Book club pick for 2021! Loved this book. I was equally mesmerised and totally creeped out at the same time. The ending!!!

This novel had an interesting premise. Six couples with their newborn babies, gather in one home to celebrate becoming parents. Having known each other from the same baby group, these couples seem quite close, but by 3am one of the group will be dead after falling from a high balcony. Was it a jump? Or were they pushed? When DS Alison Hegarty begins to investigate, this tight-knit group don’t seem quite so perfect and skeletons start falling out of closets.

This was one of those thrillers you can devour in a day. The structure follows the investigation in the present, but also delves back into the past, from the first time the couples meet. Other chapters explore the couple’s points of view, after the suspicious death. The author keeps the identity of the ‘victim’ under wraps too, so not only are you guessing ‘whodunnit’ but who did they do it too? This was a clever touch and added to the tension and my inability to put the book down. One couple have conceived by an anonymous sperm donor, or have they? One woman’s boyfriend us disliked by most couples, but is he just an idiot or could he be violent? Another character has had a string of unfortunate events happen to her, is this a coincidence? I found it a rather large coincidence that the DS is also struggling with infertility, making this a difficult case for her to deal with. I enjoyed the interplay between characters, and the revelations that some know each other a little better than they seemed. I also liked that a lot of the were hard to like and the author’s sense of group dynamics was brilliant. I didn’t guess the outcome, and this added to the addictive tension of the novel. The author has taken a time in people’s lives where they’re experiencing huge change, stress and lack of sleep as well as insecurity and fear about becoming a parent. This is a great background to choose for a thriller and it is well handled by the author.

Amazing book. I highly recommend this read.
Amazing characters and story.
Thanks a lot Netgalley

Messy, messy. Family drama with a suspicious death....or perhaps even a murder? This book brings. the. drama. And Claire McGowan does thriller like few others so you know its a good one!

I did enjoy this book, but found it confusing at times due to the amount of characters. Over all a good read with an interesting storyline.

I was looking forward to reading Clare McGown’s latest book and was happy to have received a complimentary copy from NetGalley. I did not enjoy this book very much — the characters were all rather irritating and unlikeable. The storyline didn’t hold my interest very well either. My rating: 2.5 stars.

I wasn't as impressed with this book as I have been by Claire McGowan in the past. Her writing is great, but it seems to lack depth in her characters. I'd still read other books of hers in the future.

This was an ok book! I wasn't expecting much--or maybe I was expecting something dark and twisty because of the premise: a baby group get together after their babies arrive and there's a murder at the party. But it wasn't dark and twisty, it was sad and hard and so true, like the judging and the catty nature of competitive momming. And I so deeply appreciate McGowan's ability to address postpartum depression--something that isn't talked about nearly enough.
The way the book is written is clever--you don't know who the murder victim is for about half of the book. I did find it all rather predictable, particularly the parentage questions that were pretty clearly broadcasted (although my dark imagination took one aspect much further than it went, which was good). The characters were somewhat developed, although a few times I mixed up a couple of them. McGowan spent most of her time with one couple, when I think she could have added at least one more section each on the others.

I appreciate receiving a free copy from netgalley and have provided my honest feedback in this review.

I found this book was not exactly what I was expecting, but that’s not to say that I didn’t find myself engaged in it. This was much more of a “whodunnit” than the psychological thriller I thought I’d be reading, but that was fine for me! There is a really large cast of characters, which probably could have been reduced down slightly, as it was sometimes a little challenging to keep up with who was who. The majority of them are pretty unlikeable too! Again, I didn’t mind this and it added a sense of realism to the plot. The mystery progresses at a reasonable pace and I was kept guessing. The final revelations were not completely shocking, but were satisfying, which makes this feel like a good solid mystery read.

A fast read and a competent mystery/thriller. If you like the last minute reveal that takes your breath away, this one may not be it. There are plenty of clues to help you stitch most of it together (and it seems the author is well aware she is leaving them for you), but there are a few moments at the end that make you think "Ahhh, now I get it." Interesting premise as well, and enjoyable overall! Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing a digital ARC for review.

This book was a COMPLETE miss for me, unfortunately. I found all the characters very, very unlikeable and this book was full of SO many isms. It was very hard to read and at multiple parts I thought about quitting, which is not something I do often. Thank you for the advanced copy of this and the chance to read it. It was a 2 star read for me, overall.

I get huge Big Little Lies vibes from this book, but it isn't quite as well written or anywhere near as engaging. The same narrative devices are in play; multiple perspectives, hidden identities, unreliable narrators and the identity of the person killed hidden until the last moment. There are twists and turns, but whilst Big Little Lies kept me in the dark until it chose to reveal its secrets, I'd guessed all of them here well before the final reveals.

That said, this was a quick and easy read and it did keep me engaged, even if I struggled to like or empathise with any of the characters much. I think the vast majority of the characters have been written to be deliberately unlikeable, which is all well and good but it doesn't give you anyone to root for. Narrative devices are utilised to keep character secrets hidden from the reader, which again is fine... but the swapping and shifting made it so obvious that's what was going on that it failed to seem clever.

Told through three different timelines, this also jumps about a lot. I didn't find it difficult to follow, but I did struggle to engage when we were zipping from the past in Jax's perspective, the day of the party from multiple perspectives and then the present day police investigation from the investigating officers perspective. It felt messy and could have been more cohesive if at least one of the timelines were removed in the entirety. I found the police investigation the most interesting, but both the lead up in Jax's perspective and much of the party events felt superfluous. One third being gripping doesn't really stack up against the rest of the novel.

So, this comes across as a bit of a copy-cat of an excellent best seller, which doesn't quite hit the mark. I found Jax too whiny to spend so much time in her head and the possible stalker side plot that occupies a lot of her perspective kind of fizzles without going anywhere interesting. The second thread which describes events leading up to the all important 'push' is mostly superfluous, you get a little bit of character development and a whole lot of bitching. And the police investigation, which is the really interesting bit, therefore doesn't have enough page time... and of what page time it does have, a lot of that is devoted to the lead investigator's fertility problems.

It's not as bitingly sharp or witty as Big Little Lies, I wasn't invested in the characters and the use of multiple timelines and character perspectives felt messy. 2.5 stars out of 5 rounded up to three as I'm feeling nice.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my free review copy of this title.

I enjoyed this book but there were just so many characters it was confusing at times as to who was with who. The twist was unexpected and a real woah moment.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

I loved Claire McGowan's previous novel What You Did so was looking forward to reading The Push. Sadly for me this felt like it was written by a different author, hurriedly written for the mass market. There was a long cast of characters , most were hugely unlikeable and I had little interest in them or their babies. It has a predictable plot and did not hold my interest.
2.5 stars.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC.

Each couple had their own story filled with secrets In this thriller. While I figured out some of the lies of the characters early on, it was nice how the mystery was wrapped up by the author. A very good ending and one for book clubs to discuss.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review! This one is worth a look. It is my first time reading Claire McGowan & I will be certain to read more of hers. The Push did a great job of bouncing back and forth from the past to the present to build to a strong crescendo!

I listened to The Push while on a beach vacation while seeing Moms with strollers on the beach. Initially it was tough to get into but then the story grabbed me and wouldn't let go. I watched the Moms on the beach and wondered if their lives were as it seemed.

The Push is a dark psychological thriller about the bonds between parents and their children, and also how adult relationships change when a child is born.

I enjoyed this! If you're looking for a mystery that's happening in am environment you wouldn't expect, this is great! CW: Childbirth and infertility are big topics.

The Push begins with a party being held after the birth of the babies from group of women that went through classes together. One of the party-goers has fallen from the balcony. Or was she pushed? This is the question that detectives are trying to figure out the answer to. The story is told from many points of view and throughout a time period from prior to the party leading up to the solving of the crime. The detective interviews the party goers about their relationships with one another and about the events that took place the day of the party. There were many somewhat predictable plot twists but this book was still very good and I didn't want to put it down. I found it a very enjoyable, captivating read. Highly recommend if you love thrillers!

I am sad to say this book was a big disappointment for me. I have read other books by McGowan and I do like her writing style. I was interested and sucked in from the beginning but as the story develops it became more difficult to want to continue.

It surrounds couples who are in a pregnancy class to learn how to be parents. There is a large enough cast of characters that it requires you to really think about each one and their circumstances. To set them apart the author does too much stereotyping. There is demographic for everyone and in that sense it feels very political. No doubt some readers will be offended, not too hard to do. Also, it is a who dunnit kind of story, so we know there is a murder mystery going on with these couples. That being said, the characters all have some kind of secret going on, the reader is immediately suspicious of everyone and likes no one. None of these characters have any qualities that "push" the reader to have hope for them. The plot twists are easy to figure out and the ending is anticlimactic at best.

I am thankful to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this copy.