Are you ready to revisit lockdown?

I most assuredly didn’t think I was. This book sat tucked away on my shelf for months. But now, as we all begin moving forward searching for a smidge of normalcy, I felt it would be safe to finally pick this one up.

Now I’m asking myself… This was so darn good! What took me so long!‍🤦🏻‍♀️

Oliver and Ciara only recently met, having gone on just a few dates when the forming clouds of Covid began sweeping across the entire globe.

Once the Irish government ordered its citizens into lockdown for two weeks, the new couple decide to face it together and spend the lockdown at Olivers’ place.

Naturally, the two are apprehensive about making such a hasty and bold commitment. After all, they barely know one another. Can Oliver win over Ciara during this time? Or will she discover what secret he’s desperate to hide?

This book was so ingenious! I just loved the writing and dare say this could be my favorite Catherine Ryan Howard novel to date. I was instantly drawn into the storyline, and though it was nothing like I expected…it worked superbly!

I realize there are some readers that may still be hesitant to read about a time we all want desperately to forget. But trust me here…it’s just the backdrop for this brilliant book. There is so much more to this suspenseful storyline.

A buddy read with Susanne that surprised both of us and we couldn’t stop talking about its originality.

Posted to: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend...

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing.

This was a very original take on the standard domestic thriller. The added element of the pandemic made the "locked in" part of the story feel much more authentic and I really enjoyed that. However, this really took the term plot twist and ran. And kept running. It ended up being entirely unrealistic.

As if the pandemic couldn't get any worse....

Fantastic read. It's propulsive and will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time. 10/10 reccomend.

Thank you to the publisher for my copy - all opinions are my own.


I LOVE Catherine Ryan Howard and how she writes books, there is no one like her when it comes to timelines that move so deftly around, slowly revealing new and tantalizing clues to a story and always leaving you guessing.

I was completely addicted to this plot from the word go - a couple who meet just before the Covid pandemic, and who decide to temporarily move in together during the first lockdown. Knowing that one of them ends up dead, but not being sure who or why. Literally, obsessive reading perfection!

I love that the story moved between perspectives and time frames so you slowly start to see that not everything is what you think it is - and that not everyone should be fully trusted. With every layer reveal I was more sure I knew where it was going, and yet I still ended up totally shocked at the end!

I was hesitant to read this book because of the subject matter revolving around the pandemic. I was pleasantly surprised by how hooked I was from the very beginning. This story kept me on the edge of my seat and kept me engaged while I was reading. Overall, this was an enjoyable read but not one I will remember.

This book was one of my most anticipated read of 2021!

I was super hyped up for this but it ended up okay!
I didn't enjoy it much
And so many things were a lil bit predictable.
The characters were complicated and not very likable.
I wasn't that much invested in it for some reason!

I have tried 5 different times to get into this book. Just cannot sedm to get stuck into it. Maybe its me. I am going to try again at anotger time but for now i need to move on t somrtging else.

56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard. This is the third mystery/thrilled I have read by this author, and I loved it just as much as the other two (The Nothing Man and Distress Signals). At three or four points in the book, I thought for sure I knew where the plot would take me, and I was surprised every time. This author writes such smart mysteries, but this one had an especially powerful sense of place and time. It opens just as Covid arrives in Ireland, and ends just when lockdown is beginning to lift. We know that, at the start of the pandemic, a new couple decided to shelter-in-place together in a swanky apartment building. We know that, at the end, the apartment contains a badly decomposed body. Howard captures how eerie and frightening those early days were, and how weary we all are in the wake of the last few years.

Wow, someone has been busy during the pandemic with writing this great book. Awesome story with such real times situations. Everyday we go live similar days but not just like this book. Murder mystery on every page, who is dead? how did they die"? Builds to a climax like you won't believe, really a rocking good ride here. This book has a love story, suspense, uneasy times. I really recommend you will not want to miss this one. . Thanks for this book!

<b>“Lies are spindly, unwieldy things. Delicate filaments, like bundles of nerves in the body. Easy to twist, hard to control, impossible to keep hold of.” </b>

Catherine Ryan Howard - how, HOW do you do this?!?!? After absolutely blowing me away with <i>The Nothing Man</i> last year, I can’t believe I waited so long to read <b>56 Days</b>. Or well, maybe I can. Reading about the pandemic while still living it is hard and certainly takes being in the ‘right’ frame of mind and mood to be willing to do. So, if that’s you, then PLEASE PICK THIS UP NOW.

Right from the beginning, this hooked me. I’ve been feeling pretty meh about most books I’ve read or have tried to start reading so far and this just clicked from the beginning. There’s the suspense and drama over Ciara’s anxiety - you know there’s more to it, you know she’s hiding <i>something</i> but what is it? Based on the synopsis and early on clues, we kNOW there’s something Oliver is hiding, it’s dark, it’s twisted, and it’s definitely cause for alarm, yet there’s so much more at play.

Told through alternating timeframes and character perspectives, the complexity of the story unfolds perfectly. Howard takes us from before the first quarantine period in Ireland to present day when the body is found by the police, and then lets us follow along to see what transpired over the quarantine period with Ciara and Oliver form their own perspectives, then while the police investigation occurs in the present. As the timeframes jump and each chapter from Ciara or Oliver’s point of view reveals more of the story, we are then thrust into the police investigation and brought back. This means we’re always jumping to another perspective after a reveal or what feels like a reveal. This kept the pacing fast and the tension high. Even when you THINK you know what the next reveal is, there’s more to it.

This was claustrophobic in the best way too as the story is contained mostly to just one apartment. The trapped room feel lets the characters and their layers shine, making the twists feel even larger in a way because you expect to know everything in such a contained setting. The twists, even when you think you know them, still leave you with that excruciating excitement and anxiety all the same while waiting for them to land which to me, just shows the quality of the writing and storytelling. .

Oliver’s POV especially worked really well. I didn’t know what to believe or how to keep from feeling empathetic towards him. It was conflicting because all the while we KNOW he’s hiding something, and as pieces of what that is are exposed, it becomes harder to accept and look past it, but his POV genuinely makes you consider where you stand in your judgement right up until the end.

It definitely felt surreal to read the sweep of the pandemic once it went from a far away “cold” to having the cascading and sudden country lockdowns around the world. That element of willful ignorance with rising panic was expertly captured. It felt very reminiscent of when people ask you “where were you when….” and some momentous historical events happens. Where were you when you first saw the country lockdowns happening? The travel bans announced? The militant queues and rationing of goods in grocery stores.

<i>“They have kept their distance in more ways than one. No one wants to deal with a familiarity hangover when normal life returns, which they are all still under the impression will happen soon.” </i>

This was seriously addicting, I COULD NOT put it down and binged it all in one sitting. Who do you trust? What did Oliver do? Who is Ciara really and why is she so anxious? Who is the dead body?! How did they die?! I had sweaty palms while reading it and even at 90% in, Howard STILL wasn’t done throwing twists and turns our way. Perfectly executed and a damn wild ride, this is not one to be missed.

Has a nice plot twist, and features an interesting locale. Of course, one of the few mystery/suspense novels that has Covid-19 integral to the plot.

Going into this book, I was thinking it was going to be about two people quarantining in close quarters, but surprisingly it wasn't. It's set up in three different time periods and I've never read a book where time doesn't move in order, quite like this book. I was a bit confused at times, however once I got to the end everything fell into place. Great premise and interesting story line.

It took me a little bit to get into the book, but once I did I couldn't put it down. Takes a little bit to get used to going back and forth between the timelines, but the shocking twists are ones to die for. I always loved looking at the situations from multiple perspectives. Definitely kept me engaged until the end!

Ciara and Oliver met right before the entire country shut down for the pandemic. They hit it off and were in the early stages of dating when a pandemic threatened to shut the entire city down. They were both alone in Dublin with no family or friends nearby, so it makes sense when Oliver invites Ciara to stay with him at his flat during the duration of the lockdown. Especially since there was a "spark" between them from the very beginning. Fifty-six days later, a man is found dead in Oliver's flat. What happened to Oliver and Ciara? Will the detectives be able to track the last fifty-six days to determine what really happened?


As the United States is battling the fourth surge of the pandemic, there are some people who believe that it is "too soon" to be writing about the pandemic. As the title indicates, the timeline for 56 Days jumps all over the place. From "before" to "after." Oliver, Ciara, and the detectives trying to solve this crime are all narrators. What we, the readers, don't know until pretty far into the book is that there is a connection between the characters that changes everything. I don't want to give too much away, but the connection is pretty intense. CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS.



Bottom Line - 56 Days is a thriller set in the thick of the worst health crisis the world has seen in over a hundred years. Make no mistake, the story is compelling and you won't be able to stop reading.


Details:

56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard
On Facebook
Pages: 305
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Publication Date: 8/17/2021
Buy it Here!
Thank you to NetGalley for the book in exchange for an honest review.

I did enjoy this one, but at times there were so many twists that it felt far fetched. I’m glad this author tackled the subject of Covid in a creative way, I don’t think many will even try it. My main issue was how easy it was for Ciara to locate/track down/trap Oliver. Like it all worked out a little TOO perfectly, you know? And I also felt it was weird that Laura would go take a pic of a dead guy and not call anyone like.. wouldn’t that freak her out?!

DNF. Unfortunately, this was a book I started multiple times but could just not get into. I appreciate having the opportunity to read this book, it was just not a good fit for me as a reader. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my gifted review copy.

Such a great surprise! I really enjoyed this book even though I wish some things were done better it was still such an intriguing read, well-paced, with an incredible plot. I will definitely read more from this author.

I was immediately hooked by this story. The writing is top-notch and really pulled me back to the early days of COVID-19, the shockingly quiet streets, non-essential businesses shut down. The mystery element is expertly crafted around the state of the world at that time. I guessed some of thetwists, but happily enjoyed one or two more that I didn’t fully anticipate.

This was the second book I read that mentioned Covid in the story. I am glad I waited to read this one because I don't think I could mentally handle the plot being during this pandemic. But overall it was a very interesting story. I liked that it bounced back and forth between current scenarios and the past.

Ciara and Oliver, meet before the pandemic starts and right before a full lockdown. But how can they progress in their relationship if they are in lockdown apart from each other, so they made the decision to move in after knowing each other for a short amount of time. The story jumps between the start of their relationship, as it progresses, before their relationship, and even to the current time where a body is found in the apartment they were sharing.

Follow along to see if lockdown had a toll on their relationship and to find the true killer.
Excited to read more by Catherine Ryan Howard.
Thank you Netgalley

It was a chance meeting at a supermarket in Dublin. But the timing couldn’t be worse. Covid-19 is on the move in Ireland and a two-week lockdown is imminent. So, with their relationship only a few weeks old, Oliver suggests that Clare move in with him. It will be an opportunity to get to know each other better and at the same time they won’t have to endure the isolation alone.

56 Days is suspenseful, twisty, and well-written. The story takes place over a 56 day period, jumping from past to present during that time. The author does a tremendous job alternating the timelines, building the suspense, and revealing the backstories of Clare and Oliver. Although I was skeptical that I would enjoy a mystery that takes place during the Pandemic, I was very pleased to find that 56 Days is terrific mystery that was completely absorbing.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.