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.

This was all sorts of awesome.

Even though it's "soon" to talk about the pandemic (since we're still in it), this was a spot-on thriller that took a really original way to see what could happen when the world was on pause. I don't want to give anything away, but the twists and turns were great, and I didn't see them coming. Loved this book!

Set in Dublin during the initial stage of Covid, this story is about a couple who decided to live together during the lockdown. But things went awry when one of them is found dead. What really happened?

I know this is a brief synopsis but there is a lot going on in the plot. All I can say is that it was twisty, suspenseful, left me flabbergasted and I LOVED IT!

The story is told from different POVs with events happening within 56 days. Catherine is a brilliant writer and I do not know how she did it but these 56 days were intense and as the mystery unravels, oh my goodness, it was bananas!

I liked most of the characters but absolutely loved the two detectives - Lee and Karl. I want to be their friends!

In a nutshell, a MUST READ book!


Pub. Date: Aug 17th, 2021

***Thank you Blackstone Publishing, author Catherine Ryan Howard and NetGalley for this gifted ARC copy to read and review.***

This book focuses on two people who meet right before the COVID-19 lockdown. Seems that they really hit it off and are going to really enjoy ones company. Nope. The reader is told one of them is dead and no one knows whats going on. This book was a friggin blast to read. Timelines alternative between 56 days ago and to the "today". This kept it at such a great pace for a thriller. You get multiple perspectives from Ciara and Oliver which slowly made you question more and more about them. Who's lying to who? Who is being someone they aren't? This book blindsided me on multiple occasions. I thought I had it figured out but nope. Not even a little bit. I will be reading ALL the CRH books.

56 days ago, before COVID reached Ireland, Ciara and Oliver met at a store and immediately there seemed to be a mutual interest and attraction. 35 days ago they decided to move in together under the threat of a lockdown. Now there is a body in the apartment they share and Detective Inspector Leah Riordan is tasked with uncovering who the dead person is, and what happened to this person.

What a rollercoaster of a story! 56 Days kept me on the edge of my seat with all of its twists and turns; I never knew what would happen next. The story jumps from the present to the past--the recent and less-recent past--and back again, and I really enjoyed this arrangement. Howard is perfectly able to reveal bits of information at just the right times, creating suspense that kept me turning the pages with a swipe of my finger as quickly as I could. Some of the major events are brilliantly told from the perspectives of more than one character, adding a whole new level to the story. While the story takes place within the confusion and chaos that was the early days of the COVID pandemic, the realities of that time, while depressing to think about, are expertly used within 56 Days to advance the narrative without it being overused. 

I found 56 Days to be a highly enjoyable novel and I highly recommend it. Be sure to look for it August 17th!

Thank you to NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing and Catherine Ryan Howard for gifting me an early electronic copy of 56 Days, given in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are my own.

I was a bit skeptical to read this at first because the use of the current situation in a storyline just a over a year in maybe felt a bit like a ploy. But let me assure you that it was far, far from it. The evolution of the story actually stems from events from a time in the past with the characters having to navigate their way around it while being thrown in the deep end of the pandemic situation.

The story is told from multiple POVs with a shifting timeline counting down the 56 days. Of course, I always believe this leads to a bit of repetition but because it was executed well it was a good reading experience. The story was fairly straight forward but keeps you on the edge because the revelations are cleverly planned

A fantastic domestic thriller in all. If you're picking up a fiction book set against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, then let this be the one!

I can very proudly say that this picture represents my Saturday that has just gone past. Proper lockdown feels while reading this book - cozied up on the couch with this very comfortable throw and my mug full of coffee!

Bonus tip: The author also has a highlight on her page which shows Ireland in the initial lockdown - Lockdown. Adds to the experience of reading the book.

Synopsis: 56 days ago, Ciara and Oliver meet at a queue in the supermarket. They both get along super well but the novel coronavirus lands on Irish shores and they decide to move in together. A chance to explore themselves without having to explain their decision to anyone, without having to be stuck with any labels. But do they actually get along? Each day brings forth a new lie and eventually one of them ends up dead.