A very well crafted story by a debut author. I’ll be following her to see what her next book is like. Dirty Laundry is in part, a mystery. You find out who dies early on but it is only slowly revealed who might want the victim dead, and why. I have to admit that I didn’t like any of the characters by the end of the book. But that’s the point I suspect. And even though I disliked everyone I still wanted to find out what would happen next.

I was provided this book by NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for my honest review.

I can see why Dirty Laundry has been selected as a Good Morning America book club pick. While at times Disha Bose's debut novel is a bit of a slow burn, watching the fire grow is fun and entertaining. It's messy and filled with small-town secrets, gossip, and resentments. Dirty Laundry is my favorite kind of domestic suspense, the kind that now matter how much you scrub, it just isn't going to come clean.

Thanks so much for the opportunity to review!

This just didn’t work or me. The characters seemed too stereotypic. You have the mean girl (who starts off dead), the kind of hippie mom with the lazy boyfriend, the insecure immigrant, with the controlling spouse, etc. I was struggling to want to pick it up, so after I had read the first half I skipped to the end. I did find out how she died (and thought the cause was good), but I am glad I can move on I a different book tonight without the guilt of an unfinished novel.

Disha Bose has created a suspenseful domestic drama complete with three intriguing couples. Each couple is experiencing difficulties in their marriages. Much drama between the women occurs and suddenly someone is found murdered. Your guilty finger will point at first one and then another until you have accused almost everyone, until the completion of the story which is well done indeed.
This was definitely an engaging read in spite of the mostly unlikeable characters and children you will feel sorry for and want to rescue.
Job well done Disha Bose. Many thanks to you, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an arc of this well written domestic drama. Three and a half stars.

Ciara Dunphy intentionally married well so she could have the best life had to offer. Now she has two children and a beautiful, well-appointed home in a small Irish village. She’s running a popular Instagram account where everything looks just so. And she’s the envy of the other women in the village, the woman around whom they congregate.

Her next-door neighbor, however, is much the opposite. Lauren Doyle grew up in the village and was always the object of everyone else’s disdain. She didn’t have much when she was younger, but she inherited money and a nice home from her grandmother. She’s a mom of three, and the father of the kids is a longtime, older boyfriend who never pledged to be faithful.

Mishti Guha is an immigrant in an arranged marriage to a handsome psychologist. She misses Calcutta and has yet to get used to the cold in Ireland. The mother of one daughter who’s around the age of Ciara’s older child, she was chosen by Ciara to be her confidant. But while Ciara has been generous to her, Mishti has never felt as comfortable in their social circle as Ciara is. And she feels bad for Lauren.

Then Ciara is found murdered in her home. And readers find out just how messy things are in her seemingly perfect, orderly life. A number of people in the neighborhood would have been quite satisfied to see Ciara dead. They’re happy to air any dirty laundry they know about her to avoid suspicion.

Dirty Laundry is a good book to read when you’re in the mood to see someone unpleasant receive their comeuppance. It’s juicy and riffs on the current trends that denote popularity, power and worth. I just don’t tend to be in the mood for that a lot; I just found a lot of it to be sad, rather pitiful. This apt reflection of this generation’s zeitgeist is a reminder of just how vacuous it all is. I did think that the end had a fun little twist. Didn’t see that coming.

This novel focuses on three women and their intersecting relationships, Ciara Dunphy, Mishti Guha, and Lauren Doyle who all live in a small village in Ireland. Ciara has moved to the village and become the authority online and in the small village as the influencer with the best tips about mothering and lifestyle perfection. Mishti, an Indian immigrant struggling in an unfulfilling arranged marriage and an unfamiliar country, is Ciara’s best friend, and is surprised and grateful for Ciara’s sponsorship. Lauren is a native of the village, and one who has been bullied by the locals her entire life. But, of the three women, she’s the happiest enjoying her chaotic lifestyle with her boisterously untidy children and partner. The novel flash forwards to the end scene of Ciara dead, broken and bleeding at the foot of her stairs, leading the novel’s central question to be: how did this come to happen and who was responsible for Ciara’s demise.
Obviously with a death in the first few pages and the title, “dirty laundry,” the reader knows that not all is perfection in this little Irish village. Ciara has the outwardly perfect life with Instagram success as the “perfect” wife and mother with an enviable chic home and beautifully photogenic young children, but we know that all is not well given her untimely end. Ciara is the typical Queen Bee using her status to raise (Mishti) or lower (Lauren) status in the group simply because she can. The reader feels her desperation and conflicts, but her choices are unkind. Mishti is grateful for Ciara’s sponsorship, recognizing that without it, her status as an immigrant would be low. However, she’s also aware that she doesn’t particularly like Ciara. Lauren openly dislikes Ciara, and is disdainful of her status as an “influencer,” and as a result is frequently the target for Ciara’s scorn. It’s an interesting perspective on the role of women in society, albeit not particularly unique. Unfortunately, none of the characters is particularly likeable, although each in her own way is sympathetic. However, the Irish setting and Mishti’s story in particular as an Indian immigrant experiencing the foreignness of Irish culture along with this American reader, made it interesting. I was given a free advance copy in return for an honest review.

You never know what's really going on off-screen. Popular Instagrammer Ciara has a perfect life - on social media. But her marriage is failing. She lacks patience with her two children. And she's feuding with a fellow mom and neighbor. And then Ciara is found dead in her home. As Disha Bose's Dirty Laundry takes readers back in time through the month leading up to Ciara's death, we learn that Ciara isn't the only mum in the Irish village with secrets.

Though it may seem like Ciara is the star of the show (and she certainly wants to be), there are other characters in this novel. Mishti is one of Ciara's neighbors. Originally from India, she came to Ireland through an arranged marriage, choosing a life of duty to her family over a life of love. Even though Ciara welcomed Mishti into the "cool mums" club, Mishti questions their friendship as secrets are revealed.

The other neighbor is Lauren, who is not one of the "cool mums". Lauren grew up in the village and was bullied by her classmates. As an adult, she's still treated as an outcast, especially by Ciara.

I enjoyed the novel and trying to piece together how Ciara died and who could have done it. The ending is probably not what you'll expect, but it would definitely contribute to a good book club discussion. There are a lot of themes in this novel: expectations, judgment, social media use, infidelity, mom cliques. The one thing I found hard about the novel was sympathizing with all the characters. Despite backstories that helped explain the main characters' motivations, not all of the characters are likeable. And some readers might find this aspect of the book difficult to swallow.

Dirty Laundry is published by Ballantine Books and will be available to purchase tomorrow! I received a free e-ARC.

I can see why Dirty Laundry is getting so many accolades. Engaging with amazing characterization. This focuses on three couples, and I felt as if i knew them. This wasn't a suspense, as much as, it examined the lives and secrets of these people. I really enjoyed it!

Special thanks to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I love to read a debut that resonates like this one. Three couples, all neighbors . Clara and Gerry are successful and live in the largest house. But there is dirty laundry in their marriage ha ha. Lauren and Sean who everyone has an opinion of, nothing good. And Mishti and Pashti, in an arranged arriage with nothing in common.

One member has been found dead. You find out who right away but the story takes you deep into the inner workings and dirty laundry of the neighborhood.

I really liked this book.id recommend it. .ishti was my favorite character!

I just couldn't get into this one. The characters are so unlikeable and just didn't catch my attention. I found myself not caring what they did or how the story ended. Which was not a big revelation at all. The ending is in the beginning of the book, then she tells you all the events that lead up to it which is just a bunch of silly people making dumb decisions.

I really, really liked this one! I can’t believe it was a debut novel! 👏🏼 After I finished, I hightailed to Goodreads to see if there is a backlist of books to pick up!

It is full of drama between three women who are neighbors. We have the social media star, the outcast, and the arranged marriage bride. This follows the ebbs and flow of their relationship with each other, and their husbands. Of course there is a murder. The author did a great job building up the characters and it was impossible to know who did the killing. Everyone had a reason.

One of my guilty pleasures is reading about small town (village, in this case) women/housewives/mothers, (pre)school drama, friends, enemies, frenemies, and the ensuing shenanigans that occur. In this respect, Dirty Laundry did not disappoint. We have Lauren, local girl, misunderstood, mother of 3 and partner to philandering Sean; Mishti, in an arranged marriage and in a new country, mother to Maya, and in the center of it all, Ciara, Instagram influencer, mother of two, the one all the women in the village look up to and aspire to be - with the exception of Lauren. The book opens in late September, and by the end of chapter 2, Ciara is lying lifeless in a puddle of blood in her foyer. Bose takes us back to early September, circling back to the moment Ciara's body is found, the list of suspects growing chapter by chapter. The story was entertaining, if a bit cliche and predictable, kept my interest. The writing, however, was inconsistent - at times, flowed nicely, other times too much summary, and the dialogue at times was very basic, almost juvenile in places. The story was stronger than the writing, but all in all, an entertaining read.

Big thanks to Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for allowing me to read an advanced copy of Dirty Laundry in exchange for an honest review.

The beautiful Ciara Dunphy and her handsome, successful husband Gerry have it all— the large, beautiful home, the two perfect children, the blissfully happy home life, the perfect family picture. They are the envy of all the neighbors whose wives want to be Ciara and the husbands who want to be with her. Ciara is a successful influencer on social media, selling skin care products and giving ideal parenting advice. Of course, her reality is anything but the perfection she portrays on social media. Her best friend, Mishti Guha, lives on the same street with the standoffish husband picked for her by her parents in Calcutta. Mishti always feels cold in Ireland, and is trying to raise a daughter in a country where no one looks like her. Lauren Grady is a mom of three whose garden butts up against Ciara’s; she is the outcast of the neighborhood friend and internet mothers’ groups that fawn all over Ciara. She was born and bred in the village, and has been made the target of nasty jokes and comments. She is the only imperfection in Ciara’s world, and as a result is the one shunned by them all. However, she may have found a very unlikely sympathetic ally in Mishti. When Ciara is found dead in her immaculate home, everyone around her could be considered a suspect. It seems like the perfect time to deflect the blame onto someone else by airing all of their “Dirty Laundry.”

This is an incredible, wonderfully dark, attention-grabbing debut by author Disha Bose! I was drawn in from the beginning and completely hooked, following every twist and turn to the conclusion. I felt as if I were watching reality television, observing the interaction of the entire neighborhood from the comfort of my favorite reading chair. From the very beginning, the clique of women who shun one mother as an outsider based on the opinion of the “popular one” gave me serious high school mean girl vibes. Once you’ve been bullied and ostracized by the mean girl, everyone will stick to her like glue. They’ve seen the way she’s treated you, and the one way to prevent themselves from the same rejection is to follow her lead. For some people, old high school attitudes never grow up; once someone is labeled “an enemy” to the leader of the group, the entire group considers that person the enemy. That’s definitely the case here, with Ciara struggling to maintain a false, perfect front or trying to claim she is the“victim” to the others for “likes” on her profile, pictures, and comments. We all know/have known a “Ciara” or two in our personal lives! “Dirty Laundry” is a domestic thrill ride and a commentary on social media and society in general. I was captivated, and look forward to more of Disha Bose’s work in the future.

I’d like to thank NetGalley, Disha Bose, and Ballantine Books/Random House for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Dirty Laundry by Disha Bose is a novel about women who have taken their insecurities to a whole new level. All the ladies, who live in a small village in Ireland, are mean, unforgiving, and immature. In this novel we meet Lauren, Ciara and Mishti all who have baggage that they bring to their marriages and their lives. One is not secure in her relationship; one needs constant attention and admiration, and one is in a marriage she never wanted with a man she hates. How the interactions of these ladies with each other, their partners, community, and children paint a picture of three women whose inability to confront their issues leads to much unhappiness, mistrust and even death. Very riveting, but unsettling novel.

Dirty Laundry is a domestic suspense novel about a neighborhood filled with mostly unlikable characters. At times it is suspenseful, but at other times it just drags along . Early on, you know one of the characters is found dead and the rest of the book goes back through the weeks leading up to the death....airing all the "dirty laundry" and giving everyone a motive for murder. The ending ties everything together, but isnt really a big surprise. Overall a pretty good read. 3.5 stars rounded up.

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

It is SO EASY to hate Ciara. I really couldn’t stand her. She was self-centered, manipulative, and fake. She alludes to being an abused woman to her “best friend”, but she isn’t. There is very little that is redeeming about her at all and you have to look really hard to see it.

The other characters aren’t any easier to love. Lauren is jealous and insecure, Sean is an (old) playboy, the O’Briens never left elementary/middle school, Party is just indifferent. The only character I really liked at all was Mishti and she was very much a product of her strict upbringing. I wanted a great ending for her so badly.

There IS character development in there, for pretty much everyone but Ciara and Parth.

Overall, this book held my attention and I enjoyed it. It just wasn’t quite what I was expecting - I thought it was going to lean more thriller.

Thank you to @netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC.

Disclaimer: I was given an ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

Cross-posted to @goodreads, @the.storygraph, @amazon , and @instagram

I was so intrigued by the description of this book and I got completely caught up in the characters' lives and the drama among them. I found myself rooting for one character to then having empathy for another as more details from the past were shared. The author did a fantastic job with bringing all the characters to life and weaving their stories together intermingling their lives together.

Instagram versus reality. Ciara looks like she has the perfect life, the perfect family, the perfect house and perfect skin. That's what her Instagram page tells her ever growing number of followers. But reality isn't quite the same as those selfies. However, it's enough for the circle of woman in town who hang on to her every word. She has hidden the secrets of her life from everyone, especially her husband. Ciara has graced Mishti with her friendship. And at first Mishti, lonely in a new country in an arranged marriage, is grateful to be welcomed into Ciara's inner circle as her best friend. But the price of that acceptance may be too much for Mishti. And it's only Lauren who isn't fooled by Ciara's online persona. But that costs her. Always an outsider, she becomes even more so as an adversary of Ciara. When Ciara is found murdered in her own home, will Ciara's Dirty Laundry finally be aired?
A debut novel showing the ugly side of social media, the meanness among a group of women and how nefarious deceit can ultimately be. This is a story of relationships among some unlikeable characters. The only character with any redeeming qualities was Mishti. The others, including their husbands, were all unlikeable. If you've been following me, you know I have a hard time liking a book full of unlikeable characters.

If you like domestic thrillers in the vein of real housewives this one is for you. I will say for a debut it is better than a lot of them out there but fell flat for me. I've gotten to the point where i've read so many neighborhood domestic thrillers that they are all starting to blend in together. Looking for the standouts and this isn't one of them. This one follows a neighborhood group of mothers Ciara the perfect instagram mom who is anything but in real life, Mishti the mom from an arrangement marriage who's husband treats her like hired help, and Lauren the outcast who doesn't quite fit into the normal neighborhood mom mold. One of them gets murdered so there is a bit of mystery thrown into the story. The characters were unlikeable and lifeless. I kept waiting for something more to happen and felt the beginning was slow and then the second half was too rushed trying to tie it all together.

*Thank you Netgalley and Random Houe - Ballantine Books for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is a story of three women ~Ciara, Mishti and Lauren ~ with chapters written from each of their POV. I didn't care for the characters. I found it interesting to read about the different cultural customs. I felt the ending was too abrupt. This was the first book that' I have read that took place in Ireland. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.