This was such an engrossing book. It holds your attention from the very first page to the very end. The author paints a horrifying picture of the insidious and progressive nature of domestic violence and the debilitating effects and struggle the victims face in finding a way out. The story is told through alternating perspectives of Leah, McKenna and Detective Jordan Harrison. This style of storytelling gives insight into the characters, their background, the events that led up to the police involvement and the investigation itself.

The Favor is a gripping domestic suspense novel, focusing on how staying in a toxic relationship Is dangerous but leaving could be even worse.

Leah and McKenna end up doing favors though they have never met. Lea is an alcoholic who is led on a short leash by her husband. When he goes out of town, she leaves her house leaving her phone behind. Inside the house is a woman just like Leah. She understands that what’s inside a home can be more dangerous than what looks on the outside. She sees McKenna is stuck in a life that's perfect on the outside but dangerous on the inside. One night, she intervenes.

The story is easy to decipher. But even though I know what will happen, Nora Murphy creates a taunt story that keeps you reading. Will Leah get caught? Will McKenna return the favor? The pace pulls you forward. The detective is one of the villains in this story and their viewpoint adds another layer to the plot. The book is pure suspense.

The Favor is a really thrilling read. Add it to your summer book lit to get your heart racing.

Can you do a favor for someone you have never met? Leah and McKenna don’t know each other, but they do recognize something in each other. This is a take on Strangers on a Train. Leah sees McKenna as someone she use to be. When she can’t help herself, she decides to help a stranger. I did enjoy watching the two stories come together and the frustration of the detective trying to connect these two strangers. You are hoping for an ending you will like, and I got one here. Maybe predictable and safe. But I would have hated any other way.

Thank you to @netgalley @minotaurbooks and @noramurphybooks for an ARC of this!

This is from debut author Nora Murphy and I am absolutely obsessed. This was SUCh a unique plot, and unlike anything I have ever read! The main characters, Leah and McKenna, were so easily to get behind and each had such unique stories. I loved her writing style, she made such cheeky references that left me feeling like I was on the inside of the characters minds, and could easily follow both women's reasoning! I feel like a huge problem in the thriller genre is a "slow-burn" pacing that leaves all the excitement to the final hour, but this book was not the case. It was constant twists and turns that had me finishing this book in record time!

This is really heavy subject matter, so definitely a warning to anyone sensitive to spousal abuse, but is a much needed conversation.

Overall, if you are in need of a Summer thriller, this one is it! I was so impressed and will definitely be keeping an eye out for what this author does next!

Thank you to Nora Murphy, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for providing me with an ebook advanced reader copy of The Favor for me to read and review. What a great read! This novel made me think back to the film Horrible Bosses, but with domestic abuse at its core rather than toxic work environments. I thought the author did an excellent job portraying the abusive relationships in a honest, enlightening, and raw yet respectful way. I loved the way the role reversal took place. However, I did see quite a few things coming long before they happened and I would have liked some unexpected twists and turns. I enjoyed the way Murphy wrapped up the story and it left me wondering what might happen next.

I really enjoyed the writing in this book. It definitely helped me on the treadmill because I didn’t want to stop reading so I just kept walking and walking! I love the alternating chapters with the two wives and the detective. I read some pretty gruesome books but this one was even more disturbing because of the reality of how the abuse starts and why women stay with their abusers. Great job illustrating that, Nora! I’ll definitely be reading her next book! This one was so quick!

This book was such an incredible read. It gave me AJ Finn / Paula Hawkins vibes - who are two authors I really enjoy!

Leah & McKenna we’re fantastic characters to follow throughout the story. I was intrigued and completely invested in what happened with them.

This was a fast-paced and unputdownable read, i finished it in one sitting. The topic of Domestic Violence was incorporated perfectly. Making this the perfect suspense that shines some light on an important and very raw reality.

I loved this read for a variety of a reasons - while not super fast-paced, I found it easy to connect to the characters and cheer them on. The power of women supporting women is definitely on display here, even if it is in a way that has its risks. A great read.

Totally captivating and socially relevant.
Two women, strangers, can see themselves in each other. Both are in destructive relationships where leaving would be more dangerous than staying. When one follows the other home and starts spying on her life she soon learns that the husband is dangerous. When she witnesses the husbands violence she knows she has to do something to save the other woman. Will the other return the favor?
I really enjoyed this debut by an author to watch. The writing is superb, the plot, tight and the tension is palpable. Although there are no surprising reveals, the action is all foreshadowed and obvious, the story is compelling with an important message. Be sure to read the authors notes at the end.
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Thank you St Martin's Press and NetGalley for granting me the ARC to read, review and enjoy.

This was such an interesting read! Leah and McKenna are living parallel lives, separately. That's all I'm going to say about it because this is one to go into blind.

At the beginning of this book I had a little trouble keeping up with the points of view and which characters belonged in each section, but I figured that out pretty quickly as the story moved on.

Once its going, the story is really going, and its tough to stop reading it.

I had the second half of the book guessed pretty quickly after the first half, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the book, but this won't be one I pick up again.

That being said, I do love this cover, as soon as I saw it I was drawn in and I knew this was one I needed to read.

Holy shit this was incredible. Not only did this domestic thriller keep me on the edge of my seat from start to finish, but it also touched on a very heavy subject and handled it delicately but in such a raw and powerful way. This is very empowering for women who have or are experiencing some form of domestic abuse. I loved the authors note at the end especially. It was a bit predictable given the description but I loved the different POVs and jumping around the timeline. It wasn't too confusing and made things much more exciting and dramatic. This was one of the best I've read this year and I can't wait for more from Nora Murphy. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

2.75 stars

The Favor follows two women, Leah and McKenna, who have never met but live almost the same life. They both are smart, professional, and are carrying dark secrets. Things are set in motion when Leah realizes just how similar her and McKenna are, and follows her to her house.

Although I think the writing in this book was really good, and I was impressed that this was the author's debut book, ultimately I was slightly underwhelmed. I feel like I knew exactly what was going to happen and so nothing was surprising, and I just wanted it to be over.

I would recommend this to people who are new to reading thrillers and want something easy to understand and digest! Although it didn't work for me, I think it would work for many others!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I received a digital advance copy of The Favor by Nora Murphy via NetGalley. The Favor was released on May 31, 2022.

The Favor tells the parallel stories of Leah and McKenna. Both are young women married to successful men. Both recently left their own promising careers. Both are feeling trapped. Despite these similarities, and the fact that they live minutes away from each other, they do not know each other. Leah sees McKenna, recognizes herself in the other woman, and eventually intervenes in McKenna’s life.

While it is definitely not a retelling, The Favor has clear echoes of a classic story. For me, this meant that very early in the novel, I was able to predict the beats of the story all the way to the end. As I read, each of those beats played out as I predicted. I was disappointed that Murphy did not turn or twist the story in a way that surprised me as a reader. The only element of mystery in the story is provided by a third point of view character (a male cop) who often refers to his missing partner, but withholds any explanation until late in the novel. When this bit of information was finally revealed, it did not add anything to the story, or cause me to view elements of the story in a fresh light. Honestly, this subplot could have been cut from the novel with no impact on the story. It was clear to me that Murphy was very invested in the serious theme underlying the plot of her story. I do wish that Murphy had given the serious story some space to surprise the reader. Surprises could have added depth to the story, and given the important message deeper resonance for the reader.

In the early pages of the story, we meet Leah and McKenna. The story focuses on the similarities between the women and their lives, with only touches of their distinctions. This is an important point early in the novel, but as the story moved forward, the differences between the women were not really explored. I found it difficult to differentiate between the characters, often having to look back to section headers to figure out which woman we were with. This lack of depth was worse for the men in the novel. Both women are married to men who are not developed at all as characters. They are presented as types, rather than as people.

Overall, The Favor layered a very enticing premise over a very serious topic. Unfortunately, both the characters and the turns of the plot needed more development to raise this novel to the excellent story it had the potential to be. This is a debut novel, and I will certainly look for more from Murphy, as I think there is a lot of potential here.

What if you took the plot of Strangers on a Train but removed the train and added spousal abuse and copious alcohol? You would have The Favor.

While the plot is familiar, it moves at a good pace. I read it in one sitting. I was expecting a bit more from the end. However, overall, The Favor is a good domestic suspense beach or airplane read. 4 stars!

Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

Leah married Liam a few months - yet her life has taken a major nosedive. She explains her process of purchasing alcohol, rotating stores to ensure with the hope to remain forgettable. Leah searches the shelves for her must haves, a beautiful young woman catching her eye. Following her, Leah's interest heightens. Especially when discovering her house is minutes from her own. Large windows facing a quiet road, allowing Leah to watch.
With Leah's days empty - no longer holding a job as a lawyer, Leah becomes obsessed with McKenna.
Learning more about her life, Leah sees her own marriage - the escalation of McKenna's husband abuse. Taking Liam's gun, Leah kills Zachary - McKenna in utter confusion.
This is an excellent book detailing the use of gaslighting, isolating - terrifying in the reality of this abuse. Both McKenna and Leah desperate to escape, understanding their marriages are not normal - nor acceptable. But who will believe them? Both unemployed - how can they ever afford to leave.
Well done.

The Favor
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Thriller
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 5/31/22
Author: Nora Murphy
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Pages: 288
Goodreads Rating: 4.03

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for providing a digital copy of the book for me to read in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: Leah and McKenna have never met, though they have parallel lives. They don’t—ever—acknowledge to each other that although their lives have all the trappings of success, wealth and happiness, they are, in fact, trapped. Because Leah understands that what’s inside a home can be more dangerous than what’s outside. Driving past McKenna’s house one night, she sees what she knows only too well herself from her own marriage: McKenna’s “perfect” husband is not what he seems. She decides to keep an eye out for McKenna, until one night, she intervenes. Leah and McKenna have never met. But they will.

My Thoughts: The story is narrated by Leah, McKenna, and the Detective, from their own perspectives. This book is EVERYTHING. The characters are well developed, have depth, create tension, and are flawed. The authors writing is amazingly brilliant, complex, invested, creative, and just works so well for this book. This was a fast paced, page turning, thriller that gives off the uneasiness feeling and creates the perfect storm atmosphere. The ending was perfection! I throughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend, it was just released yesterday!

What does one abused woman do when she recognizes herself in another? In Leah’s case, she tries to save her.

The Favor is one of those books that isn’t really a thriller and isn’t really a suspense but it had me glued to its pages none the less. Two women who’ve never met will soon play a huge part in the others life – one sooner than the other – at a great cost.

The characters of Leah and McKenna are so well-developed, it’s clear that they are both intelligent strong women. I feel like Nora Murphy took a subject that’s difficult to both discuss and understand and put it into a format that’s more easily understood. Most anyone who’ve never been in an abusive situation have asked themselves ‘why don’t they leave? Also, the gradual taking of control until there’s nothing left to take is pretty classic and I think that it’s spelled out pretty clearly here.

This is a fantastic domestic suspense and I was filled with dread and hope. Even though this isn’t what I’d consider ‘edge of your seat’, I was no less captivated by the story.

This is a definite recommend to my friends and fans of the genre. My thanks to @MinotaurBooks for this gifted DRC.

A gripping novel about two women who don’t know each other but who lead parallel lives. McKenna and Leah are each trapped in their marriages, the way out fraught with danger. From the outside, both look like they have successful, happy lives. The reality is much different. This is a solid suspenseful read. The storyline progresses with ever-increasing tension, with characters that are well fleshed out. I was fully engaged from the beginning. Nora Murphy does an excellent job of entertaining as well as educating. I look forward to more from this new author! Thanks to NetGalley and the author for a chance to provide an honest review.

Wow, what a debut by Nora Murphy! She is one you’re going to want to watch for. This psychological thriller was everything. I finished this in one sitting and have no regrets. I really enjoyed the author’s writing style, and the plot kept me reeled in. Definitely recommend this one.

Two oppressed women in similar circumstances find themselves in unique positions to help one another. As they observe each other from the periphery of one another’s lives, they will fight societal norms that dictate how they should behave. Debut author Nora Murphy does an admirable job of highlighting a serious problem but doesn’t quite give the novel the depth it needs in her first book The Favor.

Leah Dawson spends her days in an alcoholic haze. At one time in her life, she was an up-and-coming lawyer working on all of the important paperwork clients needed to execute their legal matters. A major misunderstanding at work led to her getting fired, and since then Leah has tried to find her solace at the bottom of every vodka bottle she hides.

And she does everything she can to hide them. Her husband, Liam, disapproves of Leah’s drinking. In fact, he disapproves of a lot of things Leah says and does. That’s why she lives in the basement bedroom of their home—that Liam locks from the outside—and he’s still in the master suite. Liam tracks her expenses and her phone and has made it clear that if Leah wants to come back to the bedroom, she needs to get her life together. But how, Leah wonders, can she do that when Liam is the one constantly tearing it apart?

A few streets away in their swanky suburb, McKenna Hawkins is doing her best to recover from a miscarriage. Not that she wants to try for another baby any time soon. Her husband, Zack, who was kind and caring when they were dating, has turned into a different person since they got married. After she lost the baby, McKenna left her job as a pediatrician because Zack wanted her to. In fact, Zack wants McKenna to do a lot of things and makes sure she obeys no matter what her opinion is.

On one of her liquor runs, Leah spots McKenna and is drawn to the woman. She follows her home and discovers that McKenna lives close to her own house. Watching McKenna gives Leah something substantial to do, and she begins to follow her from a distance. Then one night she sees McKenna and Zack together. It’s like watching a mirror reflection of her own life.

In a single moment, Leah changes McKenna’s life forever. She does her the kind of favor that even McKenna’s own family could never do for her. But they’re strangers; they don’t know one another and have never met. Sometimes, Leah thinks, it’s better to accept help from people who don’t know you than it is from those who are closest. Because the closest ones can be those whose betrayal runs the deepest.

Author Nora Murphy tackles a tricky subject: society’s denial that men in upper socioeconomic classes are just as capable of abusing their partners as anyone else. Murphy gives the real-life spouses of these men a voice through Leah and McKenna, setting the scene in a way that may seem familiar to some readers. Immaculate homes and expensive cars don’t mean that life behind closed doors is anywhere close to perfect.

The book fails to give any of the characters any depth, however. Leah and McKenna, while representative of women like them in real life, are simply tragic figures and victims of abuse. Murphy makes the plot more interesting by giving both women high-powered jobs to match their husbands’ professions. When the book begins, though, Leah and McKenna are both out of work, and readers don’t have the chance to watch the women change. They may find it harder to suspend their disbelief and buy into how fast Leah and McKenna buckled under their partners.

Murphy also doesn’t offer any substantial reasons for why Liam and Zack are the way they are. Their controlling natures come across as caricaturish at times rather than as a thoughtful look at how men in high-achieving careers balance their professional charm and their personal boorishness. By the end, the men seem more like stock characters than anything else.

The novel does give McKenna and Leah different enough personal circumstances to make each of their individual stories stand out, which can be difficult to do. Those wanting to read a novel highlighting this under-reported issue but with minimal depth may want to check this one out.