This is a well conceived and delivered story. Six couples, all at one stage or another of expecting or hoping for a baby meet in a pre-natal class. Each couple has issues, some in their relationship each other, some because of an age gap, one couple because the baby they purchased in America does not materialise. Then there is the posh couple, Monica and Ed. She thinks she is better than the others having more money and a posh house. But is she not elderly to be having a baby? She has a teenage daughter by a previous relationship, Chloe. The book concentrated mainly on Jax who has a much younger partner, Aaron. She cannot understand who has it in for her as she suffers numerous incidents and online abuse. The pre-natal class is organised by Nina who has no apparent connections. The births and non-births are eventually celebrated at a class barbecue in the home of posh Monica. One falls to her death. There are then two detectives added to the mix one of whom also has fertility issues. Their progress towards determining what caused the death keeps the reader in suspense. The ending is unexpected but satisfactory. This is a well written book, full of tension. I recommend it.

This book was about a random group of people who joined a pre-baby group. There were a lot of characters to keep tracked of, but the author did a good job distinguishing them. There were two different timelines, one in the present and one leading up to the birth of the babies. The mystery unfolded slowly and there were some surprises for me. By the end, I had it mostly figured out, but it didn't take away from the story. I enjoy this author's writing style and will definitely read her again. A recommended read.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.

The Push is a complex and clever mystery. It is a fun read. I never took the characters or the issues at hand too seriously.

The basic mystery at the core of this novel is an accident, which may be a murder, that killed someone at a house party. Attendees at the house party were six couples, their instructor and the new babies born to the couples. The couples had all attended a course for expectant parents together. The party was intended to celebrate the newborn children, but the party was marred by the incident resulting in the death of one of the attendees. Even though the accident occurs at the beginning of the book, we don't find out who the victim was until halfway through the book. You find out how the death occurred at the very end.

But this is not the only mystery. For every couple, there is some other secret or mystery that needs to be uncovered. And the characters all lie. The reader knows they are lying, but needs to figure out why. That's what makes this book fun: the author is constantly keeping the reader guessing. I was taken in by this author game.

The structure of this book is a little complicated, flashing back to the weeks before the incident and also to the events of the day that led up to the incident from many points of view. I was able to follow easily, but this makes it the type of book you don't want to put down for very long.

Lots of surprises, all tied together with a bow at the end.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was quite the disappointing read for me. I loved the premise of a dead body at a party and the thrill of finding out whodunit. First the good parts, I thought the author did a fine job in tackling a retrospective look at the party, and kept the reader in suspense as to which party-goer died. Another fine job at what people go through to conceive a baby when things don't go according to Nature. Now for the downside, I thought the story dragged, and many parts were simply not logical, e.g. why would Monica attend the antenatal group at all? Why call attention to yourself? I had a real problem with that. Character development was minimal at best, although the author did a good job of introducing the characters by not overwhelming the reader. I'm torn about whether I'd recommend the book, maybe, depending on the reader.

I have read all of Claire McGowan’s books so I was delighted to be given the opportunity to receive an ARC copy of her latest novel, “The Push.” It is an engrossing murder mystery set in London involving the 12 members of an ante-natal group drawn together from different backgrounds, their only commonality the fact that they were expecting a child. At a post-birth party hosted by one of the members, someone takes a fatal plunge from a glass balcony to a rockery below. Alison, the detective investigating the incident, believes instinctively that the death was not an accident but has a hard time proving it.

The motives and background of each of the different characters are revealed through flashbacks beginning with the first group meeting to the day of the incident itself and their lives shortly afterwards. Each character is struggling with issues, both emotional and financial, which could provide a motive for murder. It is not until mid-way through the book that the actual victim is revealed, adding to the sense of mystery.

This was a deftly written mystery, which will leave the reader guessing until the very end. The characters were well drawn and their personal drama keeps the reader invested in the story. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good murder mystery with well-developed characters.

A body goes over a balcony with fatal results. Thirteen diverse people in the vicinity with no coherent account frustrate police attempting to carry out the investigation. A premise for a satisfying murder mystery that struggles to deliver on several levels. The two women police investigating officers have never worked together as a team; this given as the reason for inept interview techniques, failure to speak with all witnesses and allowing personal private issues to impact on the case. Frustrating for the reader who cannot avoid questions on how valid does this make the storyline . Then the exposure of couples Intimate lives on the journey through pregnancy, childbirth, accelerating through marital disharmony and breakdown . Again stretching the realms of possibility. Too much drama, insufficient in depth characterisation leaves us wondering if the storyline moves from the believable to the ridiculous and do we identify or care enough. Finally the denouement of perpetrator. From early chapters it became obvious an identity scam involving a baby had occurred yet we were expected to believe the police did not discover this until conclusion of book. Too much going on, little enough believable actions and hugely unlikely situations make for a frustrating and unsatisfactory read. Many thanks to publisher and NetGalley for ARC.

A diverse group of people attend a barbeque after their babies are born each in different ways. Someone falls off a balcony to their death. Who is it and why? Everyone questioned says it was an accident? But was it? DCI Allison Hegarty has the task of finding out whodunnit. I liked this book very much because you do not find out who the victim is till half way thru the book. My only reason for not giving 5 stars is this is told from so many perspectives on a non linear narrative which brought the story all over the place. I also had a hard time liking most of these characters. They were all flawed in some way, which made the story entertaining, but no one relatable for me to root for

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for an early release of The Push. This was an Awesome book!!!! Took a bit to get into but once you were engaged, you cannot put down. There were a lot of stories in this plot and they were all interesting. Very well written. I Loved it! I’m sad it ended.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

The Push is probably the best-written, multiple point of view, multiple timeline, multiple character voice, utterly unpredictable mystery I've read this year.  So good!  The last quarter was a marathon and I have the elevated heartbeat on my FitBit to prove it.

I had really mixed reviews on this book. I had heard a lot about the author and actually have "The Other Wife" in my library yet to read, but when I received a copy of this from NetGalley I read it first. On the one hand, this was a book I couldn't put down if only to find out if I was right about who did what to whom. On the other hand, there's a huge amount of racism, sexism, ageism and I don't know what all "isms."

Especially in this divisive day and age, some of those things are really offensive to read about. But, if one sort of puts blinders on that and just looks at the novel from a pure perspective of it being a thriller or mystery or detective series or something along those lines, then it was a page stopping book. I started having suspicions about certain characters in the book after I had it confirmed on who had "been pushed," but I just couldn't put the book down until I found out. In the end, the author weaves about six different stories seamlessly into one.

Maybe I should have given five stars just for the fact that I read it so quickly and wanted to keep going to find out what happened to each character. Maybe the author described the couples in the terms she did so as to bring attention to the "isms." If so, she did that well because the book definitely gives the reader insight into what each character is thinking and feeling and why. And, in the end, maybe that's exactly what gets the reader to appreciate the story. At any rate, I think I'll pick up another book by Clair McGowen just to see how that goes.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with a free copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Oh read an early copy of this book for review for Netgalley. The description was intriguing, but keeping up with the numerous characters took work. That was distracting when reading about the parents.
Give this a try as it might appeal.

Six women. All going through prenatal classes finally give birth. Monica decides to through a party for everyone to look at the babies and visit.

The party starts off very awkwardly and ends with a dead body.

None of these people were the least bit fond of each other so it made no sense to me why they would get together but I’m pretty sure we all knew what was up from the start.

There was every type of -ism you can think of in this one. Age, race, sex, fat-shaming, the anti-vaxxers, And of course your liars. All of them are liars and it was hard to read.

This was a difficult one to read. The people were not the least bit interesting and all they did was pick at each other while smiling.

There just was nothing in here worth reading.

NetGalley/ November 12th, 2020 by Thomas & Mercer

Was she pushed or did she jump?
Who knew an ante-natal group could hold so many secrets? This is a page-turner of a book that had me gripped until the end. Psychological thriller, mystery and suspense all rolled into one, with sensitive handling of the issues of adoption and infertility. This is the retelling of a whodunnit in a refreshing and original way, with plenty of twists and turns. Highly recommended.

This is the story of a group of women gathered for a series pre-birth classes. They all come from different backgrounds but here for a common goal - to find out what to expect at birth, and how to care for their babies. After the classes finish and the babies are born, they are invited to a barbeque at one of the parents' home. This is where something happens that brings out the stories of each set of parents.

This was a good if not a great read which had a fabulous idea of a classic who dunnit and a cast of unlike characters, one of whom was a killer.
Interestingly we do not find out the person who has been murdered until half way through the book, which was good at keeping my interest. The story surrounds an eclectic group of people attending an ante natal group. Each of the couples are quite diverse; an older mum to be with a younger partner, a lesbian couple, a couple waiting for an overseas adoption and the wealthy couple who host the party at which one of them is “pushed”.
I guessed fairly early on one of the main twists and as I got to the end the second fell into place.
It was a good read as opposed to a great read.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This reminded me a lot of 'Big Little Lies' by Liane Moriarty. We start off with someone dead, but we don't know who and we don't know what happened.
There is a very complicated timeline to keep track of. We have Jax counting down the weeks until the incident. There is DS Alison Hegarty in the present-day investigating, and we have the day of the incident seen from multiple points of view. Interspersed with the Jax sections and the day of the incident sections, we have flashbacks to events that happened years ago. So, it is a complex storyline. The author, however, has done an excellent job of portraying everything so that it is quite easy to keep up. Just remember to check the chapter heading before you delve in.
The story itself was quite slow going. We don't find out much about the person murdered until about 50% of the way in. We don't even know the gender up until then. The different points of view are what give this book momentum and the relatively short chapters. Even though not a lot is being discovered, you can still get through it at a good pace. There are little hooks at the end of some chapters, but you don't return to that perspective for some time, another good way to keep the drive of the book going.
I did guess who had been murdered and the big twist. However, it was still enjoyable to see it all unfolding and to fill in the gaps that had been created throughout.
There are a lot of characters, so the tying up of everything at the end was quite longwinded as you needed to have everyone's story tied up in a bow and nothing left unfinished.
Overall, it was a good read, and I read it quite quickly too. I didn't think it was as impressive as the other books I have read by this author, but I'd still recommend it to friends and family!

Six couples expecting babies get together in an ante-natal group run by Nina, a somewhat strange woman who seems to know a lot about the couples. The couples are all very different and would not normally meet up and there are many tensions there. After the birth of the babies, one of the group, Monica (a monstrous creation!) invites them round to her house. Somebody dies, having fallen or having been pushed off a balcony onto a rock garden. Police officers investigate to try to find out what actually happened as no-one claims to have seen the fall.

I enjoyed this novel. It was a real page turner and the characters were well defined. It was easy to work out what was going on but I didn't mind this. Sometimes twists aren't all they are cracked up to be. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

I loved this book, and couldn't put it down. It is a well-written and gripping thriller, with some interesting plot twists. Yes, some of the characters are cliched, and the plot is slightly unbelievable at times, but the story is strong, and it raises interesting issues about parenthood, class and relationships, and Alison is a great character. I will definitely be recommending this book.

Review of Advance Reader’s Copy --- Uncorrected Proof eBook

Six couples, all expectant parents, participate in an antenatal program conducted shortly before their babies are born. A bit later, a celebratory get-together turns tragic when someone falls from a balcony and dies.

The incident, assigned to Detective Sergeant Alison Hegarty, appears to be a catastrophic accident, but Alison is certain there is more to know about the victim's fall. As she and her partner, Detective Constable Diana Mendes, investigate, they find few answers . . . and many secrets.

Was the fall an accident or was it the result of something more sinister? What will the investigation reveal?

The story, told from a variety of viewpoints, switches between the present investigation and the events of the recent past leading up to the barbeque party. The identity of the victim remains unrevealed . . . a clever ploy . . . until more than halfway through the book. However, this late revelation leads to a LOT of interviews with folks trying to keep their secrets hidden from the detectives.

The idea of a mystery revolving around a group of expectant mothers is a bit intriguing, but the group is the main problem with the telling of this tale. None of the expectant mothers seems particularly happy to be having a baby; most of the characters are truly unlikable [some bordering on absolutely despicable]; the biggest plot twist “surprises” of the narrative are glaringly obvious to astute readers long before the reveals late in the story.

Unfortunately, there’s an unsettling undercurrent running throughout the narrative that is simply quite off-putting. In addition, the judgments, the racism, the stereotypical comments, the catty age-comments, the meanness all worked together to make this book rather difficult to read.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley
#ThePush #NetGalley

This was really slow moving for me. I couldn’t get into the characters at all. Maybe the theme just wasn’t for me but it wasn’t as Thrilling as I had hoped it would be.