A gripping domestic suspense for fans of Behind Closed Doors and The Girl on The Train, Nora Murphy's The Favor had me invested though whole time. I did find it really hard to hear how terrible and gaslight-y these husbands were at all times. And the ending was fairly predictable (I didn't find myself waiting to know WHAT happened a much as just hearing HOW it all played out.) But I enjoyed it still.

Thank you Minotaur Books for my copy.

Leah spends an ordinary Friday stopping by the liquor store to get her fix. In line she sees a woman who reminds her of herself, when she was happier, healthier, ignorant of the world. So she follows her home. What unfolds is a domestic thriller reminiscent of strangers on a train. But the unasked favor that Leah does for McKenna cannot go unanswered. What will two, desperate women do to escape the men they thought they knew? And can they keep each other's secrets?

The Favor is fast paced and pulls you in almost immediately. The characters are real, and the author does a great job at demonstrating how even the strongest women can find themselves in abusive relationships. The abuse starts out subtle, but escalates quickly as McKenna and Leah's husbands gain control over their wives. The emotions ran high but the ending was satisfying. Great quick thriller read!

This is one of my many ARCs I’m working through on NetGalley this year. It published back in May.

I really enjoyed this high-intensity thriller - it especially impressed me as a debut. I remember thinking that the journey was a little predictable, but still a fun ride to be on. I’ll definitely be checking out more from Murphy!

3.5 stars!

THE FAVOR is a gripping debut domestic suspense novel that explores the compassion and depth of what can happen when women, pushed to the limit, take matters into their own hands.

I love supporting a debut author, and I was excited to read The Favor by Nora Murphy. Leah and McKenna are living similar lives, and have a lot in common, but have never met, until one day Leah sees McKenna in a store and decides to follow her.

I enjoyed both the physical book and the audiobook, which was narrated by a cast, including Dylan Moore and Leon Nixon, and Sarah MolloChristensen.

*many thanks to Minotaur and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy for review

I was shocked this was a debut. Her writing is fantastic. I thought the plot moved along at a great pace and the characters were intriguing. Can’t wait to read her again!

Thank you to netgalley.com for this ARC (even though I read it afterwards).

This was a great, twisty turn-ey book and hard to put down. While there are difficult scenes of domestic violence portrayed as well as murder, I had to keep reading to find out what happened to the main characters. At times, I was angry and sad for them.

The story was well told and well written. Look forward to more book by this author!

I always enjoy when an author brings up domestic abuse, and helps the reader to understand why it's not so easy to just leave or understand why they can't just stop the abuse.

The book starts with a bang, and ends with a bang, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute in between. While there wasn't a big plot twist that I wasn't aware of while reading, I thought the writing was great and was an awesome debut.

It was TOO slow. That's the review. It was too slow and the story line was just a little bit too unbelievable.

I struggled with writing a review for this because even though the book was very well written I couldn’t get over the far fetched storyline. I’m still giving it a good rating though.

This was not a fast-paced thriller. It was however a slow read. I did like the whole storyline, but I wished it had been faster, more edge of your seat. It took so long to get to the point. We get 3 POV’s in this one with Leah, McKenna and a police officer. I did enjoy the writing from this debut author and look forward to her next book.

Leah understands that what’s inside a home can be far more dangerous than what’s outside. So when she notices someone else who may be starting down the same path she’s on, she pays attention. She watches over McKenna from afar. Is she trying to spy on McKenna or is she trying to save her.

Leah and McKenna have never met. But they will.

Who can save who? Great book. New author for me will read more of her books.
Check her out with this stunning book.
Thanks to the author, netgalley, and Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review.
Published May 31st 2022

4 stars! The Favor is a domestic thriller that does not disappoint! Recommend!!!
Thank you to Nora Murphy, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this novel in exchange for a review. This novel released on May 31, 2022.

Very edgy book including vigilante justice. Kept me up late at night with the lights on! Excellent debut for this author.

This was an amazing book. I definitely recommend this. It’s not a lighthearted read. It’s a dark subject, but we’ll handled and we’ll written.

The Favor by Nora Murphy was easily one of my top books of the year and being a debut, I'm excited to see more from this author! Leah and McKenna are both stuck - in life, in their careers, in their marriages. They live very similar lives without knowing it. All they know is they are stuck, and they don't want to be. When Leah catches a peek into McKenna's home one night and sees the secret McKenna and her husband keep, she decides to intervene. I really don't want to say much more because I don't want to spoil it, but this was such a good, unique concept. There's definitely some content warnings I could give for this book - domestic violence, alcohol, etc. Either way, I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to people who like to read dark twisty novels.

3 for neutral, was unable to access my netgalley account for months, until today. Because of this, I was unable to see which books I needed to read. I apologize for the inconvenience and hopefully will not have any more issues in future.

If you like domestic suspense/thriller authors like Sally Hepworth, I think you may like The Favor, the debut by Nora Murphy that came out in May. Thank you to Minotaur Books/St Martin’s Press for offering me a Netgalley widget in exchange for my honest opinion. I picked it up after pub day and I finally got around to reading it this weekend. I did a mix of the audiobook and reading the ARC, but I found myself reading more than listening because I was able to read it faster than the narration, even when sped up! Two females who don’t know each other find out, almost by accident, that they are in similar situations, even though they’ve barely interacted. I liked how one woman was nearly stalking the other and then it reversed. I was invested in the plot throughout, and I was surprised by the ending. Content warning: the plot involves domestic abuse, with both physical and emotionally controlling/gaslighting males, and one female narrator is unreliable due to overconsumption of alcohol. I’m excited to read more from the author in the future!

The Favor, the first book by Nora Murphy, is a domestic thriller, but it is also a treatise on the proliferation of domestic violence in US society. Here the author takes an interesting viewpoint. Her two main characters are highly educated, formerly independent women who have both found themselves married to partners who want to subjugate them. I think so many of these stories emphasize women who don't see a way out, but in the case of these women, it would appear they have an easy out, so why don't they take it? This is the question the author tries to answer as she fleshes out her characters, and I think she does a good job of it.

Leah observes a woman in a liquor store who captures her attention, and she follows her home. She is intrigued by the woman and finds out more about her. Her name is McKenna, and as Leah secretly observes McKenna and her husband through their lit up windows, she eventually witnesses an incident of domestic violence. Leah's rection to this drive the plot forward.

Leah was further down her path of being an abused spouse, and had turned to drinking. For McKenna, this is a more recent development. Both women feel trapped. What happens to them next is the crux of the story.

The book is narrated by Leah, McKenna, and the detective, Jordan. At first Jordan's storyline, at least the personal stuff between him and his partner, seemed a little random. But the author used this information at the end to help tie up the ending.

My only complaint is that the two main characters spent a lot of time ruminating about their life, their marriage, and how they've ended up in this position. I thought it was a little too much and slowed down the story unnecessarily. But other than that, the author put forth a very interesting read and an unusual plotline. I'm always interested in the author, and what led them to write this book, and in this case, Nora Murphy is an attorney who has worked with and represented women who are victims of domestic violence. This is a well written book with an interesting story, and that puts forth information on an interesting societal problem.

A great, solid, psychological thriller that does involve domestic violence - trigger warning there.
2 women are strangers, but each have an abusive husband. The women coincidentally cross paths, and what ensues is a thrill ride of twists and turns.
At first, I sometimes got the 2 women confused as their stories were closely aligned, but it all worked out.

Highly recommend!