Thank you for the opportunity to read an early copy of the wasp trap! Absolutely love mark edwards, first book I read was the psychopath next door. This is a true psychological thriller, love the back and forth, the POV, the plot. Everything. 5/5

This book ticks a lot of boxes for themes that are popular right now--a group of people trapped in a glamorous location, shifting back and forth between past and present, different characters' viewpoints--but it was very well done and kept my interest throughout. The characters (former university classmates, for the most part) weren't especially likeable, but I still cared about what happened to them. A fun thriller!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“The Wasp Trap” by Mark Edwards is a gripping, dark and suspenseful locked room mystery that is impossible to put down.
Six classmates who worked together 25 years ago to create a new dating website based on psychological testing, come together for a dinner party to celebrate the life of their professor who recently passed away. The app they created took a dark turn when they combined it with a test to identify Psychopaths. A dark tragedy occurs during the testing of the app and the professor cancels the project and sends each one of them home.
Now after being estranged for 25 years they find themselves being held captive and forced to disclose a terrible secret from their past. Tensions rise, paranoia kicks in and the adrenaline fueled rollercoaster begins.
The suspense, creepiness, foreboding and constant twists will keep you guessing till the final reveal. I highly recommend this unique and entertaining book!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing this book, with my honest review below.

The Wasp Trap is truly the definition of a psychological thriller, alternating between the past during a summer decades ago as a group of young adults set up a dating website and test for psychopaths and the present where there efforts so long ago point to a secret from that summer.

Will is our main narrator but other perspectives from the group come into play as a dinner party to remember the mastermind behind the dating website now dead to me perilous when it’s taken over by strangers locking the dinner party in. The ‘game’ as the perpetrators put it is to reveal the secret from that summer - but there were so many. As the night turns deadly there are layers of mysteries revealed and the tension is absolutely unbearable in the most enjoyable way for this reader. You quite literally will not guess what comes up that night and it 100% is an actual psychological thriller that will have you white knuckling the book (or your E reader).

The Wasp Trap is my first book by Mark Edward's. Its definitely a slow burn with alot of character development. I liked the back and forth from before and after for each character. It picks up and the action starts about halfway through with twists right up until the last couple pages. I will be looking for others from Mark Edwards.

First off, I want to confess that by the 30% mark, I was sure I knew who behind this dinner gone horribly wrong, was guilty. In Mark Edwards fashion, I will not expose all of my cards until the end. Shall we begin to delve into the premise of The Wasp Trap.
In 1999, six people (Sophie, Lily, Theo, Georgia, and Rohan) were hired by Sebastian Marlowe to make his online dating app a reality. 25 years later, those six are meeting again to remember Sebastian. What happened to make these people lose contact? All will be revealed.
Georgia and Theo invite the other four to their house to toast their former employer, Sebastian. They also invite Finn, Sebastian’s former assistant. Will is suspicious of him from the beginning. If only Finn was the biggest threat tonight.
Callum and his assistant Amber were hired to cater dinner. But they are not really here to be praised for their culinary acumen. No, they want… Information, about the time this group worked for Sebastian. Someone knows something and until that person spills their secret, well bad things will happen. Trapped in a locked house with no phones, no Internet, and two people who will use force to get what they want, the time has come to expose their secrets.
As the body count rises, secrets are revealed, but Callum isn’t satisfied. The story is set mostly at this dinner party, though also with chapters set in 1999 explaining what these six people did for Sebastian. I’m not going to say more so you can be as surprised as I was when everything is revealed.
I did promise that I would say more about my guess. It was totally wrong. I should know by now that the author will always have more up his sleeve than I could imagine. The final twist…..perfect. 4.5 stars.

I wanted to love this locked room thriller with the great title but I just couldn’t get into it. The pacing was too slow and I couldn’t get invested in the story or the characters. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

If you like locked-room mystery-thrillers, you must read this book! The Wasp Trap has dual timelines which flow seamlessly. I liked the first-person point of view for the main character and the book's micro-tension and ever-present sense of foreboding. The story had me turning the pages, wanting to learn more, and left me shaking my head at the twists. This book will keep you spellbound!

From the moment I read the description of this book, I was desperate to get approved for the Advance Reader Copy. And man, am I so glad I did.

The Wasp Trap is the story of 6 recent graduates hired to work on a brand new dating site in 1999, based on psychology that would help find someone’s perfect match. The ex-professor leading the project had a long history with studying psychopaths and this algorithm was too juicy to not be retrofitted to trap them too (like a wasp, get it?)

25 years later, after the death of their beloved professor, the group gathers for a dinner party in his honor, and everything goes sideways. A deadly game begins, all with the goal of weeding out a secret the late professor hinted at that would change everything for his sole beneficiary.

While the plot sounds straight from an A24 horror film, there is so much more to it that I was not prepared for (but A24 if you’re listening, this would make a great film). From a missing daughter, to a private investigator, to a chef with a secret of his own, the twists just keep coming. And the real hero of the book, a cat named Claude.

Between the psychology and 90s nostalgia, I was hooked from the jump. Throw in a cat that helps solve the mystery - not cheesy I swear - and this is one of my top books of the year so far.

Edwards writes in a compelling way that kept me flying through chapters and made it nearly impossible to put down. I’ll be recommending this to everyone I know.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book early!

I enjoyed this book! I liked how the story was told between the two time lines. I would recommend this book to others!

Inhaled this book in a day. I appreciated the themes surrounding human nature - what makes someone inherently good, and bad and who is allowed to dictate that. Is a test a reliable indicator? This story had plenty of twists and turns, shock and delights and kept me guessing and on my toes to the very last page. Highly recommend for anyone looking to get out of a reading slump, or looking for a fast paced whodunit with a slew of suspects, a locked room mystery (literally) and a surprising ending.

Clever, clever, clever! I always get excited when I see that Mark Edwards has a new book coming out! He has delivered yet again with the gripping, dark, suspenseful, and hard to put down The Wasp Trap! I am drawn to books that have a 'trapped' feeling and The Wasp Trap nailed it when Six friends gather in a Notting Hill townhouse to celebrate the life of their former professor. They won't be celebrating for long!!!

The friends were once classmates in 1999 and worked with their professor on a dating website. A website based on psychological testing. The love questionnaire they developed has become turned into a tool known as The Wasp Trap. Here's a hint - it's not for trapping annoying stinging insects!

As the night progresses, they find themselves held at gunpoint and are informed they must share their deepest darkest secrets to the group or be picked off one by one. As the group scrambles, the book goes back and forth to the past and then the present day as their predicament becomes dire.

This was a twisty, dark, clever, and suspenseful book which had the group wondering just how well they knew/know each other. It kept me on my toes and turning the pages. I enjoyed the tension, the dread, the questioning that begins, and the shocking reveal. Mark Edwards has pulled off another thrilling and gripping mystery thriller. I can't wait to read what he writes next!

The reunion begins with a deceptively sweet invitation: a dinner party. Old friends, drawn back together after years, gather in a sophisticated Notting Hill townhouse. The occasion? To celebrate the life of their former employer, a professor whose research bound them together in the summer of '99. But beneath the veneer of nostalgia, something sinister lurks.

Mark Edwards' The Wasp Trap doesn't just simmer with suspense; it boils. From the moment the guests arrive, a sense of unease settles, thick and suffocating as the summer heat. A missing guest. A whispered argument. The distinct sound of someone crying. Edwards masterfully cranks up the tension, page by page, revealing that this isn't a simple get-together, but a carefully orchestrated trap.

The premise is chillingly brilliant: these friends, once bright-eyed graduates, were part of a groundbreaking, and ultimately tragic, experiment. They helped develop a dating website, but their psychological testing also birthed something far more dangerous: "The Wasp Trap," a tool designed to identify psychopaths. Now, years later, the past has returned to sting them.

Edwards expertly weaves together the past and present, revealing the dark secrets these characters have carried for decades. Each twist is a venomous strike, leaving you breathless and desperate to uncover the truth. The question isn't just who is behind this deadly game, but why? And what truly happened that fateful summer?

The Wasp Trap is a masterclass in psychological suspense, a locked-room mystery that explodes far beyond the confines of a single room. It's a relentless, addictive read

Check out this teaser :

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. The old friends 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 psychopaths: The Wasp Trap. This experiment and the other tragic events of that summer long ago may help reveal the truth behind a killer hiding in plain sight.

Just wrapped up The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards, and let me tell you—dinner parties are officially off the table for me. Picture this: six ex-friends reunite after years to celebrate their former boss in London, only to discover they’ve walked into a trap with deadly secrets lurking beneath the surface. This wild ride had me on the edge of my seat; I couldn’t put it down! If locked room thrillers filled with twists are your jam, make sure to grab this one when it drops on July 31st.

thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review!

yeah idk what to say about this one. it feels like a pretty standard "group of people trapped in one location" thriller. I kept reading because I wanted to know what was going to happen, but it's not particularly better (or worse tbf) than any given one of these books. on one hand I was a bit annoyed by the emphasis on a romance I found pretty uninteresting, but on the other I did think the twists were overall well done and definitely one thing in this book that was above average. so overall... it was Fine. if you like thrillers you will like this, I just doubt it'll blow you away.

also we love and stan Claude!!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing an advanced reader copy of The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards in exchange for an honest review.

Mark Edwards delivers a tightly woven psychological thriller in The Wasp Trap, a chilling locked-room mystery that deftly weaves together past and present. With its dual timelines—one set in the present day and the other flashing back to 1999—the novel explores how long-buried secrets and unresolved guilt can resurface in the most unexpected and dangerous of ways.

At the heart of the story is Will, a writer and former university student, whose past work on a controversial dating algorithm and a disturbing “psychopath test” under a charismatic professor resurfaces in terrifying fashion. When Will and his former classmates are invited to a reunion dinner, what begins as a seemingly nostalgic gathering quickly unravels into a sinister game of survival. The narrative examines the corrosive impact of secrets, the fragility of trust, and the psychological cost of ambition and betrayal.

The pacing begins slowly, grounding the reader in the atmosphere of the dinner party before accelerating dramatically in the final quarter. Once the twists begin, they arrive rapidly, each more unsettling than the last. Edwards excels in planting subtle narrative clues that pay off in unexpected ways. Though the initial setup could benefit from a stronger hook, the tension crescendos effectively, culminating in a finale that is both shocking and satisfying. The final revelation—particularly the chilling note involving Mia—lingers long after the final page.

In terms of characterization, Will serves as a steady, if at times unremarkable, narrator. His fixation on Sophie occasionally feels repetitive, though the rotating perspectives add dimension and intrigue. Among the ensemble, Lily stands out for her complexity and layered motivations. Some characters’ choices stretch believability, and certain subplots—especially Olivia’s—feel somewhat underdeveloped. Still, the claustrophobic setting and the psychological intensity more than compensate for these moments.

The “psychopath test” subplot, while compelling, left me wishing it had been explored more deeply. The concept is rich with potential, and its implications are genuinely disturbing. That said, Edwards does a commendable job balancing narrative momentum with deeper thematic questions about trust, manipulation, and morality.

One of the novel’s greatest strengths lies in its use of dual timelines. The transitions between 1999 and 2024 are seamless, and both narratives are equally engaging. The past timeline, in particular, adds emotional depth and context to the characters’ present choices. Readers who remember the late ’90s will appreciate the nostalgic references, especially the contrast between early internet culture and today’s digital dependence.

The atmosphere throughout is tense and immersive, with several moments of genuine horror and disturbing imagery. Edwards does not shy away from portraying the darker facets of human behavior, making for a reading experience that is as thought-provoking as it is thrilling.

The Wasp Trap is a masterfully structured novel that rewards close reading. It’s not a mystery that reveals itself easily; rather, it invites readers to pay attention, to question, and to anticipate. The title is brilliantly chosen—its significance clicks into place with chilling clarity in the final act.

In short, this is a gripping, well-executed thriller that will appeal to readers who enjoy complex plots, psychological tension, and morally ambiguous characters. Mark Edwards has proven once again that he is a must-read author in this genre.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is how you write A book!!! The story is told in past and present, mostly in first person by main character and in third by others. I absolutely loved this one and i found myself picking up my kindle every chance I got. The story was interesting and I was so invested in everything, every character and both timelines. The plot twists were amazing, and there were many of them. And also, with ending like this, I truly hope will get a book two cause I can see that happening.

Thanks to Atria and NetGalley for the eARC of The Wasp Trap, coming September 16th. Six old friends reunite in London to honor their late mentor, but the night takes a dark turn when they're forced to reveal secrets—or eliminate each other. The danger ties back to a twisted experiment from their past: a dating test designed to identify psychopaths. As tensions rise, the truth behind The Wasp Trap and a hidden killer begins to unravel.
I loved the premise and dove right in. I’m a sucker for a good whodunit, especially the kind where a group with shared history reunites and secrets start to unravel. This one kept me hooked, and I definitely didn’t see the ending coming. So good!

The Wasp Trap
Publishing Date 9/16/25
Publisher Atria Books
Rating 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Atria Books for the e-ARC of The Wasp Trap. I devoured this book in one sitting. What a roller coaster ride! Multiple twists and turns I didn't see coming. A definite must for readers of suspense. Reminded me of Agatha Christie with the game aspect of the story.

How have I never read a book by Mark before?!

Six friends unite to celebrate the life of their recently deceased ex-employer. A sweet dinner party turns into the dinner party from hell. Dark secrets are revealed and things turn deadly.

This was a past paced thriller. There were so many twists. What a ride!! I really enjoy Marks writing. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.

I’m looking forward to reading more books by Mark.

Thank you NetGalley, Mark and Atria Books for the eARC!

Rating:✨✨✨✨
Publication Date: September 16 2025