clear that the attendees at the party all have something to hide, so they're not particularly forthcoming with the police. This wasn't exactly a locked room mystery, but definitely a close cousin. The perpetrator is obviously someone who was at the party, but the mystery is that as the action develops we realize that almost everyone has a something akin to a motive. I listened to this one, and was never bored, but also never quite as engaged as I might have been. We got the POVs of at least one half of all six couples, which was interesting, but made it tough to become particularly attached to any single person. The person to whom we should have been most attached---because she was the only POV in first person---was somewhat annoying and difficult to relate to. Jax's (that's her name) conflict was that she was a thirty-seven-year-old with a much younger (twenty-four-year-old) partner, Aaron, who is also very good-looking; so most of her internal monologue involved agonizing over what people must think of her, or about how "ridiculous" she must seem. Oh ... and there's also the mysterious happenings at work and at home, that she irrationally, decides not to share with Aaron.

Apart from investigating the crime, the DS is undergoing her own challenge---she and her partner want to get pregnant and can't. So, while she watches these new parents lie and evade, she also envies, relates to, and studies them, not just as suspects, but as people who have the one thing she wants most.

The narrator was great, and the story was good. I recommend for a quick mystery fix.

Was the fall from the balcony an accident? Was there a murder committed? This mystery involves questions of fertility and pregnancies and complications. Mixed in is the possibility of murder. It’s a good read.

It's been a long time since a thriller has caught my attention to the point that I won't sit the book down or move from my seat until it's finished

With well rounded characters and a thought out premise that delivers it's all you can ask for.
It's a must read!

The Push is an engaging psychological thriller that kept me turning the pages until the very end. So many secrets weaved seamlessly into the story told from multiple perspectives. I had figured out a few of the twists along the way but didn’t see the ending coming! This was my first book by this author and I will definitely pick up her next book!

A brilliant psychological thriller that really keeps you guessing. I loved that we didn't even know the victim's identity for quite some time, which added to the tension. Good twists and an interesting set of characters.

Now this book was a real head trip. Great use of the bad seed/unreliable narrator concepts to keep you guessing through most of the book. I had no idea what was really going on for probably 90% of the book. Love the ambiguous ending as well, I hope the two ladies can be friends but what an awful way to get there. I would love to read this author’s next book!

I loved this book! Great characters, whether you love or hate them, each one brings their own story and twist to the tale. Great ending. I wanted to keep on reading to see what happens next to them all.
Can not rate this high enough, a great book to get lost in on the beach.

It took me a while to really get into the story, purely due to the number of characters we are introduced to, and trying to get them all straight in my head.

Once I had that bit sorted, my enjoyment and puzzlement about what all the party goers were hiding was growing, page by page, as I tried to guess everything ideally before the detective.

Some I was spot on with, others not so much and I certainly didn't guess the ultimate answers of just what happened on that terrace when a person ended up going over and landing on a rockery.

There were certainly some Wow reveals that had me shocked.

Told in present time from the detective, in the weeks leading up to the fatal party by Jax, and then the day of the party in various passages of time from all the ladies present, you are treated to what really is a puzzling case.

I ended up racing through the final quarter to see how it would all resolve itself, and really enjoyed it.

Thank you to Amazon Publishing and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Thank you so much to net galley for sending me a copy of this book. It was really hard for me to read at first and I even put it down for awhile but I actually ended up really enjoying it!

A mom to be group. A murder. Lies. Secrets. The perfect mix for a thriller! While I enjoyed this one, it did seem to drag on a bit. Overall, I would recommend this one.

Looking at all the 4 and 5 star ratings on Goodreads for The Push really had me stumped. The first half of the book was so boring. None of the characters were interesting and I really didn't like any of them. The book revolves around a prenatal group of parents to be who all have secrets. We do know early on that someone died at a party but who? Why? By the end of the book, I really didn't care.

I really enjoyed this book and the way it was written. Guess me guessing until the end.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this title. I liked the twists and turns and the writing style is nice and smooth. The story flows well and kept my attention. Thank you for the opportunity to read this title. I will be recommending this one to friends.

Told from multiple points of view and beginning with a questionable death, this novel starts out a bit like Big Little Lies. Unfortunately, it's not quite up to par with Big Little Lies! The group of parents and their kids come from all over the city to meet in their new parent group, and disaster strikes with the death of one of the adults at a group social. The detective assigned to the case is struggling with her own infertility, which may or may not cloud the judgment she has when working the case.

Overall, this book wasn't my favorite of McGowan's, but she does have a talent for writing characters that are flawed. The mystery is twisty and this novel fits really well into the domestic thriller category.

I was excited to read this book after reading the description. It sounded like a fun, entertaining read. A group of people attend a BBQ and someone ends up falling off of a balcony to their death, or were they pushed? The story is told from multiple perspectives and from different points of time before and after the incident. I found the beginning of the book to be extremely slow. None of the characters were very likeable so it was hard to be interested in what was happening. At the halfway point I had figured out the main part of the ending. I'm normally surprised by twists so I was surprised I'd figured it out and was correct. I felt like the second layer of the twist was added just to give the ending more excitement. I don't want to give anything away but I felt like the motives of the "bad guy" were never fully explained. I was left very confused about why certain events had taken place.
Unfortunately, I felt a bit let down by this book. Between the unlikeable characters and the obvious "twist", this one just wasn't for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really good read, but as a parent, it was terrifying. I honestly would not recommend this to anyone who is pregnant, thinking about getting pregnant or a parent.

The book had an original storyline.
To begin with the book was a slow burner, but when it picked up pace. I felt myself involved with storyline
The majority of the characters in this book are not likeable. This adds to the suspense of the book
Despite all the twists in this book. I found the ending to be quite predictable
However, I would recommend this book and this author, having enjoyed her other work

Brilliant, absolutely brilliant, I loved this book.
A great psychological thriller, really well written and with great characters.
I was stuck in a rut on the book front and this has taken me back to what I love - thank you. I now need more by Claire please.

6 couples from a prenatal class, all very different from one another, meet at the home of the (probably) wealthiest for a reunion after the babies are born. We hear from all of them and some are nice, many not so nice, with strong opinions of others which can be uncomfortable. I don't think there was a character I liked which makes it hard to care.

Of course the party cannot just be a party and someone falls to their death. Who was it? What happened- pushed or fall? The detective in charge, Alison, has fertility issues and that may cloud some of her judgement in this case. The story alternates between Alison's investigation and the stories of the party people,

An ok read, but too predictable for me. That, along with the unlikeable characters, makes me give this no more than 3 stars and that is being generous.

This is such an intense thriller. I felt I couldn’t put it down and my heart was racing. It was crazy to me how intense it was, I’ve never had a reading experience like it. I couldn’t recommend it enough