I picked this as it was recommended by Netgalley. I'm glad I did! It is written from so many view points that it gives you different ideas on the guilty party. Jax and Allison are the main people I looked to for answers. I did not expect the ending. I was hoping that Aaron would tell more about the job Nina got for him. A definite good read!

What an odd group of people you meet at this antenatal group (pre-natal in the US). There's 'Jax' 38 and her significant other, Aaron, 14 years her junior, the older couple, Monica (44) and Ed, the young couple, also not married, Kelly (22) and Ryan, the same sex couple, Cathy and Hazel, the asian arranged marriage couple Aisha and Rahul, and the successful lawyers-we-waited-too-long-to-get-pregnant and are adopting a baby couple, Anita and Jeremy. When they all get together a few weeks after the babies are born at Monica and Ed's house and there's a death there that same afternoon, in comes Allison, who is ironically suffering from infertility herself, and her partner to investigate. Early on, the author supplies you with quite the background on these people, uncovering their secrets as the investigation continues. The story certainly picks up as the 'who' and 'why' questions are answered. Fans of suspense/thrillers will enjoy this story.
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I liked this a lot. The multiple viewpoints and jumps back and forth in time could have been confusing, but were handled expertly. There were unexpected twists and turns along the way that kept me reading and an ending I didn't see coming. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.

When an afternoon lunch ends in a tragic death, the police officer on the case will have to confront six couples about what they did or didn’t see. As the officer tries to press people for information, her instinct raises the alarm on the fact that the death was more than just an accident. Author Claire McGowan brings together an interesting cast of characters in a plot that doesn’t quite gel in her newest book The Push.

At the age of 38, Jax is expecting her first child with her boyfriend, Aaron, who is 24. Jax has received a lot of flak from her mother and whispers in public about the apparent age difference, and she pretends not to care. But of course, deep down, she does.

She’s going to handle this like an adult, though, so she signs up for a prenatal class with Aaron where they meet five other couples who are expecting. Well, four couples and a woman, Kelly, who offers the explanation that her boyfriend really wanted to come but couldn’t make it. Jax can’t help but feel a turn of sympathy for Kelly who looks young and scared.

The attitude of Nina, the woman leading the classes, doesn’t help ease Kelly’s anxiety. In fact, Nina seems to be doing a fantastic job of elevating everyone’s fears, real or imagined, about what childbirth and rearing are all about. If Jax was apprehensive before, she’s downright worried now. Aaron tries to comfort her, but because he grew up in the foster system he has no frame of reference for what a stable family is.

It doesn’t help that recent events make her feel like she’s being targeted for some unknown transgression. Someone messes up her files at work. Another time the milk bottles she and Aaron have delivered are broken and the glass strewn over their front doorstep. Then mysterious emails show up at work that lead her supervisor to recommend taking maternity leave early.

When her pregnancy puts her health at risk, the doctor tells her she has no option but complete bedrest. The prenatal group is Jax’s only contact with other adults, yet she hates going there too. Monica and Ed, the upper class, upper crust, couple of the group set Jax’s teeth on edge. When Monica invites everyone to a post-delivery barbecue at her house, the only reason Jax accepts the invitation is because she doesn’t have the energy to say no. All of the members of the group show up at Monica’s house, and within hours one of them is dead.

The police come to investigate, and DS Alison Hegarty knows in her gut that the victim didn’t fall off the second-story balcony. Someone pushed the person off. As Alison starts her investigation, all the while navigating her feelings about her own infertility, she realizes all of the group members had something to hide. The pushback she receives from her commanding officer pressures her to use her wits and old-fashioned detective work to get to the heart of what really happened and why.

Author Claire McGowan gives readers insight into a variety of character types yet struggles to make them seem like well-rounded, three-dimensional people. Competing mysteries might make readers forget which one should take precedence: the attacks on Jax or the death at Monica’s house. The narration gives the sense that both are important and connected while also trying to remain coy about it.

The biggest mistake in the plotting comes in giving readers information the characters don’t have. Once readers find out key pieces of the mystery, the rest of the story becomes an exercise in patience to wait for the characters to catch up. Also, the handling of certain scenes will inadvertently reveal the truth behind some red herrings, making the book much less fun to read.

Despite all this, the construction of the plot will compel some readers to stick with it to the end. For those who want a fast mystery to read that doesn’t require a lot of personal investment, this might be good to pick up. For everyone else, I recommend readers Borrow The Push.

“Why was everyone in this group hiding something?” thinks the detective investigating the death of a pregnancy coach. Somehow, when the six couples from a childbirth group get together to celebrate and introduce their newborn infants, group leader Nina DeSouza falls from a balcony onto the rocks below. Or was she pushed?

The story unfolds in flashbacks told by the detective and different women in the group. Pregnancy and motherhood are the themes. Detective Alison and her partner Tom want desperately to have a baby but she is infertile. Anita and Jeremy treasure a grainy ultrasound picture of their future daughter who they will adopt from a surrogate. Kelly and hotheaded Ryan are together because of a surprise pregnancy. Aisha and Rahul are expecting after only a year of a possibly unsuccessful arranged marriage. Hazel tells the group that her partner Cathy is pregnant after artificial insemination. The gorgeous, modern, glass and stone house where the accident happened is owned by the uptight Monica and her wealthy second husband Ed. Their baby daughter and Chloe, her daughter from a prior marriage live with them. Although each of the women has a voice, Jax dominates. She’s 38 and her partner Aaron is 24. This will be their first child.

So much deception. Each couple at the party is dealing with secrets that threaten to destroy their relationships. And each couple comes face to face with those secrets at the party. That honesty cause events that will lead to Nina’s death.

The Push is more psychological drama than thriller. It is a brutal, realistic look at pregnancy and motherhood. New mothers so often want to do what is expected and what is pictured in magazines - everything early motherhood is not. Jax and her jealousy, her body issues and her depression perfectly illustrate that. It is a satisfying, well-plotted read. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK and Claire McGowan for this ARC.

This is a great crime thriller,
It took me a while to get into it due to all the different character names but it really pulled me once I’d got everyone worked out in my head.
All we’re told at first is someone has fallen from a balcony, but were they pushed?
We don’t even know who it is until half way through the book so it all adds to the mystery.
There’s a group of people attending a neo-natal class and then a party after the babies are born, which is when the death happens.
The chapters alternate between the past and the present investigation and it’s clear people are lying.
Alison has to work her way through all the lies to find the people who were with the victim before their death, and it’s not easy.
I loved the way the truth was finally revealed and definitely didn’t guess the identity of the person who pushed the victim over the balcony.
This is a unique crime thriller that well and truly had be hooked.
Thanks to Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

For my full review, please visit my blog.

The Push definitely made it onto my list of favorites of 2020, even though I probably won't be able to re-read it for a couple years. Now that I know what happened, I feel like I need to give myself a break until I can kinda sorta forget what happened and who did it.

Luckily, this book had several twists, because that helped it's not being horribly predictable. Right when I thought I knew what was going on, and even who died, something would twist and I'd be confused again. This confusion made me stick with the book, because I HAD to know what happened!

My favorite parts of the book were when Jax was narrating. She was so relatable, and I didn't feel like throwing a vase at her. Jax definitely made mistakes, especially in her relationship with her partner, Aaron, but she didn't let herself wallow in self-pity for long. She made her bed, and she was determined to lay in it and make it work.

Monica drove me crazy. You'll see what I mean when you read the book. She is a little bonkers, and determined to be perfect at everything, even though she's anything but perfect. She's all about how things look on the outside, even when the inside is a dumpster fire.

A reunion party celebrating six couples from a baby group should have been a happy occasion. But nothing goes according to plan ... some are celebrating, and others are filled with sorrow. Then someone falls from the balcony of the luxurious house where the party is held. The investigation into the fall that results in a group member's death reveals secret after secret and has the police asking if this "fall" was an accident.

The lead investigator, Alison Hegarty, has a nightmare case. A large number of potential suspects, and every one of them is hiding something. With the alternating POVs, you learn a good bit about all of the couples as the investigation unfolds. The list of possible suspects doesn't narrow quickly due to so many in the group being so evasive about what actually happened at the party and the events leading up to it. Interestingly, you aren't even sure who fell to their death until the middle of the book. The Push kept me engaged in the book with the "whodunit" aspect, the mystery around who the victim is, and the plot twists (some predictable, some not as much so).

I would have enjoyed The Push more if the characters were more likable. The majority of the characters are lying to their partners, the group, and the police. Because there's so much depth given to each character's backstory, you learn a lot about each one. I found myself not always caring about the individual characters because they were unlikable. Many of the characters were examples of what could go wrong during the happy, but potentially stressful, time of pregnancy and adoption. So, maybe that was the author's intent? Regardless, I commend the author for using the story as a vehicle to share a more realistic view of pregnancy and its challenges.

Overall, with its interesting plot and fast-paced writing, The Push is an enjoyable read -- more of a mystery than a thriller.
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Thank you to Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for the early copy of The Push. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.⁣

The storyline of this novel was interesting, and I loved the lead detective, Alison Heggarty, but I felt the pacing was wrong - too drawn out - and this made it easy to see the two major plot twists (Aaron’s parentage and Chloe’s real relationship) and therefore solve the mystery.

All in all, a good character-driven novel, but just too slow for me.

DS Alison Hegarty has a problem on her hands- who pushed someone off a balcony during what was meant to be a celebratory barbecue. You won't know who was killed until about half way through the book, by which point you might have decided to give up because, let's face it- most of these characters are unappealing. There were six couples at the party, all of whom have a story- and secrets. This moves between them and Alison and it goes back and forth in time as well. To be honest, this might have been better with fewer characters; it certainly would have made it easier to keep track of who goes with who etc. That said, I found myself engaged and turning the pages. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I'd like to see more featuring Alison.

I found this one a bit tough reading, it wasn't the style or plot but the subject matter, very intense. Perhaps needs a trigger warning.

A real page turner that kept me reading until the small hours. At the start we know something terrible has happened at the post-birth meetup of a baby group, but we don’t know what or to whom. Really well plotted and lots to keep you guessing here, and I very much enjoyed it.

Six couples join a baby group to learn about what to expect and get together for a party once their newborns enter the world. Unfortunately, something goes terribly wrong at the party and DS Alison and her partner are left wondering if it was an accidental fall or if it was a murder.

Told in many different points of views from past to present, this domestic thriller is easy to read and keeps your attention. I did find it a little confusing with all the different people to follow along and really didn't find many characters likeable. Maybe because I'm not a mother, I didn't find it relatable, but I did enjoy the drama filled environment McGowan presented. I liked the suspense of not knowing who was involved in the accident, and liked how it ended, even if it was a little predictable.

Thank you Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for my e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

6 couples from diverse backgrounds join an antenatal group. They meet to see the babies a few weeks after the last group meeting, at the poshest member of the group’s mansion. Someone dies. Did they fall, or were they pushed? In this story, we time jump from weeks before the births, to weeks after, from multiple different character points of view. The reader is finding out who died and how it came to be.

What this story did well: The author had a lot of characters at play, but she was quite good at reminding you who was who. The 6 couples at an antenatal group gone wrong was an intriguing premise. I enjoy the multiple points of view.

Why I gave it 3 stars: I didn’t particularly like or relate to any of the characters. They were all sort of awful humans in some way or another. I wasn’t invested in their fates. The big reveal(s) were easily worked out well beforehand.

My opinion could be completely different from your experience, should you choose to read this book. Don’t let me discourage you!

Thank you to Claire McGowan, NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to review.

The Push by Claire McGowan is a suspense thriller which starts off at a party, and one of the guests is dead. An antenatal group which meets at the local hall includes six couples getting ready for their newborn babies all due around the same time. The six couples could not be more different, socially, financially, the only thing that ties them together are the babies. When the babies are born, wealthy group member, Monica, decides to have a BBQ to show off their newborn and their elaborate McMansion, while keeping their teenage daughter behind the scenes. Monica plans everything so its just perfect, but when the group starts to spiral, someone falls from the balcony plunging to their death. Step in DS Alison Hegarty, herself struggling with her own infertility, as she begins her investigation with the members of the group, she is convinced this was not an accident. The secrets every one of these new parents hides are about to be exposed, whether or not they like it. Someone knew these secrets before the party began, and as the story unfolds, the truth will come out for each one of them, but is it enough for one of them to commit murder?

If you are a fan of Big Little Lies, you will really enjoy this novel. The story unfolds from the ending, so you know where you are headed, just not sure how you will get there. You find out about halfway through who the victim is, and I had an idea about who did it and why, but I was still surprised by the twist at the end, so keep reading. The characters secrets were all pretty interesting and a little coincidental they all end up in the same group, but it worked. Most of the characters were like able, the chapters go back and forth and Jax seems to stand out as the main character. Jax is one of the older mothers-to-be, with a very young boyfriend that is the father of her child. He past is one of many secrets it seems she would like to keep hidden, until someone is obviously out to get her, causing her to step back from her job at a charity. The other characters touch all types of secrets, addictions, affairs, overseas adoptions, and then there is Monica, who isn’t really likable at all. Shows you money can’t buy you everything. The novel comes together nicely, with a very surprising whodunnit at the end.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Thomas & Mercer Publishing and Claire McGowen for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was the first book I read from Ms. McGowen and I really enjoyed her writing style.

Each of the six couples who bring their young babies to the party become potential murder suspects and we must not forget the teenager as another potential suspect.
This story introduces us to the six couples, their babies and their families, jobs and individual quirks. At one stage or another, every single one of them becomes the prime suspect, only for the writer to introduce more information (investigated by the detective sergeant who cannot have children) to further complicate matters.
Most of the couples have a reason for being involved and mostly it includes something to do with having kids, adopting kids or losing kids.
The story takes us back in time as the build up to the party. It's only later the reader realises it served them with several clues which led to the death being investigated. Telling the story from the viewpoint of a different character every chapter didn't confuse the story, but added to the tension. We get to see how the newborns and the potential for new kids changes people's lives.
This is a most enjoyable read, it flows easily and kept me wanting to turn the pages. I'll go check out this writer's other books as she was new to me. I hope to continue to be impressed.

This was a thriller that attempted to deliver two big reveals at the end of the book, but both of them were obvious much earlier on, which was definitely a letdown.

DS Alison Hegarty is called to the scene of an accident? a crime? She's not sure, but there's definitely a dead body underneath a balcony at Monica and Ed's expensive estate. And there are at least a dozen possible suspects, all of them members of an expectant parent group, some of them who have had their babies, and some who have had sadder outcomes. Alison is given a week to gather information and evidence to see if she can even prove that there was a murder in the first place. But, of course, the book is titled "The Push," so that does give it away a bit.

While this book is told from multiple points of view, besides Alison, Jax is the biggest character. She is 38 -- ancient(!) -- and pregnant by her boyfriend, Aaron, who is (also shockingly!) only 24. She's not supposed to be on maternity leave for another month when the book starts, but emails have started coming into the children's charity she works with accusing her of sleeping with young boys, and she's put on leave early. With a failing career, an overbearing and condescending mother, and a boyfriend who lacks a lot of maturity, Jax struggles through the end of her pregnancy and the beginning of motherhood.

I thought the mix of characters was really interesting -- and I would have liked to spend more time with most of the other couples to learn more about their stories. I did think that the "bad" characters, though, where more caricatures of bad people instead of having a depth that a lot of people really do, especially since their motives were actually pretty complicated.

In terms of the big reveals at the end, I really wasn't surprised... Once you figured out who the body belonged to, all the other pieces fell together really quickly. And, honestly, I didn't think that the final outcome deserved the big police investigation.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for providing me with an e-galley of this book in exchange for my honest review. It has not influenced my opinion,

What do good parents do before the baby arrives? They prepare. And what could be better than a prenatal baby group? This is how six very different couples meet. Monica and Ed are already a bit older, but obviously they have everything under control and quickly take over the lead. Kelly is by far the youngest, insecure while her boyfriend and the baby's father, Ryan, is mainly absent. Anita and Jeremy cannot have a baby but have planned an adoption, whereas Hazel and Cathy opted for a donor. Aisha and Rahul keep mainly to themselves while Jax feels judged since she is more than ten years the senior of her partner Aaron. Nina is leading the group and preparing the future parents for the upcoming events. Yet, what they a not prepared for is a fatality at their baby welcoming barbecue.

I have been a huge fan of Claire McGowan's novels for quite some time and also her latest mystery did not disappoint me. A very diverse set of characters who all have their secrets they try to hide from the others but who, ultimately, have to give up and face reality. Narrated alternatingly between the time of the prenatal course and the eventful barbecue, we get to know the characters at two different points of time which is especially interesting because so much happens in between and, as a reader, you have to put together the single bits and pieces. Plus, it takes some time just to figure out what exactly happened during the barbecue and who the victim actually is.

What I admired most was how the characters were created and how each becomes a lively and authentic individual. Even though the number is quite high, they all get some specific traits and secrets which make them not only interesting but add to the overall suspense. There is a murder case but much more interestingly is to figure out the characters' little white or big fat lies.

At the same time, the author shows all the fears and insecurities which come with becoming a parent for the first time. A constant feeling of not being good enough and not caring enough accompanies the future mothers. The group pressure in the supposedly help group also plays an important role, some just seem to always be at the head of the class while others always fail. Much more than supportive, the group becomes highly competitive.

I thoroughly enjoyed the read, a perfect page-turner for me which brilliantly combines suspense with sarcastic humour and also serious moments.

I always read everything by this author. It wasn’t a quick read but it kept my interest. There’s a few book like this but it kept me guessing until the end.

A domestic mystery revolving around couples all expecting babies who meet through an antenatal group. Shortly after their babies arrive, they get together for a party where someone ends up dead. All have something to hide, and it’s not just about what happened at the party.

I was intrigued by the plot and interested in the secrets that each couple held. A little predictable but held my interest throughout. I just couldn’t get over these couples going to a party after having babies 2 or 3 weeks before!!