4.25 stars -- really enjoyed this one and had a hard time putting it down. We've got a locked room mystery (but so much different than the typical one), a unique plot, and a dual timeline between 1999 at a large estate in countryside England and present day in a Notting Hill mansion.

Lots of twists -- I did not see the final one coming! Would recommend this one.

Six friends reunite to honor their professor and the summer of 1999. Each of them has a secret and someone is ready to kill. What happened that summer and why did the project to revolutionize finding your soul mate end abruptly. If this wasn't enough the daughter of the one of the friends has gone missing. Are the stories intertwined...get ready for the secrets to be exposed. Riveting and full of surprises.
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC I exchange for my review.

The intersection of interest in dating sites and exposing/understanding psychopaths is an unlikely junction, and it mostly works in this fictional context. There has to be a reason after all for this moderately diverse group of characters to have come together as young adults. But one doesn't have to be a psychopath to be capable of murder. It's a novel with a certain degree of "ESH" or "everyone sucks here" in a world of misunderstandings, desire for wealth, and the presence of an actual psychopath. While I saw the ultimate reveal coming about halfway through, there was no reveling in the reveal for how horrifying the details were.
Pros: Good pacing, engaging locked-house setting, interesting alternating past and present narratives
3.5 Stars

Pub date: 16 Sept 2025

Thanks to Atria and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a unique and engaging read. I loved the dual timeline—watching the friends come together for research years ago and then reuniting at the present-day dinner party. Each character felt well developed and had enough mystery around them that you could fall down red-herring rabbit holes.

For me, the story starts a bit slowly while setting up the 20-year gap, but once it picks up, it builds suspense steadily until a tense climax. I appreciated how the clues were spaced out—enough to keep me hooked without giving everything away.

The final third really takes things up a notch, with the timelines converging in a twisty, satisfying way. Some plot elements—like the high-tech house and hidden passage—were a bit convenient, but they served the story well.

This was my first book by Mark Edwards, and I’ll definitely be reading more. I don’t mind suspending disbelief when the story is actually entertaining!

This was a really unique read, for me. I kept trying to figure out where it was going and I totally could not guess. Especially the last third of the book really takes it up a notch. I really enjoyed the dual-timeline of when these friends first got together to do the research and the current day dinner party. I liked how each of them seemed a bit off and yet not enough not to feel 3-dimensional. I felt like there were enough clues spread throughout to keep me interested and yet not so much that I guessed what was going to happen.

These stories always require a bunch of suspension of disbelief which is not a problem for me. It was entertaining and kept my interest, that's all I care about truly.

with gratitude to netgalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

I received an advanced reader copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review on my Goodreads page. This book is due out on September 16, 2025.

The Wasp Trap follows six friends reuniting for a dinner party more than two decades after a charismatic professor brought them together. In the wake of the professor’s death, long-buried tensions rise—and one of the friends carries a secret that threatens to unravel them all before the night is through.

The story starts off a bit slowly, largely due to the need to establish the backstory and the significance of the 20-year gap. However, once the groundwork is laid, the narrative builds momentum, weaving together past and present in a suspenseful, character-driven arc. The dual timelines converge in a twisty and ultimately satisfying conclusion that rewards patient readers.

I thought this was a very interesting and twisty story. I really didn’t see the final twist coming. I liked the writing in this one and found it a quick and enjoyable read. I’d definitely read this author again!

This is a psychological thriller by Mark Edwards. This book had a very interesting premise, it alternates between past and present and even though I’m not a fan of that but it really worked on this book.

Here we see six friends at a dinner party in London in memory of their now deceased ex employer. This ex employer helped these friends to develop a dating website. This was supposed to be simple dinner party and nostalgic but ended up being horrifying when the friends are forced to reveal their deepest and darkest secrets. If they don’t then they will have to pick off one by one. It had all the twist and turns to make me keep reading!

This was a very interesting read and I enjoyed it very much. Highly recommended.

Thank you Atria books and NetGalley for proving me with this eARC. All opinions are my own.

AWESOME mystery who-done-it. I was very invested in finding out what the secret was. I also don’t get surprised by endings very much any more but I didn’t see this twist coming! This is the first book I’ve read by Mark Edward’s and I’ll definitely be reading more.

I was excited about this book because it was compared to Lucy Foley’s works, but unfortunately, the storyline failed to keep my interest.

The plot follows a group of wealthy characters who reunite after 20 years for a dinner party following the death of their former boss. However, I found myself uninterested in any of the characters and, by the end of the book, I was more eager for it to be over than for the truth to come out.

This book was fabulously written with well developed characters and plot twists that kept me on my toes! It was impossible to put down and definitely one of my favorite books this year.

I love Mark Edwards books and let's just say that this one is just as good as his other books

This was a twisty, dark, clever, and suspenseful book and I enjoyed the tension, the dread, the questioning that begins, and the shocking reveal. I can't wait to read his short story that is coming out in November. A definite recommend

Thank you publisher and netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own and isn't influenced by anyone else

This book kept me turning the pages and finding any spare minute I had to pick it back up, while I’ve seen this authors books this is my first read by them.
The storyline grabbed me immediately, the chapters were fairly short and had dual timelines, 1999 and present day.
It starts with the protagonists arrival at a dinner party/reunion of students that worked on a revolutionary dating site together one summer. They are reuniting because their old professor who hired them to design the dating site has recently passed away.
The dinner party is hosted by Georgina and Theo, 2 of the students that are now married and incredibly wealthy.
Will is the main protagonist although others do come into play. Will is still in love with Sophie his crush from 99 who he never got the courage to let her know how he feels.
The party gets hijacked by some people that know the group of 6 are hiding something and they are willing to do anything to find out their secrets.
This gets really fun when the secrets start to spill oh and there are psychopaths among them as well.
This book was loads of fun and now I’m going to have to check out Mark Edwards backlist.
Thank you to Netgalley and Atria books for the opportunity to read and review.

What a ride this was! I read the last half in probably a day. I had to find out what happened! And let me tell you, the twist at the end I did NOT see coming! Love that! Good characters. Good, interesting plot! It was a tad slow at first and introducing a ton of characters. Parts drug on a little bit so that's why I'm going four stars, but overall really really enjoyable!!

A dinner party in a beautiful Notting Hill townhouse turns into a sinister game, as six old friends are forced to spill their darkest secrets…or else.

Six friends reunite in London to celebrate the life of their recently deceased ex-employer, a professor that brought them together in 1999 to help build a dating website based on psychological testing.

But what is meant to be a night of bittersweet nostalgia soon becomes a twisted and deadly game when the old friends find themselves held at gunpoint. They are given an ultimatum: reveal their darkest secrets to the group or pick each other off one-by-one.

It soon becomes clear that their current predicament is related to their shared past. The love questionnaire they helped develop in 1999 for the dating site was also turned into a tool for weeding out The Wasp Trap. This and the other tragic events of that summer long ago may help reveal the truth behind a killer hiding in plain sight.

The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards, when the story begins we meet middle-age adults showing up at a grand mansion belonging to the Howard’s, Georgia and Theo who were at one time a part of this group that all came together in college to make a revolutionary dating app. The guest are Rowan, Will, Lily and Sophie. They’ve all gathered under the guys of a tribute to their mentor professor Sebastian but unbeknownst to each other more than one person has an ulterior motive for being at the dinner. throughout the deadly gathering more than one secret of the last night they were together comes out but by the time everything is revealed it will be too late for some but those that are left still may not make it out alive. I know there is a lot I am leaving out but I’m doing that so others can enjoy this thrilling novel as much as I did this really was a banger of a book with twist and turns from the beginning to the end it was nonstop thrills and I couldn’t recommend this book more. I don’t believe I’ve ever read a book by Mark Edwards before but was so happy to see he has a vast catalogue that I cannot wait to die vent to. #AtriaBooks, #NetGalley, #TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview, #MarkEdwards, #TheWaspTrap,

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC of The Wasp Trap by Mark Wdwards. Will and his college friends were asked to help their Professor to create an online dating app in 1999. Unfortunately the app was cancelled and the participants all went home. Years later at a memorial for the Professor, two people take them hostage to find out who had a secret from 1999. While I liked the idea of this story, i felt like it was a bit slow and drawn out. I didn’t really like alot of the characters.

4.5 Stars

✨✨✨Super twisty with excellent tension!!!✨✨✨

The Wasp Trap started off a little slow for me. Mostly because I was trying to keep up with who all of the characters were!

It paid off in full though because the setup of the characters and the plot really added a good depth and atmosphere to the books brilliant storyline.

It really picked up once the game to spill secrets started. After that it was a fast-paced, wild, and twisty thrill ride the rest of the way through! Action, action, action!!! 👏

Not only did I LOVE all of the twists but I really loved the atmosphere and tension. I also really liked the dual timelines. I am super happy with the ending and the epilogue as well!!

The Wasp Trap is a really enjoyable keep you on the edge of your seat, top tier thriller!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free ebook copy in exchange for an honest review. This book will be released September 16, 2025.

For the most part I really enjoyed this book. There were definitely a few plot twists that I did not see coming. I didn’t find the characters all that likeable with the exception of Will. I liked that it switched back and forth from 1999 to the present to fill in the gaps. I found the dinner party to be very slow and just dragged on. Still a good read though.

I had to drop everything I was going to pull full focus on this book. It was an amazing read and I just couldn’t get enough of it. It was so clever and suspenseful. Kept me hanging on the entire time.

After reading the synopsis for this book, and viewing the title (which I found enticing), I decided to give this book a shot- and I am so glad that I did. It was fast read with short chapters (yay for that!), and there were twists galore!

The Wasp Trap is a story about six friends who meet up after 25 years to celebrate the life of Sebastian Marlowe, their former professor. These six friends meet up at Theo & Georgina’s beautiful house, and realize they have a bit of catching up to do since they haven’t seen each other since 1999. It was in 1999, that the six friends were creating a dating website together (with their late professor), and it was with this website that they also created a test to identify psychopaths. Between Will (who the story is narrated by), Sophie, Rohan, Theo, Georgina, and Lily- is there a psychopath amongst the group?

At Georgina & Theo’s dinner party to celebrate the life of Sebastian Marlowe, they are locked in their dining room and held at gunpoint. No one is leaving this room until someone reveals a secret they’ve been keeping since the summer of 1999. Who holds the secret? And will each member leave alive?

I enjoyed the flashbacks to 1999, and then back to present day in this story. There were also several twists that I didn’t see coming. However, if I’m being honest, I’m not real crazy how this book ended. I also think I missed a paragraph (or page), because I have no idea what happened to two of the characters in this story (Amber and Callum) 🤷🏻‍♀️ So for that I’ve dropped my rating down a bit. All in all this is still an enjoyable story in which I recommend!
(3.5 stars)

Many thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, and the author for a DRC copy of this book in which I had the pleasure of reading. All opinions are my own.
Publication date: September 16, 2025
Genre~ Mystery & Thrillers, General Fiction (adult)