Thank you for the opportunity to read this novel. Unfortunately, I was not able to get into it and will not be leaving a full review.

‘56 days’ is the first pandemic set novel I have read since Covid-19 changed everything and I have mixed feelings on this mystery.
The general premise is that 56 days ago a young couple met by chance at the beginning of the pandemic and were thrown together into the strange and unusual conditions of lockdown. Then flicking to the present day we are told that there has been a suspicious death which more than likely happened during the isolating time where the virus took hold of Ireland.
I appreciated the use of the pandemic as a situational tool throughout in order to set-up for the reveal by the end of the book. Although in general I didn’t really enjoy any of the characters as their interactions got a little bit repetitive (maybe a comment on life in a lockdown) and the pace was a little slow for me as thrillers go.
A unique mystery but not one of my favourites.

While I enjoyed this fast-paced novel, I feel that it was personally too early for me to read about Covid. The mystery and twists were great! I thought I knew the ending but that final twist was fantastic. However, I felt that the ending was very underwhelming. It felt like an abrupt ending leaving the readers hanging. Overall, I liked the author’s writing style and look forward to reading more from this author!

A murder mystery set in COVID times. Need i say more?
This was truly interesting to read because it felt frightening realistic and I wasn't sure what would happen.

There are few things worse than living through this seemingly endless pandemic that’s forced us to adjust in ways we never thought we’d have to in order to maintain the survival of our species. But reading this painfully dull attempt at telling a fictionalized tale about Miss Rona admittedly comes close.

Yes, this is the book that people have been raving about; a book that dares risk alienating many readers for coming out *too soon*. It’s the thriller set amidst the first few days of Covid-19... Except it barely does anything interesting with this setup. It remains stubbornly incurious about its own context all throughout. Covid-19 is deployed for no apparent reason other than to serve as a predictable and lazy plot device to keep its insufferable characters together.

Its characters are Ciara and Oliver, two strangers who meet one day and--thanks to chance and circumstance--end up becoming “lockdown buddies”. Hard cut to 56 days in the future: we follow a couple of boring detectives (whose names I’ve already forgotten) who tell us that a dead body has been found in the apartment the aforementioned lockdown “buddies” have been staying in. Cue the sharp violin sound to indicate SUSPENSE! Not.

There isn’t a single thrilling thing about this book. It’s packed with lackluster exposition and repeated dialogue. We read from both POVs, and as such, entire scenes of dialogue are practically copy-pasted from prior scenes. These characters we’re locked up with are agonizing to be around. Not a single thing about them is interesting; everything that’s meant to be thrilling barely registers as new and/or provocative.

And this is especially criminal because the actual thriller aspect of the story doesn’t begin to manifest until two hundred pages in. The first half is all protracted and tedious setup that has no impact on the central story. This could’ve been set this at any other point in time. This book is a deeply unsatisfying ho-hum novelty artifact of this awful time that says not one single thing about the time it’s set in.

Makes you really wonder when someone chooses to be your friend......all the sudden we are in lockdown, stuck with who we are with (or without). They meet, are attracted and decide to spend the lockdown together. A true leap of faith, trusting feelings and instinct.

Except for that its not- on either of their parts. He has secrets about who he is and what he has done and desperately wants to keep secret from her. But......( no spoilers from me!).

Twists back and forth between the 2 of them leaves someone dead in the shower. Far more dangerous than COVID. Did keep me from being sure I knew who did what.

This was quite the intriguing tale of suspicion, lies, and surprisingly enough, love. Catherine Ryan Howard keeps readers guessing throughout this fast-paced novel filled with suspenseful twists embedded in our real-world pandemic. Two people starting a budding relationship just as the pandemic strikes and, despite their reservations and the fact that both are harboring secrets, they decide to move in together as the world fights a global illness. What could go wrong? Well, considering one of them is dead 56 days into their quarantine relationship, apparently a lot...

I'm sorry to have to say this book didn't work for me at all. The virus seemed to be plugged in there at the last minute to work with the current world issue and there were so many (seemingly unnecessary) twists and turns that the story was garbled and jumbled and discombobulated and unbelievable. I didn't care for the characters or the storyline. I do generally like the author - this just wasn't the book for me. 2 stars (I save 1 stars for DNF and I did trudge through to the end on this one.)
Thanks to Catherine Ryan Howard, Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

It was definitely interesting to read a book with COVID as the plot. It was unexpected but well done and didn’t make me wish I hadn’t picked it up. The thriller tie in was interesting and it kept me on my toes throughout.

I think I went into this book with misconceptions which definitely effected my enjoyment of this book. The timeline was kind of confusing, and so I wasn't 100% sure what was happening at all times, but it did thrill me and I didn't see the twists coming.

The use of the pandemic was interesting, but I'm not sure I was really ready to read a book set during COVID. Overall, a solid read, but not one I'd reach for again.

56 Days looked so good and I loved that it was set during quarantine, something we all just experienced. Sadly, I didn't enjoy this one. I didn't really like the writing or the story. I felt like there was just too much going on. I also didn't enjoy the characters.

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today because Kelly finally FINISHED. A. BOOK.

It's ironic the book is titled 56 days because that's about how long it took me to read it. This was due to schedule and had nothing to do with the book.

Thank you @netgalley for an e-ARC that clearly I did not get to before the pub date. You may continue to deny me for most of the books I want. P.S. Please ignore this statement. I love you.

As always, I went into this book blind, so was unaware that I was about to delve into my 2nd book that takes place during COVID.

I thought the author did a good job of showing how the pandemic affected other parts of the world (this book takes place in Dublin) in a realistic way, without going overboard.

This was my first @cathryanhoward book and I really enjoyed it. There was family drama, murder, mystery, romance, twists, turns and I was here for it.

56 Days - Ciara and Oliver meet at a supermarket in Dublin, striking up a romance right at the beginning of the pandemic.

35 Days - Dublin is placed in lockdown for 2 weeks, so Oliver asks Ciara to move in with him.

Today - Detectives are working a death in Oliver's apartment. Was the death an accident or a homicide?

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I know CRH has written other books and I have my eye on The Nothing Man.

Have you read either one?

Talk to me.

Not too much.

This was my first book by this author and I was intrigued by the romance, the mystery, and the quarantine aspects of it. I think that she did a good job of incorporating all of the topics together, but something just fell flat for me. This book was OK for all the hype

“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. He tries not to tell any more of them than is absolutely necessary.”

56 DAYA AGO Ciara and Oliver meet in a Dublin supermarket the same week that Covid hits Ireland. 35 DAYS AGO Oliver suggests that they live together so as to not be kept apart by the restrictions. TODAY detectives discover a decomposing body in Oliver’s apartment. Will they be able to discern what happened, or has Covid created the opportunity to commit the perfect crime?

I started this book closer to release date but ooomph, I just couldn’t do the Covid thing. Too soon, man, too soon. But now it is not quite as fresh, so I gave it another go…and I enjoyed it! As the story progressed I realized that the Covid references were more of a backstory as opposed to the main plot point. It was actually very clever how the author wove a mystery into quarantine, and the mystery kept me guessing throughout.

Thank you to Netgalley, Blackstone Publishing, and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was very fascinated to see how life unfolded when covid went down in other countries. The twists in this book were good and surprising and I didn’t see most coming. I found it very satisfying how Kira got away with things

An interesting thriller told through multiple view points set in the early days of COVID lockdown. While this book had some interesting twists it might be too soon for some to want to relive the early panic stricken days of 2020.

i think my biggest issue with this book was the back and forth / the writing style. like, i think it was just kind of a mess, since we would get ciara meeting oliver and in her pov, and then we would get everything again with oliver's pov. and also i think it was just kind of a mess with the big plot twists in the end, cause then we would go back over everything again, with their motives to do something and to see them have their issues. and i mean, i don't think we needed to go over these events 4+ times, and i mean, even doing it 2 times was a bit much for me.

and i honestly really liked the covid plot line in here. like, i was honestly kind of scared for all of it, since i still think it is to soon to kind of get stories about it, seeing we are still going threw all of this. so, i honestly really think this book was done really tastefully and i think it was just not over the top and i think they didn't over do it, and they didn't explain what was happening, since we obviously know what is happening, seeing we lived through it.

and i feel like oliver and ciara were characters that were easy to relate to. like, i feel like seeing their reactions to everything happen and to see them kind of figure everything out, i think it was kind of cool. like, i think it was just cool to see them struggle to figure out the early days of the pandemic and to see them figure out being a new couple in the pandemic and to see them figure out what was happening and staying and living together.

I knew covid books were going to become a thing! And if they're all as enjoyable as this, bring it on. A gripping mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat and I did not see any of those twists coming. Surely a winner.

(4.5)Not going to lie, I was not too sure how I would do with a book centered around Covid (Especially considering it is still very much so a reality still) But I found myself pleasantly surprised by this book. I was also worried that because of the timeline of COVID and the release of this book it might feel a bit rushed, but boy was I wrong. I think that this book was filled with so many different complexities and overall was just riveting. There truly was not a part where I thought was questionable. I am someone that enjoys past and future tellings, and I think the way that 56 days was told was brilliant. I thought the premise was very interesting while also being slightly terrifying. I also loved how there were nods to her other book intertwined. I think that while I was apprehensive at first that it might be a little "to close to home" to find enjoyable, I actually found myself thoroughly entertained. This was a fast paced, and suspenseful read to the very end.

this was my first COVID-19 book and I had really mixed feelings about it. I think i talk about this every time i post an e-book review but they’re always a hit or miss for me. This was in the middle. The idea was really good but i felt like a was lost for like half of the book. I’d say the last half of the book was good. I never really felt a point where i was like “OMG i need to keep reading.” I like the books where i cant stop and this just wasn’t it for me. I don’t want this review to be a “don’t read this book” I still want you to read it i just wanted to state that it wasn’t awesome for me!
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The last 15% of the book was super good. If the whole book would have been able to keep up with that pace and intensity it would have easily been a 5 star. My favourite part was the end where you’re like “oh damnnnn”
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I also loved the independence Ciara had. By the end of the book you’re like #girlpower. Do i condone everything that she did, hell no, BUT she did get an “atta girl” from me.