I absolutely love Catherine Ryan Howard and the twisty ways her mind works. This novel focuses on three main characters: Lucy, whose sister Nicki has been missing for a year; Angela, who is a civilian in the Missing Persons Unit of An Garda Síochána; and a nameless man who drives through the night. There have been a string of missing women in Ireland – but are they related? Lucy goes out at night to try and find her sister’s killer, hoping he will find her on the side of the road.

I loved the three different points of view, particularly from the nameless man who is explaining his life story to someone in the backseat. Howard does an excellent job of getting into the head of her different characters. In every interview with her I have seen, she makes the point that there is normally nothing special about serial killers, they just fascinate us for some reason. That point is driven home in this book, where Howard also examines what is a “perfect” victim, which victims capture the media’s attention and which are not deemed worthy of that attention.

This is a murder mystery with the depth and twists that I have come to expect from Catherine Ryan Howard and it is excellent. There is a reason she is an auto-buy author for me.

Love the cover. I had heard so many good things about this author. So I went in with high expectations. I adored 56 days and was a bit disappointed . I liked it but I couldnt say I loved it.

I did not finish this one. I had a hard time following it, and with what I was grasping of the plot it just couldn’t hold my interest. I may decide to pick it back up in the future because I’ve heard such good things about it, but for now it stays as a DNF. I don’t typically star rate books I did not finish because I do not find it to be fair to the author or other readers, so I’m going to rate it 3 stars as a “middle of the road” rating.

CRH is a hit or miss for me and this was a miss I am sad to say. I loved 56 Days but this one was just not it for me. I will still recommend to my customers because I still think she is a fabulous author but this book was just not it for me.

The Trap is just that. It’s a story that sucks you in with multiple storylines of three individuals and what they are going through. One is the sister of a missing girl just looking for answers. One is a civilian working for the Gardia who finds a key piece of the missing puzzle piece. The other is the individual they are searching for, the one who has caused all the problems.

Each storyline gives a different perspective and it helped keep the reader on edge and actively engaged in the story wondering how each of the storylines tie together. This is my second Catherine Ryan Howard book and while it’s not my new favorite (The Nothing Man has the top spot and I highly doubt that will change it’s an excellent book) I do think this atmospheric read is definitely a good read for anything looking for a thriller that isn’t a gritty one


Thank you @blackstonepublishing and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

3 stars...

I wanted to love this one, however, I felt like for being a short(er) book, it was very drawn out.

I found it confusing how it was written; different POV and different timelines, and because it wasn't clear who's POV you were reading from, I felt it hard to keep jumping in. It was convoluted and didn't flow as well as I would've liked. I was confused and in the dark a times, and just read this a lot slower than usual.

Thank you to @netgalley & the publisher for my early e-arc~ out now!

This book started off strong and had such a good opening that had me hooked from the beginning.
However, as the book started to go on I found myself losing interest because it wasn't as a appealing as the opening chapter was. I also found the chapters and view points to be confusing and often couldn't differentiate on who I was reading about in each chapter. I felt as if there were more views from the police perspective and I honestly would have loved to see more from the killer than we got out of him. The ending did pick back up though and there was a really good twist, but as a whole, I didn't think this book quite hit the mark.

actual rating: 2/5 stars

catherine ryan howard's "the trap" starts off with an intriguing idea—a mystery inspired by real disappearances that had me hooked from the beginning. i was hoping for a real page-turner, but things didn't quite pan out that way by the end.

the story takes us through different viewpoints, which i thought would be exciting, but honestly, it didn't really grab me. i was often confused on who's perspective i was reading from especially in the beginning of the story. i think if you read synopsis more in-depth before you start a book, you'd be fine but i like to go in only knowing a view buzzwords specificlaly for thrillers.

lucy and nicki, the main characters, didn't come across as real as i hoped they would. lucy's hunt for her missing sister felt kinda weak, and nicki's character just left me puzzled.

at first, i was curious to see where everything was headed, but the excitement sort of fell off during the first half. the writing was nice and all, but the story just didn't come to life. the potential i saw at the start seemed just fizzled out. just when things seemed like they were picking up, it was too late to reignite my interest in the story.

i'm still kinda stuck on the big twist at the end, i could see it being a good ending but i think just with the rest of the story being so slow and boring, the ending didn't really impact me. the journey to get there was a bit of a letdown. it felt like the twist was tossed in without much connection to the slow build-up. there were parts of the story that seemed important but ended up not really mattering at all. it overall just left me with a sour taste in my mouth.

looking back, "the trap" had potential but sadly it stumbled when it came to putting it all together in a way that worked. while i give props to the author for trying something ambitious, i was really hoping for a more exciting and well-crafted story. this one could've been a real rollercoaster, but instead, it left me wanting more.

This was too dull for me. I appreciate the author bringing attention and awareness to the many missing women, however. I DNF but read spoilers about the twist and unresolved ending which would have made me like this even less if I had continued. Sorry!

Thank you @blackstonepublishing @netgalley for a copy of this book. This book started off with such an intriguing start and it sort of stalled from there. The story was told in multiple POV and different timelines. I got a bit disinterested in the middle and the ending left me really questioning the characters. This one did not work for me.

This was my first book from this author and will not be the last! Nicki goes off to meet friends at a Dublin Pub and is never seen again. Nicki turns out to be the third missing woman from the area. Her sister Lucy is determined to find out what happened to her. We also have Angela, who is a paper pusher with the police dept. and longs to be an officer, trying to solve the case on her own to get a foot in the door. Both are great female leads. We also have Mr. No-Name, driving around with an unidentified victim in his backseat. Fun, right? These characters are centered around a well-written, suspenseful and at times funny, story that I could barely put down to go to work! On a sidenote, as an American longing to visit Ireland someday, I also really enjoyed the setting. I had previously downloaded 56 Days by this author but had not read it yet. Starting that one next! Don't let this one get away!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Catherine Ryan Howard and Blackstone Publishing for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

In return for my frank evaluation, NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing gave me access to this book.

What a terrifying and completely gripping psychological suspense novel that kept me on the edge of my seat right up to the very end! I've never read anything by Catherine Ryan Howard before, but this book was excellent! This is an OUTSTANDING thriller because of the suspense, tension, fast pacing, many points of view, original narrative, surprising twists and turns, and a fantastic finish! I couldn't put the book down once I started reading because I was so intrigued! I was in utter awe of it!

I LOVED this book and it is one of the best thrillers I've read this year! This book is very atmospheric and was truly thrilling. It has twists and surprises. This is an absolute masterpiece and I HIGHLY recommend it to those that enjoy thrillers and crime stories. Special Thank You to Catherine Ryan Howard, Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Several young women have been reported missing in separate incidents in Dublin--are their disappearances linked? As the police investigation stalls, Lucy O'Sullivan--desperate to find her sister Nicki--undertakes a daring, dangerous investigation for answers. Will Lucy's actions provide a much-needed lead in the case or result in devastating consequences?

Told from the multiple viewpoints of characters intimately connected to the story, The Trap is a compulsive page turner with unexpected twists and turns aplenty.

I have enjoyed previous titles by this author, but this one completely missed the mark for me. I felt like I was struggling to stay connected from the beginning on this one.

This book was definitely twisty, it was an engaging read with several main characters that I really enjoyed. I really enjoyed the chapters from the bad guys P. O. V. Those are always intriguing to me. I did find some parts to be a bit confusing and I haven’t decided how I feel about her endings. I’m usually pretty happy with an open ended ending to a good book. One that leaves you with questions, I’m an odd ball with that. I don’t need everything wrapped up in a neat little bow. However, I did find this ending a bit lackluster for me.

Oh man, I LOVED this dark true-crime thriller! Catherine Ryan Howard never fails to bring chills to my spine and The Trap is no exception! Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop, and the writing is phenomenal.

This. Was. So. Good!!!! Not sure how it isn’t being raved about all over social media but I’m obsessed. Loved the characters and the twists. I couldn’t put it down. 10/10, 5 stars!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC!

This book is a psychological thriller set in Dublin. It centers around three missing women and the people tasked with finding them. The book was not predictable and had several twists and turns throughout the book. I really felt this was a clever and well-written book.

I enjoyed 56 Days, so I had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

The story just.......ends? I'm ok with a cliffhanger, but this felt lazy. Much like the constant references to the detective's "tepid tap water" and vague pandemic callbacks.

I struggled to like or identify with any of the characters and the story itself didn't go anywhere. Overall, it felt sloppy and unfinished.