A drama about a group of friends whose intertwined lives lead to disaster. Set in Scotland the characters are a mix of different races, cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds. Wives and husbands living two different lives that ultimately collide. A good representation of the lives one leads in private versus the public.

This is one cleverly titled book. We have dirty laundry, real and metaphorical, popping up all over the place. For a small town in Ireland, there is a lot of monkey business going on. At first glance, we just think we are dealing with your neighborhood mean girl vs. the resident social influencer. There is so much more going on behind the scenes. Our three neighbors are all ethnically and economically diverse. The three moms--Chiara, Lauren, and Mishti--are all full-time moms. The dads--Gerry, Sean, and Parth --are all busy in their own orbit. Their paths cross in unexpected ways as we go back in time to view the events that lead up to what happened on September 30. Just one tip: watch the time stamps when you are in the "Now" chapters in the last part of the book. I enjoyed putting all the pieces together and with a digital version, I did a bit of flipping back and forth to check for details. I might have gotten lost if I listened to this one. A creative debut. Will look for more in the future from this author.

Thank you to Random House/Ballantine and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

There is so much exposition that we never get to the murder until near the end. Would have been better to start off with a tease to draw in the reader. I wasn't bored just underwhelmed. Too slow for me.

Ciara has the perfect life to her Instagram followers and the neighborhood women. Only her neighbor and friend, Mishti, and her enemy, Lauren, have any idea what her life is really like.

I love books with suburban women behaving poorly and this one really had a bad suburban woman! I kept waiting to see how far she would push things and how much everyone else would accept. I got my answer and the ending was just perfect. It really told a story with a meaningful ending.

“If she wanted to make a difference in her life, he would join her in smashing their porcelain mugs. He’d tear down the curtains with her. He’d laugh while she scream-cried.”

Dirty Laundry comes out 4/4.

Dirty Laundry by Disha Bose is a domestic thriller, with three couples that are neighbors and all have dysfunctional relationships. While it is billed as a twisty mystery, I found the twists to be somewhat less than surprising, and the relationships were horrid. There was not a single character in the story who I liked, the husbands were all jerks and the female friendships were portrayed like those of middle school bullies. I think that was kind of the point, though, as no one was beyond reproach, every character was easy to dislike and everyone was a viable suspect.

Overall, the book was an okay read, and some will enjoy the social media focus of the main character, Ciara Dunphy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the digital ARC of Dirty Laundry by Disha Bose. The opinions in this review are my own.

At first I wasn't sure about this one as I've read many books of this type before.

But what made Dirty Laundry stand out for me was the three POV characters. Ciara, the mean girl influencer, was the least interesting. Lauren is a little more unconventional, a free spirit who lives with the father of her three children. Mishti came to Ireland from Calcutta and struggles to connect to her husband, with whom she has an arranged marriage.

Gradually, you see how the lives of these three intertwine in interesting and dangerous ways.

Liked Disha Bose's writing and will keep an eye out for what she comes out with next!

Ciara Dunphy looks like she has it all, but looks can be deceiving. Queen bee of her Irish village, the women all look up to her. They all want to be her friend, except for the one lone villager, Lauren, who sees through her facade. As an influencer, Ciara posts photos and advice, but Lauren frequently calls her out on her antics. Lauren is unmarried, but lives with her childrens disheveled father and has somehow got off on the wrong foot with Ciara. Now everyone in the village hates Lauren, who has always been an outcast in the village. Ciara has taken Mishti, a transplant from India in an arranged loveless marriage, under her wing and considers her to be her best friend, but Ciara might have taken things too far this time. Is Mishti now on Lauren’s side? When Ciara’s husband decides to take the kids and give Ciara a night alone … someone comes for a visit … someone who wants her dead! Three very different couples, each of those remaining has a motive, but who will benefit the most? As the couples air their dirty laundry, Bose gives us many reasons to keep guessing who killed Ciara until the very end! Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Three couples
Small Irish village
Best friends
Secrets
Drama
Gossip
Domestic suspense
Mystery
You get a bit of everything reading Dirty Laundry.
I wasn’t a fan of any of the characters.
All in all, a ok read for me.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 stars. Meet Ciara, Lauren, and Mishti. Ciara is the queen bee of the small Irish village where all three women live, with her perfectly-filtered blond family and influential Instagram account. Lauren is Ciara's exact opposite: A crunchy and disheveled mother of three, she has strong opinions about Ciara that she isn't afraid to share. And Mishti is an immigrant whose friendship with Ciara is one of the only bright spots in her cold, lonely life. When Ciara is found dead at the bottom of her grand staircase, there's no shortage of suspects. Self-preservation is the name of the game, and if that means airing the neighbors' dirty laundry, then so be it.

Dirty Laundry is a devious domestic suspense novel that kept me engaged from start to finish with its unique take on the "behind closed doors" trope. Beginning with Ciara's murder then stepping back to dissect the events leading up to it, and told from the points of view of all three women, its propulsive narrative makes it a difficult book to put down. Debut author Disha Bose uses her three central characters to explore topics like the toxicity of social media, cultural differences, the complexities of female friendship, and how personal histories can affect relationships of all kinds, and she had me hanging on every word.

There isn't a lot of nuance to the characters; it's obvious from the beginning who we're supposed to hate and who we're supposed to like (and really, Mishti was the only character I liked or sympathized with). This is also one of those books where all the male characters are THE WORST. These two factors would usually turn me off, but it didn't bother me so much in Dirty Laundry. If done right, books about horrible, self-absorbed people being dysfunctional and terrible can actually be kind of fun -- and for me, this one was definitely done right. I think a lot of readers will enjoy the voyeuristic glimpse it provides into the unfiltered lives of seemingly well-adjusted families. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the advance reading opportunity.

This was most definitely not for me. I would say reading this was the equivalent to watching a bad episode on bravo where literally nothing happens, you just learn about the characters. I kept waiting for the tea to spill but there was nothing, it’s called Dirty Laundry insinuating there must be secrets to be aired. The title is the most interesting part of the book. Without spoilers basically something very “C-list” happens in the first 10% of the book, the next 80% is nonsensical background that barely carries the plot, last 10% it’s finally over. Dirty Laundry? More like a shirt you wore for 3 hours.

GMA book club April pick. This is a gripping debut novel.

The storyline focuses on three couples who are neighbors in a small village in Ireland:

Ciara and Gerry live in the biggest home on the block where Ciara spends her days creating the picture perfect images of her seemingly perfect family to upload for her Instagram followers. Gerry is a successful workaholic.

Lauren and Sean who are not married, but have three kids together. They are the outcasts of the neighborhood and struggle to fit in with the cliques.

Mishti and Parth are married due to an arranged marriage. Mishti is not happy in her marriage, but truly loves her daughter. She also happens to be Ciara's best friend.

Things are not always as they seem. Ciara seems to have the perfect life and have it all together. Except that she is found dead in her own home. The book starts out with the details and then gives a backstory and delves into the lives of each of the three couples. The author did a great job brining the characters to life. The characters for the most part are unlikeable which seems to be the author's intent. My favorite character is Mishti even though I felt bad for her. She is constantly putting her own happiness aside for the sake of others.

This one is a slow thriller and does not have a huge twist at the end. The highlight of this book lies in the character development.

I can see why this one is a GMA pick!

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This isn't normally my kind of book so I was really surprised when I actually liked it a lot! It wasn't like, the world's greatest piece of literature, and it was kind of silly, but also captivating.

This book is definitely not a thriller. I was terribly bored from start to finish and the characters were absolutely awful.

Ciara Dunphey is the picture of perfection. She's Instagram famous and is married to well-to-do Gerry and they have two children together. She's also the most popular woman in their village and she always has an entourage of kiss ass women following her around. *smooch smooch*😚

One of her entourage is Mishti, who recently moved here from Calcutta with her husband of arrangement, Parth. They have a loveless marriage but a beautiful daughter that Mishti loves more than anything. She isn't sure why the popular Ciara has taken her under her wing but she'll do whatever it takes to stay there. Better to be part of the clique than the outcast.

Speaking of the outcast, that would be Lauren. Lauren is a bit bohemian with her long flowing skirts and disheveled appearance. Married to an older man and with three kids that can often be seen running naked through the yard. Her and Ciara have never seen eye to eye and Ciara makes sure that no one she's friends with will ever befriend Lauren.

Now one of them is dead and their dirty laundry is about to be aired out and exposed.

There isn't enough bleach to cleanse these lost souls. Talk about terrible people. Mishti is the only exception. Ciara and Lauren are just awful and the husbands? Oh boy, they're even worse. It's one of those books that you just can't look away from. It's a spin cycle of secrets that will have you feeling much better about your own life. Trust me.

Sharp writing and short chapters make this a page-turner. So I say pop some popcorn, pour some wine, and settle in for some gossip galore. Your laundry can always wait until tomorrow. 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for my complimentary copy.

After reading the first few chapters of this book, I thought this would be a DNF. Problem was I could not stop reading this book!!
It's a compilation of women living their lives on social media, competing to always be the best wives, mothers, and women.
A fictional idea for the Real Housewives of Dublin! Yet I couldn't stop reading!
I wanted the main character to have an unhappy ending. So I kept reading!
Yep! It's a 5 star read!
This book was sent to me by NetGalley for an honest review.

Good story line and characters. I enjoyed the book. It was really well written. Loved the story line and like how it all came together. And it was really good.

2⭐️

Influencer Ciara Dunphy has a picture perfect life. At least that’s what her mommy-blog, Instagram followers believe. But in real life, she’s constantly arguing with her daughter and a disinterested mother to her toddler. She has a feud with the neighbor Lauren, belittles her “best friend,” Mishti, and thinks her husband is a deadbeat. Oh, and she’s having an affair.

As time goes on, Ciara starts showing her true colors and everyone in her inner circle has a reason to want her dead.

Literally nothing happens in the book. I got to the 85% point before anything even remotely exciting happened and then everything was rushed for the last 15% of the book.

It was an easy read which is the only reason I finished it. None of the characters were likable. There were several side plot points that didn’t get a resolution. Biggest example-what was the point of bringing the foot fetish into the story if it doesn’t have anything to do with the main plot?

Thank you Netgalley and Ballantine books for providing this ARC on exchange for an honest review.

I did not finish this book. I read 56% and still wasn’t very invested in the story and didn’t find myself excited to pick it up. I appreciate the opportunity to read it but it just wasn’t for me.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. Everyone has a secret and everyone is selfish. The characters were really unlikeable. It was difficult the switching of narrators. I did appreciate the interesting look a female friendships. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Even in suburban Ireland, stay-at-home wives with young children hide behind their Instagram filters while their real home life falls apart. Ciara and Lauren are neighbors—but certainly not friends. Lauren’s life is chaotic but is based on love. Ciara, an important, at least in her own mind, Instagram influencer, has an enviable life from the outside. But inside her home, the Dirty Laundry is both physical and metaphorical.

Some people just deserve to die.

When Ciara is found dead, there are plenty of suspects. Was it Lauren? Was it the husband that Ciara had married for his money with little, if any, love between them? Or could have Ciara’s best friend, Mishti, an Indian ex-pat, done it? And if so, why?

The entire book is a flashback. While I normally abhor those types of plots, this one kept my interest. Almost everyone in this small cul-de-sac has a secret. Their lives are driven by selfishness. I read Dirty Laundry in a one-day frenzy because I just couldn’t wait to find out what the next twist would reveal. If you like twisty slice-of-life domestic thrillers with an unusual setting, don’t miss this book. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars!

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