This book centers around a group of mother and father to be attending an antenatal course and a death. I thought this book was great! it had a lot of good drama but some details I could see coming. nevertheless, it was a great read.


Thank you to the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars

I love a title with double entendre. The push refers not only to the central mystery, but also to the central theme of childbirth, letting us know right off the bat what the focus will be.

Told through alternating POVs, The Push centers around a prenatal support group that decides to have a post-birth party where one of them ends up dead. Was it an accident, or was there something more nefarious going on that led to the victim falling from the balcony? The story unfolds over the ten weeks prior to the incident, unraveling the seams of a not-so-perfect group of parents.

I liked this book.

There are a lot of characters and story lines to keep track of, not necessarily in a bad way, but most real in-depth development beyond the spheres of impending motherhood/parenthood and careers isn't there. Also, none of the cast is really that likable. I'm the first to throw in my support for a morally gray, complex, or ambiguous character, but I found it hard to root for or enjoy any of them from beginning to end. From racism and ageism to jealousy, immaturity, antiquated assumptions, and body shaming, each couple was a study in all the things that could go wrong in a stressful time.

Jax, a thirty-eight year old first-time mother, struggles with her competing emotions about motherhood, as well as the critical eye of her friends and family because her boyfriend is twenty-four. Alison, the detective in charge of investigating whether the case warrants the assignation of accident or homicide, is battling her own insecurities as she struggles to get pregnant herself. While there are other POVs, these two struck me as the most prevalent and mostly carry the plot.

In terms of plot, we get the case within the first few pages, but the mystery revolves more around who the victim is rather than who did it. Halfway through, the identity is revealed, and from that point on, the chapters read more like an explanation of what we already know rather than the events unfolding. Fairly predictable, and definitely more of a character study than an action-packed narrative.

What The Push does well is highlight the realistic side of pregnancy. From a woman's standpoint in particular, each pregnancy and childbirth is a different experience. There is no one-size-fits-all pregnancy, and oftentimes, there is a fear of speaking up about aspects about which we're not knowledgeable or curious about--hence the many relevant discussions of vaccination, feeding methods, maternity leaves, natural vs epidural vs c-section, and the concept of "bouncing back" immediately post-birth. McGowan addresses all these topics, as well as a woman's autonomy, the frequent dismissal or ignoring of a woman's concerns over her own body, and society's pressure to be the perfect mother.

Overall, The Push is a stark discussion on the various stages of motherhood and the expectations we put on mothers to be flawless saints. While character-heavy and slightly predictable, it is an enjoyable, thought-provoking read.

Thank you to Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

With thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for a digital copy of this book. I had not heard of this author previously but was attracted by the description. I have to say Wow! It’s one of those books you fall straight into and then cannot stop reading. A really tight, fast paced narrative switches the story about between the characters who have all attended a party where someone fell off the balcony - or were they pushed? Each character has a secret and the policewoman investigating has to unpick their secret in order to establish exactly what happened. I really enjoyed this book - for me it has echoes of ‘Big Little Lies’ and I think it deserves the same popularity. The characters, all from different backgrounds, meet at antenatal classes -meeting each other at a significant milestone in their lives. They share in common their impending parenthood but very little else. As the story evolves, each thread unraveling and taking the reader with it, while providing enough clues to allow the reader the satisfaction of being slightly ahead of the reveal. The conclusion is satisfying and on the strength of this read I have ordered Claire McGowan’s back collection.

The Push starts off at the scene of a death with the police investigating. Then we go back in time, to when all of the women met, and how they interacted in the weeks leading up to the death.
The novel cycles through many points of view and many points in time, but I did not find it confusing or hard to keep track of the characters and timelines. I credit the author for creating unique and complete characters.
I want to give this book 4.5 stars because I did not understand the motivations behind the perpetrator but that’s my only nitpick. I really loved this book, the characters, and I was hooked from the start trying to figure out who died and why. Definitely recommend!

** spoiler alert ** This definitely felt more like a drama than a thriller,because you knew everyone was hiding something,and you just had to work out exactly who was lying about what.
Most of the lies were easy to guess,but there was still a slow drip feed of clues that confirmed my guesses.
A complete mixed bag of characters,complete with mixed bag stories of pregnancies... apart from the crazy one,they actually felt like someone you might know.
Not my first book by this author,and won't be my last either.

I have read and enjoyed previous books by the author and I love a whodunit so I was really looking forward to this one. Overall I did enjoy it, but it didn't wow me and I think it could have been done better.

There was a large cast of characters, which is something I usually like in a book but in this case one or two of them were heavily focused on and then we only got occasional mentions of the others, so I didn't grow to have any real feelings for most of the cast. I'd also guessed pretty much all of the reveals except one, so whilst I did enjoy reading it I was never really surprised. For me there was a bit too much graphic detail about pregnancy and childbirth that made me a little squeamish.

The writing was very good and even though I knew mostly where the story was heading, I did enjoy the reading experience. I also really liked how the epilogue rounded off all the characters' stories, I'm not a fan of loose ends so it was nice to get proper closure.

I would recommend this book but for people who haven't read this author before I would prioritise The Fall or What You Did over this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy.
I will give this 3 1/2 stars....
I sometimes wonder how how crazy characters can be in one story....
Yet, the story was fast paced and had several twists!
I would recommend if you like a light thriller and a quick read

Claire is one of my fave authors in the genre and I was so excited to be approved for this.

Thankfully, she didn’t let me down!

I love the multiple POVs.

As is usual in the genre, parts of the plot are guessable. Other twists, not so much.

It’s well-written, with each character distinguishable from others.

A very compelling read.

Tense chilling page turner.new author for me one I am excited to be reading all her books.Will be recommending .#netgalley#amazonuk

The Push (Claire McGowan): This was a decent thriller, overall. Someone (you don't know who at first) is pushed off of a balcony at a gathering of families from a prenatal class. The book dives into the lives and problems of the different families who were present at the party, both before and after the murder.

There were some great subplots in the story. The main character's chapters, however, had nothing to do with the mystery most of the time. Part of her story did connect with the twist at the end, but most of her plot was completely irrelevant and felt like filler content. The story would have been more enjoyable if it was shorter, with fewer red herrings.

[triggers: infertility, loss of a child]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of this title! It will be released on November 26th, 2020.

I have read a few books by this author and when I had the chance to read this book for review before publication, I jumped at the chance. It did not disappoint, living up to my expectations completely. The story follows six couples who all attend the same baby group. Each of the couples seem to have a story to tell, something to hide, provoking the question "did they fall or were they pushed?"
I liked the way the story was told through the eyes of each individual character, split between weeks before and they day of the incident. I worked out some of the plot by the time the book got to it but it was, nevertheless, still surprising. A thoroughly recommended read which did not disappoint at all, Thanks NetGalley!

Really enjoyed this book. I love a story that’s told from several points of view, it keeps me hooked. I tried to guess the ending from early on, but was kept guessing until the last few pages! Highly recommend!

This was a great domestic mystery that has me drawn in from the beginning. The storyline is compelling, and I found that it really paid off. I found it quite predictable at times but I still really enjoyed it nonetheless.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this E-book to review via Netgalley.

One of my favorites for 2020. This book has it all. Mystery, drama, you name it, this book delivers.
Dont miss this one!

Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free, it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

What an absolutely amazing book! This is the first book I have read by Claire McGowan and am looking forward to reading more of her work. I adored the six couples in this book - loved how diverse the group was and how they came together only because they were all expecting babies. I could not put this down and read it in one day. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy. I cannot wait to recommend this fantastic suspenseful book!

What a deliciously clever story - Christiesque in its limited number of suspects and a pair of investigators who are determined to get to the truth.

I thoroughly enjoyed the structure of the story and the nicely drawn characters, and although I sort of guessed what had happened, the last couple of reveals were very well handled and the ending seemed to be most appropriate.

I've not read Claire McGowan before but I can thoroughly recommend this book.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The push is a strangely compelling read,not your usual psychological thriller more of a suspense type read! Centred around a varied group of couples attending a baby group led by the enigmatic Nina, despite the differences amongst the attendees of the group they all come together for a summer barbecue/party where they witness a tragic event! Each couple is thoroughly investigated and it becomes clear they all have differing versions of the event and something to hide! Proving that many a relationship is not what it appears! An entertaining read.
Thank you net galley for this early read.

I enjoyed this excellent thriller very much. The storyline was exciting and kept me entertained all the way. Highly recommended!

A compelling thriller with a focus on pregnancy and motherhood
Lots of twists (although many were foreseeable), This was a page turner and definitely kept my interest

In a sense, it could have been a great story. However, mid way through the book, there was no longer any mystery/thriller. It's only the unveiling of all the characters and the unfortunate event. With that being said, there are so many characters that it's hard to fully developed all of them to where you feel like you know them. I think if the characters were more developed it would make the mystery of it all much better.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.