Review of "The Favor: A Novel of Suspense" by Nora Murphy

 Leah Dawson, a lawyer.....

.....and McKenna Hawkins, a pediatrician, are well-educated women who never imagined they would be the victims of domestic abuse.



However both women find themselves in toxic marriages, and they don't see a way out.

Leah's husband Liam is a successful attorney.....



.....and McKenna's spouse Zackary is a flourishing psychiatrist. During the courtship period both men seem ideal: handsome, thoughtful, caring, successful; etc.



After Leah and Liam marry, however, Liam proceeds to isolate his wife from her family and friends; gets Leah fired from her job; relegates Leah to a locked bedroom in the basement; tracks Leah's activities; limits Leah's access to money; and finally becomes violent.



To cope with the terrible situation Leah drinks vodka all day long, and there's barely a moment when she's completely sober.



McKenna and Zachary's union follows a similar path. After McKenna suffers a miscarriage early in the marriage, Zachary - whose self-image requires 'the perfect family' - segregates McKenna from her friends and relatives; makes McKenna quit her job; installs an app to track McKenna's phone; takes complete charge of the couple's finances; and so on - supposedly to insure a successful pregnancy next time.



Leah and McKenna each think about divorce, but they know their attractive, successful, husbands - who are well-liked in the outside world - can 'gaslight' people to make their wives look bad (if not crazy). Moreover, the men have the resources to make divorce proceedings extremely difficult. In addition, Liam shows his wife a gun, and threatens to kill Leah's mother if Leah leaves him.



Though both couples live in the same Maryland suburb, Leah and McKenna don't know each other. Serendipitously, however, Leah is making her usual liquor store run when she happens to see McKenna in the same shop. Leah - who's puffy and disheveled from drinking - notes that McKenna, who's svelte, well-dressed, blonde, and blue-eyed, looks like a previous incarnation of Leah herself.....in her happier days.

Leah impulsively decides to follow McKenna home, and she parks where she can see into McKenna's house. This activity becomes an obsession for Leah, and she repeatedly spies on the other woman.



To make a long story short, Leah - who knows the signs of domestic abuse from her own sorry situation - notes that McKenna is being bullied by Zachary..... and Leah impetuously takes action.

That's all I can say without major spoilers.

At the end of the book the author Nora Murphy - who's a family law attorney - notes that domestic abuse is endemic, and not confined to people of low socioeconomic status. Murphy observes, "abuse also occurs in many relationships marked by high levels of education and affluence....For these types of relationships, financial and psychological abuse may be more common than physical abuse, sexual abuse, or stalking. Thus it may be more hidden, more difficult to prove." Thus springs the idea for this book.

The story is a fast-moving page-turner, recommended to fans of domestic thrillers.

Thanks to Netgalley, Nora Murphy, and Minotaur Books for a copy of the novel.

Rating: 3.5 stars