This was another fab read from Mark. I absolutely loved the setting of this one and had me wanting to read on as I couldn’t put this one down. I also loved the short chapters and twists throughout.

I’ve read books by this author before and really enjoyed them so think I’m the outlier on this one as it seems to be receiving rave reviews. Without spoiling anything I just didn’t feel invested in the characters and the choices they were making and the latter parts of the book did require a lot of suspension of disbelief.

Thank you to netgalley for providing an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was a very clever and tightly plotted thriller with some great twists, most of which I never saw coming. It also felt fresh in that the plot was very original. While there were lots of great characters, keeping track of who was who was very easy. There was some violence of course, but also some humour, a touch of romance and a cat that played a role in the plot. The forced revealing of secrets as a means of providing a second timeline worked well. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital advance reading copy. 4.25/5 stars

Six friends...a reunion dinner...and a secret to die for...

I always get excited when I see a new Mark Edwards thriller as he has the ability to pull you in and shock you all at once! Along with some of his dark humour, I'm usually not disappointed. However, this time I was. I was all hyped up for a reunion of six and a secret that had the propensity to destroy them. But for me, it fell a little flat. I felt it was quite drawn out and none of the characters were at all endearing. I did, however, read it one sitting...but mainly because I wanted to escape the dinner party from hell!

Will is our narrator and one of six people - Sophie, Lily, Rohan, Theo and Georgina - attending the dinner party in the exclusive Notting Hill with friends he has not clapped eyes on for twenty five years. He comes along still carrying a torch for Sophie with whom he worked alongside back then under the watchful eye of the late Professor Sebastian Marlowe, whom they are honouring with this dinner tonight.

In the summer of 1999, the professor had recruited the six unknowns to be part of a groundbreaking new venture. A dating website based on psychological testing which would then match particpants. Will was tasked with coming up with the name - Butterfly Net. But the psychological questionnaires had another purpose - to identify psychopathy - and that test became known as The Wasp Trap.

Now twenty five years later the group have gathered to honour the late Professor until just before the mains are served, they discover being held at gunpoint and are then informed they must share their darkest secrets to uncover the one secret they are after. Locked in the dining room, their phones confiscated, no one can leave the room until the secret is revealed. But who holds the secret? And will they leave alive?

The concept was interesting and I was intrigued as to how it would all play out. It had those definite locked room vibes that was claustrophobic in that it was every man for himself when it came down to it, as each tried to survive. But I felt it took too long to pick up pace and then it was too drawn out and I kept thinking "is this it?" The scene was set perfectly and there was a definite sense of claustrophobia and fear, but I know what Edwards is capable of so was expecting something more.

It's not a bad book and it did keep me turning the pages until the end but was that because I wanted to find out the secret or just wanted it to end? I guess it was a little of both. I guess I just know what Edwards is capable of delivering that I found this one to be a bit of a disappointment in comparison to some of his others that I have loved. But then, you can't love every book, can you?

Still, I will be waiting with baited breath for his next book because I know he can deliver!

I would like to thank #MarkEdwards, #Netgalley and #Penguin for an ARC of #TheWaspTrap in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

Mark Edwards’ The Wasp Trap is psychological thriller that is dark and had me turning the pages from start to finish.

In the summer of 1999, Will and five other idealistic graduates work under an eccentric psychology professor, aiming to revolutionise online dating. What should have been a ground breaking summer ends in unexplained tragedy. Twenty five years later Will receives an invite to a mysterious dinner party, a supposed reunion of the old group.

But from the moment he arrives, nothing feels right. The atmosphere is tense, the hosts are visibly hiding something, and an unfamiliar guest raises questions. Strange noises, uncomfortable glances, and an undercurrent of fear point to one thing, that summer never truly ended and someone is desperate enough to kill for the truth.

This novel is atmospheric and the tension is high with each character having their own secrets, guilt and motives. Suspicion is all around as the novel switches between the two timelines of the summer of 1999 and the present dinner party twenty five years later. As you would expect there are many twists and turns along the way to trip you up and the sting of a final twist.

A very enjoyable psychological thriller with a sting in the tail.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Penguin UK for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

25 years ago six friends worked with Professor Sebastian to launch a new dating website. Sebastian, without saying why, stopped all work just days prior to launching. Now Sebastian has died and the six friends are reunited for a dinner party to toast and remember their friend and mentor. After everyone has arrived the doors lock and internet abruptly disconnects leaving the six, and their catering couple together for what becomes a deadly and unforgettable evening where secrets of that summer come to light. Enjoyable characters and a plot that kept me guessing until the end, I really enjoyed this novel.