When a Ciara and Oliver start seeing each other days before Covid-19 reached its peak, they decide to move in together to be able to continue to see each other. In their bubble they both see a unique opportunity to develop their relationship, but it also might make keeping their own secrets that much more difficult. When detectives arrive at the apartment and find a decomposed body, the police are left untangling the love bird's relationship and determining whose body has been left behind.

I wasn't ready. I wasn't ready for lockdown books when I read this back in July 2021. While I enjoyed the unique way Steadman was able to incorporate lockdown into the mix, being extremely sick/pregnant and being reminded of some of the most uncertain times was not a good mix for me. The writing style was fine if not a bit repetitive and though there were some nice twists added in, I couldn't seem to find a good rhyme while reading the story. I never felt particularly connected to either of our main characters and overall, it was a lackluster reading experience for me.

Hitting a little too close to home, I was not ready to read all about lockdown barely a year out from it starting. I enjoyed the concept and the plot but found the ending to be a bit lackluster. Mixed in with it being 'too soon' to have read a Covid lockdown story, this ended up being just okay for me. A decent mystery but nothing outstanding for me.


56 Days is out now! Huge thank you to Blackstone Publishing for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting:

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I found this book to be ok overall. The writing was fine, there were some really good twists, but the ending was overall underwhelming. The story repeated a lot of information over and over just under new POVs and that got tedious after a few times. I thought the COVID discussion was excellent though.

I know Covid is a part of recent history but I read to escape the pandemic, I know others will like this more than I did. Thanks for the review copy,

I absolutely LOVE Catherine Ryan Howard, and 56 Days was no exception!

The pacing of 56 Days was exactly what I needed in this forced proximity thriller with a pandemic backdrop. At first, I was skeptical about reading a book that so heavily features COVID-19 content, especially considering the times. However, Howard's uncanny attention to detail immediately took me back to the panic and uncertainty that 2020 brought, but this time through a fictional lens!

With twists and turns swirling around compelling characters and a nonlinear timeline, I couldn't put this one down! Although we begin the book with some knowledge of the end in mind, the true mystery is "how did we get to this point?" Howard uses flashbacks to both progress the plot, getting us closer to the truth behind a mysterious death, while simultaneously giving readers more insight into Ciara and Oliver as complex characters.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-copy in exchange for an honest review. 4.5/5 Stars!

I am still unsure how I feel about using Covid as a plot. Sometimes it seems like ancient history, but most times it still feels so recent. Overall though, this was good and the plot was done well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy of 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard for me to preview.

Catherine Ryan Howard is an awesome author. She sets the scene, builds the characters, gives them life, then let's the drama loose on her unsuspecting readers. Well, if you've read any of her back titles, you're not unsuspecting, you are here for the drama. I don't think she could write anything less than a 5 star read.

Two people meet and develop an attraction. When the Covid shelter in place strictures take effect, they decide to move in together to keep the relationship. Then......someone is dead. Someone was not telling the truth and now must lie their way out of trouble.

I generally haven't enjoyed the books I've read that have COVID as a plot line (something about it still feels triggering/"too soon") but this one was different. A good, quick thriller.

Catherine Ryan Howard is quickly becoming one of my top thriller/mystery authors. I’ve read several of her books and have really enjoyed them! I really enjoyed 56 Days. I was a little weary going in just because of the COVID thing but I actually really enjoyed this one.

Ciara and Oliver are meant to be... or are they? This twisty quarantine story of a new couple is told in tandem with the story of detectives coming across a decomposing body in Oliver's apartment 56 days later. Catherine Ryan Howard is becoming an auto-buy author for me--she has a way of writing that pulls you in, and keeps you unaware of what is happening until the moment it is revealed to you on the page. I loved this book!

The story opens with 2 detectives having to go to the scene where a dead body has been found. Lee and Karl head to the apartment complex to try to determine what happened. Set in Ireland during the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, this is the story of Oliver and Ciara, who meet while grocery shopping. Oliver has a secret, he is one of the boys who committed a crime years earlier, when he was a child. He is suspicious that Ciara might be a journalist, trying to find him to write a story, but her story holds up, and he begins to fall for her.
This is told in a series of flashbacks between 56 days ago and today, and a bit more, but I won't spoil it! The story has several twists. I really enjoyed this, and I will read more from this author.

The irony of reading a book about Covid is that I read it while at home after having left my in-laws house because of Covid! My in-laws both tested positive this week and we luckily avoided it this time.

56 Days is a thriller set during 2020 in Dublin, Ireland. Ciara and Oliver meet in a grocery store just before the pandemic. Oliver noticed her Intrepid reusable bag and they start a conversation. They go for a drink and on another date, they go see a movie. When the pandemic gets serious, Oliver asks if Ciara wants to be his pandemic buddy and move into his apartment. She agrees that it would be fun since they both live alone. While told in a dual timeline, a body is found in an apartment complex and it is investigated. The two plots meet each other as we learn more about Ciara and Oliver’s pasts.

I really liked this! I personally don’t think it’s too early for stories about Covid. It’s funny to rehash the beginning of lockdown and what we knew about the virus then and what we know now. I loved the dual timelines and I especially enjoyed the cops investigating the dead body. I also used to live in Dublin and I knew where a lot of the book takes place. It’s one of my favorite cities!

Thank you to @blackstonepublishing for my gifted copy! I can’t wait to read more by @cathryanhoward!

56 Days was a captivating thriller that had me hooked from the very beginning. I really enjoyed it and looking forward to more from this author.

This was a good quick read! This was the first book I’ve read where the pandemic is a major plot point, so that was a bit off-putting at first. The alternating timelines & narrators were also a bit confusing at first, but once the timelines started to merge it got easier to follow. Super captivating twisty thriller!

I read this with my book club, we ALL loved it. Mysterious with a twist. And the detectives added the necessary humor. We all agreed that we would enjoy a series those detectives. Living in America, I enjoyed reading about Covid in a different country as well.

One of the first books to catch the COVID pandemic, 56 Days was a largely good- if unspectacular -mystery surrounding a romance blossoming during lockdown.

I was intrigued by the premise of this book and it captured the feeling of covid lockdown perfectly. It did end up being predictable and I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending but it was still an enjoyable read.

Catherine Ryan Howard is a go to author for me. I love how her books have been completely different from each other and yet I’ve enjoyed reading them all. 56 days was set during the COVID-19 pandemic and felt all too real at times. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one as it built up a lot of suspense and twists along the way. I thought the alternating timelines worked really well for this storyline but definitely suggest paying close attention to them.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the copy!

As tough as it was to read a book set in lockdown during lockdown this was such a smart thriller! Definitely recommend this one and am excited to read more from Catherine Ryan Howard!

After meeting at the start of lockdown, Oliver and Ciara decide to shelter in place together in Oliver’s apartment, seeing a unique opportunity for a relationship to flourish without the scrutiny of family and friends.

But when detectives arrive at the apartment and discover a decomposing body inside, can they determine what really happened, or has lockdown created an opportunity for someone to commit the perfect crime?

Howard uses the pressure cooker of Ireland’s strict lockdown policies to increase the claustrophobia and tension between a newly dating couple.

The author uses timeline jumps — flashbacks and flash-forwards — and relates the story from both Ciara and Oliver’s perspectives. Filled with a sense of foreboding from the first page, “56 Days” is dark, sinister, and clever. I recommend it to anyone who loves a good thriller or crime novel.

Obsessed with this author. This was the first book I've read from her but her use of POV, untrustworthy narrators, and sense of place is incredible. So atmospheric and suspenseful. Plus, she managed to pull off a book set entirely during COVID-19 without it feeling icky. So well done!!