Claire McGowan has written a wide range of books from her brilliant Paula Maguire crime fiction series looking back to the Troubles through more psychologically based fiction like the other wife. In The Push the author turns her attention to the antenatal groups and the people that could be populating one near you.

After the due dates there is a barbecue and someone falls from a balcony to the rockery below. Who is kept concealed from the reader that in less assured writing could feel forced, but in this instance I was happy to play along with the author so busy was I gawking at all the side stories that result from the number of couples.

The book looks back to a few weeks prior to the 'push' and then concludes with an ending worthy of Agatha Christie herself.

At the start of this book I thought it would be silly romantic story, and was pleasantly surprised.
Thanks net galley for letting me read this book, I really enjoyed each of the women’s lives and how each couple had secrets in their lives.
I felt sorry for Jax she was the one person who really needed help, and help she did not get.
Will look out for more books from Claire McGowan.

I’m not even sure how I feel about this book to be honest.
The overall story plot was interesting and the mix of characters was definitely intriguing. But, somehow, I found them all too selfish, self centred and way to many times acting like there’s no one else more important in this world than them and maybe, if I can say, their hypocrisy was just overwhelming overall.

As I said, I cannot say if I like it or not. I appreciate the time and effort that the author has taken to create this book but unfortunately I don’t think it’s for me.

I really wanted to like this book - the plot sounded right up my alley, very similar to Big Little Lies. However, it did not keep my attention like I was hoping (and honestly expecting) it would. There were too many secrets that took too long to be revealed, leading to a very drawn out beginning and rushed ending. Unfortunately, I was hoping for more from this thriller.

Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A clever and fast paced locked room mystery! This book packed a punch and though I guessed a few twists, I was engaged from beginning to end!

This story had a lot of potential, but there were too many common tropes happening which made it really predictable. Lots of red herrings. Seasoned thriller readers will figure out what's going on by about halfway through. I'd recommend it to someone who is new to the genre.

I realised that I have already read and reviewed this book. Here is my review below.

This is a really good read. The characters and the whole storyline are brilliant and believable. This story is a very cleverly written memorable read.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This book was, in a word, not worth reading. Even though it wasn’t terrible, it had a really bad ending. On top of which, every part of the book that was supposed to be a surprise wasn’t. I saw it all coming, and that’s just not fun.

In addition, I really didn’t like it that the author was stereotypical with the gay characters. I won’t say how that happened, as I don’t want to ruin it. But really, what the hell?

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

Wonderfully well plotted mystery grabs you from the get go and does not let up! Fans of Little Big Lies will love this smart topical compelling novel! Compelling wonderfully drawn characters who you will love to hate!

Another great novel from Claire McGowan. This is a sophisticated crime mystery that centres around a death at a party and a circle of couples who met in an expectant parents group. Who did it? Who saw it? It's probably not what you expect. Will the truth come out?

DS Alison Hegarty, herself struggling with infertility, is called in to investigate. She’s convinced the fall was not an accident, and finds the new parents have a lot to hide. Her investigation is stalled and stopped and following her gut feeling to find the truth becomes her mission. Despite being key to the investigation her character doesn't dominate the book which has so many interesting characters in it.

We meet a lot of characters, yet get to know each one so well. From all different walks of life, different financial backgrounds, life situations, they all come together for a new group mentoring those expecting a baby. This in itself becomes a central part of the plot as characters connect and clash. Friendships formed and tested.

With suspicion on my mind, I played amateur detective in trying to guess the big reveal of this book but I came close but not quite. I think it could of had a bit more pace to it and a touch more edginess to push it to five stars for me. A solid psychological thriller with a crime twist.

Was she pushed or did she fall?

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my copy. All reviews are my own opinion and totally unbiased.

A group of women having babies, all with secrets in their relationships and a death. It was pretty good, a little show and while the twist did surprise me, it mostly felt predictable and not anything i would remember

If you enjoy a good “whodunit” tale then this is a title for you. It’s the story of six couples, all very different, brought together after meeting a classes for expectant parents. The couples meet at a luxurious house of one of the group members to celebrate the birth of the babies when one of the women (we don’t know who for some time) falls to her death from a balcony. At this point were introduced to Alison, the detective investigating the case and we see tales and secrets of each couple coming to light. It was an interesting read, I enjoyed the backstories of the different characters and how they interact with each other given that they are all very different. I was given a free copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Claire McGowan cab always be relied upon to come up with the best page turners and this was no exception. I loved the pacing of this story, found it so gripping from the moment I picked it up. If you're looking for a good thriller that'll keep you reading until the early hours you need to read this!

This is definitely one of the most gripping “domestic thrillers” I’ve read. I genuinely read this in a few hours completely focused on it!

A complete must read

A dinner party and a death. All of the guests are certain the fall was an accident. But even though everyone's witness statement is the same, DS Alison Hegarty feels something is off. As she starts digging deeper, she begins to uncover little inconsistencies between the stories and that everyone involved has something or other to hide.

This book made me think of a modern-day version of Clue or some similar old mystery-caper movie. We skip back and forth in time between the accident, the weeks leading up to it, and the investigation the following week, during which we learn the backstories of every character. It flowed well and I felt that the mystery, as well as reveal and some twists were very well-executed and just worked. The characters were well-written and their traits and personalities were developed in a way that I felt fit and added interest to the diverse cast.

Another solid five star book by this author, I loved it and could not put it down!

Thank-you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced reader copy.

Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mystery: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Writing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I never repeat the blurb. This took a while, as it was quite "bitty" but it was with sticking with, to find out who both the victim and the perpetrator were. Did guess the latter quite early, hence 3*. Enjoyable.

This was full of so many twists and turns. If you like Liane Moriarty, then this book is definitely for you. it was easy to read even with a lot of characters at play.

I loved this book. Tense and sinister in places but with real in depth characters. I gobbled it up in a very short time. I often start books and takes ages to read them. Loved this though.

Great book with some very interesting characters concentrating on a baby group and the stories of these people that flits back and forth to an ‘accident’ when someone falls from a house balcony and the back story of them before they had their babies. Great story, lots of smaller stories interwoven in the book. Really enjoyed it. Thank you for letting me review this book.

I am a Claire McGowan fan, so I was quick to request The Push when I saw it on NetGalley and was excited when I was approved for an advanced copy.  The general premise is that a group of women meet during a pre-natal group session.  At a party celebrating the birth of their children, someone falls (or was he/she pushed) to their death from the balcony of the home.  

McGowan does a good job of building the story by moving back and forth in time to tell the story from different perspectives, while keeping the identity of the dead person a secret and whether or not the death was accidental.