The Push by Claire McGowan

⭐Publisher featured review

The Push is a whodunit centering around new parents. A kind of maternity noir.  A group made up of six couples plus an older child of one of the couples, have a barbeque to celebrate the birth of their babies. By the end of the party someone is dead, thought initially to have perhaps fallen from a balcony. But we know better, don't we.

The tale is told from the point of view of many of the women in the group, plus a female police officer investigating the goings-on, one from the first person perspective. Unfortunately, as they all have the same casual speech patterns and turn of phrase, it is sometimes a bit confusing as to whose story we're reading, particularly in the beginning of the book. Perhaps it's because they are all from London and don't really move far from their community, maybe. There is the obvious whodunit aspect plus another couple of twists and revelations. Not really hard to work out though, so that is a little disappointing.

It has been more than twenty years since I was the parent of a newborn, so the understandable worries of having a baby are behind me, but the issues are always there. Because of this, most of the early chapters are a little tedious discussing issues such as vaccination, fertility, adoption, diet, first aid, PND and so on. All very valid of course, but not great story themes considering all parents have been there. There is no real tension or thriller aspect and nothing psychological except for the worry about having a healthy baby.

The novel brilliantly documents twenty-first-century London. It explores the gentrification of South London neighbourhoods, extreme differences in wealth, and the hyper-competitive nature of modern city parenting groups. The story ties up neatly in the end.

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Published by Thomas and Mercer on 12 November 2020.
​Advance review copy supplied by the publisher.

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Capital Chronicles: London Through Time ​