Title: The Favor
Author: @noramurphybooks
Genre: Domestic Fiction
Pub Date: May 31, 2022
Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐️

Sooooo, I flew through this book. It pulls you in from the first page and it’s pretty impossible to put down.

Synopsis: McKenna Hawkins and Leah Dawson have never met — but their lives are incredibly similar in the worst possible way. They are smart, successful, driven women with bright futures …. or they used to be. Now, they both live under the thumbs of their controlling, abusive husbands. As both women reach the point where they know they won’t survive much more, events unfold that will undoubtedly change both of their lives forever.

But still … McKenna and Leah have never met. What would you do if you were pushed to your absolute limit? For yourself? For a friend? For a … stranger?

I devoured this book, and I thought it was written excellently for a debut thriller. With multiple POVs between the two female characters, the parallel between what they were both experiencing and debating how to navigate their futures was, at times, tough to read, but commendable. I enjoyed both women, and was eagerly anticipating their outcome throughout the entire book.

That being said, this book touches strongly on domestic abuse so it may not be for everyone (⚠️ trigger warning), but I applaud the author for acknowledging that domestic violence comes in all forms, not just physical. It can look like control, coercion, intimidation, manipulation, threats, blame in the forms of mental, emotional, and financial abuse as it pertains to this story. I couldn’t help but think about all the women who exist in our world with similarities to McKenna and Leah while reading this story and how, God forbid, there are women who lay awake at night with the mentality that is their reality: kill or be killed?

I also felt that The Author’s Note at the end was very important to read upon conclusion of the book.

I want to thank @netgalley and @minotaur_books for an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

Wow!! This book had me at the first chapter and didn’t let up till the last page. An intense psychological thriller with some great twists. Centred on domestic abuse it may be triggering for some people.

The author created two very likeable characters that were easy to associate with. One could only feel sympathy for these two women. The story evolved quickly and it went back and forth between the two women and from past to present. It did so smoothly and it was easy to understand. An exciting book and one you can’t put down.

Thank you to St Martin’s Publishing group for the invitation to read the ARC via NetGalley.

What a thrilling and thoughtful debut novel! I’ve been in a reading slump lately (thus why it looks like this book took me days to read, when it was actually quite quick) but this book definitely got me out of it, with a fresh and original domestic thriller.

McKenna and Leah have very similar lives … they both live in a nice area, both are well-educated and successful in their professions, and both married monsters of men. Stuck in their lives, and their homes, only a chance encounter brings them together. What happens next may bind these strangers for the rest of their life…

Not much about the plot can be talked about, as this book has several spoilers, along with a few twists. Told from multiple points of view, you get the story of these two women, and how they ended up in their situation. This takes an intimately close look at domestic violence, while also entertaining the reader with the thrilling plot. Four stars for this very well-written book that kept me interested from the very beginning!

(Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Nora Murphy, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, St. Martin’s Press and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Wow. My socks are knocked off that this is a debut. Fast- paced, exciting, thrilling, suspenseful, raw and riveting. .

This was definitely an interesting story with a thought provoking twist. It is my opinion that the Detective figures out the crimes but doesn't have the evidence required to go any further with the investigation and because of what he thinks he knows, I think he's ready to close the case and wait for a new one, hoping his partner will be able to work with him in the near future. It is a good read that makes you really do some serious thinking. I loved it!

An utter triumph of a novel! I loved every second of this terrific domestic thriller that brings Patricia Highsmith’s books to mind!

This is such a exciting read I read it cover to cover . This is the story of millions of women. It is told with consideration to victims and awareness for all who read it to understand what domestic violence victims go through . The author has told this story about two similar women at risk in violent controlling marriages. The paths happen to cross and they each do a favor for the other. It is a great revenge story and you will find yourself cheering throughout for each woman and for "The Favor". The bumbling detective is no match for them as the favors are completed. It is a exciting read that you will not put down to conclusion. I highly recommend this book for all who enjoy suspense revenge thrillers. Well done to the author.

Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

I was excited to read this book by Nora Murphy, an author I had never read before. The book captivated my attention from page one. I could not put this book down. A thrilling book about two women who lead very similar lives, being victims of domestic abuse, yet don't know each other. The story was fast paced and a great read. I have definitely become a fan of Nora Murphy.

A chance encounter will free Leah and McKenna from the nightmares that have overtaken their lives. When Leah sees McKenna at the liquor store, she recognizes the person she used to be. She decides to follow the woman, and realizes she lives not far away. Spying on the woman, and seeing how she interacts with her husband, Leah believes that this woman, whose identity she will later discover, is in an abusive situation like her own. Zackary Hawkins, McKenna’s husband, will soon be dead, killed in front of her by a mystery woman who asks McKenna to give her time to escape and tells her, “I’m someone like you.”

"The Favor" alternates between the present -- the events leading up to Zackary's murder, the investigation into his murder, and the ongoing nightmare that is Leah's life and her plans to escape her husband, Liam -- and the past -- explaining how Leah and McKenna ended up in their respective situations. The story explains how Liam and Zackary have respectively isolated, controlled, manipulated, and demeaned their wives to make them into the image that each husband wants, and placed them in positions where attempts to get help will be unsuccessful, as they won't be believed. Leah and McKenna are definitely characters you will be rooting for, hoping they gain and keep their freedom and regain some semblance of their former lives. The plot is well crafted, especially with McKenna being relieved by Zackary's murder but not understanding why this mystery woman intervened, and then trying to solve the puzzle and possibly return the favor.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

I received this free ARC from NetGalley, the review reflected below is my opinion.

I loved The Favor. It was very fast paced, and had me turning pages. I could it put it down. The characters were engaging and the narrative was believable. The writing was great and kept me guessing and highly engaged from start to finish. I highly recommend this book!

Hard to believe this is a debut novel. Fantastic and a must read for 2022. I can’t wait to see what @noramurphybooks comes up with next. This is an author to watch for!

Thank you #netgalley and #stmartinspress for the eARC.

Nora Murphy’s debut novel has an interesting premise. Two women leading similar lives when a chance encounter unknowingly puts them on a dangerous path together. The story is told from the three first-person perspectives of Leah, McKenna, and Detective Harrison. There are also two timelines: Now (May 3-June 6) and beginning nine months prior, which explains how the characters got to where they are today.

As the story begins, Leah is at one of her five regular liquor stores. We learn quickly that she shops at a different liquor store every day, frequenting each one the same day every week. At her normal Friday location, she happens upon a woman who reminds her very much of herself nine months prior.

As Leah watches the other woman leave the store, she notices that she and the woman have the same car (different model years), they even look similar, and Leah feels compelled to follow her. She finds herself wishing that she was the woman as the woman entertains a couple of friends on her patio. And then the woman’s husband arrives, and Leah notices the woman’s reaction to his affection. As Leah pulls away to go home, she recognizes even more of herself in the woman, and this is really what begins her obsession.

In the same chapter, the POV turns to McKenna, who frequents the same liquor store as Leah on Fridays, but in McKenna’s case, it is to purchase a six-pack of beer for Zack. This particular Friday, she also purchases some wine and snacks to share with the friends that Leah sees her with.

Even before we see anything happen in the lives of these women, there are Sleeping with the Enemy vibes. Successful and controlling husbands who want their wives to stay home, and successful professional women who are caught off-guard and feel trapped by the changes in their spouses.

I was intrigued, and I like the way the author intertwined the story lines. Books with a POV change typically change from one chapter to the next. In this case, we regularly have chapters here that are a point in time, and we get multiple perspectives before moving on to the next chapter. I really liked that. I found myself engrossed in the back stories starting nine months prior, seeing how both women came to unwillingly leave their professions.

That said, when Harrison comes into the story line, which is just under 40% of the way through the book, it starts to drag down a bit. One thing in particular that I don’t understand or care for is the introduction of a storyline with his partner, who is hospitalized and in a coma after an on-the-job incident where she was shot. There are 20+ references to the partner, five of which call her “Detective Mallory Cole” and one “Mallory Cole.” Keeping in mind that this is a first-person narrative, no one talks like that. I can see it on first reference, but when he’s narrating to us about his partner, after the first reference, it should just be “Cole” (which all the detectives call her) or “Mallory.”

Harrison seems to be more than a little fond of his partner. He visits her at the hospital regularly, talks to her about his cases. But there’s no value to having her in this story except to explain why he’s working alone. There is absolutely no need to have him keep going back to talk to her even if this is a setup for a future book where she comes out of the coma.

More in the spoilers below, but I’m giving it 3 stars. I almost went 3.5 until I started writing up the spoilers. All in all, this is a decent debut that I think could be better, and I am hopeful that the author’s next novel will be better.

***SPOILERS*** SPOILERS***SPOILERS***

There is a lot to unravel here that would be difficult without spoilers.

Let’s start with Leah, who we know frequents a different liquor store every day. She is clearly an alcoholic. With the amount of alcohol she consumes, though, I find it hard to believe that she would have the wherewithal to basically stalk McKenna and drive around her neighborhood without being stopped by police. She has the awareness she needs to leave her cell phone at home to avoid her husband tracking her (with one notable exception). She prepares dinner for her husband every day. She breaks into his office, finds his access codes for the safe, and remembers to clear the browser history on his computer. We’re supposed to believe that he has no idea what she’s up to. By the end of the book, we find out otherwise, and I’ve heard of functional alcoholics, but she seems too functional to be believable. I mean, she literally gets away with murder.

Now McKenna. Once her husband is dead, McKenna becomes obsessed with Leah…finding out who she is, what her circumstances are, and eventually planning to return “the favor” by killing Leah’s husband. She does everything wrong. She doesn’t act like a grieving widow, which we know she’s not. She starts to stalk Leah, and this is one of the things that drags the book down. It’s just repeating the stalking that Leah did in reverse. And apparently McKenna never gets followed by police, who haven’t been able to determine whether she should be a suspect in her husband’s murder. No one keeps an eye on her. She knows she’s not the killer, but Harrison knows she’s hiding something and yet she is allowed to just go about her business.

And finally Detective Harrison. His narrative slows the story down because he trying to solve crimes that we already know the background of. I found it frustrating to listen to his thought process and his continual comments about how Mallory Cole would know how to get this information or that information or have this or that conversation. And the whole time I knew he was wrong! If he had solved the case, I might have been able to let it go, but we basically went through his chapters for nothing. We know that he knows both wives were involved with the murders of both husbands, but he can’t prove it. He can’t quite put the pieces together, so he moves onto the next case. We could have gotten his conversations about their husbands from Leah’s or McKenna’s points of view.

The final chapter is an epilogue of sorts, taking place “two weeks later.” McKenna has partnered with a former classmate to open a private medical office, and Leah has been invited back to her job. Both have gone back to their maiden names, and they are introduced by Leah’s boss. McKenna and her friend are the firm’s new clients, and Leah will likely be involved in some of the work. Again, is this a setup for them to be a part of the next book in a series? Is Harrison going to eventually solve their cases with the help of his partner when she comes out of a coma? I just don’t know.

I would have ended the book without the last chapter. Both women got away with murder…vigilante justice, but still murder.

I will start this off saying Trigger Warning: Domestic Violence, but after that I have to say an absolutely amazing book, I did have it figured out as to what was going to happen but still absolutely loved this book so much! It kept me intrigued from the beginning.

I haven't been this hooked by a thriller in quite some time. The pacing was excellent — there was a lot of action balanced with suspense. I am normally opposed to multiple perspectives in these kinds of books because often they tend to be more distracting than beneficial. In this case, I really liked going between Leah and McKenna's experiences, though I feel like the detective's perspective wasn't necessary. Overall, an interesting read, especially for a debut!

Gripping from beginning to end. The premise of this story is very different. Two women in the same situation and thinking so much alike. Perhaps, they see themselves in each other yet they do not know each other. Leah and McKenna's characters were full of life and well developed. However, I am confused about the development of Detective Jordan Harrison as a character. He is one of the main characters and yet, he had no back story. I guess inserting his partner Cole into the story was supposed to be his backstory; except it became confusing. Cole neither helped nor hurt the story. She was simply there and did absolutely nothing to propel Detective Harrison's character or storyline. That was a negative to this otherwise perfect mystery.

Thank you to Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Actions already speak the truth.

And mindless excuses are like the rocks that suffocate the breath of that truth.

Nora Murphy creates a raw and a revealing journey into the lives of two separate women who bear the imprint of coercive control in their marriages. Neither even knew of each other's existence much less the awareness that they seemed to be living parallel lives. And like all things in the Universe, paths will transect when all the stars are aligned.

From the address at the curb, Dr. McKenna Hawkins and her husband, Dr. Zack Hawkins, are doing well for themselves. They live in an upscale neighborhood with a sprawling home and two newer vehicles in the driveway. There's not a smudge on that shiny front door. But once you cross that threshold, you'd be entering into the chill given off by that relationship. There's always more than what meets the eye in fact.

Leah Dawson finds herself at a new liquor store every few days. Her eyes easily recognize the Grey Goose vodka label situated on the shelf in her favorite aisle. She can't afford to leave a trail these days. So Leah plays a game with herself and pays with cash. She's lost her job at a Baltimore law firm under unfortunate circumstances. Her trial lawyer husband, Liam, looks at her with disgust these days........and that forces her to drink all the more.......to blur out her severe unhappiness with booze at the ready.

Nora Murphy will set the stage with McKenna and Leah front and center. We will be awestruck by the riveting changes that will be about to unfold in their lives. Pain drifts in the air and we readers can't help but inhale it in gulps. Murphy makes us privy to behind doors conversations and intense interactions within these separate marriages. We nod our heads as we acknowledge the "get-away" scheme that resides in our own heads is not so easily implemented. The voice within that states "I would never tolerate that" seems to fade in a whisper. The preconceived notions that we have about outward appearances of relationships arches the eyebrow.

I'll hold onto the storyline itself. Just laying the foundation here should open up the need to know. The author's Acknowledgements at the end of this novel should greatly inform us. Domestic Abuse just doesn't happen to the uneducated and the have not's. Professionals are even better at the confining game of control and have even more tricks up their sleeves. Bottom line, physical and mental control crosses all lines.....all lines. Nora Murphy, through her fictional novel, presents pockets of real life in The Favor. Sideline some of the fiction, but let the light of truth appear.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to St. Martin's Press (Minotaur Books) and to Nora Murphy for the opportunity.

Wow! Such a great debut novel! The premise of this book really grabbed my attention and it did not disappoint. I enjoyed both POVs of our main characters Leah and McKenna. I am also a huge fan of police procedurals so the detective in this book really added a great layer to this amazing domestic suspense! The writing was good and I loved the twists. Highly recommend!

CW: domestic abuse

T༶H༶E༶ F༶A༶V༶O༶R༶
b༶y༶ N༶o༶r༶a༶ M༶u༶r༶p༶h༶y༶
D༶e༶b༶u༶t༶ D༶a༶t༶e༶ 05/31/2022


Warning, this book is going to make you 38 HOT. There, there’s my warning

Leah and McKenna live parallel and perpendicular lives. Their lives never intersect, but somehow they meet at the same intersection. Leah’s been married to
Liam, for ten months, lives in the basement, and if she leaves, her mother suffers. Liam’s abusive controlling, and has caused her to lose her job as a lawyer, and now she’s confined and trapped in their home. So, she stays. Before being married, she was a successful lawyer. Now she spends her days drinking, from sun up to sundown. She also spends her day watching McKenna, waiting to see if she is like her.
McKenna's life is slightly different than Leah’s. But not by much.
Liam’s a successful physiatrist. McKenna was a successful pediatrician, and now she’s a stat at home wife. Miserable and being abused. One day, Leah’s angel saves her life by intervening and frees McKenna. Yes, they’ve never met, and she has had no idea why, and now McKenna starts to watch Leah.
How these two women's lives interject is such a flipping page-turner. I was up way too late reading yet again. I just couldn’t put it down. Highly recommend this book.

If you or anyone you know is suffering in the hands of abuse, please get help. Or you get help for yourself.
If you are in immediate danger, call 9-1-1.
For anonymous, confidential help, 24/7, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or  1-800-787-3224 (TTY).

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Ah, this one is not for me. I’m so over domestic suspense novels where a woman is an alcoholic narrator. I want something different and original, and this wasn’t it for me.

Excellent domestic thriller in the vein of "Strangers on a Train." A stark reminder that things are not always as they seem, especially behind closed doors. Fast-paced, with lots of low-level thriller energy humming just below the surface. And as I've mentioned before - gorgeous cover! Already looking forward to Nora Murphy's next book. Also, loved having a book set in the Baltimore/DC area!