The Push

I've read a previous book by Claire McGowan and I enjoyed that one, but this one I just couldn't get into.

For me the story was just really slow going and I really couldn't bring myself to care what happened to any of the characters. It didn't help that there were no wow moments. I ‘buddy' read it with a friend and we pretty much figured out the ‘twists' between us long before they were even revealed.

I had high hopes for this book, but it was a real let down unfortunately.

Thank you to Amazon, Thomas Mercer and NetGalley for the chance to read this book.

Thriller

I have said this time and time again this year that I am in such a slump and all these books are getting neglected because of it. This was given to me by the publisher via Netgalley and my apologize go out to them for my delay. Claire McGowan writes a thrilling thriller that is worth your time and energy. Six diverse couples living in a suburban area of London are looking forward to parenthood and sign up for a group for expectant parents. The couples don't have much in common, but agree to a reunion at the home of one of the couples a few weeks after the group's meetings have ended. The reunion has several awkward and tense moments and then tragedy strikes - someone at the barbecue has fallen to their death from an upstairs balcony. It appears to be an accident but one detective can tell the survivors from the party are hiding something and thinks she is looking at a case of murder.

This book has two main narrators. Jax Culville, one of the expectant mothers from the prenatal group, narrates much of the story. Jax is in her late thirties and is insecure about her relationship with her much younger boyfriend, as well as over past indiscretions. I do not agree with everything Jax does, but I liked her from the beginning. I sympathize with her because she wants to do the best she can and feels she is constantly coming up short. The other main narrator is DS Alison Hegarty who is investigating the death at the party. I like Alison, too. She is determined to find out the truth even though questioning all the new moms is difficult for her since she has been trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant. She has a new work partner as well that she isn't sure about. I was slow to warm up to her partner, but by the end I really liked her and liked how they managed to wrap up the case and make a good team. I do hope that this is a series that fallows D.S Alison and we get more development.

“The Push” is one part procedural and one part domestic drama. What I loved is that I could sit down and finish this in one long sitting it was that good. I also enjoyed the fact that we were not given the name of the person who died at the party until the very end. I kind of figured it out who it was just by speeding through pages but the pacing and the guessing was very well done. If you are looking for a new author and love a good thriller this is the book for you. It is also a part of kindle unlimited if you have that as well check it out. Four star read I will be reading more of this in the future.

3.5 stars, it was actually okay. I've read good and bad reviews, and honestly, I think for one, the fact that there were chapters specifically with Jax's name from the beginning kinda implied something was the matter, but at the same time the victim is only revealed at 49% of the book and despite the odd coincidences that make you frown - for instance, exactly when the guy goes to look for his mom she suddenly shows up? and the sheer horribleness of the characters (sleazy men, biased women, lots of prejudice and craziness), it was interesting.

For me, this read more like a domestic drama than the psychological thriller it was marketed to be. The novel takes place in two time frames. In the recent past, we meet six couples who have gathered together at a local London community center for a pre-natal class led by Nina, a snarky, somewhat self-absorbed facilitator. Each couple is expecting a child, most by birth but one through adoption. I have to say that I didn't really like any of these characters. They displayed a mix of racist, homophobic, classist, and sexist attitudes during the sessions that were hard to stomach and the main pairing, Jax, a 39-year old professional and her husband Aaron were particularly one-dimensional. The fact that the story was told from multiple points of view, (which seems increasingly common nowadays) meant I didn't really feel close to anyone, but instead felt bounced around without serious depth given to any one person's situation.

The second time frame is a few weeks after the babies are born. It's a BBQ held at the mansion of one of the well-to-do mothers and it's there where a murder occurs. Someone falls off the balcony but their identity is kept secret until halfway through the book, reminiscent of a Big Little Lies trope. There are no shortage of suspects in the vicinity and we then read forward to see who the guilty party is and why they committed the crime.

In my opinion, the pacing in this novel was erratic – slow in the first half, a bit rushed in the second as secret after secret unfolded, some telegraphed so early it was irritating and others terribly convoluted and unrealistic. The solution to the murder, rather than being a twist we could figure out, seemed to come out of nowhere. The novel initially seemed more of an Agatha Christie whodunit but toward the end became more of a police procedural as another POV character, the policewoman investigating the crime and who has issues of her own, entered the scene.
It's always hard to pull off juggling upwards of 15 different characters – the couples, the group leader, the daughter of the wealthy woman, the police detectives – and make them more than stereotypes. In this case, I didn't feel the author succeeded, which was a shame because I felt the bones of a good story were there. Perhaps some pruning was needed to shape the novel into a more cohesive whole. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't all that memorable.


My thanks to Net Galley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.