The Favor by Nora Murphy

 

Two women in nearby neighborhoods in Maryland deal with domestic abuse in The Favor, a debut thriller by Nora Murphy, published May 31. Leah Dawson and McKenna Hawkins, who do not know each other, have learned that staying with their abuser is dangerous although leaving could be worst based on their husband’s threats.

Leah  has become a drunk as she self-medicates to soothe her problems, while McKenna lives in constant fear about everything she does as her husband has double downed on controlling her since she had a miscarriage. Zack has made her quit her job as a pediatrician so she can focus on being healthy enough to carry a baby to full term, which means no wine, no chips, no friends over to enjoy their new patio. Leah’s husband Liam has done something underhanded, causing Leah to fired from her job as a lawyer.

When Leah encounters McKenna at a local liquor store, something triggers her to follow McKenna home, which is one neighborhood away from Leah’s. Through observation of McKenna’s home over several days, Leah notes that McKenna is living a similar life with an abusive husband much like Leah’s spouse, a prominent divorce lawyer. Leah keeps visiting McKenna’s neighborhood and watches what goes on in her house from the road behind. One night, Leah intervenes when McKenna’s psychiatrist husband is abusing McKenna.

McKenna immediately comes under suspicion about Zack’s fate though she had nothing to do with it. But the night before, someone had called the police about them having a domestic problem. Zach schmoozes with the police, and eventually forces McKenna outside to talk with them to say nothing is wrong.

Jordan Harrison, the detective on the case, is haunted by the last domestic violence case he and his partner Mallory Cole caught, a case that left her with a gunshot from which she has not recovered. Readers will be burning the midnight oil and then some as both women are pitted against the police as investigators try to solve deadly crimes in this otherwise quiet suburb.

Nora Murphy attended law school in Washington D.C. then  worked as a judicial law clerk before transitioning to private practice. During law school, she studied the issues facing survivors of “intimate partner violence.” She lives with her family in Maryland.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting July 12, 2022.

I would like to thank St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.