A psychological thriller!

Honestly, I thought this was a general fiction book about friends who rehashed their past drama - kind of like a modern day THE BIG CHILL. (#grandmareference) But it was a thriller! A group of friends who worked together 25 years ago are reunited for a dinner party after reconnecting at their former boss' funeral service. Hijinks ensue. And by "hijinks" I mean "unpredictable things that I did not envision and when I thought I figured it all out, in fact I DID NOT!"

This feels like a fresh take on the genre. I know so many people who will enjoy it! Also, this author was new to me, and I look forward to checking out his other work, if it exists.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC! I really enjoyed it.

The Wasp Trap is a gripping and relentlessly suspenseful thriller that kept me guessing until the very end. The twists were smart and genuinely surprising, and the tension never let up. My only complaint was ‘the secret’ everyone kept referencing—after all the build-up and jaw-dropping reveals, it felt a little underwhelming. Still, a compelling and satisfying read overall.

I just finished this book, and let me say no dinner parties are in my plans anytime Soon!! he started off a little slow and confusing, but once I learned who the characters were the flow got much better.

Just imagine 6 friends getting together to celebrate a former boss and find out it is a TRAP!!!

The setting and the plot had me in the edge of my seat from the beginning. The Twist were insane!!! ( love a good twist)

This was my first book by Mark Edwards. I will be
Checking out more of his books soon.

Highly Recommend!

Mark Edwards delivers a wickedly clever locked-room thriller in "The Wasp Trap," where six friends reunite for what should be a nostalgic dinner party but quickly becomes a deadly game of confession. The setup is irresistible: former university colleagues who helped create a dating app with a psychopathy test in 1999 are forced at gunpoint to reveal their darkest secrets from that fateful summer or die.

Edwards expertly weaves dual timelines, building suspense through short, punchy chapters that make this compulsively readable. The characters are well-drawn, each harboring believable secrets and motivations. While some may find the middle section slightly repetitive, the tension never truly lets up, and the final twist is genuinely surprising and satisfying.

What elevates this beyond standard thriller fare is Edwards' psychological insight and the clever integration of the psychopathy test into the plot. Though a few loose ends regarding secondary characters detract slightly, this remains a thoroughly entertaining page-turner perfect for fans of Lucy Foley's ensemble mysteries.

The concept of The Wasp Trap sounded fantastic and something I would really enjoy, but unfortunately I wasn't a fan.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Tech friends with secrets from the past. One of them has a secret that will get others killed.

So this book was not at all what I expected... in some ways good... in some ways not great. The setup seemed pretty fantastic; 6 ex-student partners locked in a house having to divulge their biggest secrets. It felt very Black Bag. I would say the first third of the book was exactly what I wanted, but then it took a turn that felt forced. I think the premise left enough to have a little more subtlety. The dramatics and violence seemed unnecessary and essentially took away from what could have been really suspenseful. I dont think the character of Mia was really needed at all. I would rather have seen this play out as a tense "who done it" over dinner. There is a version of this that I think would have been perfection, but in the end it was far too heavy handed.

Wow! This was a very fast-paced story filled with twist after twist after twist! Admittedly it's a little slow in the beginning as everything is getting setup, but once it gets going the pace and the tension don't let up until the end. The short chapters and the two timelines made it fly by quickly. There were twists galore, and they all shocked me. I don't think I saw any of them coming. The epilogue didn't really do much for me, but other than that I loved The Wasp Trap. Highly recommended!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC.

What a book! Very suspenseful and the plot twist definitely caught me by surprise. Highly recommend if you haven’t read this, you should. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to read the arc!!

A few years ago I binge read every book by Mark Edward because they were so twisty and kept me turning pages for hours. I had the opportunity to read his upcoming book The Wasp Trap and I see that nothing has changed! This particular book highlights people with psychopathy which is so fascinating and I loved the journey from beginning to end! Especially the dual timelines. This one has an ending you will NOT see coming.

What a smart, entertaining thriller! Edwards has crafted a novel that takes the reader on a dark and twisted journey through the past of the six “Revolutionaries” and also perhaps unintentionally, raises ethical questions about how we place our faith in scientists. I enjoyed this immensely.

Clear your schedule before diving into The Wasp Trap—once you crack it open, you’re not going anywhere. Mark Edwards delivers a chilling locked-room thriller where six old college friends reunite for a dinner party… only to be held hostage and forced to confront a secret they thought was buried in the summer of 1999.

Back then, they were building a dating site—and a controversial test to spot psychopaths. Now, someone wants the truth out, and not everyone may make it out alive.

Told through dual timelines and dripping with tension, this one’s filled with twists, creepy surprises, and a lingering question: who among them is dangerous?

While I loved the pacing and the eerie, claustrophobic vibe, I found the ending a bit unsatisfying and was left confused about the fate of a couple of side characters. Still, it’s a gripping, binge-worthy mystery that fans of psychological suspense will eat up. Recommended!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book reminds me to RSVP no to more invitations and yes to staying home and reading.

Atmospheric with creepiness right from the start. This locked room mystery had my claustrophobia doing double time.

Told in two timelines, 1999 and present day, secrets, psychopaths and deadly games. A dinner party of old friends are taken hostage and must reveal their secrets to stay alive.

I read this in one sitting. It was intense and thoroughly entertaining.

This book had me hooked for the very beginning. A bunch of colleagues set off to make a dating app that could have the potential to measure Psychiatic traits and perhaps predict or identify psychopaths. These 6 friends are later reunited together years later to pay last respects to their beloved professor and mentor who has passed away. The story alternates between the past and present and I found it very exciting navigating between the times lines and learning more about the characters, and what happened in the past to understand how they actually arrived at the present timeline. There were a lot of surprises that I did not see coming, and I really enjoyed reading this book.

The concept of this book seemed really neat... A group of people who worked on a project years ago get thrown back together for a "reunion" where crap hits the fan.

This wasn't bad. I just feel like some of the writing was slightly cheesy in some spots. Some of the things the "bad guys" said were like... ok... com on now. But, in general I enjoyed the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the Advanced Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date : September 16, 2025.

4.5 ⭐️ Solid locked-room thriller.!
The Wasp Trap follows the reunion of six friends/colleagues that worked together on creating a dating website 25 years ago, and haven’t seen each other since. The dinner party quickly turns dark, when the two caterers turn out to not be who they claimed to be. Locked in the house with no way out, and no cell service, the dinner guests are asked to share any and all of their darkest secrets… or they will not be walking out the door.
Also included were flashbacks to 1999 so that you could follow their backstory and attempt to piece together who was hiding something, but the twists kept coming. An easy and quick read, I would very much recommend The Wasp Trap!
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced reader copy. —- Pub 9/16/25.

A dual timeline locked room mystery for those readers who love books with more dialogue than action. The present day timeline takes place over the course of one evening where a night of reconnecting & reminiscing with past friends/co-workers turns deadly as the group are forced to reveal past secrets in a hope to appease their captor.

The author delves into psychopathy, fears, and regrets, and I’d say parts of this book are closer to the horror genre. If you enjoy books or movies that centre around an intense dinner party that have you guessing who is the biggest psychopath of them all, then you might want to give this book a try.

Creepy in all the right ways!

This book had me hooked pretty quick. The Wasp Trap starts off with that classic Mark Edwards unease—where everything seems normal but you know something’s off. The suspense builds steadily, and once things start unraveling, it gets wild in the best way.

I really liked the main characters—flawed but relatable—and the setting made everything feel even more tense. Edwards is great at turning everyday stuff into something super creepy. There were a couple twists that felt a little too much, but overall, it was a fun, fast-paced read that kept me guessing.

If you like psychological thrillers with a dark vibe and a few surprises, this one’s definitely worth checking out!

The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards follows several young adults who, through a series of paper surveys, are picked to help a professor create a successful dating website in the late 1990’s. Fast forward to current day and two of the six, now married, invite the whole group to a dinner party to celebrate the late Professor and reconnect.

Not everything is as it seems. Each member of the party becomes hostage while the hostage taker is in search of a secret from the past. Admittedly, he doesn’t know the secret- or who keeps it, so let the games begin. How far will he go to expose the secret? And how far will the keeper of the secret go to keep it?

Following multiple characters can be difficult, however Edwards effortless distinguishes between them all making it easy to follow along. The dual timelines of 1990s and present day help to build the story and suspense. I found the pacing to be steady and not rushed or bogged down throughout.

I didn’t struggle to believe the twist- I found multiple hints through the story that supported it. It still came as a surprise to me who was behind it all. I found the adjacent storyline unnecessary in delivering the final punch, but it also didn’t hinder it. I rated it 3.5 because I fee it lacked depth, would fall into “popcorn thriller” category. Overall a great quick read. Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC!

I loved this fast paced book where a group of friends reunite for what they think will be filled with nostalgia and reminiscing but is anything but. Thank you Mark Edwards and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy of The Wasp Trap.