The Push is not your typical thriller. Initially lots of characters are introduced and it is hard to figure out who everyone is and their connection to each other. Once you have that sussed what follows is a book filled with family issues, fertility issues, the difficulties of being a parent and consequences.
For me, I think it’s more of a “who dunnit” than a thriller, I had figured out what 2as going on before the big reveal but that doesn’t detract from the story as I was eager to see if I was right so read the second half faster than the first.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I started this and then put it down because I couldn't get into it. I read another book and then started again. It was obviously my state of mind because I got on with the book much better second time around.
The story revolves aroubd a group of pregnant women and their partners who are in a prenatal class run by Nina . All couples have at least one "problem" which becomes apparent as the book progresses, but most of the book is written from the viewpoint of Jax (her partner is much younger than her) and the policedetective investigating the death.
Early on in the book, some one falls or is pushed from a balcony and dies. You don't find out who this is until later in the book.
The exploration of the relationship between the couples and the group interaction is interesting and their stories are realistic.
Personally I thought that the last part was a bit rushed and the detection of the crime not always well grounded. Some questions are not answered, it may have been better to concentrate on less characters and tell the full story rather than leaving it hanging.
I would give this book 3,5 stars so have rounded it up to 4.... Benefit of the doubt! All in all, better than I thought it would be and worth perservering with

Thankyou to Net Galley for an Arc in exchange for an honest review

This was a tale of the dark side of pre natal groups! I don't remember mine being so toxic but there was certainly new mum judging going on!

This book covers so many topics adoption, same sex relationships, big age gap relationships, cultural differences all thrown together because they happen to be having a baby at the same time, a group of people who in any normal walk of life probably wouldn't be friends.

Once the babies arrive, they are reunited at a celebration party to parade the babies in an Instagram worthy post.

That is until someone disappears over the balcony. Detective, Alison believes they were pushed, she just needs to find the motive, evidence and wade through everyone's accounts of their alibis as something isn't adding up.

I worked out the identity of the victim fairly early on and once the PM came back, I realised how they were connected to a certain character and it really could've only have been one person whodunnit as it tied their story up.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book, this is my honest opinion.

After "What You Did," I already knew that Claire McGowan is a skillful suspense writer, so I was excited for "The Push." Let me tell you it is as good as her previous books, if not better!

Let's start with the premise: One fancy party. Six couples. Six babies. Someone falls from the balcony and dies. Alison Hegarty, the detective assigned to this case, has grounds to suspect that this was not an accident. And so, if the course of the investigation, one dirty secret is revealed after another.

I loved the style of this mystery, which reminded me a lot of the recent favorite, Lucy Foley's "The Guest List," when you just know the killer is among the guests, but the investigation brings out a lot of dirty laundry. The characters are almost totally unlikable, which I think is exactly the point - McGowan wants you to dislike everyone and their unreliable POVs, so that you can't root for anyone or guess the ending.

I'm giving this book 4 stars because I don't think it's as fast paced at "The Guest List," although this could totally be a personal preference.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Push by Claire McGowan
Pub Date 11/12/2020

I really enjoyed this book it has my favorite set up to it. The "locked room" mystery.
One party, thirteen guest, one dead before it was over.

I love trying to figure out a good whodunit story. This one you even had to figure out who was murdered before the big reveal. I also loved to hate most of the characters. My two favorite characters were definitely Jax and the detective Alison.
I would most definitely recommend this book to a friend.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thank you to the publisher and to #netgalley for the book.

Wonderfully written Agatha Christie who-dunn-it type of mystery that I read in one sitting! This novel deals with sensitive issues such as infertility which some women may find triggering; however, they were dealt with in a respectful manner and in a way that makes sense in the story. The ending was a good twist and I bet you won't be able to guess it!

I enjoyed this one. A quick page turner of a read that came together really well in the end. If you pay attention throughout you can predict the twists and turns but in a good way. I like when authors give you the tools you need to figure things out before the big reveal instead of having things come out of left field. I thought the characters were well developed and realistic. Overall a solid read.

Six different couples. They only thing they had in common was having attended the same antenatal group.
The post-birth party was supposed to be perfect, a chance to celebrate the birth of their babies, but something went wrong...
All the attendees claim it was just an accident, that the victim just fell.
But is that really what happened?

I've read a couple of the author's books before so I was excited to be approved for this ARC, especially since the blurb sounded right up my street.
The story was told from multiple perspectives, but despite it not being my favourite narrative style, it wasn't confusing.
However, it was the kind of book that had me unsure of how to rate it.
The main twist remained a mystery to me until the end, but I found some aspects of the plot predictable.
Overall though, it was an enjoyable, gripping, cleverly-plotted read that had me guessing what happened on that fateful day until the very end, but it didn't have me on the edge of my seat enough to warrant 4 stars.

“The Push” by Claire McGowan is a psychological thriller with many twists and turns. Secrets and lies galore!
A good read which is best read in long bursts to really get into the story.
4 stars, very enjoyable.

For some reason, books about baby group are having a real thing at the moment so I was intrigued whether The Push would offer anything 'different.' While a diverse set of characters, not many of them were particularly likeable, other than perhaps Alison at a push (ha). I liked that while you knew someone had died, it wasn't clear who this until about halfway through, however, I do think from this point onwards, everything went downhill. It felt far too convenient that all of the characters had such drama happening in their lives and they just all so happened to go to the same baby group (which in itself, felt incredibly unrealistic, especially following the 'twist.' I mean come on!). And because these separate storylines were never fully explored (even Jax's felt half-finished), I just didn't particularly care about any of them. I thought the themes of motherhood and expectations were explored well, covering a variety of topics many people will be able to relate to but unfortunately, this was by far the strongest element of the book.

Thank you Amazon Publishing UK and Netgalley for this ARC!

Short synopsis - The party should have been perfect: six couples from the same baby group, six newborns, a luxurious house. But not everything has gone to plan, and while some are here to celebrate, others have sorrows to drown. When someone falls from the balcony of the house, the secrets and conflicts within the group begin to spill out.

I really enjoyed this murder mystery! There wasn't a character that I felt connected to or even liked, but that did not stop me from enjoying this one and I almost appreciated how wildly complex the author wrote these characters. While most of the characters were either about to become parents or going through the struggles of getting pregnant, not one of them had anything in common. The tension between every single character really made the story and hooked me from the start.

From the start, I couldn't wait to figure out who was the murder victim and who was the one that "pushed". However, when all said and done, I was a bit disappointed with who the "victim" ended up being. It didn't seem realistic and almost took me out of the story. But figuring out the twist did make me go, "WHAT", so I guess the author did what she set out to do!

Overall, this is a great summer read! Just know that this book does deal with PPD and infertility issues, so if those topics are too heavy for you right now, then please proceed with caution.

Love (and hated) the diverse characters and I couldn't put it down. I enjoy the different points of views and didn't want it to end. Can't wait to read more from McGowan.

A party-reunion of participants in a prenatal class is held when the babies are around two weeks old. One person dies. A push or a fall?
We don't know who the victim is for half the book, although you could deduce it by seeing who the detectives interviewed after the death. Practically everyone in the class and at the party has a secret.
Enjoyable book!

A story that’s is probably true to life for some couples in regards to having children. Like the mystery surrounding the characters! Keeps you guessing till the end to find out who did the crime.

What I liked about this book was the very real description of the pains that infertility (in its many forms) causes couples. The descriptions hit home for me, and likely will for so many other readers. If you are currently struggling, you may want to avoid this book for a while- that’s how well Claire McGowan describes it. The story itself is interesting- a party ends up with someone dead. Did they fall or were they pushed? Who died? If they were pushed- who pushed them and why? I love a psychological thriller. Without giving too much away, I think both big “twists” are probably going to be guessed by most readers. The final reveal, however, may leave most surprised. I would recommend this to friends, specifically to see if they can guess what happens.

#ThePush #NetGalley
A really gripping thriller.
Six couples from the same baby group, six newborns, a luxurious house. But not everything has gone to plan, and while some are here to celebrate, others have sorrows to drown. When someone falls from the balcony of the house, the secrets and conflicts within the group begin to spill 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. Wealthy Ed and Monica show off their newborn while their teenage daughter is kept under virtual house arrest. Hazel and Cathy conceived their longed-for baby via an anonymous sperm donor—or so Hazel thinks. Anita and Jeremy planned to adopt from America, but there’s no sign of the child. Kelly, whose violent boyfriend disrupted previous group sessions, came to the party even though she lost her baby. And then there’s Jax, who’s been experiencing strange incidents for months—almost like someone’s out to get her. Is it just a difficult pregnancy? Or could it be payback for something she did in the past?It’s a nightmare of a case, and as events get even darker it begins to look impossible. Only one thing is clear: they all have something to hide. And for one of them, it’s murder.
I loved the characters of Jax,Nina, Aaron, Monica and Alison. Other characters were ok ok.
Narration of the story is good. McGowan is a master storyteller.
Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for giving me an advance copy of this creepy psychological thriller.

I really enjoyed this book.. It had plenty of drama and I really loved the way in which the story was told from so many different perspectives. It was intelligently written and had genuinely good twists. A great read

I thought this book would be a typical thriller, but it was really complicated and filled with family drama, & the difficulties of motherhood. This book is filled with unique characters, an intense story line, & a shocking ending. I will be recommending this book to everyone!!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Push.

I was pleased when my request was approved because the premise sounded like a straight forward police procedural, but it wasn't.

It's really a domestic drama about the characters in a parenting group who are suspects in the suspicious death of the woman who led the group.

Each couple has something to hide (secrets that were easy to figure out) and the detective in charge has to deal with these potential suspects and their personal dramas as well as juggle her own drama of motherhood and fertility.

The Push isn't a thriller so much as a book about motherhood; the travails and trauma, the angst and obstacles women go through to conceive, to juggle parental and societal expectations, to face their own fears about becoming a mother.

I liked that the couples were diverse and from varied social classes and occupations but I didn't connect with anyone.

I also dislike the constant POV switch; it's confusing and distracting. Every time a new character gave her perspective I had to remember who was who and what they did.

The author's constant focus on Jax and the wide age gap between her and her baby daddy got old (no pun intended) fast.

I was bored with all the motherhood and parenting discussions possibly because I'm not a mother but mostly because I thought this was going to be a story about a murder, not about babies.

There are no clues for the detectives to follow back to the killer, just endless interviews with the suspects and only to find out they're all lying about their whereabouts.

The Push wasn't for me, but some people would enjoy it, as well as the multiple POV perspectives from all the characters.

Is it murder? Or an accident? Someone is pushed (!) over a balcony. There are 13 people and you have to read this to see who did what and why. Sat and read all of this today. Absolutely brilliant. 5/5.