This was a great domestic thriller which seemed very believable. Quite a few of the characters were really unlikeable but still very real. A good read!

If you’re looking for an easy beach read this summer, Dirty Laundry is worth adding to your list. Desperate Housewives, but make it Cork-based.

This is Irish-based Indian author Disha Bose’s debut novel and it’s an accomplished domestic thriller/drama. It features thoroughly dislikeable skincare influencer Ciara, earth mother Lauren, lonely Indian immigrant Mishti and their respective (useless) partners, all of whom become embroiled in airing their dirty laundry, culminating in Ciara’s murder (not a spoiler, it’s in the blurb).

Ciara might just be the most cartoonishly villainous character ever to feature in an Irish thriller but she does make you want to keep turning pages in a love-to-hate-her way. She’s the worst.

The book lacked a little bit of humour and nuance for me, and I felt Mishti’s backstory and marriage were by far the most interesting parts of the book - perhaps there’s a spin-off book there.

A minor quibble but the cover art is suggestive of something a bit more humorous or edgy or noir, when actually this is a pretty conventional domestic drama. Having said that, it’s a nicely written debut that you can tuck into and devour in an afternoon. 3/5 ⭐️

*Many thanks to the publisher @vikingbooksuk @penguinbooksireland for an advance ready copy via @netgalley. Dirty Laundry is published today. As always, this is an honest review.*

Three couples living in a neighbourhood, all very different, especially the three woman.
Clara is perfect, everything in her life appears perfect, she constantly posts pictures of her perfect life and her perfect children on Instagram, Clara feels her husband is uninterested in her.
Lauren is quiet, she isn’t married to her partner, but does have have 3 children with him, Lauren has always felt like an outsider and feels she is not good enough. Her partner has cheated on her over the years and Lauren is sure he is interested in their glamorous neighbour Clara.
Then there is Mishti who is Indian, her marriage was arranged, she feels like her husband treats her like a belonging rather than his wife, the only thing that keeps her going is her daughter. She also thinks her husband is interested in the glamorous neighbour, Ciara.
The story tells us about all three woman and their obsessions and insecurities and they definitely do have ‘Dirty Laundry’ I could have shook all three of them and their men! Couples behaving badly! An entertaining read with some twists as the book comes to a close.
Interesting that the book really started at the end. A great debut novel, well deserving of 4 stars.
Many thanks to Net Galley and Penguin General UK for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

I find domestic noir books hit or miss with me. I'm more a thriller lover. But this story was well written and I enjoyed the dark humour throughout. I also liked the detailed relationships between the women.

Domestic noir has always been a bit hit and miss for me - mainly cos it is usually character driven so the characters have to be top notch. I am pleased to say that this one was a hit!
We follow three neighbours - Ciara Dunphy the Queen Bee, she has a skin care brand and is also the go-to for motherhood tips. But that is her public face, in private she is anything but confident...
Then we have Mishti Guha, arranged marriage wife of a Calcutta immigrant who really doesn't like Ireland, especially the cold and damp. And then there's Lauren, the outcast who basically shuns the rules and etiquette of the society and does her own thing. Mishti is caught up between the two... Ciara's supposed best friend but also wanting to be an ally to Lauren...
When Ciara is found dead, fingers start to point, her life as it really is and as portrayed is examined and as those around her are also brought into the mix, the Dirty Laundry of the title starts to be aired...
This is a bit of a slow burn. But the pace matches the story being told. Yes it is a murder mystery, as we do have a dead body and a bunch of suspects. But it is way more than that. As already mentioned it is very character driven and it is the characters that lead the story rather than the narrative - if you get what I mean!? It's obvious that the author is an avid people watcher, or has an interesting pool of friends and acquaintances to flesh them out. It was easy to connect to them all, and not all positively, and I am mostly talking about the men in this comment!
There are secrets and lies aplenty to be found herein, and more than a healthy slice of duplicitous behaviour. All of which left me flummoxed. We go back and forth in time and eventually learn the truth... Which I loved.
As always, if I like a book by an author new to me, I go check out their back catalogue and. blow me down, if this isn't a debut! Definitely didn't read like a first book. This author has definitely hit the ground running and I can't wait to see how they follow this one...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Three couples who couldn’t be more different live in a village near Cork, Ireland. There’s Gerry and ‘flawless’ Ciara Dunphy, an Instagram sensation featuring skincare routines and children! Her daughter Bella is, shall we say, challenging, and Ciara is being pushed to her limits so much so that she’s itching to pick a fight today. Maybe she’ll pick one with Gerry, there might be some justification in that but her target is much more likely to be Lauren Doyle. Lauren has been sleep deprived for years and she has her own issues with partner Sean but she thinks she’s way luckier than Ciara though she’s aware things have to change. Finally, there’s Misthti and Parth Guha and theirs is an arranged marriage and it’s fair to say that Parth treats Mishti like a servant. She is from Kolkata and is perpetually cold in the changeable Irish climate. Ciara and Mishti have been good friends but things are a tad cooler lately. The unfolding shebang is certainly dramatic and centres around Ciara which is just the way she likes it!

Well, this lot need to get a boil wash on pronto as there’s plenty of dirty Irish linen on display for your delectation and delight! I love the way Disha Bose draws you into these peoples lives and makes it feel almost like viewing a fly in the wall television drama as we rarely know exactly what goes on behind closed doors. Desperate Housewives eat your heart out!! This is a fascinating insight into the dynamics of marriage and relationships, warts and all. You also are witness different styles of parenting or lack of. Despite the fact that’s there is friendship and marriage, there’s also loneliness in places you least expect it.

The characterisation is very good, Mishti is my favourite character as bless her, she’s so out of her depth. Ciara is an acquired taste at the very least. Most of the characters are unlikeable and all of the men are worth diddly squat having their own very dirty laundry. Wash it yourselves chaps. The storyline builds and the doo doo definitely hits the fan in a really entertaining ending.

Overall, this is an enjoyable and entertaining novel and it’s clear Disha Bose is talented. Can’t wait to read what
shenanigans she imagines next!

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Penguin General UK for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

I'm not a fan of domestic thriller but I enjoyed this story as I loved the analysis of the relationship amongst three woman and the secrets that they hide.
Ciara is a bit over the top: a perfect image, a bully, a woman with a long list of people who want to kill her. Lauren is the wild child but also not a very likeable woman. Mishti is a victim or may be she isn't.
There's no relevant/decent male character and there's a lot of unhappiness.
The author delivers a good story and the dark humour makes it entertaining.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Dirty Laundry is an intriguing domestic thriller (a genre I always enjoy) that delves into the intricacies of relationships, betrayal, and appearances.

The novel’s characters are skillfully crafted, each with their own flaws and vulnerabilities – but most of them are rather unlikeable! Ciara has very few redeeming qualities – she’s in an unhappy marriage but seems to go out of her way to be awful to her husband – whilst Lauren, who Ciara seems to bully, is seen as the outsider but doesn’t always endear herself to other people (but then again, should she have to?). Mishti is the only character I felt sorry for – I wanted her to behave differently but also understood why she didn’t. The women’s husbands – two in particular – seem to be at best useless and at worst, awful people. Yet despite many of these self-absorbed, selfish characters, the story still drew me in. I tend to enjoy books with unlikeable characters so this was no surprise, but I felt that the animosity and bad behaviour added to the tension.

At the start of the book, we find out that one of the characters has been murdered. We then switch backwards in time, in the lead-up to the murder, as we get to know them all better and start to see that various people might have reasons for wanting this particular person dead. But which one actually killed them?

The story is definitely not about the murder; it’s about the characters and their relationships, friendships and interactions with their community. It’s a fairly slow burner of a novel so don’t expect anything too action-packed, but I really enjoyed it.

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I loved it! And I think you will too - if you like books by Liane Moriarty and Marian Keyes. "Dirty Laundry" is a totally engrossing and believable multi-layered story of life, love and friendship - between women! I enjoyed reading about three lead female characters, which were well-thought through and multi-dimensional. I loved that there were no ultimately bad or good characters here - they were all "real people" - some flawed, some striving for perfection, some trapped in the circumstances.

I will certainly look out for more books by Disha Bose, she knows how to tell a gripping story!

Overall, the story is compelling and has you chomping at the bit for the next juicy installment. That said, in this modern day of female empowerment, I wish the characters had more layers and strength. Instead, they tended to rely on stereotypes which disappointed and frustrated me.

We have:
The villain, Ciara, with her perfect life and perfect social media presence, who treats her husband, her kids and anyone who opposes her with disdain and spite. (Nobody gets away with being this mean!)

Her neighbour, Vishti, the ultimate victim and lapdog, oppressed by her culture, her traditions and her badly arranged marriage. ( I cringed and prayed she would find her courage).

Her other neighbour and nemisis, Lauren, who is also a victim, a product of abuse and infidelity, who gets bopped on the head anytime she tries to make any kind of stand. ( I cringed and prayed she would find her courage).

When Ciara is found dead, the book delves deeper into the events that preceded and there are lots of potential suspects.

So, I'm in two minds about this book, because I actually enjoyed reading it. It had a great pace, with lots of twists and turns and interesting back story.

But on the other hand, I found it quite degrading to women with no characters that I could admire. The only character with any strength was downright mean and selfish, and died. And the other two characters were weak and unempowered and never grew beyond this.

This book has everything for a good read. It's well written with excellent characters. I thought it lost its way somewhat in the middle but was well worth continuing as it's a good ending.

This book didn’t initially grab my attention but it quickly turned into a brilliant read. Ciara is the queen bee in the village, with her Instagram followers and her seemingly perfect life. The relationships between Ciara, Lauren and Mishti are skillfully crafted and not just the playground bitchiness often used to portray such situations. Their partners play a lesser part but all characters are realistic. I found Mishti’s childhood in Calcutta particularly interesting. I really enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it.

I do love a domestic thriller and I really need to read more of them. I really enjoyed this one and it’s clear that the author is honing her craft, this is her debut after all. i liked that the plot was quite choppy in places as that’s kind of how real life is.

I ended up reading this in one sitting because I was glued to the pages and wanted to see how this was all going to play out.

Definitely pick this up if you like thrillers!

Thank you to Viking/Penguin UK for sending me a proof of this one.

This has an interesting cast of characters that carry the story along a nice pace and create depth to the story. Great plot and I found myself filling an afternoon reading this in one sitting as I found it so enjoyable. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest , unbiased review. 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sadly, this book didn’t really deliver for me, which was disappointing, as I was very intrigued by the blurb and it did get off to quite a good start.

Where did it go wrong?

Without being disrespectful to the author — it is her debut after all — let me just say my main issue was with the characters, none of whom felt very convincing. Two of them — Ciara the bitchy, manipulative influencer, and Lauren, the bohemian earth-mother — seemed especially clichéd and had weirdly split personalities that were never fully explained.

I also felt that the plot was fragmented and directionless, and while some of the flashbacks to the women’s pasts were revealing, others had no bearing on the plot and served only to confuse and distract. Also, towards the end, there’s some really cringy stuff about one of the male characters that actually made me laugh it was so absurd and out of place.

The above notwithstanding, I do think that Bose has some raw talent that just needs time and practice to develop. My disappointment in this book will not stop me coming back to her at some point in the future.

3 unique women, living completely different lives and relationships, however they happen to be neighbours and they're lives become entangled whether they like it or not. I loved this, every woman was so unique, yet (mostly) also morally grey and sometimes even unlikable so you never know who to root for and who is the the culprit because anyone can be guilty. I also loved the layout of the book going back in time and detailing the events before the murder, this was really unique instead of typical crime thrillers having an investigation post-murder and dipping back occasionally we actual get a full in depth view of what each characters lives, thoughts and feelings are like and they're secrets unravel naturally instead of being dub up by someone. I also found it so interesting seeing how each character perceived the same events in such a different way, everyone was an unreliable narrator in a way and how social dynamics and past experiences play into the characters view points.
Overall I really enjoyed this, I found this so incredibly unique and interesting I would highly recommend to any fans of thrillers who want something a bit different.

This was pretty different from my usual reads, but I did enjoy it. None of the main characters were Women I would want to be friends with, but they still kept me interested in what was going to happen. Overall a good, and entertaining read.

I imagine that as an author it must be very difficult to write an easy to read page turner, and I mean it as a compliment when I say Ms Bose achieved this. The characters and plot are well written and I could understand people's motives even if I thought they were wrong (Lauren with Sean!) and it finished as all good books should, with a very satisfying ending.
Thank you to netgalley and Penguin Books for an advance copy of this book

Ciara, Mishti and Lauren are three very different women living in a village not far from Cork City, Ireland. From the outside, Ciara has it all - a handsome, successful husband, photogenic, well-behaved children, a beautiful home, and even a thriving career as a social media influencer - but all is not as it seems. Mishti, her best friend, is still adjusting to life in Ireland with her distant husband, and wondering what her life could have been if she had stayed in India. Lauren grew up in the village but is arguably the biggest outsider, thanks to her refusal to conform to the norms prescribed by Ciara. Then Ciara is found dead, and the reader must untangle the myriad secrets of the neighbourhood to figure out what happened and why.

Disha Bose's debut novel is a compelling read that I tore through in a couple of sittings. The intertwining stories of the three women capture the universal struggles of motherhood and womanhood in a way that really resonated with me.

Ciara craves the approval of others and seeks validation of her choices through what the women of the neighbourhood, and on Instagram, think of her, which inevitably makes her clash with free-thinking Lauren. In a society where womanhood and motherhood have been commodified and women are routinely judged for their choices, whether that be clothes, career or parenting approaches, hiding or minimising elements of yourself to assimilate and be accepted is far too common. Ciara's very performative, carefully constructed life is clearly a reflection of that. Her character is certainly insufferable, but having the confidence to be true to yourself is not something that society makes easy for women, and I appreciated how her storyline highlighted this. How many women have adjusted to having different versions of themselves because there is no one universal version that is acceptable to everyone? Ciara does verge on cartoonishly villainous at some points - to the extent where everyone, including her husband, best friend, and even her own young children, have good reason to want to get rid of her. Ultimately, though, there are just about enough humanising moments to stop her being wholly unsympathetic.

Likewise, being complicit in others' mistreatment so as to avoid being targeted yourself is an evidenced social phenomenon, so Mishti's reluctance to stand up to Ciara or befriend Lauren rang true, especially as she is so conscious of the ways in which she herself is different from the other mothers.

Lauren's character resonated as the one who mothers in the most similar way to me, and I felt protective of her as she constantly had to defend choices, which in many other places would not be in the least controversial, like wearing her baby in a sling. Her relationship with Sean will also be familiar to many readers who have tolerated bad behaviour from men - or seen friends tolerate it - because their self-worth is tied up in a man finding them attractive and choosing them. All three women feel trapped in their relationship in different ways, not feeling able to make changes because of the stability marriage represents for the family unit.

I will certainly look out for Disha Bose's future work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Three couples all neighbors in a small Irish village..

Ciara and Gerry, Gerry is busy at work while Ciara is busy posting an idyllic life on Instagram

Lauren and Sean, the outsiders Seàn has wondering eyes while Lauren just wants to fit in.

Misti and Parth an arranged marriage brings Misti to Ireland. Misti plays the part of a dutiful wife.

One of them is found dead..

Review:
Disha really brought all the characters together with Misti being my favourite from telling us all bout her childhood and her first love, I definitely wanted to hear more of her story.

This isn’t a who done it mystery because you pretty much find out straight away who it was but even at that the book was so well written, Very character driven making it’s a very easy read.