McKenna and Leah are living parallel lives, a neighborhood apart, in a the same type of hell. When Leah sees McKenna and can tell that she is battling the same evil at home, she becomes fascinated and decides to intervene to save this stranger. These two woman, end up playing such a big part in each other’s lives and they never had a conversation.
The author did such a good job at intertwining these stories and then including the detectives POV in as well. I was interested the whole time and really enjoyed the writing. I wish there was more insight about the detectives partner, I felt like that was made such a large part of the book but little backstory as to why, I was intrigued so just wanted a little more. While, I usually favor books with big twists, this one didn’t need that to be enjoyable and for that I say great debut to this author!

“I’m someone like you.”

Although they’ve never met, Leah and McKenna live similar lives. Both both appear to have perfect marriages and lives with all of the illusions of success, wealth, and happiness. However, looks can be deceiving. Leah and McKenna are trapped. Can they escape?

This debut domestic suspense novel offers an insider’s perspective on domestic violence. I was engrossed in Leah's and McKenna’s lives from the very beginning. Their desperation to get way from their manipulative, abusive husbands and their fear that they would never succeed are palpable.

The Favor is a dark, page-turner look at what happens when you have two women pushed to their limits. The realism of the Leah's and McKenna’s stories is captivating. I’m looking forward to seeing what Nora Murphy writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for a digital copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this voluntary review are my own.

The Favor is a riveting domestic suspense novel that kept me engaged right from beginning to end.

Following two women living parallel lives trapped in abusive relationships, Leah and Mckenna, who have never met. One day, while at the shop Leah follows Mckenna home and can sense the tenting between her and her husband from outside. Knowing what the cycle of violence is like, Leah begins checking up on Mckenna as often as she can. One fateful night Leah intervenes, and neither of their lives will ever be the same.

This book reminded me so much of Girl on the Train in the sense that we had an unreliable (alcoholic) woman making the primary observations. I don’t love this trope because I find it usually goes with the “hysterical female” trope, however I’m thriller to say that is not the case with The Favor!

While I usually prefer my thrillers to have lots of mystery, this story lays all the cards on the table and I really enjoyed it and I read it in just a few sittings! You’ll want this one on your summer reading list!

This book was a surprise to me in how complex and insidious domestic violence is. McKenna and Leah are wives leading strangely parallel lives as their husbands become more controlling and violent over time. Their situations are far from unique and this book breaks it down so we can see in near real time how the men become monsters. The only thing that gave me pause was the unlikely coincidences throughout the book. But overlooking that, the book was a great read. The ARC was provided to me by NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

This one was a bit too tense and a little triggering for me. I thought I would be able to handle it, but with the recent events and my own issues, it’s a DNF for me.

Before we get started, I’m confused about the blurb, because the whole story starts when Leah and McKenna DO find themselves in the same shop! They don’t talk, but still, the first line of the blurb is false.

I really enjoyed this quick, engaging thriller. Leah and McKenna were both interesting characters. Both were well-educated, successful professionals until their husbands took that away from them. Fortunately, I’ve never been in their position, but the author did a great job of making them relatable and making their actions seem somewhat understandable to the reader.

I’m a big fan of obsession/stalker novels. In the vein of The Woman In The Window, an alcoholic woman is obsessed with saving another woman she believes is being abused. Unique to this story, though, is the fact that Leah finds herself in the exact same position as McKenna.

My thoughts on the ending could be considered a spoiler, so don't read further if you have yet to read the book.

Spoiler thoughts: there wasn't really a twist. Nothing happened that wasn't guessable from the blurb, although this one was marketed as a thriller. The ending also felt somewhat unresolved--I understand why the case wasn't closed, and was glad they weren't caught, but it felt kind of unfinished.

Overall, I was pleased with this debut novel, and will be watching out for more from this author in the future. It won’t be for everyone, given the theme of domestic abuse, but if you can handle a difficult theme then it is worth the read.

This is an original take on two strangers meeting and deciding to help each other out. The two protagonists don’t actually meet for quite awhile yet they make very significant impacts on each other’s lives. The two woman are very similar and share certain struggles. This story was fast-paced came together nicely. It wasn’t as complex as other books in this genre, but it was definitely an entertaining read. I also liked the overall point that that the author was making and I thought she did an excellent job of conveying it.

Fantastic. I absolutely loved this. It really sucked me in from the start and i couldn’t stop until the end. I was dying to see where this went and how it ended!

I wasn’t sure where it was going at the start but what unraveled was twisty and emotional. i really understood these two women. I felt for them. No one should ever have to experience violence especially by a loved one in any way.

I loved that there was a POV of the detective as well! I wasn’t expecting that but it definitely added to the story!

I think the author did wonderful at tackling this issue and showing the effects of it and what it can really be like to live in this situation. I enjoyed her character development and her writing.

I was completely enthralled until the very end. I was so worried about how this would end too 😅

This is such a great unraveling of a series of events & what happens when you “do a favor”. Will it back fire or be for the greater good.

Highly recommend.

The Favor was an entertaining read. It kind of hit a little close to home as 30 years ago I was the victim of spousal abuse. Luckily I got out without the dire consequences that Leah or McKenna faced. I found the book kept my interest.

This was such a perfect thriller. It's creepy, mysterious, unpredictable, and definitely kept me on the edge of my seat! I am so excited to read more from Murphy! Would recommend.

“The Favor” by Nora Murphy follows Leah and McKenna who have seemingly parallel lives, despite having never met. Yet, one day, Leah sees McKenna and knows: they are the same. And although Leah can’t save herself, she might just be able to save McKenna. Leah begins watching out for McKenna from a distance, simply observing. But one night, as Leah watches, McKenna’s “perfect” husband might be about to push things over the edge- and Leah intervenes. These two women have never met, but they will.

Oooof. What an emotional rollercoaster. Leah and McKenna are both victims of domestic abuse. Handsome, successful men won them over, married them, and then destroyed them inch by inch. Leah’s abuse is further along than McKenna’s, so she can see the telltale signs of McKenna’s freedom being taken away. Instead of standing up for herself, she saves McKenna. An unspoken favor between two women, living the same life.

This book was twisty, with the cops running around attempting to solve the murder of McKenna’s husband. In a weird sense it made it feel as though the detectives were the bad guys, because the murder of an abuser feels like justice. As the two women cover their tracks, they’re both easy to root for.

In the end, this shocking and compelling book earned a 4 star rating from me. This was a quick and interesting read, but I would encourage people to consider the trigger warnings before diving in, as there were mentions of miscarriage and scenes of abuse both mental and physical.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press (Minotaur Books) and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review! This book comes out on May 31st!

Okay honestly...WOW. This one was the most predictable but also most entertaining book I have read in a while. I knew from the beginning what the "Favor" was going to be. But...the depiction of psychological and physical abuse that the women faced in their relationships, the isolation from their friends and families, the manipulation...it was all so well written that for chapters at a time I would forget I was reading a novel and not a memoir.

Thank you NetGalley for gifting me an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions and review.

I love a good thriller from a debut author and this one did not disappoint. I suggest going into this one knowing as little as possible and just enjoy the journey. I can't wait to read more from this author.

When Leah thinks her situation is beyond saving, she sees McKenna and immediately recognizes that she needs help. Leah is bound to do her darnedest to save her, no matter the cost. Now it’s McKenna’s turn to return the favor, but with police scrutiny, will she get the opportunity? Both are living in isolation, both are trapped in their own prison and now the favor each has done for the other ties them together irrevocably even though they have never met. How far would you go to save a stranger? A very impressive debut from Nora Murphy! Looking forward to what she comes up with next!

The Favor reminded me of books like The Therapist by B.A. Paris and a little of The Sinful Lives of Trophy Wives by Kristin Miller with their plots against their husbands. In Nora Murphy’s debut novel, main character Leah is a depressed alcoholic who stumbles across McKenna at a local liquor store and finds herself face-to-face with her earlier self. Leah is compelled to follow McKenna home and sees how the relationship between McKenna and her husband is on the same path as her marriage traveled the year before.

Desperate but unable to save herself, Leah is determined to save McKenna, sending them both on a trajectory they can’t stop. The chapters switch between Leah and McKenna’s perspectives jumping from the past to the present as the story unfolds. Both women were successful, ambitious and driven, married to men who were equally successful and charming. As each of their marriages unravel, the husbands increasingly isolate their lives until their abuse inevitably escalates.

I read this on my Kindle app which tells me how long it should take me to read the next chapter based on my reading speed. The interesting thing with this novel is that if the chapters hadn’t been so long (some were approximated to be 20 minutes long), I would’ve easily kept going. It’s so much easier to justify reading the next chapter when they’re only about two to five minutes long and this was definitely a page-turner that I wanted to keep reading, but I would often stop at the 20-minute chapters to pick back up when I had a bigger chunk of time free.

That being said, it was undoubtedly a thrilling page-turner! I understood and sympathized with both Leah and McKenna and rooted for them both. This was only Nora Murphy’s first novel, so I’m really excited to read what comes next from her!

This was a solid debut thriller that had the makings of something great! Unreliable characters, alternating POVs and the husbands are TRASH! However one fell a bit short for me because it felt long and repetitive!

THE FAVOR by Nora Murphy

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the e-arc! THE FAVOR is out 5/31!

SUMMARY:
Leah and McKenna both have seemingly perfect lives, as stay-at-home wives, with enough money they don't need to worry about spending it on the spa, gym, shopping, or other ways to spend their time. Both women are highly educated, a lawyer and a doctor, but have left their jobs to focus on other things. The two women have never met, but they have a similar problem, so when Leah sees McKenna in trouble, she interferes, and joins the two women in a secret but powerful way.

MY THOUGHTS:
There are some major trigger warnings with this book, so please look them up or message me if you have any you avoid.

This was a fast paced, dual perspective book that I flew through. I was sucked into McKenna's and Leah's lives and their interactions with their husbands. These husbands were PROFESSIONALS at gaslighting their wives.

I wouldn't say this was twisty or very suspenseful, but still a page turner all the same. It reminded me a lot of The Girl on the Train in a lot of ways.

This book brings out the issues of domestic violence, it’s a sensitive topic for some, but I loved how the author did it in this book. I loved the back story, McKenna and Leah were both women on the rise into their careers, they meet the perfect man, and then out of nowhere they change on them, they isolate them, and they little by little destroy them, by manipulating them and keeping them all to themselves. It was sometimes cringy to read because I know these things can happen in real life, and I have seen enough true crime to know that some of these situations don’t end nicely for either person, but it felt so good to see that the characters had some form of control over some part of their lives, and their minds.

Leah thought she was helping McKenna, and McKenna returned the favor, and there is a back and forth thing going on in this book that I really appreciate. I love the suspense of it all, and it was a quick read it got straight to the point without over doing it and making it into another slow burn of a book. I can say I really enjoyed this and the ending was the perfect little bow on top. Thanks NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This domestic suspense was a quick, fun, popcorn read. Great debut novel and I enjoyed the narrator too.

Ohemgee. This book is so good! It’s definitely one I’ve had my eye on and thanks to NetGalley I scored an ARC!

In this book, we see from the POV of two abused women and the police officer investigating their husbands murders. We get a look into the minds of the abused women, their lives with their abusers and everything these men did to keep them compliant - and make it almost impossible to leave.

The authors note at the end is everything. They bring to light everything that an abused person can go through and how the abusers make it so they can’t “just leave”. It’s not easy to just leave, and in some cases it’s not even possible. There are even resources included for several countries to help victims caught in these situations and I cannot appreciate that enough.

This story was perfectly suspenseful and brings to light an important topic that faces many people today - maybe even someone you know.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️