Oof this one was such a hard read for me. Gahhhh covid isn’t over and I’m not sure I’m ready for covid books but this was so much more than that. The story was so twisty and all over the place and I wasn’t sure what was happening until it was over

Ciara is new to Dublin and while getting to know the town she meets a man named Oliver. They go on a date and enjoy each other company but little did they know the world was about to enter a global pandemic.

They come up with the crazy idea of moving in together as the city enters a lockdown. They figure this is a good way to get to know each other. However, they are both keeping a big secret from each other that has a massive impact on their relationship.

This was a highly anticipated read since I’ve seen tons of great reviews. I found this to fall somewhat flat for me, the premise was definitely interesting and bringing in COVID was different from anything I’ve read. However, I found the build to be very slow and the timelines jumped around a lot that I found it difficult to keep track of the story at times. I would say the last third of the book saved it for me and certainly tied up all the loose ends.

We follow the relationship of Ciara and Oliver who meet just before Ireland goes into lockdown. Neither of them has any family in town and decide that, since they have enjoyed each other’s company so far, they are going to move in together for lockdown. During this time one of them ends up dead.

This is the first book I’ve read set in a pandemic setting and I really liked that it was a thriller. I thought there were tons of twists and turns and a lot of things that had me guessing one thing and then ended up being completely different than what I expected. Those are signs of a good thriller to me and I think the overall plot of the book was great. However, the book just lost me with the multiple timelines and POVs. At one point we will be in the present watching the investigation unfold, then we will be back 23 days ago, then we will be back 73 days ago then come forward to 18 days ago. It jumped around way too much for me. I also was not a fan of getting the same story told from both Ciara and Oliver’s perspectives. It made the book so repetitive. For those reasons, I went with the 3 stars but I did really like the thriller aspect & plot of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ciara and Oliver meet in the grocery store and bond over Ciara's NASA tote bag. This is the same week in March 2020 that the pandemic reaches Ireland. Cue the lockdown and the pair decides that it would be better for Ciara to move in with Oliver instead of them both being alone. 56 days later, detectives find a decomposing body in Oliver's apartment. ⁠
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56 Days is a quick-read, dark pandemic thriller. Catherine Ryan Howard really had me tricked that it was romance at the start. I was really rooting for Ciara and Oliver's relationship and honestly forgot that this was a thriller/mystery at some points. This book may not be for you depending on how this past year and a half has been for you. The premise is centered around the pandemic, namely lockdowns, so be aware. ⁠
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The narrative is told from multiple POVs and also includes time jumps forwards and backwards. Some situations are retold from different perspectives as well. I only found it slightly repetitive during the first chapter we revisited because that chapter was so dialogue heavy without the character's inner thoughts. ⁠
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The Gardaí (Irish state police) had entertaining banter but this also leans towards sexual harassment if the two detectives weren't friends outside work. Both Ciara and Oliver have intriguingly complex backstories and CRH got me with one of the twists. I had to go back half a page to double check I hadn't misread something!⁠

4.5 rounded up.

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
This book was interesting to read and very familiar as I lived through this lockdown myself. So many similarities; It’s so true that fire alarms in Ireland are so sensitive (and yes I am a good cook). I loved how this book showed a little bit of how restricted and strange things were here during the COVID lockdowns. I didn’t really enjoyed the POV’s. I normally really enjoyed two different timelines but these has too many timelines and too far apart that they are a little nuisance as you basically read the story multiple times. I didn’t guess the ending which was quite surprising and also a little bit anti climactic. Overal I think I could have enjoyed this story a lot if I didn’t get distracted by the timelines.
⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Revenge stories
Books set in COVID time

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
𝘕𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳?

56 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰: 𝘊𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘖𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘶𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘋𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘊𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥-19 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘐𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴.

𝘛𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺: 𝘋𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘖𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦.

𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦?

Wow, what a compelling page-turning experience - I did not stop until I finished it, all in one go! The premise itself, of being locked up with someone you scarcely know, due to Covid, was intriguing enough, but then there are several other things going on in, revealed at just the right time. It's always tricky repeating scenes from another point of view, as it can get dull for the reader, but I thought this was handled quite expertly here. And the author is not afraid to leave the ending slightly open-ended...

I liked it!

Some might say this is a little too soon--this is a mystery/thriller book, set during the coronavirus pandemic. Someday there will be a million of these (labeled as "historical fiction"), and maybe we'll all be looking back fondly, but for now it does hit a little too close to home.

However, you can't argue that the confused, quarantined, is-the-world-ending vibes are perfect for this type of novel. We've got multiple timelines, unreliable narrators with unclear motives, and everyone is playing complicated mind games as the world melts down around them. I could not put this book down for the second half in particular--I came up with every theory I could think of, but was still satisfyingly surprised by the final reveal.

If you're still recovering from quarantine and pandemic-fatigue in general, set this one aside for a few years. But if you're ready for it, this was an entertaining psychological thriller with a unique (but still so familiar) setting.

I read 5%

I’m not sure if it’s the netgalley download but it’s super hard to read. It seems like it’s skipping words, then in a middle of a sentence it’s on to a new line.

When this publishes, I’ll be trying out the audio.

Sorry I couldn’t read this and give a better review.

Two people meet right before lockdown in Dublin March 2020, and end up on a rollercoaster relationship with secrets and lies, vulnerability and discovery. There are a lot of twists, and ultimately it was one twist too many for me, but it was a fun ride to read this story, and it didn’t trigger any lockdown trauma for me—some might not be ready to read a book about the pandemic yet, but it was merely the setting and not a huge part of the plot or character development. I recommend it for any thriller fan!

Thank you @netgalley and @blackstonepublishing for the advanced copy.

I really tried to get into this book but unfortunately I DNF. I will try again in future to finish this novel and if I do I will come back to update my review.

Having said that there are many wonderful reviews on this book so please do go ahead and read it for yourself.

Not a fan. I really did try to enjoy this book but it couldn't get past that it was all about the pandemic. I know it wasn't but I was still in my head thinking it was I tried to enjoy it and I did finish it but I probably wouldn't read it again or recommend it

18 months ago when the lock downs where at their height, I remember wishing for fiction set in the "Covid World." I wanted to read about people facing what was leaving me overwhelmed: "doom-scrolling" the news, shortages at the supermarket, masks, and social distancing. In 56 Days, Catherine Ryan Howard manages to create a compelling thriller set in the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, complete with police procedure and truly surprising plot twists.
Newly-dating couple Oliver and Ciara decide to spend their two-week stay-at-home together at Oliver's apartment, keeping the arrangement a secret. 56 days later, one of them is discovered dead in the apartment, It looks like an accident, but the police investigator suspects that the story is more complicated than it seems.
I will recommend to fans to Gillian Flynn and B.A. Paris, and anyone looking for fiction that has the COVID-19 pandemic as a plot point.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and Netgalley for a digital copy in exchange for review.

As Covid begins its spread across the globe, Shane and Ciara have a chance meeting at their local market. After a few promising dates, the country begins lockdown. Deciding to take a chance on their new relationship, they decide to live together, assuming it’ll only last a couple weeks. As we’ve all just experienced, two weeks turned into much longer.

Over the course of 56 days, Shane and Ciara get to know each other more and more. The problem, however, both are harboring secrets that are deadly.

Altering between the course of their 56 day relationship and the police investigation, the reader is drawn into what really happened on that fateful day.

Very engrossing and suspenseful, this has the makings of an excellent thriller. This won’t be for everyone, especially if you’re not ready to relive everything we’ve just been through and are continuing to go through with Covid.

Despite a somewhat slow start and nailing down some of the major twist about 72% of the way in, this was both engaging and suspenseful! Would definitely recommend if aware and comfortable with the triggers.

I read an advanced digital copy of this novel courtesy on the publisher through NetGalley. Review available on goodreads.

First, I want to thank Netgalley, Blackstone publishing, & Catherine Ryan Howard for allowing me to read and review this exciting thriller before it’s pub date.

This one was pretty exciting. The twists and turns definitely kept me on the edge of my seat and I wasn’t expecting them. At times I do feel like it was maybe a little too soon (in my opinion) to read about the pandemic, being that we’re still in it and experiencing it. But all in all, I really enjoyed 56 Days.

Ciara and Oliver meet in a supermarket queue and start dating. 2 weeks later, Dublin goes into complete lockdown and Oliver suggests they move in together to build on their budding relationship without external interference. A month later one of them is dead.
56 days was a great psychological thriller that kept me guessing at every turn. I saw some of the twists coming but it still managed to surprise me at the end. I very rarely get emotionally invested in the characters of thrillers. It’s usually the plot that gets me hooked. But this one managed to do both.
Well plotted, well paced and intriguing thriller with plenty of plot twists. This twisty lockdown murder mystery should definitely be on your tbrs!
Rating : 4.5 stars

Thank you to Catherine Ryan Howard, Netgalley and the publisher Corvus Books, for the ARC.

This was way better than I was expecting! I was hesitant to read a "Covid" book, but this wasn't too triggering in terms of Covid. I had started another book that was set in Covid times, but had to put it down because it was shoved down your throat too much. This book uses Covid more as a catalyst for the real story, instead of it being all consuming. This book was written in different timelines and in three character perspectives. It sometimes could get a little confusing when first starting the chapter, but I think this way of writing the book really helped the mystery. There were lots of twists and turns and I thought I had it figured out, but didn't!

I would definitely recommend this book for anyone wanting a quick, engaging thriller.

When I read the synopsis of this book and got approved for it on NetGalley I got so hyped up to read this and let me just say it was so worth the hype. The ending was amazing. All within a couple of minutes I went from saying out loud “NO WAY” and then “wait….WHAT?!” And I love when books do that! I know I said in my last review I didn’t like the Covid talk but I found this different and I didn’t mind it at all. This book had me thrown for such a loop. I read it so quickly it is so fast paced and is told in multiple points of views and over different times. There’s so much going on it just has you hooked from the very beginning. I highly recommend this book!

A gripping isolation thriller with a pandemic twist that readers won't be able to put down!

Ciara thinks she's met the guy of her dreams when she bumps into Oliver in queue at her local supermarket. But when COVID-19 threatens to keep the pair apart, Oliver suggests she move in with him. Thinking this is her chance to take their new relationship to the next level, Ciara agrees. But is Oliver who she thinks he is, or is he hiding a dark and deadly secret?

Told in a shifting timeline between the time Ciara and Oliver meet to a couple of months later when a dead body is discovered by police in Oliver's apartment, this is one thriller that kept me guessing all the way through. This is sure to be one of the break-out thrillers of 2021!

“Set just before and during the first weeks of the Covid-19 lockdown in Dublin, Ireland, this captivating tale from Edgar finalist Howard opens with something amiss in an apartment complex. Flash back 56 days. Oliver and Ciara, two shy people in their 20s, meet in a supermarket. Both have recently moved to Dublin and are alone, so lockdown Set just before and during the first weeks of the Covid-19 lockdown in Dublin, Ireland, this captivating tale from Edgar finalist Howard opens with something amiss in an apartment complex. Flash back 56 days. Oliver and Ciara, two shy people in their 20s, meet in a supermarket. Both have recently moved to Dublin and are alone, so lockdown seems like the perfect time to start a relationship. But as their courtship unfolds, so do their secrets, seems like the perfect time to start a relationship. But as their courtship unfolds, so do their secrets.” Catherine Ryan Howard has used the Covid pandemic as the backdrop of this modern thriller. I could not put this book down. Told in alternative time frames, Ryan sets the scene with the main characters quarantining together. There is an underlying sense of danger and mistrust but Ryan does not show her cards. Bits & pieces are cleverly revealed, intensity rises and the reader is sucked in to this novel even after the last page. I have been waiting for a thriller that keeps you up reading all night and 56 Days did that and more.