The Favor by Nora Murphy

Two women, both trapped in abusive and controlling marriages find their lives collide in a very unexpected way. Leah first spots McKenna at a liquor store, and is immediately drawn to her. She soon finds out that McKenna is living a similar terrified and lonely existence.

I loved this book! It was a great domestic thriller, with the right amount of suspense and mystery. I was hooked right in the first chapter and read the book in two sittings (two very long bedtimes since my 8 year old hates sleep). Leah and McKenna were so endearing and their husbands so disgusting. I was invested in their stories immediately. And I loved the addition of the detective’s point of view half way through the book.

Thank you to @minotaur_books for the advanced copy! I can’t wait to see what Nora Murphy comes up with in future books

Lots of trigger warnings for this one but i thought all of it was dealt with really respectfully and accurately. TW: miscarriage, physical abuse, emotional abuse, controlling behaviour, alcoholism.

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This story centers around abusive marriages. Readers should know that going in. The subject matter was dealt with respectfully.

I raced through the chapters from Leah and McKenna’s points of view. Detective Harrison’s we’re a little drawn out for my taste, but there is a reason why they were written as they were. It makes sense as you are reading.

It’s hard to believe this is a debut novel. I look forward to what the author writes in the future.

📚Book Review📚

Hey fellow Book lovers! Today I’d like to share a book I just finished.

The Favor/Nora Murphy
3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Favor, a gripping debut domestic suspense, explores with compassion and depth what can happen when women pushed to the limit take matters into their own hands.

This was definitely a slow burn, and I definitely enjoy a much more quickly paced read. However, I found myself rooting for the two ladies in this book the entire way through.

I felt as if the domestic violence in this book was tastefully written (if there is such a thing). I would still, however, caution anyone who may be triggered by domestic abuse to be aware before going in.

The premise of this book was really interesting, and full of possibilities which made me stick to the very end. I would give this book 3 stars mostly due to the slow pace. So, I think you should read this book if…

✔️you love a good debut
✔️you love a domestic thriller
✔️you love a slow burn

I’d also like to say thank you so much Net Galley, Minotaur Books and Author Nora Murphy for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review!

#from-publisher #netgalley #bookstagrammademedoit #recommededread #booksofinstagram #bookobsessed #bookworm #booksbooksbooks #bookish #booklover #bookstagrammer #iread #booklover #booksofig #booknerd #readersofinstagram #minotaurbooks #bookish #TheFavor

Wow! Just Wow!
Get ready for inability to put it down. You know where it's going but it's the ride that makes it. Finely drawn characters, smooth transitions among three perspectives, clear and clean prose. I read a lot of mystery/thrillers, and I really like this one. I can easily see it as a screenplay featuring two strong but tortured women leads.
Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for the ARC, but the opinion is my own.

A debut from a new author. A well written domestic suspense thriller. I would say trigger warning due to emotional abuse, physical abuse and controlling behaviors. Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a review.

She’s trapped. She fell in love with a charming, adoring, successful man… who she didn’t know at all. He’s controlling. He’s taken her career from her. He tracks her every move. Her world revolves around his moods and his whims and his rules. She’s Leah… And she’s also McKenna. These two woman have never met, but are living nearly parallel lives just a neighborhood apart. But when Leah happens to pass McKenna’s house one night, she recognizes herself through the window. Will Leah’s intervention end the nightmare for McKenna? Or begin a new one for them both?

When I see a book floating around #bookstagram months before its release, my antenna immediately rises and I instantly want to get my hands on it (although, if you know me, this doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll read it right away - LOL). When @minotaur_books was generous enough to share an ARC with me, I dove right in.

Early reviews are absolutely glowing, and for the first half of the book, I felt similarly. It had a strong start and the tension of a domestic suspense/thriller was palpable. With the alternating POVs and timelines, I was absolutely certain that there was some sort of sinister connection in Leah and McKenna’s (or their husband’s) backgrounds. Spoiler alert: There isn’t.

Once we hit the second half of the book, I was less enthralled. It lags a bit, and the tension of the investigation was less tangible. Ultimately, things took a turn for the predictable. You spend the latter 50% focused on the detective trying to solve the case, but as the reader… You already know what happened.. So it missed the mark, for me.

Altogether, I thought this was a good debut and I’m interested to see what comes next from the author! While I wouldn’t necessarily put this on your “must read” list for the summer, it may be worth picking up if you want something a little lighter and have the time.

This was an awesome book with quite a few twists and turns! It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time waiting to see what happened.

Nora Murphy kept me guessing through the entire book. What was going to happen? It really gave me some chills and I felt a little bit of anxiety throughout but I was really into this book. Leah and McKenna were great characters and were developed quite well. I can't wait to read more thrillers this year.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Trigger warning- Mental and physical abuse.
2 women crossing paths in a liquor store. Nothing is said, but a kinship is felt. Both are enduring spousal abuse. On the outside they have the perfect husbands, idealistic homes and promising careers. Below the surface they are living a nightmare. An unspoken pact is made. They will silently help one another. A police investigation ensues. A gut wrenching psychological thriller that will captivate you through the final chapter. 4 stars.

this was a solid start and a lackluster middle and an OK ending. Either i have just read too many similar stories or the writing was just not for me.
Thank you to the author , publisher and the NetGalley for the chance to preview The Favor.

This book had me on the edge of my seat at time. I really enjoyed the plot, Fast paced and suspenseful. Cant wait to read more by this author!

I received an ARC for my honest review. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher.

The Favor by Nora Murphy is a debut book. It was very interesting and kept my interest throughout. Leah is married to an abusive man and has started drinking. While out getting a bottle she sees McKenna. She follows her home.
The story moved quickly, and Leah takes care of Mckenna husband. I had to suspend belief a little bit because it was not clear what was going on.
Two women who did not know each other help take care of each problem.
The writing was very good, and the story moved along – In the present and going back to fill in the past.
Thank you, Net Galley, for an advanced copy for an honest review.

The Favor. Wow where do I start? Nora Murphy’s debut novel is an adrenaline rush from start to finish. It’s dark, it’s twisty and completely unputdownable.

Leah and Mckenna are strangers, yet they live very similar lives. They both live in an affluent neighbourhood, with big homes and fancy cars and they were both successful professionals. One a paediatrician the other a lawyer. Both women recently married, whom they thought were amazing respectable men, but once married discovered it was all a facade. Leah and Mckenna both became the victims of domestic abuse, dominated and controlled by their husbands.

No longer working, Leah turns to alcohol to cope with her abusive husband Liam, a well respected prominent psychiatrist. Leah’s life is miserable. She has lost her job and Liam has banished her from their bedroom as she is no longer the perfect wife physically. Leah spends her days planning her escape and hitting up liquor stores to support her habit. One day while purchasing alcohol at a liquor store Leah spots a woman, who looks just like her, but slimmer and dressed to the nines. For some reason Leah is drawn towards this woman and decides to follow her home.

Mckenna was a a successful paediatrician until her husband, Zack forbade her to work after she suffered a miscarriage. Zack isolated Mckenna from her family and friends and now that she is no longer working she is desperate to escape her marriage and her horrible husband. But Mckenna sees no way out. Zack will never let her go and will hunt her down if she leaves.

Mckenna and Leah are two strangers suffering in silence at the hands of their abusive husbands. Although they have never meet they end up saving each other from their torturous husbands by one simple deed.

The Favor focuses on domestic abuse and addiction. . While it is hard to read at times the storyline illustrates that abuse can happen to anyone, it knows no boundaries. Rich or poor, educated or not, a professional career or not. It can happen to anyone. While the solution to the abuse in the story is totally unrealistic and impracticable, it goes to show how far two strangers suffering the same fate will go to escape abuse.

Thank you to St. Martin Press, NetGalley and Nora Murphy for my electronic arc of the Favor in exchange for my honest review. I cannot wait for Nora Murphy’s next book.

Thank you Netgalley and Minotaur books for the advanced copy. This was a very good book and I fully enjoyed it. I wasn’t sure where it was leading and it was very good at keeping me on my toes. I’ll be keeping an eye out for further novels by Nora Murphy!

In The Favor (Nora Murphy) Leah and her husband are both attorneys and McKenna and her husband are both doctors. Neither of the four people know each other. But both Leah and McKenna have something in common. Both of their husbands are controlling and abusive, and things seem to be getting worse in each household. The pages fly by fast in this story. I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an early copy to review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Nora Murphy, and St. Martins Press for an E-arc of this debut novel in exchange for an honest review! What an absolute great debut! I loved this story and plot and it did not read like a debut at all. I appreciated the story being told in multiple POVs and it made me want to keep turning the pages!
I picked this one on NetGalley because I had seen it on Bookstagram but I didn't really know what it was about. I think going into this one somewhat blindly made the story that much better for me. This one comes out on 5.31.22!

Thank you NetGalley for providing this book for an honest opinion. I did enjoy reading the Favor. The author did a great job of creating likable and sympathetic characters. She also explained domestic abuse very well. People who have never experienced it struggle to understand why someone wouldn't just leave. This book helps the reader understand what is going on with these two women. It was an emotional book and of course I was rooting for the women throughout the entire book. I both liked and disliked the ending at the same time. I guess I just wanted it to be wrapped up a little more for me. I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to others by this author.

3.5 stars
I enjoyed this tense, suspenseful domestic thriller. When the lives of 2 women who happen to live within a mile of each other, are married to the same sort of man, and even look alike intersect in the most violent way, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to see what would happen next. The only thing was, it really required quite a bit of suspension of disbelief. If you thought about too hard, there was just no way it could have happened. Who just happens to blow someone’s head off because she *thought* something was going on? That she *felt* that stranger was just like her?? I can’t imagine it.
But it was an imaginative twist on a revenge tale.

The Favor by Nora Murphy is a 2022 must read for fans of thrillers and revenge crime fiction. This novel is sure to be one that everyone will be talking about this summer. With heavy, triggering topics, such as physical and emotion abuse, this book might not be for everyone, but it definitely sends a message that abuse can happen to anyone, even strong, educated, and successful individuals.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Many thanks to Net Galley for this advance copy. While I believe this domestic violence thriller will appeal to many, it was just not for me. Very predictable, obviously repetitive, it was a chore to read.