Nora Murphy

THE FAVOR is an unsettling domestic suspense novel involving two affluent, professional women who are victims of spousal abuse. They don’t know each other, but when Leah observes McKenna from afar in her same perilous situation, she intervenes.

This book was so good — disturbing, but addictive. The author created two sympathetic characters in Leah and McKenna, and portrayed their struggle realistically. It could happen to anyone, and “just leaving” isn’t a safe or easy solution. show more Enter: the favor.

This well-plotted, slow burn tale had the right amount of suspense and dread woven in, with some wonderfully cathartic moments as well. Fantastic debut from Nora Murphy! show less

“Ours Is a Tale of Murder” by Nora Murphy
⭐⭐⭐⭐

This one creeps up on you like a cat in the dark, all quiet paws and sharp claws. Blink, and you’ll miss the danger until it’s right in your lap.

Thanks to the author and Sourcebooks Landmark for the #GiftedARC via NetGalley.

Murphy hands us three women, all living on the same sleepy street, where the biggest drama should be over who brings the best brownies to book club. But, there’s more going on behind those polite waves and show more perfect lawns. Secrets are buzzing under the surface, and the tension is as sharp as a knife’s blade.

Each woman brings a distinct energy. One is sharp and observant, seeing what others ignore. One feels trapped but is smarter than she appears. One carries a quiet, simmering resilience. Watching them connect the dots is deeply satisfying.

Mary totally got to me. She’s packing up her house, drowning in memories and what-ifs, and her loneliness just punched me right in the feels. She’s carrying enough regret to fill every moving box.

The pace is a slow burn, but when things finally snap, you’ll feel it. If you’re into thrillers where the women are complicated, the danger is next door, and the drama is juicier than your group chat, you’re in for a treat.

Sharp, tense, and totally worth sticking around for that last page.

#OursisaTaleofMurder show less

“Ours Is a Tale of Murder” by Nora Murphy
⭐⭐⭐⭐

This one creeps up on you like a cat in the dark, all quiet paws and sharp claws. Blink, and you’ll miss the danger until it’s right in your lap.

Thanks to the author and Sourcebooks Landmark for the #GiftedARC via NetGalley.

Murphy hands us three women, all living on the same sleepy street, where the biggest drama should be over who brings the best brownies to book club. But, there’s more going on behind those polite waves and show more perfect lawns. Secrets are buzzing under the surface, and the tension is as sharp as a knife’s blade.

Each woman brings a distinct energy. One is sharp and observant, seeing what others ignore. One feels trapped but is smarter than she appears. One carries a quiet, simmering resilience. Watching them connect the dots is deeply satisfying.

Mary totally got to me. She’s packing up her house, drowning in memories and what-ifs, and her loneliness just punched me right in the feels. She’s carrying enough regret to fill every moving box.

The pace is a slow burn, but when things finally snap, you’ll feel it. If you’re into thrillers where the women are complicated, the danger is next door, and the drama is juicier than your group chat, you’re in for a treat.

Sharp, tense, and totally worth sticking around for that last page.

#OursisaTaleofMurder show less

Author Nora Murphy ramps up the suspense and discomfort to high on the very first page of The New Mother and keeps it heart-poundingly there until the very last page. The relationship between Natalie and her husband Tyler seems off from the start. She seems resentful before they have even left the hospital with newborn son Oliver. Did they have to move to that new house so soon? How can Tyler just sleep in that chair beside her bed? Doesn’t he get it? Can’t he see that Oliver really show more shouldn’t be all that way down the hall with those other germy babies? That something might happen to him?

Natalie is a self-professed deadline meeter, overachiever, rule abider. A smart, successful lawyer with a smart, successful lawyer husband. So parenthood should be a snap, right? But it’s not a snap. It’s immediately overwhelming. She’s irrationally irritated with everything Tyler does, and everything he doesn’t think to do. Used to doing extensive research she learned everything she could about her pregnancy and newborns. To the extent that she is obsessed with only doing the right things and never, ever, ever doing anything that could harm her baby. So how can she sleep? Who knows what could happen?

Oliver isn’t an easy baby. He wants to be held by Natalie – only by Natalie – all the time. He fusses and screams and only sleeps in little bits. He seems to want to nurse constantly. No sleep, a body that won’t seem to heal, Natalie is more tired than she ever thought possible. And it just keeps getting worse. She thinks she’s following the rules and can’t stop. She used to love her job, she wants to return to work, but the pressure is enormous, she can’t stay away, she makes mistakes, and so she ends up taking a sabbatical. Now she’s home alone all day with a screaming baby who won’t sleep. And all the while she becomes more and more exhausted and confused and forgetful and irrational and nobody seems to think it’s more than “just get a little rest.” Tyler tries to help but Oliver wants his mommy and Natalie pushes Tyler away. Nobody understands. Nobody but Paul.

Author Murphy’s debut novel, The Favor, was stunning; so is The New Mother. She has gone on my always-read list. There are many layers to The New Mother, all of them unsettling. Motherhood has done something to Natalie and she is literally afraid to let Oliver out of her sight. Sleep-deprived, lonely, isolated. Along comes good neighbor Paul. He gets it. He’s a stay-at-home dad and knows how hard it was, but he’s perfected it now and he calms Oliver down like nobody else. Everything feels so comfortable, so right when she is with Paul. She gets a break from Oliver without putting Oliver in danger. But remember, Natalie is irrational these days. Paul’s perfect husband/dad life might not be so perfect after all. He had some “trouble” in the past, he keeps secrets from his wife, he “needs” Natalie but for what? Is he just a lonely man or is he a predator? There are a lot of little hints about what Paul’s real motives may be, but we really are as much in the dark as Natalie. Hearing this story through her own voice makes it all the more chilling.

Thanks to St. Martin’s, Minotaur Books for providing an advance copy of The New Mother via NetGalley for my thrilling reading pleasure. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it without hesitation; this is an author to watch. I am voluntarily leaving this review and all opinions are my own. show less