This book grabbed me from the very beginning and kept me on edge. I wanted to just escape someplace where I would have no interruptions while reading it. I could feel for myself the fear and hopelessness the main characters experienced. It is hard to believe that this is Murphy’s debut novel.

In a liquor store, Leah crosses paths with McKenna and thinks “It was like looking at myself, nine months ago.” Thus, their lives will both be changed.

This is a story of two women who supposedly have it all - husbands who are both handsome and wealthy, beautiful houses, all the trappings of a successful life. But no one knows what goes on behind their closed doors. No one knows about the controlling husbands and the abuse the husbands inflict upon Leah and McKenna.

Leah is compelled to find where McKenna lives and begins observing her from afar. Then one night she sees a violent act in McKenna’s home, and she snaps. She takes matters into her own hands.

Written with compassion and an understanding of the emotional impact of spousal abuse, this story may make you wonder if someone you know is experiencing the same nightmare that Leah and McKenna experience.

I will be watching for future books by this author. Her writing is incredible.

I received an advance egalley from the publisher. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

PUBLICATION DAY: May 31, 2022

This is the story of two women, similar in many ways. These women don’t know each other…but they soon will. McKenna and Leah are each desperate for a way out of a bad situation, neither sure how to go about it. Fate has ensured that these parallel lives will no longer remain that way, and their lives become intertwined in a shocking manner. What lengths will these women go to in order to be free, and how far will a tenacious detective go to find the truth?

PROS and CONS:
A debut book by this author…and it’s awesome! I can’t believe it’s her first book…the writing is crisp and on point, the dialogue is realistic and purposeful, and just when you think you know what’s going to happen - boom, you don’t. My only (small) critique is that the couples are so similar that I kept getting confused who was married to whom, and I felt the ending came about rather quickly. Aside from that, I really, really enjoyed it!

READ IT?
Yes immediately - it’s a riveting novel of domestic suspense and I couldn’t wait to see how it was all going to end!

5 Stars

What an awesome debut! I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more from this author. I loved how the characters were developed and linked together.

I really really enjoyed The Favor! Trigger warning this book has a lot of domestic violence/cohersive control.

McKenna and Leah are two women in the same town who seem to be living mirrored lives... so much that they even resemble. They are both in abusive relationships with controlling husbands who essentially make them prisioners in their own homes.

The two women, by chance, happen to cross paths. It is hard to explain anymore without any spoilers, but they try to help each other out of a terrible situation.

This book was told in different POVs - McKenna, Leah and an investigating detective. It was not at all hard to follow or keep the characters straight. I found myself needing to know what was happening and how the story was going to play out.... I felt like I was on edge the whole time but then I felt the ending was a little underwhelming. I wanted a little bit more out of it.

Overall definitely enjoyed this book and will read more Nora Murphy in the future. Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

Leah, a formerly successful lawyer, spots McKenna at the local liquor store. She can tell just by looking at her that her life is similar to her own. The hunched shoulders, the nervous darting eyes. She decides to follow her home where she will observe her without her knowledge. What she witnesses through the patio windows is just what she had expected. McKenna lives under the thumb of her abusive husband and it's only a matter of time when he hurts her once and for all.

These two women don't know each other but they will soon enough because a favor between strangers should always be repaid.

Not too shabby for a debut novel. This book brings to mind a few other little novels you may or may not have heard of (😉) like The Girl on the Train, The Woman in the Window, or the less known but still amazing Looker. You have an inebriated, unreliable female narrator that stalks obsesses over another person and/or family in an effort to help them or so they believe. If you have grown weary with that particular plot device then move along, nothing to see here. If you're still willing to give it a chance then this is a great one. Other authors have tried to do this and they just don't get it right or the writing is so amateur that it doesn't work. Not the case here. My only complaint is that this drags a little in the middle. While the end doesn't wallop you with any shocking twists or reveals it's still plenty satisfying.

Murphy's insights into domestic abuse are spot on, her writing was engaging, and her character development really allowed me to be front and center in the minds of these two women. This up-and-coming author is one that I will keep my eye on. 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my complimentary copy.

4 will you do me a favor stars

I really enjoyed this debut novel and read it in one sitting! There are two main characters in this one – Leah and McKenna. Their lives are similar, and they end up intersecting in a very interesting manner!

Both women are bright and educated but have found themselves in difficult and dangerous relationships. They are isolated and truly cut off from family, friends, and any sort of support.

One day Leah sees McKenna in the liquor and is struck by their similarities. On a whim, she decides to follow McKenna and discovers that they have more in common than looks.

This is where the book takes an interesting turn, and I don’t want to give away any clues. I will say that this is one of the rare times where I’m not rooting for the police to figure it all out.

I think that this would make an excellent book club book and would make for some great discussion.

Very complex novel and very long. The story-line follows the wealthy Oppenheimer family. The parents have a set of triplets along with another child born later. Jewish, New Yorker Salo Oppenheimer meets Johanna after a tragic accident and she makes it her mission to give him a family and help him.

The chapters span the decades and alternate between the family members. I had a hard time getting invested in this family. Family dynamics are complicated. The triplets, Sally, Lewyn and Harrison are very different and have their issues. I felt the triplets were entitled and selfish. Phoebe, the last sibling tries to bring the family together.

I felt this novel could have been cut in half and still covered the basics.

Triggers: Racism, Accident, Language

Three and a half stars rounded up

I try not to give half stars, however, this was more than just ok for me, though I didn’t quite love it. The start was very slow, but then something I didn’t expect happened and from there on I was invested. The pace did slow down again and then picked back up - this is where it lost the half star with me. I thought Murphy did a great job at showing how truly difficult it can be for women to leave these relationships, and how abuse ranges from financial and emotional to physical. My heart was really broken for Leah and Mckenna. Overall, this was a great debut, and I would love to read what Murphy publishes next.

#brandysreads

Thank you @minotaur_books for the complimentary ARC.

TW: Domestic abuse, miscarriage, alcoholism

I finished this book in one setting! The suspense is thick and heavy! Just the way I like it! The writing is absolutely fantastic! The pace is nonstop and I ending was wonderful! Such an amazing read! I can't wait to see what Nora Murphy will give us next!

4.25 stars

Oooh, yes. I’m not sure if this story describes the perfect crime (crimeS, really), but it was certainly close! I enjoyed both protagonists and hated their husbands, who were some of the worst kinds of men. I seriously couldn’t stand them…as intriguing as the back-and-forth narrative was, it was an actual relief once the husbands were dead because of how awful they were. Ugh. I also didn’t like or hate the detective figure (I didn’t realize this one had a cop co-protagonist), but I was a bit confused as to the relevance of some of the backstory with his partner. Anyway, this book had elements of classic thriller/mystery surprises as well as some new ideas, and as a whole, I definitely enjoyed it.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of this debut thriller by Nora Murphy, perfectly narrated by Dylan Moore; Leon Nixon; Sarah Mollo-Christensen. 4.5 stars rounded up!

Lea and McKenna are perfect strangers; however, they are leading almost identical lives. Both have perfect lives and perfect husbands - but nothing is as it seems for either of them.

This was a wonderful debut about a topic that is all too common for too many women - domestic abuse. Having lived through this before, I can say that this book rang very true and its portrayal of both the husbands' behaviors and those effects on their partners was spot on. You could feel the desperation of both women as their husbands exerted more and more control of them and their lives. Told from both women's perspectives as well as a police detective, I raced through this book to see how it would all end. I listened to the audiobook whenever I was away from my kindle and loved the narration. I think it was a huge help to have different women narrate Lea and McKenna to help keep things clear. Highly recommended - can't wait to read more from this author!

"I could no longer just wait for something to change. I couldn't keep waiting for a solution to fall into my lap. I would be waiting forever.
I would die waiting."

I really, really, REALLY liked this book. I read it compulsively. The twists start early and just keep coming. I enjoyed the heck out of this and it would have been a five star read had it not been for the end. At the end of the story I felt like the tone of the characters changed and I didn't really understand why. Otherwise, this book was well-written, fast-paced and different.

Two Women. Similar circumstances. Two Perfect husbands. Control.

I every second of this book! Two women, Leah and McKenna, are married to Jerk 1 and Jerk 2 respectively, they have something in common, have never met and yet....

This was a great listen and I loved how things unfolded. I found myself rooting for the two women, booing, and hissing at other characters, and thoroughly enjoying myself. This book deals with very difficult subjects - domestic abuse being one and the author addresses that in the author's note. I also appreciated that she showed that this can happen to anyone and how it may start gradually and evolve from there.

I enjoyed the separate voices/ POVs in this book and enjoyed the detective in this book. I was happy with how everything unfolded. Terrific pacing and twists.

I can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next.

Addictive, hard to stop reading/listening and thought provoking.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Favor is the debut novel by Nora Murphy.

Leah and McKenna have never met. They are both victims of domestic violence at the hands of their husbands.

Vigilante justice at its finest. I couldn't help but root for the "bad guys" .I felt their pain and terror right along with them.

Detectives are working their hardest to solve the crimes. Will they prevail? You will only know if you read it for yourself.

I can't wait to find out what this new author will write next.

Thanks to netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for the arc.

Some of the most fun books to read, in my opinion, are dark and twisty with flawed characters that you like and resent at the same time for their choices. The Favor is the tale of two women, strangers to each other, who have eerily similar lives. Successful professionals who are married to professional men and living in happy, somewhat wealthy neighborhoods. Seems like a fairy tale except for the fact both men are misogynistic, manipulative and abusive to their wives. Leah, our main character, has been drowning herself in vodka to avoid thinking about her situation. She knows she needs to get out of the basement bedroom her husband has banished her to, but some days are easier in a fog of existence. One day at the liquor store she catches sight of McKenna and is more than curious about her life given she seems to have some things in common with her. She follows her home, sort of becomes a stalker, but then one night throws herself into McKenna’s life in an irrevocable way. This page turner had my full attention and I truly enjoyed it.

Oh I just adored this one, It was such a fun suspense/thriller. It was fast paced and a quick read. If you are looking for something just fun to read. Grab this one for sure

Leah and McKenna have never met, but they lead lives that are parallel. When Leah notices that McKenna is in trouble, can they meet and save McKenna? Or will everything fall apart and everything end?

This was a well written domestic thriller. Two women in similar situations do a favor for each other. Not a typical favor, but a life changing favor. It allows each woman to empower themselves and to move on with their lives. The way the author intertwined the two womens lives, even though they didn’t know each other before the incident, was very well done. This was a good who done it, domestic thriller, especially throwing it in from the detectives perspective.

3.75 stars (rounded up to 4). I enjoyed this novel. I liked both the characters of Leah and McKenna. The pacing was good, the storyline interesting. The descriptions of the abusive relationships were (painfully) accurate. The only thing I didn't like were the chapters from the perspective of the detective. He seemed a bit simple.

"Staying is dangerous. Leaving could be worse.

Leah and McKenna have never met, though they have parallel lives.

They don’t—ever—find themselves in the same train carriage or meet accidentally at the gym or the coffee shop. They don’t—ever—discuss their problems and find common ground. 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."

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Marten's/Minotaur Press for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It was hard to put down Nora Murphy's The Favor. From the first sentence, the story hooked me and I had to keep reading to see how the story would unfold.

Told from the point of view of two women who have never met each other, we learn that being controlled is not so easy to come out from under. Leah has married a wonderful, charming lawyer. Being a lawyer herself, they've quickly gotten into a routine of life and work. But when Leah arrives home one evening and her husband is upset she doesn't remember it is their one month wedding anniversary, his personality seems to change in an instant. McKenna has been married for a while to her handsome doctor husband. She is also a doctor, a pediatrician, but when she had a miscarriage, her husband turns into someone she doesn't know.

Both women experience different abuse from their spouses. Both women have a hard time trying to cope and survive. When they unknowingly cross paths, their stories began to change. I won't give any spoilers away, but this is what kept me reading until I finished in a matter of days.

Nora Murphy knows how to catch you and reel you in with her suspenseful writing. I am looking forward to more installments from her!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the digital ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.