I loves 56 Days by this author so I was excited to read an early copy of her newest thriller. Unfortunately this one fell a little flat for me and was slightly slow. It started off super intriguing and fast paced and then it dropped off and it was a struggle to finish. 2.5 stars

The Trap
By Catherine Ryan Howard
Pub Date August 1, 2023
Blackstone
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
* Thriller,mystery
This was a good book! The author was a new one for me. I read this in one setting . It was riveting! I loved the short and captivating chapters, strong heroines, and well executed mystery.
4 stars

Thank you NetGalley for providing me a copy of The Trap. I have been a huge fan of Catherine's books so I couldn't wait to start this one. For this one though I am giving it a 3.5 star rating. I do feel this one had too many POV's going on and was hard to keep track of everyone and I didn't feel any connection with any of the characters unfortunately. Also it was a bit slow in some parts which kept me putting this one down and picking it back up. I really do wish this one could of been better for myself since I have enjoyed her other books but no book is perfect!

3.5 - A solid thriller that kept me guessing and kept me turning the pages—read it in 24 hours. I so enjoy Catherine Ryan Howard’s books and overall this one didn’t disappoint. I don’t know that it will be particularly memorable over time but it delivered exactly what I needed it to in addition to having some well-earned twists. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy!

The premise of The Trap sound intriguing, and happy I got an ARC. As much as I tried to want to like it, I kept getting the characters confused & there were a lot of unanswered questions for me. I really enjoyed Angela & Denise’s dynamic but everything else was just okay. The killer’s POV was interesting and disturbing (as it’s supposed to be). Also LUCY! NICKI! THE ENDING! Ugh. Definitely not what I expected but not how I wanted it to end.

4.5 stars for Catherine Ryan Howard's next big hit! The Trap is one of the author's best—on par with The Nothing Man. There are multiple POV’s, each one equally enjoyable, although I especially looked forward to the chapters narrated by the kidnapper. The chapters are short and fast-paced, making for a read that can easily be finished in one sitting, and there are lots of original and shocking twists and turns. The ending is abrupt, but fitting, although of course I would've liked more closure. Overall, this is a fabulous read that I highly recommend to all thriller lovers.

One year ago, Lucy’s sister, Nicki, left to meet friends at a pub in Dublin and never came home. The third Irish woman to vanish inexplicably in as many years, the agony of not knowing what happened that night has turned Lucy’s life into a waking nightmare. So, she’s going to take matters into her own hands.

Angela works as a civilian paper-pusher in the Missing Persons Unit, but wants nothing more than to be a fully-fledged member of An Garda Síochána, the Irish police force. With the official investigation into the missing women stalled, she begins pulling on a thread that could break the case wide open -- and destroy her chances of ever joining the force.

A nameless man drives through the night, his latest victim in the back seat. He’s going to tell her everything, from the beginning. And soon, she’ll realize: what you don’t know can hurt you …


This was my first Catherine Ryan Howard novel and I really enjoyed it! The writing style kept me wanting to read more. I loved the narration from the suspect throughout. It was chilling. Thank you so much NetGalley for the ARC!

I'm new to Catherine Ryan Howard. My first book of hers was Run Time which was fabulous as is The Trap. This is a complex mystery with some really surprising twists and turns! I don't want to give anything away, but I strongly recommend this title!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this digital ARC.

A roller coaster thriller of a ride that will leave you disheveled and satisfied that you read an exciting mystery that has so many twists and turns, brought to you by a fantastic author that brings it out the best.

Lucy’s life was upended when her sister went missing a year ago. Angela wants to be a member of the Gardai, but until she can pass the physical competency test, she is working as a civilian in the Missing Persons Unit. An unnamed man sneaks out at night, looking for opportunities to abduct young women who are alone on the street, and he apparently has a new victim in his backseat.

I was really looking forward to reading this book, but unfortunately most of it fell short of my expectations. I felt like nothing really happened for three-quarters of the book. However (and thankfully!), the ending blew my mind! CRH really brought the twists with this one; too bad it took so long to get to the good parts!

The Trap by Catherine Howard is a mystery thriller. At times the storylines seemed disjointed, but they came together in the end.

I am a big fan of Howard, unfortunately this book was not one of my favorites. I found many parts of this to be far fetched, but I xid try to enjoy the twists and turns and wanted to finish to know what would happen next. Would still recommend. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

The new CRH is always a treat for me. I love that I never quite know what she's going to bring us.

And there's no question that she's once again brought us something different than her previous novel, Run Tiome.

The Trap is a return to her more signature crime fiction style. This one reminded me of Rewind and The Nothing Man especially.

We've got our rotating points of view, short chapters and several places where I thought one thing was happening, but it turned out to be something else. But something that made perfect sense. This is classic CRH style. I always think of her saying "I think, what does the reader think I'm trying to do, how can I mess with them?" But she always does that in a fair way.

There were also, as always, several really fun Easter eggs for those readers who've read all the books she's written. She does such a good job with those Easter eggs.

While I don't think this is a ground-breaking book, I do think that al of of her readers will like this one much more than they liked Run Time.

I liked them both and I continue to enjoy everything she puts out.

I have loved Catherine Ryan Howard’s writing since reading 56 days, I’m so excited to be able to loose myself in another one of her novels! Twisty, turny, and a page turner. You won’t be left disappointed!

I always love a Catherine Ryan Howard book. I fell in love with her when I got an ARC of Rewind, read her back catalog, and then got every release afterward as an ARC and then finished copy. As always, her writing style is engaging and fast faced, and the twists just keep coming. Just when you think you have the story nailed down, it shifts.

Normally, I like that you can figure out the story as you go, and there's usually a last-minute twist you didn't see coming that changes things for you. I can honestly say that the twists for this particular book remained a mystery to me until the reveal-each of them. I love that for her and her writing style. Because, though the twists were not predictable to me, they were wonderful. The kind that make you want to go back and reread the book to see what you may have missed the first read through.

The only reason this isn't getting five stars from me is because unlike other novels of hers (except maybe 56 Days) I didn't connect with the characters as much as I'd have liked. And much like 56 Days, there were POVs and parts of the story that I just didn't care about. Much like the previously mentioned novel of hers, the police POV was just not working for me. Now, in the Nothing Man-it worked. But in 56 Days and The Trap, the police POV fell flat for me. I will admit, however, that police mysteries and dramas are not a genre/subject I enjoy-at all. So take that feedback with a grain of salt. Speaking of The Nothing Man, I LOVE that in this book as well; we get a killer's POV. Love that!

Overall, another fun thriller read. If by fun you mean twisted and sometimes gory.

Although I found many parts of this to be far fetched, I also enjoyed the twists and turns and found myself curious to know what would happen next. Overall, a fun easy read!

This crime thriller was absolutely gripping! It was set in the 1990s in Ireland, which I love!! I was hooked from the beginning to the very end! I loved it!!!
I just reviewed The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard. #TheTrap #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

Yet again I was not disappointed by another book by Catherine Ryan Howard.
I was literally on the edge of my seat the whole time! I could never get into a random person car. I felt so sick when she did not bowing the outcome and I loved every minute of it.
The twist took me by surprise!
This was a fantastic fast paced thriller! I’d absolutely recommend it!

Woot woot! "The Trap", latest from Catherine Ryan Howard is AMAZING! It rivals her earlier "The Nothing Man" for her BEST, and I may have enjoyed this one even more! (there's even a call-back here to that book, along with some other meta Easter Eggs!) Thrills & suspense started almost immediately - nothing slow here! This search for a killer of 3 women is told through multiple POV's - from the sister of a victim to the perpetrator himself! The twists here are everything and the final author's note added a lot to my enjoyment. My sincere thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the complimentary DRC, which was very much my pleasure to read & review!

Engaging, timely, and thoroughly entertaining. A recommended purchase for collections where crime and thrillers are popular.