This read surprised me. It started out slow but packed a punch halfway thru. The characters are well built and i love to hate them. Even though this book deals with DV, and I am a DV survivor, I still enjoyed the story. I loved the writing.. I loved the narrators.

I just finished reading "The Favor" by Nora Murphy. Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the advanced copy in return for an honesy review. This book is definately a domestic thriller that may be difficult for some to read because it revolves around domestic abuse.
Two women who don't kow each other but live very similar lives because the are both being abused by their partners

Leah and McKenna are smart intellgent women who are both seemingly living perfect lives: beautiful husbands, beautiful cars, beautiful homes. But behind closed doors they are struggling to survive their monster husbands. The story of how domestiv abusee begins slowly and eventually dominates is told perfectly by the author, who has definately done her research.

Both women find themselves wanting to help each other, but without really knowing each other. Interspersed with their struggle is a police office who is trying to solve a crime. It is very well written and provides an excellent back story of both women which makes them bery sympathetic and rootworthy. The men are completely despicable and it is hard to believe that such people exist but unfortunately they do.

I liked the honesty of this book, and the pace of the story. It was completely absorbing and I found myself not wanting to put the story down. The main characters were not perfect, but they were very real and relateable. The way the story ended was realistic and satisfactory.

I obviously hated reading about the men. They made me angry and I was shocked by some of the things they did to these women they professed to love.

In the end, I was engrossed in this story and invested in what happened to these women. What was the favor? You'll have to read the book to find out. You will not be disappointed.

Happy Reading.

This book was great! I read it very quickly (sorry for the late review), Nora Murphy is a go to author for me now.

This certainly was a fast and engaging read. Both McKenna and Leah are married to men who are completely controlling and abusers. How this plays out is the entire premise of book..to me nothing stood out as original but I was captivated into their characters Nothing surprising here but to see how it unfolds is really good. Definitely trigger warning on domestic abuse.

The Favor is a domestic suspense book that goes into psychological abuse in well off couples. Harder to pinpoint, the psychological aspect makes for a tense storyline.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was an enjoyable domestic suspense novel that had me on the edge of my seat from the get-go. AN enjoyable, quick read.

I really wanted to love “The Favor” - and it was good!! - but fell just short of that 5 star rating. There was one plot point I could not get past. I did still really like it and thought it was a cool & interesting twist on some common thriller tropes.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

While this book started strong and had several plot twists to keep me reading, it becomes predictable fairly early on. Not a lot of suspense for what is supposed to be a domestic suspense novel. I did like the ending and how the favor was given. It was a solid 3 star thriller.

I really enjoyed this one. The alcoholic woman troupe is one of my favorites (even if it does get overplayed), but always love the drama that comes from it!

What a phenomenal debut by Nora Murphy!! In a version of Strangers on the Train, two women from different lives connect for this domestic suspense. Looking forward to seeing what she does next

📖 Book Review 📖

🎧📱 "The Favor" by Nora Murphy

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Backlog of Netgalley

 With 2024 coming I have made a New Year’s Resolution to get through my Netgalley backlog, prioritize reading more ARCS, and post the reviews on publishing day.

So here is a @netgalley ARC from earlier in 2023.

A debut thriller, about 2 strangers, Leah and McKenna, leading eerily similar lives. They both are married to great, charismatic and successful men, have a nice houses in safe neighborhoods and both drive a nice, almost identical car. But look closer at these women, with no social life, and spend many days and nights drinking alone at home. The story reads like a set of dominos falling- each lined up nicely and falling down into place. The author's note at the end of the book really shed light on how the author’s background as an attorney helped her really put into words what domestic violence can be like. She showed it can happen to anyone, and many men play the long game, gradually, carefully taking away one freedom after another. Both of these women were educated, of a higher economic background and when the abuse was finally physical, they were “stuck” with no money, no access, and no one to turn to. I will definitely look for more books written by Nora Murphy. My dislikes were the story was almost too perfectly lined up- the dominos fell just right.

#bookstagram #letsread #somanybooks #bookreview #bookrecommendations #readersofinstagram #readmorebooks #booklover #bookishlove #readersgonnaread #bookishaf

I did not upload the book before it was archived, so I cannot review this book on Netgalley or other platforms.

I really wanted to like this book the plot seemed really intriguing but I found the characters easy to mix up and the time jumping kept confusing me. This story follows two women who lead very similar lives suffering from abuse. One of the women show up to help the other leading to life changing decisions. I don’t want to say to much more to avoid spoilers but this was for the most part a pretty good thriller.
My main issues as I said above was the Povs were confusing to me the two females were very similar and they would switch back and forth on timelines too so I really struggled with that. I also really kept forgetting the police POV every time and would have to stop and think where am I then remember oh that’s right there is a police POV.I do think the story was unique and would pick up more from this author in the future there were just some tropes and things in this book that I am not a fan of. I would say if you are a fan of unreliable narrator main female character with alcohol problem. This character trope just frustrates me but I know a lot really enjoy this I would say similar vibes to The girl on the Train. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

It took me a while to get to this book, and it’s a new author for me. It was interesting and a fast reading book. Reminded me of the movie “ Stranger on a Train”, so I was fairly sure. Inknew where this was headed. But the ending chapters kept me on my toes…I don’t know what ending I expected, but I was happy with the one the author chose. .Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martins Press and Nora Murphy for this ARC.
My reviews can be seen on Amazon, Goodreads, Twitter, and discussed with all my book clubs off and on line.

This one wasn't for me. Though the writing was good, I just couldn't get into the story. There was just too much of the "I married the perfect man" and "he had politician hair"... While I did feel bad for the women involved, I'm just not a fan of "he was so perfect and rich" and then the guy being a complete douche. And BOTH husband's were like that. And of course there had to be problems woth getting pregnant and one is an alcoholic... just a no from me.

I'd like to read something else from the although, though. The writing itself was good, but this story didn't vibe for me.

This was a great debut as well as overall domestic thriller. The story was well written, executed amazingly, great pacing and satisfying ending!

This book was good, but not great. It started off strong and I was instantly hooked. But then it quickly lost steam and my interest.

The major issue for me here is that this book is billed, in part, as a thriller when it’s clearly a mix between a mystery and domestic fiction. In that regard, with the more appropriate genre-labeling, it’s a fine book. It’s not terribly fast-paced or novel, but it’s good.

What I did like was the way the author handled domestic abuse and the portrayal of the survivors, both of which I thought were done well. And, for domestic fiction, it was an interesting character study.

I don’t need every mystery to have a major, shocking twist - but this one has no twists at all, so it kind of fell flat for me.

It was good, but not great. It’s not one I am likely to recall much about in a few months.

Overall I enjoyed it however I wouldn't say it's a thriller.

It was a fast paced easy read for me. Definitely felt more a long the lines of a suspense and something to help showcase how abuse happens and the impact it can have.

I think the first half was pretty great while the ball was dropped in the second half.

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and Nora Murphy for free e-ARC in return of my honest review.

While I enjoyed reading the book, I couldn't help but feel that it lacked the wow factor that I was hoping for. The plot was intriguing, but it felt all too familiar, almost like a retelling of Strangers on a Train, but with female characters. Despite this, I found myself invested in the story and curious to see how it would all unfold. The writing was solid, and the characters were well-developed, but I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something missing. Overall, it was a fine read, but not one that I would consider amazing.

Kept my attention. A fast paced book about marriage and controlling abusive husbands. About surviving and living through domestic abuse. Makes you feel like each character within the story and shows how something needs to be done to end it. Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the advance ecopy.