Thank you NetGalley, Catherine Ryan Howard, and Blackstone Publishing for sending me a free ARC copy of 56 Days in exchange for an honest review.

This book was such a great read! I enjoyed the flipping back and forth in the timeline and the slow burn of finally finding out Ciara and Oliver’s stories. The setting of the characters being in the start and middle of the COVID-19 pandemic was so realistic, but in a way that didn’t make me shut down while reading it, after experiencing first-hand how life-changing and stressful going through a global crisis can be. I appreciated the alternating POVs, but I will say that I found the detective’s POV to be a bit boring which caused the book to drag during those parts of the book. The slow clue and information drops kept me wanting to read more to find out the secrets that had yet to be unraveled. I thought I knew the twist and then the author hit me with something so unexpected that it made me appreciate the writing and story so much more!

Overall, this was a great thriller read and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future!

56 DAYS by Catherine Ryan Howard is a slow-burn crime-fiction set in the early days of covid-19 and lockdown in Dublin, Ireland.

I was wary of reading a “covid book”. I did not think I was ready to read about the current reality for fun. To my surprise, the covid setting made this very relatable. It was smartly done and provided the required parameters for the story to flourish.

Ciara and Oliver are both new to Dublin. 56 days ago, they meet and start dating. 35 days ago, on the verge of lockdown, they decide to move in together to give their new relationship a fair chance. Today, the police find a dead body in the apartment. Cue the Law & Order music... dun dun!

I loved the multiple jumping timelines and multiple POVs. Some of the same moments are told from different POVs and is sometimes repetitive, but I didn’t mind this. It’s not fast-paced. There’s a slow and deliberate unfolding of the story and everyone’s secrets which I appreciated. I also LOVED the banter between the detectives.

Fun fact — I was an insomniac for a period of time in my life and I know exactly what that crazy period is after you haven’t slept in a week! I see you Mr. character who has insomnia. After a week of no sleep I’d laugh at everything. Someone would say “good morning” and I’d start cracking up!

Recommend to a friend? Yup! If you were hesitant about trying a “covid book”, this is a good one to start with.

Trigger warning ⚠️— Violence directed at a minor.

Thanks to NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing and Catherine Ryan Howard for the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

The big twist was so improbable that it ruined the book for me. Up until then I was enjoying it, even though I had a pretty good idea of where the story was going.

The book bounces between three different time periods but it's done well enough that it's easy to follow. Some of the descriptions of the crime scenes might put off sensitive readers.

All in all, I just wanted more intensity from the story.

Wow! This is a twisty, surprising thriller set during the initial lockdown of 2020. This is really the only time this book could have been set, the circumstances around the beginning of Love in the Time of Covid being the only thing that could make this story possible. I did not see the twists coming, and I usually can. As much as I love being right, I like being surprised even better. But what I liked most about this book wasn’t even the mystery (even though I liked that a lot). It was remembering that initial, we-are-all-in-this-together feeling of early lockdown, before the pandemic became political. When everyone stayed home as asked and were careful about washing their hands and wiping down surfaces. Now it’s all maskholes and antivaxxers and Delta variant and I’m nostalgic for the early days of Tiger King and sourdough starters.

I only knew a few things going into this book: that it was set during the COVID 19 pandemic, that you recommended one of her books in our Around the World episode, and that it was a BOTM pick. I do think not knowing much worked for me because I was pleasantly surprised at how the story unfolded. It begins with a fire alarm being pulled in this huge apartment complex in Dublin, Ireland. All of the neighbors are annoyed, because this is not the first time that it’s been pulled, and we quickly find out that they’re dealing with the pandemic too. We also meet two detectives who get called to the scene because there’s a funky smell coming out of Apartment 1. It turns out… the smell is from a dead body, and the story works backward from there.

You know that pandemic books are my catnip- but it does feel a little differently when it’s a pandemic that we’re still going through. That said- I thought the set up was realistic and timely without being too flippant about everything. The main story centers on a couple- Oliver and Ciara. They are just getting to know each other and because of lockdown… they decide to move in together. We get to find out a lot about them via alternate narration… and it turns out they both might be trying to keep things from each other. The structure of this was so interesting-- we flash forward and backward in time to get Oliver and Ciara’s perspectives, but then you also get scenes with the Garda, where they provide some comic relief and insight into the investigation in the apartment complex where they lived. Reading this, it took took me a moment to get my bearings, but by probably 15 to 20% in I literally couldn’t put it down. I was making dinner and trying to read at the same time and I finished the first thing after I woke up. The author is so good at leaving each chapter on a cliffhanger so it really made me turn the pages. This had so many red herrings! But nothing too easy and I really liked it. This is a true psychological thriller, in that you sort of just have to go with things and you’re probably not going to be rooting for the characters, but all in all this was pure fun.

I'm not sure I was quite "ready" to read this book, but I'm glad I did. We are still so in the thick of it, but this was interesting and kept me turning the pages quickly!

This book had me intrigued from the very beginning and kept me gripped until the very end.

Set in Ireland during the height of covid restrictions a body is discovered in an apartment. Ciara and Oliver meet in the supermarket just weeks before restrictions are placed for a lockdown. The connection between the two moves quickly and soon Ciara finds herself moving in with Oliver so that they can keep their relationship present without breaking the lockdown rules. However, when restrictions are lifted everything has changed for this couple.

This story was absolutely one of the most creative mystery books I’ve read. I didn’t love either of the main characters, which is fine, they really aren’t likeable. The twist and turns this book took were everything!

The only thing that sometimes didn’t work for me was the back and forth of time lines. I felt at times when the same timeline was given by a different POV is was redundant and didn’t introduce a lot of new information.

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for an advanced copy for review.

You may not be ready to read a book set during the pandemic and I totally understand that, but if you are ready check this one out. CRH always manages to come up with unique and clever storylines and this was no exception. It has crazy back and forth time jumps, a tense and claustrophobic atmosphere, and some nice twists, I really liked it!

This was one of those fun thrillers where you can’t quite trust what you think you know and everyone isn’t quite who they seem. It was full of suspense and definitely a few twists I didn’t see coming!

On the surface - a couple meets in Dublin just before the pandemic, both new to the city. They decide to go into lockdown together and 56 days after they met, one of them is dead. But because of the lockdown, almost no one has seen them and no one knows what happened. Beyond the surface - there’s soooo much more going on in this relationship 🤯

I was curious what I’d think going into this thriller because it’s the first book I’ve read set during the pandemic, and I worried it might be too much too soon. But the lockdown actually served as the perfect backdrop for the larger story at play - the pandemic wasn’t the focus but allowed certain events to take place that drove the plot.

I did struggle with the plot at times - it was sometimes hard to buy into Ciara’s questionable life choices and I was like what are you doing girl?!?! But it started to make sense as you learned about their pasts and the lengths they would go to. Then you were kind of like 😳 what is happeninggggg??? The ending was a bit of a mind warp - I wasn’t sure what to believe actually happened. But was I totally engrossed through the book? Yup!

If you like thrillers about secret pasts coming to light, characters who aren’t who you think they are, changing narratives, and locked room mysteries - this may be right up your alley!

Thanks @blackstonepublishing & @netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

56 DAYS by Catherine Ryan Howard follows Oliver and Ciara, two characters who meet in a supermarket, who soon find themselves living together once COVID lockdown hits. A month later, someone is discovered dead…

I was honestly very excited for this book, and while I loved the twists and secrets that were shared, this read much more like an awkward romance than a thriller.

This book did offer up rotating timelines and POVs, which are some of my favorite things for an author to do, so that kept it quick-paced and interesting.

I also thought Howard captured those starting days of lockdown quite well, and have to say that if you’re not quite ready to read about a world encompassed by COVID-19, maybe stay clear of this book for a bit.

All in all, an enjoyable book, but not necessarily as captivating as I was expecting.

Publication Date: August 17, 2021

*** special thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review ***

I was a bit skeptical about a book set during COVID lockdown, but I really enjoyed it. The story being told from different points of views and going back and forth in time nicely enhanced the mystery aspect for me. I liked struggling to piece the story together as I read like a puzzle. As an essential worker and a Florida resident, my “lockdown” experience was much different from what these characters experienced and I liked reading a different perspective from mine set in a different country. My favorite characters were the detectives, their funny banter added a nice touch to the otherwise grim topics being discussed. I highly recommend this one if you are a fan of mystery/suspense!

In Catherine Ryan Howard's seriocomic work of fiction, "56 Days," Ciara Wyse and Oliver Kennedy—both newcomers to Dublin—meet while they are buying lunch at a local store. Their initial encounter takes place during the early days of the Covid pandemic. To slow the spread of the disease, the Irish prime minister institutes a partial lockdown. It remains to be seen how the restrictions will affect Oliver and Ciara's budding romance.

Howard describes the confusion and unease that the pandemic creates among Dublin's citizens. People are unsettled by the requirement to socially distance as well as the closure of non-essential businesses and entertainment venues. Who could have anticipated how much anxiety and disruption this virus would ultimately cause? Against this backdrop, Ciara and Oliver, who have been together for a relatively short time, fall in love.

The cleverly constructed "56 Days" is like a challenging jigsaw puzzle. At first, the pieces do not fit together easily, but after a while, a picture begins to emerge. When it does, some of our assumptions are proved false. Oliver and Ciara turn out to be multi-faceted characters with hidden agendas. Adding welcome comic relief are DI Leah Riordan and DS Karl Connolly, a pair of detectives who tease one another mercilessly and hilariously. When Riordan and Connolly are assigned to investigate a mysterious death, it initially appears that the deceased may have had a tragic accident. However, DI Riordan is unwilling to rule out the possibility of foul play. In this riveting and darkly humorous novel, Howard explores the corrosive effects of guilt; the nature of good and evil; and what can happen when devastating secrets suddenly come to light.

Well that was wild ride! I enjoyed the story and the plot. The characters were well done then only thing I didn't like was the parts that repeated thereselves. I ended up skimming over those scenes but other then that I really liked it!

𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨!

I loved The Nothing Man and I had high expectations for this one and it was an amazing experience!
I loved the multiple timelines, the complex and messed up characters, and the setting during Covid lockdowns was just brilliant.

Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this gifted copy.

56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard releases tomorrow August 17, 2021.

𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦: 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦, 𝘔𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘔𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘐𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

Thank you Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for an eARC in return for an honest review.
This is a story of Oliver and Ciara who start dating in the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and 56 days later one of them is dead.
Oliver has lead a low key adult life and then he meets Ciara. Against his better judgment he a decides to take a chance and let her in. But Ciara has secrets of her own. The book alternates from past to present. Day 1of them first meeting to day 56-the discovery of the body. Beyond day 56 and days leading up to their first encounter. It was alot to keep up with but the story kept me interested.

56 days ago, Ciara and Oliver met randomly in the Tesco check-out line, and soon began a whirlwind romance that led them to moving in together amidst the start of the COVID-19 lockdown. In present day, detectives discover a decomposing body in Oliver’s apartment, and begin to investigate what happened.

Formatted in a present and past timeline, the story alternates between the detectives investigating the murder in present day, and the development of Ciara’s and Oliver’s relationship, beginning 56 days ago. While the pandemic aspect of the story did take a backseat to the mystery, it was still very prevalent, and some of the rehashing of the COVID-19 rules and details did feel a bit overdone at times. It was a decent read, but parts did get repetitive with the different perspectives, and I did not think there was a ton of shock value or twists. Overall, it was an okay read, and a quick read if you are ready for pandemic-related books!

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Okay, so many people told me it was too soon to read a Covid-19 book, and I did not listen. Here I am admitting I was wrong. The writing was great, I really enjoyed Howard's writing style. I usually enjoy the alternating timelines, and for the most part, I did enjoy them here as well, however it became extremely confusing when it was not only two different timelines but two different POV's along those timelines. All of a sudden we went back to 56 days ago again and I was very confused.

Truthfully, I DNF'ed this one about halfway through. Between my confusion with the timelines and POV's and reemerged trauma it brought up from this past year and a half, I just couldn't finish at this time. I have other friends who have really enjoyed this one, but it was just too much for me at this time.

Too soon to be reading about Covid? It worked for me!

This was an edge of your seat/slow burn/yet fast and thrilling book and I really thought it lived up to the hype of reviews I have read for it!

Definitely pick this one up and be ready to re-live the weirdest time in history.

Welcome to the review of the FIRST EVER COVID-19 themed thriller!

The premise is very intriguing: a couple that just met decides to spend the 2 week lockdown together. After a few weeks the body is found in the apartment. But no sight of anyone else. What happened? Was it a murder? An accident? Will we ever find out?

I enjoyed the book overall, but I did feel that 56 Days could have used a bit more editing to make the alternate timeline storytelling more seamless.

I usually enjoy alternating timelines, but the author of 56 Days really took it to the next level. It goes something like this: OK, so we start at 56 Days ago, then we jump to Today, then we go to 23 Days ago, and after that we jump all the way back to like 60 Days ago, etc. etc.

This was a bit too much for me. I remember thinking “wait…was this before or after?” quite often.

In addition to that the pacing was a bit off: pretty slow in the beginning, it picked up at about 50%, but still I would not call it a thriller. More of a slow burn suspense/murder mystery novel. There was not too much “thrill” other than the whole COVID situation (but that’s not scarier than your daily life, is it now? 😉

While the descriptions of COVID restrictions contributed to building the eerie atmosphere I don’t believe that COVID had any major role in 56 Days overall. It has a similar feel to many other “stuck somewhere” mysteries, such as Lucy Foley books for example. Oliver and Ciara are stuck together because of COVID, yes, but the virus itself does not impact how the events develop. They could have been stuck on the remote island somewhere, for example, and the things would have probably worked out similarly in that all of the secrets from the past would have come out eventually. I guess what I am trying to say is that I actually wanted to see MORE of COVID related stuff. Like….look the situation is very unique, make a real horror out of it!

One more thing that I found a bit annoying was the fact that the murderer’s thoughts were presented in a way that was meant to confuse the reader. If you read The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose you know what I mean. It’s like…Yes people’s actions can be deceiving, but their thoughts? If someone is pretending to be someone else would their thoughts change too? While it is possible I highly doubt that in this particular scenario some sort of method acting was practiced by the protagonist. I feel like the author tricked me into believing that a certain character was …well who they appeared to be because they were not only acting in a certain way but, the inner dialog also corresponded.

And lastly, I have some questions re murderer’s logic at the very end. It seems that the actual act of murder was almost like a “spur of the moment” thing. However, it was presented as a deliberate act. A choice. That seemed highly illogical considering the fact that the same murderer was so willing to forgive the exact same behavior that the victim has described in their own relatives…It is kind of hard to talk more about it without giving away anything. If you have read 56 Days, def DM me! I’d love to chat about this particular plot point.

All of this criticism aside, 56 Day sure does make you ponder some pretty interesting scenarios. Here are just some of the questions to ask yourself: is a single act, albeit a terrible one, an indicator of what a person is like? What are the long-lasting effects of committing a crime in childhood? Should a convicted child criminal’s identity be protected for the rest of his/her life? 56 days talks about the groups on social media, FB in particular, that attract people who are trying to identify and expose convicted criminals whose identities are being protected by the law. What do you think of this? The FB group in 56 Days is called "Justice Not Protection!". Will harassing a protected individual insure that the victims of the crime get justice? Or are you essentially creating another victim?

All in all I think the idea was great but the execution lacked. However, all of the questions above would sure make 56 Days a great choice for a thriller book club discussion!

Thank you NetGalley, the author and the publisher for allowing me to read 56 Days early in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for my copy of 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard in exchange for an honest review. It published August 17, 2021.
This book was crazy! I would think I had stuff figured out, then realize the author was just throwing me a bone, and letting me think I was on to something! I found the tactic of the multiple perspectives to be used very strategically and was not lazily done despite recycling the conversation text.
I also found it strange to read about the beginning of the pandemic before knowing what we know now. Very jarring!