Who is guilty? Reminiscent of the Agatha Christie books that narrowed down suspects... A superb cut above the other reads of domestic thrillers that I have read lately!

An antenatal class with 6 widely differing couples, is invited to a party given by Monica after the birth of all of the babies. All 5 couples plus Monica, 44 years old, her husband, Ed, and her daughters - Chloe (15) and baby, Isabella are at the party. More than wanting a party, Monica wants to show off her beautiful house with the glass windows and rockery...

It is quite obvious that Monica feels "better than" the others, (So why the party?) To put them in their place, the reader might guess.

The party - the great BBQ at Monica's wonderful house - turns sour....

Enter DS Alison Hegarty on the scene... Alison has infertility problems. Maybe not the best DS to be in charge, here - with four babies?

I have not YET read any books by Claire McGowan but I certainly intend to do so!

This is not one to miss...

Many Thanks to Thomas & Mercer, Amazon, UK and NetGalley for a great preview of a solid mystery/thriller.

The push off a balcony just after the push of labour seems arduous. Yet the new thriller from McGowan makes light work of the motives for motherhood and for murder.

The story follows DS Hegarty as she investigates the fall from a balcony of a party guest. The guests are new parents from various backgrounds, having all met at a local ante-natal group. But as the crime scene is examined, it would seem that every guest has something to hide from the police and from each other.

There were many twists and turns to the story, but I was able to guess at a few of them. Having said that, watching them unravel was still entertaining and I appreciated the exploration of the diverse journeys to motherhood as well as the story being told from the viewpoints of the different characters.

Wow y’all this one was really really good!! Definitely a thriller and will leave you wanting more. I’m glad I was able to read this one. Loved the storyline!

The Push, by Claire McGowan, is a phenomenal book with well developed characters and a fantastic plot loaded with twists! I absolutely loved this book! It was an astounding psychological thriller because any one of the characters could’ve been guilty of doing more than they admitted to at the party, and more than they admitted to in their relationship with their significant others. Claire McGowan did a brilliant job writing The Push because it pulls you in from the very beginning and will keep you hanging on until the end. It’s an irresistible page turner and is guaranteed not to disappoint readers! How could couples who were so different and have so very little in common seem to pull together over what happened at the party and claim to have seen nothing? This book is sure to be a hit, and is a must read! The Push is stunning, and is crammed full of unexpected twists and ending that you surely won’t see coming! The story weaves back and forth between characters from different points of views with timelines that countdown to the date of the party. Thank you Claire McGowan, Thomas & Mercer, Amazon Publishing UK, and Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this extraordinary book. My Feedback is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The book starts off in the aftermath of a tragedy that occurred during a party. Despite each of the individual’s claims to have witnessed nothing, Detective Alison felt a strong sense from the moment she arrived that it was murder. Were her initial feelings because of her personal situation with her difficulties conceiving, or was it because there was more going on than what the party guests admitted to? Claire McGowan gives the reader just enough information about the tragic death at the beginning, but doesn’t reveal so much that it spoils the intrigue and curiosity. This book was impossible to put down!

The death occurred at a perfectly planned party that was meant for six couples and six babies. The hostess and host (Ed and Monica) were overly attentive to making sure that every detail was carefully attended to. Monica was thrilled about showing off her and her husband’s new (and very elaborate and expensive) house. Monica was proud to show off her wealth and was strongly opinionated. She had a teenage daughter from her previous marriage, and much to her satisfaction, her ex husband seemed to want nothing to do with their daughter. The guests she had invited were diverse couples who she and her husband had met when they attended a class for expectant parents. Although the class lasted for several weeks, the party was the first time they were all getting together with their babies..

There was a large age difference between Jax and Aaron, and much was speculated about that. Jax worked for a charity organization to help children who were living in struggling circumstances. Aaron had grown up in a struggling environment himself. When emails, notes, and social media messages start targeting her as an abuser (in the sense that she took advantage of young clients), she’s at risk for losing her job and is desperate to keep some things hidden. She runs it over and over in her mind trying to figure out who cold possibly be so vengeful and why, but can’t think of anyone. One night after she wakes up from a nightmare she realizes that there is one person who would want to hurt her that bad. The results of actions and decisions that were made when she was younger could definitely impact multiple people for a lifetime, and possibly even lead someone to seek revenge.

Aisha and Rahul were ethnically different than the others, but they were both excited about their baby. When it came to a real relationship though, they were struggling. Aisha feels the loss and questions their marriage because she can barely get her husband to communicate with her. When circumstances lead to them arriving to the party later than the others, the hostess was quick to make a statement about their tardiness. While she tried to fit in and enjoy herself, her husband seemed to intentionally try to distance himself from her. With a newborn baby who kept her up all night, Aisha was hungry and tired, but he scolded her about wanting to eat or drink something other than what the hostess was planning to prepare. Even asking him to bring her water to drink seemed to set him off. When the police show up at their house to talk to them, she makes the statement that she doesn’t know if she should talk to them without her husband being present. Is there something she is trying to hide?

Hazel and Cathy are a lesbian couple who had chosen artificial insemination with a donor neither of them knew. Although the other couples were accepting of their lifestyle choice, it still gave them all plenty to talk about. They both seem happy, but a strain in their relationship had become more obvious and was noticeable to Detective Alison when she went to question them. The reader is thrown another twist when one of the women receives a text message while at the party, and inwardly chooses to ignore it and not tell her partner. Who is the sender and what is she trying to hide by ignoring the text message?

Anita and Jeremy had a planned adoption of a baby from America, but yet again, the reader is thrown another twist. Where is the baby, and why was neither of them openly and honestly discussing the circumstances?

Finally, there’s Kelly. She was the youngest of the group at 22. Much to everyone’s surprise she showed up at the party. Everyone tries to empathize with her heartbreaking situation, but in the back of their minds is her boyfriend’s behavior when he attended the group session.

With six babies to proudly coo over, how is it that one thing led to another and someone died and no one seems to have witnessed anything? Who could’ve died at such an idealistic party, and who was disturbed enough to have a motive for killing someone there? Or was it really just a tragic slip that no one witnessed because taking care of that many babies is sure to distract everyone’s attention?

A decent thriller. It wasn’t super fast paced, and it didn’t grab me from the first page... but it did have a somewhat compelling story.

I got fairly caught up in the characters’ lives, enough that the ‘twist’, although a little underwhelming, did surprise me.

I really liked the different narrator perspectives, this really drove the narrative for me because I would look to the next chapter to reveal the secrets of the previous narrator.

Overall, fairly enjoyable.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Couples from an antenatal (prenatal) group meet up for the first time since giving birth. One person falls from a balcony to their death. Was it an accident? Or is it murder?

This thriller by Claire McGowan was an enjoyable read. It was a slow burn for the first half but quickly picked up speed in the second half. Great story!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Pros:
I enjoyed the overall story line of who dun it. I tried to figure out who was pushed and who did it. That was intriguing so I was shocked at who was the pusher and pushee. Also, the story was told from past and present which I enjoy. Eventually the story met up for the final few chapters. The multiple POV were interesting especially since everyone there was a suspect.
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Cons:
It’s didn’t grab me. I only read it when I had nothing else to read or ran on my treadmill. There were too many characters to keep track of. Some I felt were just fillers to create more suspense but felt like there was more chaos with trying to keep up with everyone. Some characters didn’t need to have their side told. Almost everyone had drama going on that didn’t pertain to the actual crime...more filler.
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It overall was a good read for a quick story if you like multiple POV with MANY characters.

This is a particularly well written story, with the action moving from past to present and from the perspectives of the different characters. However, it is handled so well it is not confusing to the reader. A group of new mothers meet for a post-birth party; however all is not the perfect picture they are presenting to the world, with a maelstrom of secrets being carried. Then someone falls from the balcony (it takes half the book for the victim to be formally revealed) and detective Alison, struggling with her own efforts to conceive, has to sort out who is telling the truth, who is hiding things, and whether the person was pushed or fell.

An interesting read, written very well from many viewpoints, with the evidence of each character forming most of the story. I enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Push - What does this refer to. Is it linked to the theme of childbirth or is it indicative of what is to come? The book introduces several characters who take their turn in 'leading' the chapter. This is always a risky strategy in a book as it is important to ensure that individual characters have a strong enough voice. However, I think this worked well in this book. Personally I thought that the ending felt rushed in particular how the answer to the crime was discovered. Some questions from the book remain unanswered, although this perhaps reflects a reality of life but if there was a focus on fewer characters this may have been different.

Such a great book l absolutely devoured this in a reading binge could not put it down great characters all with back stories and yes l did guess most of the twists but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment one of the best books l have read this year

Claire McGowan is quickly becoming one of my go-to authors so I was really excited to read such an advanced copy of this book.....but it let me down a bit! It became a little predictable and unlike other psychological thrillers, it failed to keep me guessing right until the end, in fact I guessed the ending quite early on, there were too many obvious hints and clues and not enough red herrings or parts where I was kept guessing! It was difficult to engage with the judgemental characters and by the end I found myself not really caring about who had been 'pushed', I just wanted to finish reading. A 6/10 for the author and her writing style but sadly not one of her best.
Thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing for the ARE copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is not my usual genre, I’m more into romance stories and literary fiction however I wanted to take the opportunity to read something from outside my norm. And I am glad I did!! Thank you for  opening up my mind to something totally different.

A group of people meet at a baby group and have a party to celebrate the birth of their babies. What could possibly go wrong? Someone falls from a balcony and dies? We're they pushed? DS Alison Hegarty is called to the scene. The home owner claims the balcony has been recently cleaned and was slippery. DS Hegarty suspects murder. Each party goer have their own story making this a delightful read.

I'm a fan of Claire McGowan, but this was not one of my favorites. I figured out a couple of the surprises fairly early on, and really couldn't bring myself to care about any of the characters.

What could be more innocent than an antenatal group meeting once a week to help new mothers understand the process of childbirth and caring for infants? But at a barbecue celebrating the birth of those babies a few weeks later, one of those women ends up dead. Was it an accident or was there a "push." Alison, the detective who must unravel the mystery is conflicted as she also is desperate to become pregnant. The story unfolds from present to past, the day of, and the weeks leading up to the incident. Of course each couple has their own secrets that must be unearthed to discover the truth. And while you may figure out part of the mystery, there are plenty of twists to enjoy!

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited when I saw this book available because I've read 2 previous novels by Claire McGowan and they were both exceptional. While not many novels will top The Other Wife, this one sure comes close. I really enjoy her writing style of multiple characters pushing forward and going in reverse. It is never hard to keep up with and compels you to just keep turning the page needing to know more and more. She has gained a lifelong fan after reading 3 fantastic novels.

The blurb was interesting with six couples, a summer barbecue and then someone falls of the balcony and dies.
The only common thing between all these couples is they are "expecting". They all are strangers who happen to incidentally meet in a antenatal group therapy and become friends. Every character is different and have their own story. This event where the unfortunate death takes place is a party where they are supposed to be flaunting their squishy, tiny newborns.

Our investigating officer is Alison who suspects foul play and not accidental death. We still don't know who has died though, its just being talked about without any real names. Alison feels they are all making desperate attempts at hiding something under the nonchalant demeanour.

- I found the multiple POVs and timelines to be off- putting, they were just too many.
- Some parts could be obliterated and the story could have a short read.

It was a decent read but missed the surprise/thriller element. My purpose of picking up a thriller after reading the riveting blurb is to be surprised and when that doesn't happen I just cant be invested enough in the story.

3/5 stars

Thankyou NetGalley and Claire McGowan for n e ARC in exchange of an honest review.

I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and author Claire McGowan for providing me with an ARC of this novel.

I absolutely loved the cast of characters in this novel. The multiple viewpoints really provided an added extra to the story line and kept it moving. I found this really hard to put down once I picked it up and started reading. Definitely a good twist involved, and I really enjoyed it!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. This is my second book by this author and I've enjoyed both, possibly this one more. There were a lot of characters to keep track of but was fairly easy. A well done 'who dunnit' novel with each character having a reason and a backstory. I will say I read this while going through a reading slump so it took me longer to get through than it would have in normal circumstances, but overall, it's a good read!

This was an ok read. The cover is pretty cool and the premise sounded intriguing. It wasn’t particularly thrilling or suspended so I’m not quite sure what genre it would fall in to. I did guess fairly early on about the ‘surprise’ revealed at the end. Most of the characters were either pure stereotype or so over the top that you couldn’t believe them if you tried. There were a few too many For me to keep straight, although that could easily be a reflection on me as a reader. In the end this was just so so. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free e-book in exchange for an honest review.