Three women have disappeared into thin air, never to be seen again...Lucy Sullivan is looking for her sister in a very unusual way. She sets a trap for her sister's abductor, walking the dark streets night after night. The first chapter is FIRE! You have so much suspense and confusion- it sets the tone for what is one exciting story! She is reckless, living with her sister's boyfriend and searching for answers!

At the same time Angela, a Gardai staff member for the Missing Person's Unit, has a discovery, which leads to an important clue in the case.
One of the three narrators is also the killer- love to see the perspective of the killer!
They stories intertwine and twist around each other like snakes.
It's such a great thriller, I devoured it!
4 stars.

One of my favorite books so far! Told from multiple viewpoints, including that of the murderer, which was the most fascinating part of the novel. I don't know how I feel about the ending though, felt a bit incomplete and sudden. But overall, I looked forward to reading it every night to get to the end, and sad when it ended, and highly recommend this one.

I thought this thriller was quite clever. It fooled me, and it had been a while since I had been stumped! I will say sometimes it's a bit confusing, especially on audio, so I'd recommend having a physical copy to flip back through. It's certainly unique and entertaining, so I recommend adding it to your TBR. I'm a big fan of this author and can't wait to read what she writes next!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hmm. I was so excited to read this, considering the synopsis sounded extremely interesting. But in the end the book was just OK. It wasn’t my favorite but I didn’t hate it. Overall: a big meh feeling.

What did I enjoy?
• dark, entertaining, creepy, and twisty. This book stressed me out at times (in a good way)!
•unreliable narrators
• puzzle piece like

What could have been better?
• I started reading this book as an audio, which was not the best decision. I think the narrators were not as clear and it confused me most of the time.
• switching to the Kindle, the formatting was odd, but I didn’t know if it came from my Kindle or if that’s how the book was set up.
• some random plot holes
• the ending????

While this one started slow, I absolutely felt the slow burn paid off and I really ended up enjoying it! Thank you so much to Blackstone Publishing for the ARC

I absolutely loved this psychological thriller about three missing women in Dublin. I loved the quick pace and could not read fast enough. I felt like the ending was a little lacking, but I still really enjoyed this twisty thriller.

I don't understand why Catherine Ryan Howard isn't a bigger name in the mystery genre. I find her books well plotted page-turners that creep you out and make you think a little deeper. Maybe that is why I think of her alongside the challenging, but great Catriona Ward.

When I picked this up, I wanted to be thrilled and it delivered. It reads like a BBC crime drama and I loved all the procedural twists and turns. The opening scene alone will pull anybody in. A girl walks down the side of the road at night hoping to be picked up by the murderer of her sister. It reminded me of a twist on the male gaze the way that Scarlett Johanson's character in "Under the Skin" picks up unsuspecting hitchhikers who think they have won the lottery being alone with a beautiful woman, only to be dispensed with them later. I do wish that we returned to that scene a few more times to really feel the characters desperation to find her sister, but it appeared in other ways in the book with the added characters.

In the end it was a critical look at true-crime culture and the way that 24 hour news sort of warps our sensibilities when it comes to crimes against women. Yes, there are people out there willing to do bad thing against women, but then there is also the frenzy that surrounds these cases that can get out of hand and take on a completely different nightmare. It was a smart read and I enjoyed it.

This was one of my most-anticipated reads of the year and to be honest, I kept putting it off because I was worried it wouldn’t live up to my expectations. I finally dove in and let me tell you- I could not stop reading! The alternating POVs took me a second to get comfortable with, but once that clicked for me, I was hooked. I loved this story with all of its twists and turns. They were complex and really made me think. Angela was probably my favorite character, but I also liked Lucy and was surprised by how emotional I was by the end. If you enjoy serial killer thrillers, you definitely need to pick this one up. It’s a contender for my favorite book of the year!

O. M. G. This book, THIS BOOK. You think you know, but you don’t really know. I absolutely promise this book is going to have you scratching your brains out by the very end. Catherine Howard wove a delicious mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Arc NetGalley review

Was a great book, but for the hype I think it fell just a little short. Towards the end I found it to loos my interest just alittle. Over all recommend and would read again.

"An unsettling mystery inspired by a series of still unsolved disappearances in Ireland in the 90s, wherein one young woman risks everything to catch a faceless killer." from Goodreads

The above quote from the Goodreads description is too perfect not to use for a one sentence summary. I picked up this book almost feeling a bit burnout on reading. I wasn't sure exactly what I was in the mood for but decided to give this one a try. What an unexpected ride this book was! It's a hard book to share my thoughts on mostly because I don't want to spoil a single thing. Let me just say this: I expected a dark, suspenseful read especially after reading and loving The Nothing Man by this author previously. I got exactly that but also so much more. And the ending...I literally almost started the entire book over again so I could look back and see what I may have missed. Wow! It's a slow burn that builds beautifully to an ending I can't seem to stop thinking about. I'm not sure that every reader will love it (again no spoilers) but it really worked for me. This book is smart, suspenseful, and has cemented this author as a must read for me! Catch me working on her backlist from here on out.

Readers who enjoy dark, page turning reads need to pick this book up! I want to say more but less is definitely better so you can enjoy the ride that is this book. And then come back and discuss it with me.

CW- Rape

The Trap by Howard was a great read. I loved the chapters told by the bad guy. The ending though........I just wanted more!

This was a slow burn and the premise was good. The character development could have had more but the atmospheric vibes were good. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a slow burn.

So I always like to review books as soon as I finish them. I like the initial shock factors and sometimes after I think about it too long I start swaying another way and it drives me nuts. Anyway - here I go. I read a lot of reviews on this one and I was HYPED. I was expecting something brand spankin new and something that was going to rip me into pieces between thrill and originality. This. Was. False. I even went back to check if I read the same book that everyone was talking about? Am I crazy or did I get a different lay out with different words and different story because this is not what I read. What I read was something that felt so incomplete. Let’s start with the characters. We have a set up of Lucy who is off looking for her missing sister. Risking her life trying to get some answers. Ok check this one we have set up nicely. We have Chris the boyfriend left behind from said missing sister. Nicki the missing sister. This one for being so bold in our minds didn’t come into fruition until the end and it was a wtf. We get some inner monologue from the monster itself which I’m always a major fan of. We have the missing women bits and pieces but sometimes I felt more about them than little sister Nicki. It just felt all wrong and I can’t nail down the missing link. I just felt like I was given a good story, a good idea, and then it wasn’t made how it should have been made. How should it have been made? Well hell if I know I know I’m no author but this just didn’t feel…accomplished.

Look, I love the originality I really do I know I sound like a sour grape over here. I just was expecting so much and the circle we went around here felt too bare. I didn’t get my heart racing or edge of my seat screams in my brain. I got eye rolls and wanting to punch various fictional characters in the mouth.

For me - which I am the absolute crazy person here it seems - it was a solid 3. It held my interest from the beginning to end. It had some twists and the originality was a bonus.

Thank you Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Pardon me as I retrieve my dropped jaw.

This is set to become my favorite crime fiction novel of the year. I delayed writing this review for so long, and now my mind just keeps urging me to read it repeatedly.

With references to "The Nothing Man" and "The Liar's Girl," the multiple points of view shedding light on different aspects of the case(s), and the killer's internal dialogue, this was an exceptionally suspenseful and skillfully written book.

It's the type of story I'm hesitant to elaborate on, for fear of spoiling its intricate plot and surprises, but I can't praise it enough.

CRH has truly exceeded expectations with this one, and I eagerly anticipate her next work. She's made a remarkable comeback!

The Trap is an enjoyable read, though not as gripping or ultimately satisfying as 56 Days. What worked well for me was the setup and reveal… this was a great example of a well executed “what I thought I was reading wasn’t what I was reading”. All of the clues and hints were there but it’s not something you’d predict. I also found it well paced and an engaging premise. I’m also a sucker for an unsettling ending. HEAs belong in romance, for a thriller or mystery a good dark ending is always welcome. What didn’t work for me: it took some time to be able to track all of the characters… it felt like a lot of people to keep straight and too many POVs at first. Eventually I felt like I could separate everyone, but it felt like it could have been more focused. I also didn’t think Nicki’s attitude was even remotely believable. To be shocked that there was a missing person case for her and to act so blasé about the whole thing and thinking no one would be worried was just bizarre… it felt like we needed a lot more to her story to make this even remotely understandable. I’m a fan of the author and The Trap was fun but not without flaws.

3.5⭐
Genre ~ mystery/thriller, crime fiction
Setting ~ Ireland
Publication date ~ August 1, 2023
Page Count ~ 311 (31 chapters p+e)
Audio length ~ 9 hours 10 minutes
Narrators ~ John Keating, Alana Kerr Collins
POV ~ 1st & 3rd
Featuring ~ serial killer, abductions

Lucy's sister, Nikki, is missing and she's determined to find her. Angela is working in the missing persons unit and is eager to help solve the case.

Does Lucy make some smart decisions? Nope, and you might just yell at her a couple of times. A nice, fast paced, dark and twisty suspenseful read. I quite enjoyed the chapters with the killers POV. Interesting way to end the story, too, not sure I loved that, though.

I was able to listen to an audio copy as well.
Narration notes:
Once I get used to the accents they're fine.

The Trap is the first Catherine Ryan Howard book I've read, and it won't be the last! I've been hearing about her for a couple of years, and now I understand the hype.

The basis for the book is the search for several missing women, and we're along on the roller coaster ride. Told from multiple viewpoints, I loved the structure of the story, and it kept me interested all the way through. There were a couple of side plot lines that were a little unresolved for me, but not so much that it bothered me or disrupted my enjoyment of the story. I wouldn't place this squarely in the thriller category, as the pace was a little slower than that, or in mystery. It's a great psychological crime novel.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #BlackstonePublishing for a free copy of #TheTrap by Catherine Ryan Howard. All opinions are my own.

Another good one from CRH! The book started off a bit slow, but definitely picked up at the end - there were several a-ha moments that definitely surprised me and that I bet any seasoned thriller reader would be hard-pressed to guess. Some minor nitpicks - I feel like Angela’s perspective (the aspiring Gardaí) was a little bland, and may have been more interesting from Denise (the actual Gardaí)’s perspective. There was one minor storyline that really intrigued me but that wasn’t fully resolved.

Overall, this was a pretty quick read and would be enjoyable for anyone who likes Irish thrillers, stories about missing women, and tricksy rotating perspectives.

I read and listened to the audio book of this title. Both were excellent and it's not often you can say that!

First, the narration of this book was EXCELLENT!!! I'm a dedicated fan of Catherine Ryan Howard but I'm not such a fan of audio books, but this one.....they did such a good job that I'm going to see what else they have narrated. Catherine Ryan Howard is an author with mad skills. She manages to write as if the picture in your head is in front of you. I even hear the creepy music just before the bad guy jumps out and grabs his next victim. These missing woman need an investigator who cares and if the police won't provide one, this team of women outside the official investigation will. An absolutely great mystery/ thriller/ police procedural....whatever you want to call it, just read...or listen to it!!!! You'll thank me later.