The Push

By: Claire McGowan

Narrated by: Justine Eyre

From the bestselling author of What You Did comes a stunning psychological thriller. One party. Thirteen people. By 3.02 p.m., one of them will be dead.

The party should have been perfect: six couples from the same baby group, six newborns, a luxurious house. But not everything has gone to plan, and while some are here to celebrate, others have sorrows to drown. When someone falls from the balcony of the house, the secrets and conflicts within the group begin to spill out....

DS Alison Hegarty, herself struggling with infertility, is called in to investigate. She’s convinced the fall was not an accident, and finds the new parents have a lot to hide. Wealthy Ed and Monica show off their newborn while their teenage daughter is kept under virtual house arrest. Hazel and Cathy conceived their longed-for baby via an anonymous sperm donor - or so Hazel thinks. Anita and Jeremy planned to adopt from America, but there’s no sign of the child. Kelly, whose violent boyfriend disrupted previous group sessions, came to the party even though she lost her baby. And then there’s Jax, who’s been experiencing strange incidents for months - almost like someone’s out to get her. Is it just a difficult pregnancy? Or could it be payback for something she did in the past?

It’s a nightmare of a case, and as events get even darker it begins to look impossible. Only one thing is clear: they all have something to hide. And for one of them, it’s murder.

©2020 Claire McGowan (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“You’ll be desperate to know what happened and how everything will turn out.” —The Sun

“Plenty of twists and turns keep you hooked.” —Crime Monthly

“It really had me gripped.” —Marian Keyes, international bestselling author of Grown Ups

Oh, this was good!

I love the way Claire writes. I felt as if I were right there in the mix of everything going on. This was a really good read and I love the discussion questions at the end. My jaw was really on the floor when I learned who had been doing all those awful things to Jax and why but that was nothing compared to the ultimate reveal. I did not at all see that coming. I had gone in an entirely didn't direction as I tried to piece everything together. I will definitely be recommending this book to others and I'll be on the lookout for Claire's next release. Don't wait, grab a copy and start reading now!

Interesting and quite a twist

The story line was excellent. It’s twists and turns kept me guessing at points. Each character was suspect.

Everything by McGowan is great!

Every book I’ve read of this author is gripping—not just the suspense or mystery but the rich emotions each character experiences. Thoroughly enjoyed this book!

The Push

This was a good listen, however, way more focus on pregnancy than I anticipated. I enjoyed the characters and the mystery and wish that would have been the focal point because that part is what made the book worth reading for me!

pretty good

Good story in some ways, but too much whining by too many annoying characters. Also it was hard at times to know which person was talking etc. I am generally a big fan of Claire McGowan.

Love the Twist!

I really enjoy listening to this author’s books but did this narrator spoiled this one for me.

Narrator is monotonous

I’ve heard such great things about this book. The narrator was so monotonous and followed the same patterns of inflection that I gave up. She doesn’t change voices much for different characters making it hard to follow. With all the voice talent out there, you’d think the publishers/producers could have selected better.

Good performances, annoying story

I’m two hours into this mess. I’ve listened to two other Claire McGowan books this year, and they were fantastic. This one, “The Push,” is full of characters I don’t care about. It jumps too often from one to another (and I enjoy books told from the view of different characters). I’m tired of listening to these whiny do-nothings and worry-worts for the past two hours. I can’t continue. I don’t even know who has been killed and I don’t even care. Don’t bother.