Imagine a group of friends held hostage and forced into an escape room where the theme of the escape room is their mutual summer job in 1999. The only way out, is to figure out each other's secrets from that summer 20 years ago - and which secret will please the hostage taker and set them free.

The story alternates between present day events and flashbacks to 20 years earlier. In 1999, a group of 20 somethings (Will, Sophie, Lily, Rohan, Theo, Georgina, Eve and Dominic), mostly all of whom are college grads, apply to a job to work with a well known professor in his endeavor to start a dating website with a psychological component to weed out psychopaths. Those who get the job, must live at the professor's cabin for the summer to complete the project. They are offered to handsome compensation and stock options. Without warning, the professor halts work on the project right before the site is set to debut and sends everyone home with no compensation and nothing to show for their work. 20 years later, after largely losing contact with one another, the group reunites for a dinner at Georgina and Theo's house (now married to each other) to remember the life of their professor after his recent passing. What no one in the group is aware of, is that someone in the house has ulterior movies, a grudge, and a gun.

I devoured this book in two days. It was an easy read but I also found it to be engaging. The story was suspenseful and also had a bit of romance. I loved the colorful cast of characters and their diverse backgrounds, which enhanced the story a bit. As mysteries can sometimes be, it was a bit predictable, but I didn't feel that it took away from the story. More like the author was providing breadcrumbs to the reader to connect the dots and realize that thing are not adding up, but also provided a satisfying twist. I enjoy this type of story trajectory instead of the one big reveal at the end - which can sometimes feel inauthentic and less satisfying. In this way, the story reminded me of so many of the Lisa Jewel novels I enjoy.

I would absolutely recommend this book to fans of mystery. Especially if you are into stories that contain young unrequited love, secrets, murder, psychopaths, geniuses, rich people, and secret passageways. And if you are a cat person - it also had a very good boy cat named Claude (always a bonus for me, especially because he does not die at the end, thank god).

I was invited to read this book by Atria via email and I'm so glad I checked it out! Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC!!

I found this a bit darker than the thrillers I typically enjoy, but what a wild ride! Maybe it was just me, but I had zero clue about how the story ended until I got there. Edwards did a great job of making the twists and turns in the book make sense without giving anything away.

There’s more I could say, but I don’t want to give anything away…

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Mark Edwards is phenomenal and I expected nothing less. I absolutely loved the flashbacks to 1999. This boom had perfect pacing and had me at the edge of my seat. The twists were very unexpected.

This is my second book by Mark Edwards and they are always a quick read that keeps you guessing. I enjoyed The Wasp Nest, especially the back story about the group of friends. It really kept you guessing. And who doesn’t love a locked door mystery?

We all have secrets we prefer to keep hidden. But how many have a secret that will mean life or death to those around us? This unsettling premise forms the foundation of Mark Edwards' latest psychological thriller, "The Wasp Trap," a tense and twisted tale of friendship, betrayal, and long-buried secrets.

The story's dual timeline switches between the charged atmosphere of 1999 and the claustrophobic tension of a present-day Notting Hill townhouse where six former colleagues find themselves trapped in a deadly game of revelation. Each character is forced to unveil their darkest secret or face deadly consequences.

The opening moves somewhat leisurely, but once the psychological cat-and-mouse game began, Edwards had me completely ensnared. The psychological dating questionnaire they developed years ago takes on sinister new meaning as the night progresses, and I found myself frantically trying to piece together the puzzle before the characters did

While I wanted to know more about the enigmatic Sebastian, whose shadowy presence drove so much of the plot, the finale more than compensated for this minor disappointment. Just when you think you've figured out who's behind the deadly game, Edwards pulls the rug out from under you with a revelation that is both shocking and, in retrospect, cleverly foreshadowed

For anyone who relishes that delicious feeling of dread that builds as secrets unravel, "The Wasp Trap" delivers a stinging read that will have you eyeing your oldest friends with newfound suspicion.

A big thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks go to SS Atria Marketing for gifting me an ARC of this book - it is exciting and chock full of surprises! At the beginning, you get a feel for these smart kids that come together to design a dating app. The creative minds and immature emotions of youth as they enter the adult world of business. But when they go their own ways after the app fails, they don't look back. When they come together again as adults after the death of their mentor, we see the ways they have grown ... or not. It turns out that 1999 was a pivotal year for all involved. As each person is forced to reveal a secret never meant to be exposed, we see a different side to each of these kids, and the events of that Summer are rewritten time and again. The book revolves around a dangerous, high-stakes dinner in which no one walks away unscathed, if they walk away at all. This book would make a wonderfully scary thriller movie. The lies, the deception, the danger .. the title is so fitting! The book is an edge-of-your-seat nail-biter - you will love it!

Really slow book for me. Didn’t keep me hooked. Barely finished. Might be for people that like slow burns.

This fast paced book has short chapters which I absolutely love in a book. This was such an interesting concept with a ton of twists and turns!

*ARC received from publisher via NetGalley in exchange for this review*

I have many feelings here, and I’m struggling to figure out where to start.

Here’s what I liked:
-the use of the dual timeline. I am a big fan of this in thrillers past events are used to explain “how we got here.”
-the premise itself. I have never read a thriller quite like this with the group dynamic and the psychology taking center stage. It felt very thought provoking and academic.
-the ambiguity. The story progresses in a way that leads you to believe anyone of the group could be the one with the secret. My theory changed too many times to count and I still was wrong in the end.

Here’s what I did not like:
-the pace. This felt like a slog. By the time I was halfway through the book little of significance had happened and I found myself wondering how much longer I could tolerate it.
-Callum’s insignificance. Yeah, sure, he was a pretty important character. Despite that, I found myself wishing he was someone more important than “some guy Amber knows.” He felt shoehorned into the plot for absolutely no reason. Realistically, Amber could have carried the whole plot on her own.

I am landing on a solid 3.5 for this. I do have a few criticisms but all in all I enjoyed it very much and had fun reading!

A group of formerly young tech savvy folks are brought back together twenty-some years later to honor the death of their former mentor. After a slow and meandering start, the book gets interesting when the group is suddenly held hostage, and threatened with death unless old secrets are revealed. With lots of suspense and intrigue, this was a fun read. It wasn’t necessarily an award winner, but I always appreciate the opportunity to escape into an author’s imaginative world.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for offering me the opportunity to read and review this offering.

A slow burn locked room thriller with twists at every turn. Told in dual timelines with characters that were not unlikable but I wish I cared a bit more about them. You will learn how they came to know each other 25 years ago and what has put them in the predicament they find themselves in now. Revealing secrets from long ago in the hopes it will put an end to the madness only seems to cause more harm than good while also revealing some new secrets.

The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards is a satisfying and suspenseful thriller with some well played twists, one in particular really packed a punch! This was my first book by Edwards but won’t be my last. Good thing he has quite a few out to keep me busy until his next one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

For the first time in decades, six old friends are reunited at a dinner party after working under Dr. Sebastian Marlowe on a groundbreaking dating software. The website promised to deliver one's ultimate match based on a complex set of psychological testing, something that, in 1999, sounded just short of too good to be true, So who are our dinner guests?

Georgina and Theo, a glamorous and affluent couple with two daughters and a Notting Hill home that belongs in the pages of Vanity Fair.
Lily, a brilliant coder whose genius was rivaled only by the group's former professor.
Sophie and Will, an almost-but-never-was twosome who never upended the delicate group's dynamics.
Rohan, unexpectedly now a husband and father.

Before long, it becomes clear that this soiree is not just a reunion. There's a dangerous game already underway linked to the group's past, and not everyone may make it out alive.

Despite a locked door premise that may sound all too familiar, readers, rest assured that "The Wasp Trap" is an expertly-written and refreshing addition to the genre. With superb pacing and an unmistakable sense of dread simmering beneath the surface of its pages, this novel is compulsively-readable; a modern Christie-esque mystery that doesn't sacrifice action for character development. Thoroughly enjoyable.

I’m so glad that I got this ARC emailed to me because I don’t think I would have picked it up otherwise. This book was a locked room mystery that had many shocking revelations from start to finish. It kept me guessing until the last page, even into the epilogue! Keep your eye out for this book because it’s bound to be a hit.

I've got to say, I finished this book in a day. Absolutely enticing!
One of my favorite types of books is when a group of people are put in a room and forced to tell secrets or face the consequences. This book definitely delivered!

Six strangers, put to the test to hopefully become "The revolutionaries" carried on by Dr. Sebastian Marlowe. The only catch is that they have to all be living under one roof. When everyone lives under one roof, bonds and friendships start to happen. At first, Sebastian had one goal. That goal was to create a dating website so people of all kinds can find love. He hired 6 people to help him create his dream. Unfortunately, the goal took a dark turn when Lily, the coder, creates a psychopathy test to combine with this dating app. As soon as Lily was about to announce the beginning of what could be an exceptional app, something happens causing Sebastian to wipe the entire system.

A long 25 years later, these long estranged friends come together to celebrate the life of Sebastian hosted by Georgina and Theo. These 6 friends, Will, Sophie, Lily, Rohan, Georgina, and Theo were just going to enjoy a nice evening dinner when things go wrong. Absolutely, completely wrong.

Blood was shed, secrets were spewed...but whos? Read and find out!

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for letting me have a sneak peek into this amazing book!

Slow burn but I really enjoyed this book. I like going back and forth between story lines and years to figure out the whole story of everything. I did not see the twist coming so that was enjoyable.

I tried - repeatedly - to get into this one, but just could not... I really liked the way it began (and LOVE the cover and title, incidentally). The setup definitely intrigued me and I was curious to see where things were going. I was right in it until things took a dark turn at the dinner party, and from there the story just lost me... It felt contrived and the characters behaved in ways that felt forced. Add to that a cast of generally unlikeable characters, and I found that I did not really care who had the secret, what it was, or who would suffer until it was told... I found the back-and-forth in time to be distracting rather than additive - it kept pulling me out of the action (such as it was) to see how the "friends" (frenemies?) came together. Their personalities and relationships all felt predictable and trope-filled, and I didn't connect with any of them as a result. This one wasn't a good fit for me.

I love an isolated, trapped thriller. Those are always the most intriguing to me. This is perfect for fans of that Netflix movie with Britany snow and the book only dreams I hold a knife.

Publishes September 16th. It follows a group of people who developed a dating website based on psychological testing in college. When the professor who brought them al together passes away, the group reunites to honor him with a dinner party. But things turn sinister when the group is held a gunpoint and told they must reveal their deepest secrets.

Told in past and present timelines we follow along to find out what the members of this group are hiding and how it pertains to finding a killer.

I found this story to be a unique take on a whodunnit mystery. With the added threat of a locked door and a weapon in their faces, the urge to spill their guts is at an heightened level results in the sharing of unrelated secrets with dramatic fall out.

I enjoyed the way this book put my brain into some mental gymnastics. With each secret shared, new theories developed and left me scratching my head.

The way everything came to a head was satisfying and unexpected. My only qualm with this story is that I didn’t feel particularly connected to any of the characters. I all solid and enjoyable read. 3.75

ALL THE STARS! I love a dinner party gone awry and this did not disappoint at all. Twist after twist and I just loved it. The writing was great and the characters were somehow fleshed out with little time to really get deep with any of them. I enjoyed the flashbacks and also the entire Mia scenario. Will absolutely read more by this author!

As a longtime fan of Mark Edwards, I always look forward to the gripping twists and psychological suspense he delivers—and Wasp Trap definitely kept me turning the pages. The story kicks off with a group of old friends reuniting after the shocking death of their former professor, and the mystery surrounding his demise pulls them into a web of secrets and long-buried truths.

The premise—friends coming back together under ominous circumstances—is one I usually enjoy, and Edwards paces the story well, revealing just enough at the right times to maintain tension without dragging things out. The plot unfolds smoothly, with plenty of eerie moments and uneasy revelations.

That said, I didn’t really connect with the characters. While that isn’t always a dealbreaker, in this case, it made it harder to fully invest in their fates. They felt more like pieces in the plot than fully fleshed-out people. It’s not necessarily a flaw in the writing—some stories don’t require deep emotional attachment to work—but here, the lack of connection muted the impact of some key scenes.

Still, Wasp Trap is a solid, suspenseful read. If you’re a fan of fast-paced thrillers with dark secrets and sinister pasts, this one’s worth picking up—especially if you already appreciate Mark Edwards' brand of psychological tension.

Thank You to NetGalley and the Publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.