I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. I loved the plot for this book and how it was set in COVID-19 times, moving in with someone during a lockdown when no one knows you are there- definitely creepy vibes. I really enjoyed this book and I liked how the story unfolded as it got quite dark and disturbing. You become quite attached to Ciara and Oliver and their stories. I did not see the twists coming and I thought I had it all figured out but I was wrong. I have enjoyed other books by Catherine Ryan Howard and this one was just as good. I recommend this to crime lovers out there. Thank you Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing.

No one even knew they were together. Now one of them is dead. 56 DAYS AGO Ciara and Oliver meet in a supermarket queue in Dublin and start dating the same week COVID019 reaches Irish shores. 35 DAYS AGO When lockdown threatens to keep them apart, Oliver suggests they move in together. Ciara sees a unique opportunity for a relations to flourish without the scrutiny of family and friends. Oliver sees a chance to hide who- and what- he really is. TODAY Detectives arrive at Oliver’s apartment to discover a decomposing body inside. Can they determine what really happened, or has lockdown created an opportunity to commit the perfect crime?

This book was awesome! It's a thriller told through the past 56 days and in the present day. As usual, I really enjoyed the dual timelines. I love how secrets are reveals through a storyline like that! This was my first book by Catherine Ryan Howard, and I'm blown away by her ability to weave this intricate story that had me gripped from start to finish!

This does take place in a pandemic and lock-down, so there is a chance that some readers may not be ready to read this. If you are ready, this one is out now, so go grab it! It's an edge-of-your-seat story you will love!

I really liked this fast-paced pandemic-themed thriller. The story is told very skillfully in alternating jumping timelines taking place over 56 days of pandemic living in a relationship, and I loved how the jumps in time always enhance the story and are never too confusing.

I dragged my feet to begin reading this a little because I wasn’t sure I wanted to read about the pandemic. But I need not have worried, because the pandemic is incorporated in an organic way and COVID itself is not really the focus of the story. It’s more about sheltering in place in a new romantic relationship.

To that end, the story focuses on Ciara and Ollie. We know from the start that Ollie has a secret and is suspicious of Ciara (and pretty much everyone), but we don’t know why. The story begins with a mysterious death, and as Ciara and Ollie’s relationship unfolds, we learn how their story plays into the death.

The twists and reveals in this story are very well done and kept me completely engaged throughout. I loved the way the secrets in the book were ultimately revealed and the way the explanation of the death in the book unfolded. I was completely surprised and very satisfied by the ending. Between this and The Nothing Man, Catherine Ryan Howard is solidly on my list of trusted thriller writers. I’m excited to read her next book!

Thanks to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for the page-turning ARC! 4+ stars.

This fast moving thriller takes place during the pandemic in Dublin. Boy meets girl and they decide to live together during the pandemic since they are both new to the area and don’t really know anyone besides their employer. Off you go….. hold on for the ride, it’s a great one! Thank you for the ARC !,

First, let me preface the review by saying I have no issue reading a book about lockdown/COVID... which is good because that is exactly what this book is about. Oliver and Ciara meet just before the country (in their case, Ireland) heads into lockdown because of COVID. They date a bit, but when the restrictions come down that you cannot mingle with people outside their household, Oliver invites Ciara to live with him during the lockdown... even though they JUST MET.

People couldn't handle spending lockdown with people they married and already lived with, yet these two youngins thought it would be a good idea to do this after barely knowing each other?

Got it.

This book jumps in timeline all over the place. In "today," a body is found in the apartment they lived in and we meet detectives Karl and Lee (who are hilarious).

We jump to the past to see Ciara and Oliver meet, we jump forward... we jump backwards to see them meet again, but from a different perspective, we jump forward again, etc. There is a lot of time jumping and a LOT of repetition throughout the book because most scenes are viewed at least twice (from her perspective and then his). I'm not sure how I feel about this as a literary device because while I understand it is to get another point of view... I already read this. I already heard the dialogue.

Overall the book was interesting and kept me intrigued, but the repetition wasn't my favorite.

May 2020, Dublin: Police are called to an apartment complex and find a dead body.
56 Days Earlier: We see Oliver and Ciara meet as they are picking up lunch from the same place near both of their jobs.

We then learn the story in alternating timelines and perspectives - the police investigating the death and going back to learn about the people who were staying in the apartment during lockdown.

I really enjoyed Nothing Man last year and was very excited to read a new thriller by Catherine Ryan Howard. While I didn't love this quite as much, I still enjoyed it very much. The story was really interesting and a few times I was proven wrong when I thought I knew where things were headed.

I also really appreciate the writing. Here are a couple spoiler free quotes that I highlighted:

"...doesn't want to threaten the equilibrium of these next few moments. She feels like a time traveler exercising extreme caution in the present, which is actually the past, because she knows how good the future is and doesn't want it to change one bit."

And a character discussing what it was like going outside for the first time after lockdown when the city is so quiet and there is almost no traffic: "It feels normal but also...not. Like we're in a Black Mirror episode where some computer company has made a simulation of the world, but everything's just a little off."

There were a few parts where I felt the story got a little bogged down with the changing perspectives/timelines and it felt a little slow to me - but overall I would definitely still recommend this book if it sounds interesting to you! Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

I love that Covid books are coming out, especially thrillers! I definitely though the twists and turns were fun, but I felt like it got a little repetitive and long. It would have gotten 4 stars, but I dropped it to 3.5 with that aspect. Definitely fun and I love seeing Covid added to literature to normalize our daily lives now.

Would you agree to live with someone you just met?
Ciara and Oliver meet just before lockdown threatens to hit their town. This poses a unique opportunity to them and they jump on it. Stay together during lockdown while still getting to know one another. What a way to start a new relationship...or what a way to commit murder. Detectives arrive on the scene to find a decomposing body in Oliver's apartment. Whose body is it and how did this happen? Will they find the answers they are looking for or did lockdown provide the opportunity to commit the perfect murder?
I enjoyed this story and am very excited to read more written by Catherine Ryan Howard. At first, I was unsure of how I felt about the writing style used for this novel, but quickly found myself loving it! I haven't seen this writing style used before and enjoyed the uniqueness it brought to the story. I felt like the story started off a little slow, but that didn't last very long! I flew through this story in just two days. I was so eager to find out more and how this story would end. Right when I thought I had it figured out, I was wrong! I absolutely loved this and recommend it to fellow Thriller lovers.
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

At first i was worried about the Covid aspects of this one, it’s all still so fresh and well still happening… so i was a little worried it might be too much. It touched on it and wasn’t too heavy on it and mainly just focused on the isolation part and how it was perfect breeding grounds for dark things to happen.

This was definitely a great mystery. I had so many questions. I wanted to know what these two were hiding. The suspense and the mystery was superb.

It did bounce back and forth in timeline and perspective with also giving the same situation from the other perspective, which didn’t bother me because it was just another angle. Another piece, another question.

I really enjoyed this one and i loved the twists! I thought i knew how it would play out but there was some surprises i didn’t see coming!

3.5 stars

This was the second book I read that was set during covid, and it is a bit weird to read about a current event that is still currently taking place! But the isolation and quarantine of this pandemic does make for an intriguing concept for a thriller, so I was interested to see what would happen in this novel.

56 Days is about Ciara and Oliver, who meet in a Dublin grocery store right at the beginning of the pandemic. The relationship grows quickly, and they end up moving in together when everything shuts down. But after being alone for a few days, Ciara realizes that she doesn't really know anything about Oliver, and she is stuck in isolation with him with no contact from the outside world. Meanwhile, Oliver starts to have his own doubts about whether Ciara can be trusted.

This story goes back and forth between Ciara and Oliver's points of views and it jumps around between different time periods. You really have to pay attention to keep track of what is going on, but I enjoyed the nonlinear structure of this story and overall I liked the story.

I didn't really love this story though, and I'm not entirely sure why. I think I was a little disappointed because I thought covid and the resulting quarantine/isolation would play a larger role in the plot. I envisioned a couple stuck in an isolated home away from all other society, and it didn't quite play out like I thought it would. And while I liked the nonlinear storytelling, it did get repetitive at times as we would see the same scene from both characters points of views. I think that also dragged the story down at times and it lost some suspense for me.

But still-- a good story with an intriguing concept and structure and a few twists and turns to keep you guessing along the way!

"No one knew they'd moved in together. Now one of them is dead. Could this be the perfect murder?
56 DAYS AGO
Ciara and Oliver meet in a supermarket queue in Dublin the same week Covid-19 reaches Irish shores.
35 DAYS AGO
When lockdown threatens to keep them apart, Oliver suggests that Ciara move in with him. She sees a unique opportunity for a new relationship to flourish without the pressure of scrutiny of family and friends. He sees it as an opportunity to hide who - and what - he really is.
TODAY
Detectives arrive at Oliver's apartment to discover a decomposing body inside.
Will they be able to determine what really happened, or has lockdown provided someone with the opportunity to commit the perfect crime?" -Goodreads
🦠🧻👀

I was highly intrigued by the premise of this book, but just didn't get sucked into it like I had hoped I would. While it kept me reading, I just never really got attached to any of the characters. ⭐⭐⭐

Ciara and Oliver have just met, they are both new to the area and are living on their own. Just as their relationship starts to become romantic, the COVID virus shuts down the city. They decide to spend the 2 week lockdown together in Oliver’s apartment. 56 days later the police find a dead body in Oliver’s apartment. An accident or murder? I really enjoyed this story and the different twists made it all the more entertaining.

I know some people are hesitant to read this one because of the Covid aspects of the story but I actually did not mind those details and even enjoyed them.

This book started strong for me where I was very interested in the characters and the plot and couldn’t wait to see how the story would unfold. I enjoyed the multiple POV and timelines, but sometimes the writing felt too jumpy and repetitive. The second half felt so long and the ending missed its mark for me.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Huge thank you to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for the eARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Description:

56 DAYS AGO: Oliver meets Ciara in line at a supermarket, days before the entire country goes into lockdown because of Covid 19.

35 DAYS AGO: Oliver and Ciara decide that, to keep their new relationship alive, they’ll live in the same apartment to ride out the Covid 19 lockdown wave. Both are wary of this idea, hoping that their new relationship won’t suffer. But Oliver is wary for other reasons- reasons that he must protect at all costs. He tells Ciara his strange behaviours are a result of being anxious over the pandemic, but Ciara starts to doubt him. However, Ciara is also hiding a secret about herself that she, too, must protect.

NOW: A body is found in an apartment complex, dead from an assumed homicide.

This book’s pub day was yesterday (happy belated pub day!) and is an enjoyable and well-plotted thriller that is set during the early days of the recent (and still ongoing) pandemic.

Review:

This being my first book in the setting of the pandemic, I felt that the author did an amazing job in showing the various opportunities that lockdown conditions provided for certain characters' objectives and I love that the pandemic was not the main focus of the story. I loved how it had various timelines, various perspectives, and how all of the perspectives in the book were extremely interesting and had a slow reveal of information. This book was definitely a page-turner that you will want to give your hands on!

Let spooky season commence!

i’ve already put on my flannel, picked up my pumpkin cream cold brew, + curled up with the chilling, unputdownable thriller, “56 Days” by Catherine Ryan Howard.

I loved this book through and through! it takes place during the early days of the covid-19 pandemic, when the world was first placed on lockdown and chaos first began.

When Ciara and Oliver first meet, she thinks he’s perfect! However, the world around them is about to go on lockdown, and the only way they can see one another is if they move in together.

Two strangers moving in together only after a few weeks…what could possibly go wrong?

“56 Days” is officially out — grab your copy now!

Thank you SO much to Blackstone Publishing for sending me the most beautiful finished copy of 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard read and review. I still cannot get over the quality of this book—the thickness of the pages, paired with the soft-touch cover and the hot pink end pages—it is seriously to die for and I am obsessed with it.  It most definitely the best quality book I've ever owned!

Now, on to the review:

Book: 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard
Rating: 5 Stars
Publication Date: August 17, 2021 - OUT NOW

I spent the entire day yesterday reading the second half of 56 Days and it was absolutely glorious. I. Could. Not. Put. This. Book. Down. At. Allllllll.  It’s been such a long time since I’ve read a book that hooked me from the beginning to end in the way that this one did, and it was absolutely amazing to be so captivated by a book again.

I am not going to say much about the plot because I think that it’s best to go into this one as blind as possible.
However, I will say that this book is covid related—so if you’re not quite ready to read books that involve covid then this *might* not be for you.  I personally LOVED that entire aspect of it, though, and find that it really created the perfect environment for how the entire story and mystery played out.  I also loved reading about the health measures that were implemented in a country other than Canada.

This book really is so much more than just a thriller set during a pandemic—it had SO many surprise moments where I had to re-think everything I knew about the plot and the characters.  This is definitely one of those books where you can’t quite trust what you think you know and one where the characters really aren’t who they seem to be. I honestly loved how this one kept me guessing and had completely surprised right until the end!

I highly, highly recommend this one—especially if you’re willing to give the covid plot line a chance.  It’s an amazing thriller that you really won’t regret reading!

You can also find my reviews on my blog and instagram:
https://rebekahreads.ca/56-days-by-catherine-ryan-howard/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CSslb4QLDhQ/

What a good, relevant to these times, mystery. I have to admit I was totally wrong about the outcome! Ciara and Oliver were both pretending, but who is a killer? And why?

Is it too soon for a book about the pandemic? 😬

Ciara and Oliver meet at the beginning of the pandemic. When lockdown occurs they decide to live together for 2 weeks until things get better (we all know how that turns out 🤣). When one of them turns up dead Detective Leah Riordan sets out to solve the case.

Overall I liked this book but it’s not a quick paced thriller. It’s mostly slow on the beginning and picks up towards the end. It was interesting reliving the early pandemic woes (long lines at the store and disinfecting groceries)!

What’s your most vivid memory from the beginning of the pandemic?

I remember when people had a hard time even getting tested.

Has anyone else noticed that in most books either the pandemic never happened or the author decided to pretend it was short and already over? Gave it a glancing mention? 56 Days takes two things, obsession and pandemic, and weaves them together.

Two people meet mere days before the entire country of Ireland goes on what is supposed to be a two-week lock down. They want to keep spending time together, so they move in together. What could possible go wrong? Does the fact that they may have hidden motives play into those odds? Am I asking too many questions?

We know from the start, and the tagline, that one of them will end up dead in 56 days. The narrative switched back and forth in time. In the present we mostly see through the eyes of two police officers that I'd like to know better. Luckily for me there were hints that they have appeared in other books by this author. Books I must find.
Anyway, there is also a switching narrative of the days leading up to the death that lean more towards the POV of either Ciara or Oliver. They don't see the same situations the same way.

Throughout the book my allegiances shifted around. I'm not sure they landed with anyone in the end. But it kept me reading all day whenever I had a chance. That's saying a lot in the first weeks of in person instruction! Thanks to Catherine Ryan Howard, her publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC. It's on my BOTM list now, too.

Thank you to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟 3/5 stars

56 Days is a thriller set during the beginning of COVID. Ciara and Oliver have a meet cute in a supermarket and begin dating right before the first wave of COVID hits. They decide to take a chance and quarantine together. 56 days later, a body is found.

I have seen many glowing reviews of this thriller and can understand why many love it. It is cleverly constructed and makes the most of it’s plot line. However, I read this at the wrong time. Whether it is because of the COVID variant causing anxiety or just how long this has been going on, I didn’t want to read about COVID. I obviously should have factored this in before requesting the book, but I was excited because I love Catherine Ryan Howard’s thrillers. She is an excellent writer and always tells her stories in new and inventive ways. I appreciate what she did with this story, but I was not in the right headspace for it.

If you think you can handle a book with a strong COVID component, you will love it. If not, I would wait a bit before you give this one a shot.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.