This novel kept me entertained but I am not too sure about the ending. There were definitely some strange moments in this book.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61327484

I'm on the fence with this one...it definitely had it all for a neighborhood drama/thriller. Secrets and lies all over the place. I just didn't feel much for any of the characters. Ciara, the instagram famous mom with the picture perfect life, was not deep...there can be characters who you love to hate, but she was just yuck. I couldn't even tell you what exactly it is that makes a "good" unlike-able character, but she didn't have it. There was a lot going on in this book, and yet the main plot line felt too forced at times...but that being said, I gave it 3 stars because it held my attention and there were things I wanted to see resolved. I'll for sure be on the lookout for more books by Bose!

Thanks so much to Random House - Ballantine Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this!

This book was so frustrating to me. It was painfully slow and I found the characters to be so whiny and just boring to be quite honest. I wasn't even sure where it was going at many points and felt like it was almost like high school girls fighting and these were grown women! The last 10% or so of the book was feeling like it was redeeming it a little bit and then boom, it fell completely flat at the end. I had so many unanswered questions. It felt the like the author realized it was the end of the book and just done.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was not thrilled with this book. The characters were not interesting and not really likable. It took my a while to get through the book it was just an okay read.

Disha Bose takes us through the lives (and secrets) of three very different couples.. after one of the women is found dead.

We are centered around the perfect lives of Ciara and Gerry, and the not-so-perfect lives of Sean and Lauren, and Mishti and Parth. The questions going through your mind the whole time are who REALLY hates who, and who do you REALLY want to hate the most?

I must admit that I was skeptical going into this one, thinking it would just be another neighborhood/domestic thriller, but the development of the characters and their relationships was fantastic! I really enjoyed reading about the character's interactions with each other, and the way that they are written about was extremely intriguing. I will eagerly away Disha Bose's next book!

Thank you to NetGalley, the Author, and Random House.

I think this is very true to a genre that is popular right now—imperfect women leading normal lives with a major event connecting all. If you love Big Little Lies, you will love this. I couldn’t relate to the characters and didn’t particularly enjoy any of them, but the writing is very solid and the store is well paced. So while this wasn’t the perfect book for me, it will be a delight for others.

Loved this story of neighborhood drama centering around three women and their husbands and the drama that ensues between them. Good quick read that will keep the reader interested in the outcome of the story. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

Dirty Laundry tells the story of three neighborhood women that are all struggling with their own hidden secrets, desires, and feelings with one woman seeming to be the catalyst of it all.

Ciara seems to have her life in order. She is Instagram elite and the mom that all the neighborhood mothers look to for advice and recommendations. Mishti is the mother that is taken in by Ciara as her newly found best friend. However, really Ciara seems to treat Mishti more like a prized pet then a true friend. Then there is Lauren... there's always a Lauren by a different name in the Mom groups. The outcast, the one left on the sidelines all because the favorite mommy doesn't agree with her.

Since the start Lauren and Ciara never got a long. In some ways with reading Dirty Laundry it almost made me wonder if Ciara was just more so frustrated by the fact Lauren didn't adore her like everyone else did.

As the reader could assume and suspect, of course Ciara's life is not flawless. She is unhappy in her marriage and seeks attention outside of her marriage... probably not in the best of places either. Needless to say, Ciara has a wandering eye when it comes to the husbands of the neighborhood. Not even Mishti's husband is safe from Ciara's fascination.

In the true female rivalry story, you have Ciara and Lauren goal driven to come out on top with Mishti stuck in the middle of it all. Mishti seemed to be the only truly balanced character in this entire book. To be honest the men and almost all of the women in this book were unlikable.

Mishti's husband Parth talks down to her constantly, has a very confrontational personality, and is dismissive of his own wife. Lauren's boyfriend Sean is a serial cheater and Lauren acts like there's nothing wrong with this at all. The one time she comes to her senses she ends up feeling 'lonely' and 'cold' without Sean and takes him back. Gross. As for Ciara she is the epitome of the mean girl and the woman that can never be happy no matter what she has.

Besides Mishti maybe the only other tolerable saving grace of a human being in this entire story is Gerry, Ciara's husband. I get the book is called Dirty Laundry but honestly the personality of the majority of the characters made them downright trash. Maybe that is what Bose was going for but I found myself not really connecting with any of the characters save for Mishti. I wanted Mishti to have her happy ending and in the end of the book I had the feeling she would be back in meek world with her husband treating her like dirt.

As for the plot... it is the typical who killed the mean girl. The revelation of the killer was surprising and yet not. The end result and ending of the book was to me lackluster.

While I finished Dirty Laundry I'm not sure I can honestly say that I enjoyed it. I found most of the characters repulsive and their traits just so stereotypical of either the psychotic woman or the meek woman. It went from the cookie cutter depiction of the woman that needs everything and all eyes on her, the needy constant attention seeking woman with barely any morals to the woman that just needs a man and is to weak to carry her own. The men are as equally repulsive.

I don't know... perhaps it was the point of the novel was to come to the forefront with all the trash of morals and personality that some people hide deep within. If that was the purpose then the story succeeded in projecting that. However, for me the book was a tad lackluster. I certainly wasn't blown away. But... if knowing the Dirty Laundry of your neighbors is your cup of tea then Dirty Laundry is for you. Until next time, happy reading!

This book was picked by my book club. Half of the members loved it while the other half did not like it. The book is full of twists and turns. Claire is a social media know it all. People follow her page and even ask her advice. People think her life is wonderful but she has lots of problems.. This book makes you realize maybe we all hold and have our phones too much.

Unfortunately, drama in neighborhoods seems to be the norm and people often go after those that are seen as weaker. In addition, I think we often go along with someone we shouldn't simply so that we do not become their target. Those we see as perfect often are not, which is clear in this book. The only person I actually may have liked in this book was the lady from India. I really felt for her. I didn't really enjoy this book though. I try to stay away from the type of drama it contains. I doubt that I would recommend it to others.

You've probably read books similar to this one.
Three woman main characters. One is the perfect one. Perfect husband, children, house. All the woman in the neighborhood want to her friend. And they want to have the life she has.
Second character is a follower of the perfect one. She is insecure; the type who worries.
The third character grew up with the perfect one. She does not have fond memories. The perfect one shuns her.
Guess what happens next! The perfect one is found dead.
And then it becomes a who-dun-it with a believable cast of possible suspects.
No spoiler here! Read it yourself to find out who the murderer is.

It has been a while since I read a book that is painfully slow, and unfortunately, that is one of the issues I had with Dirty Laundry by Disha Bose. It starts out strong enough with someone being dead, but then we start from the beginning before it all happened, and things quickly petered out from there. I can't in good conscience even call this a thriller since besides the beginning, nothing really happens again until the end, although we do explore a lot of sensitive subjects such as cheating and abuse. There are a handful of different viewpoints, and I thought some of the most unlikeable characters I have read about in a long time. I don't think I liked a single person in this book, especially the men, and the story does a deep dive into each of the marriages of the couples and the various issues they are facing. All of this eventually leads us to what happened, but it didn't do a great job of holding my attention.

The audiobook is also one of my least favorites that I have listened to, and I don't know if it was an editing issue or the narrator herself Chandrika Narayanan-Mohan, but it sounded like she was almost constantly sniffing in through her nose for the first half of the book and it was extremely annoying and distracting. That did eventually stop but then I could hear her taking breaths in through her mouth and while that wasn't worse, it was equally as annoying. Long story short, I do not recommend the audiobook and I think you would be better off reading words on a page. I stuck it out with the audio but if I had been reading, I would have been skimming, and I am clearly just not the target audience for this book. It is a decent debut and I'm sure others will love it, but it was just too slow for me, and the conclusion wasn’t able to make up for it.

Somewhat predictable, but still a fun read. The twists and turns do keep the reader interested and continue reading, but I felt like some of the twists were for shock value alone rather than the continuation of the plot. To me, this book was just okay.

This domestic drama ticks all of the boxes. With secrets and scandals galore, it will leave you turning pages for sure. I was mostly interested in Mishti’s story because I felt sorry for her, but the others were fascinating as well. There are some great character studies here. The ending did leave me a little dissatisfied because I’d hoped for more from Mishti and Lauren. I wanted to see the scorned wives get their due. Overall, though, I enjoyed the book.

Domestic Suspense is one of my guilty pleasure reading genres. I've been branching out and trying some new authors in the genre recently, and was really happy I picked this one up. Disha Bose writes well-developed characters, writes well from their various perspectives, and does a great job with a non-linear time line.
I would describe this as a mostly PG-13 book, which I appreciated given that many domestic suspense writers seem to feel the need to live in the R territory. I will definitely read more from Disha Bose!

Kindle and contact naps 🙌🏻

Thanks to @netgalley and @ballantinecorp for my E ARC!
Lots of juicy drama and gossip in this one. There is a murder but I wanted more details and less gossipy women. I recommend if you like neighborhood suspense / drama📚
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This book was not for me and I almost didn't finish it... A very slow burn where the majority of the book felt like nothing was happening and when something did happen it didn't feel shocking enough to make up for the boredom... Also, not one likeable character.

"She was the perfect wife, with the perfect life. You would kill to have it. Ciara Dunphy has it all—a loving husband, well-behaved children, and a beautiful home. Her circle of friends in their small Irish village go to her for tips about mothering, style, and influencer success—a picture-perfect life is easy money on Instagram. But behind the filters, reality is less polished."
This is a good book. Unlike the others of the same genre it was hard to get into.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

You know that a great villain has been written when they end up dead and you’re like…well yep, I can see that. 😂

This is basically a tale of hurt people hurting people, women using other women, their children, and men to give them a sense of purpose, and just how toxic social media can be for already disturbed people. It’s quite a tale.

The book was entertaining but without a lot of characters to even like, let alone root for. It is a quick read and it did keep me interested, though. I hate reality TV but I imagine this book is what a bad episode of Real Housewives is like. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Thank you to Netgalley, Ballantine Books, and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a story about three moms in a small Irish town. Ciara is the most influential of a group of moms. Mishti is the best friend of Ciara, and Lauren is the least liked in the group. All three are involved in imperfect marriages/relationships. We are told at the beginning that Ciara is killed. The rest of the book provides the events leading up to the killing from the viewpoints of the three moms.
This was a good book and I would be willing to try another book by the author because she does write well. I just didn’t care for the three main characters. They weren’t happy with their lives, but instead of trying to improve their lives, they chose to take out their frustrations on each other.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.