Dirty Laundry

A Novel

By: Disha Bose

Narrated by: Chandrika Narayanan-Mohan

Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK • “A twisty tale of murder and love gone wrong, rife with bone-chilling revelations . . . This is a riveting debut, and Disha Bose is a writer to watch.”—Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Mother May I

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, CrimeReads

She was the perfect wife, with the perfect life. You would kill to have it.

Ciara Dunphy has it all—a loving husband, well-behaved children, and a beautiful home. Her circle of friends in their small Irish village go to her for tips about mothering, style, and influencer success—a picture-perfect life is easy money on Instagram. But behind the filters, reality is less polished.

Enter Mishti Guha: Ciara’s best friend. Ciara welcomed Mishti into her inner circle for being . . . unlike the other mothers in the group. Discontent in a marriage arranged for her by her parents back in Calcutta, Mishti now raises her young daughter in a country that is too cold, among children who look nothing like her. She wants what Ciara has—the ease with which she moves through the world—and, in that sense, Mishti might be exactly like the other mothers.

And there’s earth mother Lauren Doyle: born, bred, and the butt of jokes in their village. With her disheveled partner and children who run naked in the yard, they’re mostly a happy lot, though ostracized for being the singular dysfunction in Ciara’s immaculate world. When Lauren finds an unlikely ally in Mishti, she decides that her days of ridicule are over.

Then Ciara is found murdered in her own pristine home, and the house of cards she’d worked so hard to build comes crumbling down. Everyone seems to have something to gain from Ciara’s death, so if they don’t want the blame, it may be the perfect time to air their enemies’ dirty laundry.

In this dazzling debut novel, Disha Bose revolutionizes age-old ideas of love and deceit. What ensues is the delicious unspooling of a group of women desperate to preserve themselves.

©2023 Disha Bose (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“A wonderfully dark and entertaining novel about neighboring friends and enemies. Disha Bose weaves a clever web between three completely original characters, and gives us intimate details of marriage and motherhood that make this read as juicy as it is riveting.”—Ashley Audrain, New York Times bestselling author of The Push

“Disha Bose’s Dirty Laundry is not only a propulsive page-turner but also an intimate exploration of love, race, immigration, and class. . . . Twisty, smart, and moving: a wonderful read.”—Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of Searching for Sylvie Lee

“Dirty Laundry is a spider’s web of secrets and betrayals, each one more shocking than the last. The characters are fascinating, sometimes horrible, and always irresistible. Disha Bose has written a tremendous debut novel.”—Samantha Downing, author of My Lovely Wife

An Updated “Who Dun It”

I liked it. I liked these female characters. If you’ve ever been apart of a friend group and you begin to wonder, “are these ladies really my friends?”, I think you’ll enjoy it. Everything is not what it appears to be in today’s Social Media world. Dirty Laundry gives a peak behind closed doors. I really enjoyed the story but I’ve never listened to an audiobook where the narrator was sniffling constantly through one part. That was definitely distracting because I have allergies and I kept wanting to give her a tissue! I’m surprised they didn’t re-record that day’s taping because it is noticeable. Can’t fault the author for that. Overall, a fun “Who Dun It” set in Ireland. Enjoy.

Captivating

Really good story that kept me engaged and wanting to hear more. I truly enjoyed!

Great story!

I appreciate the way the author kept us guessing. Just the right amount of drama and intrigue!

Worth pushing through

The beginning was a bit of a slog with too many similar reprehensible characters that can get confused (altho I was listening to the audio book so realize if reading print it might be different). But the evolution was good. Clearly a set up for a second book.

Love it!

Definitely an interesting book! I would enjoy a sequel, if you might be so inclined.

Entertaining

Loved the plot twists— would love a sequel on Parth and Mishta. Narrator sniffles were distracting but not enough to take away from the story.

Hoped for a better ending

It was a great book. But it took a long time to understand what direction this would be going . It was also the first time I disliked every single character in the novel. Which made it harder for me to like book and really support someone.

Dirty Laundry for sure!

This novel kept my attention but I often thought how can this woman get any lower. Every character has issues and pulls you into the lives of the people in this small town.

A true House Wives Depiction

Age old story of modern day marriage, relationships, and one person’s quest for happiness, at all costs! The more you read the harder it is to put down. Good read

Narrator distracting and audio quality distorted

Overall the story was good but for me the narrator was distracting with weird breaths. Also towards the end the book became distorted with poor audio quality.