Tense and twisty, The Wasp Trap kicks off with six former colleagues reuniting for a dinner party to honor their late boss. It’s been 25 years since they last saw each other, ever since their ambitious project was mysteriously shut down, just before it was set to make them all wildly rich.

What begins as a nostalgic evening quickly shifts into something far darker. The hosts reveal that their adult daughter has gone missing, but with few leads and little urgency from the police, they’re left in limbo. Then the real nightmare begins. The guests are suddenly held at gunpoint and forced to confront secrets from decades past… or face deadly consequences.

As tensions rise and old wounds resurface, everyone must question who they can trust, what really happened all those years ago, and how the missing girl fits into it all. It plays out like a locked-room whodunit meets psychological thriller, with layers of betrayal, regret, and long-buried truths.

A solid, suspenseful read that kept me guessing and fully engaged to the very last page.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Very fast-paced, finished it in one sitting because there was no way I was going to sleep without knowing who the heck was behind everything. I went in with HIGH expectations—90s flashbacks, a dramatic dinner, secrets galore—and for the most part, it delivered. Loved the alternating timeline and the whole “everyone’s got a secret” thing.

That said, there was a subplot and an extra POV I wasn’t the biggest fan of. Felt like an unnecessary plus-one at the party, but I will admit it tied up well in the end. Some twists could’ve sat this one out, and a few characters were giving “just here for vibes,” but the writing flowed so well I didn’t even care. I was hooked.

Yes, you may need to suspend your disbelief. Yes, it’s dramatic. But also yes, I had a great time.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for sending me an ARC!

This book kept me up at night--wanting to read one more chapter--and then one more chapter. The plot was incredibly well done with lots of twists, turns, and surprises. I loved it!

This book I could not put down loved it from beginning to end. I would highly recommend!! This isn't like something ie read before.

This book was surprisingly good. It is a little slow at times, setting the scenes but there is a great buildup of tension, told in multiple timelines and by two main narrators, a man who worked for Sebastian and Mia, the youngest daughter of the host. There is the mystery of where is Olivia, Mia's sister and the mystery of what is the secret and will any of them survive. A group of people who worked on a project on internet dating and a side project on pyschopaths, both in 1999 and now at a dinner party to honor Sebastian who is no longer alive. Twisty, slow building but tense. Kept my interest 4.5

The Wasp Trap is a gripping psychological thriller that seamlessly weaves past and present into a tense, twist-filled narrative. Six friends reunite in London to honor their late professor, a man who brought them together in 1999 with a bold vision of using psychological testing to create a dating website. What begins as a nostalgic dinner quickly spirals into a hostage situation, where their freedom depends on the revelation of a long-buried secret.

As the mystery unfolds, the alternating timelines add depth and complexity, keeping the suspense high. The tension escalates as the secret remains hidden, leading to unexpected turns that make this novel an addictive binge-read. Edwards skillfully conceals the truth, drawing the reader deeper into the intrigue until the shocking and satisfying conclusion.

With its intricate plot, relentless suspense, and chilling revelations, The Wasp Trap is a compelling thriller that keeps readers guessing until the very end.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

Fabulous from start to finish with some of the best psychological
suspense I’ve read this year. This is a complicated, well crafted
“Who dunnit” that I did pretty much figure out by the time the
cat was out of the bag, and, I was proud of myself! The premise
is. new to me and the story really came together very nicely
as nicely as a terrifying, terrorizing group,=of circumstances and
people allows. Learning the true culprit was satisfying, but it
is really a case of multiple bad actors and too much ego
running through the cast.
I recommend this to everyone ~it’s that good.
My thanks to Atria Books via NetGalley for the
download of this book for review purposes.

A fun and twisty read! A group of six former friends and old colleagues get invited to a Nottinghill townhouse to mourn their former boss/professor… and end up trapped at gunpoint. From there, the secrets start unraveling.

The story flips between the present day and summer of 1999—and everyone is hiding something. The short chapters made it super easy to binge, and the twists kept catching me off guard.

I recently had the pleasure of reading Mark Edwards' work for the first time with The Wasp Trap, and I can confidently say it won't be my last. This gripping psychological thriller had me hooked from start to finish, with unexpected twists that kept me guessing. I appreciated the diverse perspectives, well-developed characters, and the book's overall premise, making it a true page-turner. My reviews will be posted on Instagram, Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads. I would like to extend my gratitude to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advance review copy.

I've only read one other book by this author, which I enjoyed, and have been meaning to read more. Unfortunately, this ended up being just ok for me.

The synopsis and the title were both intriguing and it started off interesting enough. However, I felt that overall the pace was pretty slow and the reveals didn't come fast enough. There also wasn't much character development, so I never really came to care for any of them (which is a little ironic to say for a book with such a focus on psychopathy haha). The story flashes back to 1999 periodically and while the final few chapter from that timeline were enlightening, all the ones leading up to it were a bore to get through.

While I considered rating this book a little lower, there were a couple of twists that did end up surprising me, so I'm upping my rating to 3 stars. While this wasn't one of my favorites, I still plan on checking out some of Edwards' other books.

This was my first read by Mark Edwards and it will not be my last. The Wasp Trap was a total blast to read. It was smart, snappy, and just the right amount of creepy. I devoured it in one sitting.

The Wasp Trap sold me on the title and cover but it's plot is a deliciously twisty. It is a super fast-paced thriller that grabs you by the collar and does not let go. From page one, I was hooked. We're talking equal parts laughing nervously and side-eyeing everyone in my life.

The POV is razor-sharp and totally immersive. You’re right inside the head of the main character, and it’s a wild place to be. Edwards has this amazing talent for mixing suspense, dark humor, and just the right amount of chaos. It’s unsettling in the best way.

With juicy secrets, clever misdirection, and moments that made me gasp out loud (seriously, what just happened?!), this book is pure entertainment. It's the kind of thriller that makes you stay up way too late and then immediately tell your friends, “You HAVE to read this.” Which I have, multiple times.

A special thank you to NetGalley for the killer ARC!

Well, sh*t! I just finished this book and was totally blown away. Could not put it down for the last 20 percent of the book. I am so impressed when authors just weave a tale with all sorts of different little bits that all come together spectacularly in the end. My only quibble was the prologue seemed a bit long and dull, I almost didn't go back to the book, which would have been a shame!

This is a story that goes back and forth between 1999 and the present. Something terrible happened in 1999, and a dinner party is taken hostage in the present in an attempt to find out what that was and who knows it. The current timeline immediately puts you on edge, while the 1999 story unfolds as you learn more about the past from the current conversation. This set up leaves you wanting/needing to know what happens next, and that was me once I got really started.

I will say, I was totally shocked at the ending! I had it narrowed down to two different people and was wrong wrong wrong. This was a very good book. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC, and now I'm off to go look at some more of Mark Edwards' stuff....

This books was really good I enjoyed it I would recommend and read more from this author such a page turner thank you

The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards is a psychological thriller about a group of former co-workers who are reunited at a dinner party held in honor of their late boss. The dinner is held at one of their homes, a beautifully equipped and posh smart home. Everyone is nervous about reuniting; but as the dinner progresses it’s clear something is very wrong. Soon they discover they are trapped inside the house, and an old secret has put them all in harms way.

I really enjoyed this book and looked forward to reading it. The story goes between 2 time lines, and is told from a few narrators perspective. I never found the characters confusing, as they are all well developed and chapters indicate the time period and narrator. I would recommend this to a friend.

Thank you to Atria books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Years ago they worked together to build a dating app based on psychology, now those once young kids are back together for a dinner party to remember their former boss, but things are actually a little more sinister than that. Who knows what would have happened if they'd actually launched the dating website; would it have been a mega success making the team rich? Unfortunately they never got the chance to find when their boss cancelled the launch the day before it was meant to launch. Now decades later, the boss is dead, the team is all in different places in their lives and they haven't all been together since the day they left, but the dinner party is about to go horribly wrong.

Having not read anything by Mark Edwards before, I was very excited to be approved for this advanced read both because I've heard great things about their writing and because I love a good thriller. This book did not disappoint and I loved the forced proximity of the storyline, like a mix of a murder mystery dinner party meets a hostage situation. I was on the edge of my seat, unable to stop reading because I had to know more about the backstory of each character, what happened that fateful summer and most importantly who the true psychopath was and what the secret was and who had it. I will definitely be recommending this book, particularly to fans of Alice Feeney, Agatha Christie and the game Clue.

I have shared on GoodReads but will share on Instagram and retail sites closer to publication date and update my review links upon doing so!

Mark Edwards has to be one of my favorite authors! He’s always spot on with the twists and spookiness for me. I love the way he writes, it’s so fun to read. Enjoyed this book so much and would recommend to everyone just like all of his other books!

Mark Edwards has done it again! This was twist-filled ride, complete with an intriguing plot, curious characters, and deadly drama. This was a fun, locked room thriller with callbacks to years before to help fill in the gaps. Highly recommended!

I am absolutely a sucker for education/school-related plots, and Edwards does well with The Wasp Trap, where a group of friends who, in the 1990s, worked with their university professor to create a dating app. Said app was later used as a psychopathy test that, naturally, was controversial. Flash forward to today and the friends are spilling their secrets at a dinner party for their beloved professor.

I love the dual timeline of The Wasp Trap and how, with the number of red herrings, the final twist remained truly unknown until its reveal. There have been too many thrillers these days that are obvious and, therefore, boring, and so I appreciate how Edwards keeps you on your toes. The short chapters also add to the page-turning. Clever, Mr. Edwards! Clever indeed.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Posted to goodreads. Thanks netgalley for the arc. This is my first Mark Edwards book and I want to go back and read more of his now. Although this book took me a bit to get into, once it caught my attention I had to know how it ended. I liked the back and forth timelines and a few twists throughout rather than just at the end. This was a unique storyline and I couldn’t predict how it would end.

I was annoyed at a few parts of the book, like the fact that a large group of people couldn’t have overpowered amber and callum.

Overall I would recommend and am excited I found a new author to read!

Six former colleagues and friends meet up at a dinner party to celebrate the life of their former professor. While, celebrating, they are locked in the house and held captive in the dining room. There is a secret from the past and no one will be released until it is revealed. The book goes back and forth between present time and 1999 leading up to the climax. There were many unexpected plot twist that were surprising.
I felt the beginning was a bit slow paced and it was difficult to get into the storyline. However, the pace did pick up at the end.
Thank you for Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC.