Sadly this book was not for me. I picked this up multiple times and could not get into it. I think the whole pandemic was not what I wanted to read. Not saying it’s a not a bad idea but we really recently went through it so it just felt too close to home I guess. Really great writing just didn’t care for the story all together.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this book!

I enjoyed this one and I highly recommend. I binged read this in one day!

Another great title by Catherine Ryan Howard. The narration was spot on, it felt like I was in the room with them. I easily fell into the story and really loved listening as this couple fell into and out of their emotional attachment. When the body is found......the tension goes through the roof.

This is one of the first books I have read that has used COVID as a plot point and I was worried it would be a little heavy jsut on that alone. Also, the pandemic was still ongoing and was worried that this would feel all encompassing considering the world we are living in. I was completely wrong and misplaced in my concerns!

The use of the time span and the jumps between the past and the present was excellent and really helped to encompass how these 56 days progress. The reveal of information was excellent and it always kept me on my toes waiting to see what was coming next. All in all a great read and a great take on the COVID lockdown we all experienced throughout 2020.

I received this audiobook free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I was excited to read a book and COVID and the pandemic. Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me. I honestly wanted to DNF this one, but I held on to see what was going to happen. It just ended up being very underwhelming for me. This book had a-lot of potential, but I found it to be too chaotic for me. With the multiple timelines and multiple POVs, it got confusing. This book wasn’t for me, but I know others loved it, so I suggest checking their thoughts on it!

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found this to be a rather slow burn and not sure that a covid 19 book plot was for me. Although the writing style was great it flowed and was easy to follow the storyline, i enjoyed the short chapters

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
56 Days is a well written thriller. It had many twists that I didn't see coming. I enjoyed listening to the narrator for this audiobook.

I am an avid reader of thrillers and this book was definitely not my favorite. I thought the premise was good, but the way it was executed was not interesting or new by any means. I prefer more of a twist and wish I wouldn't have figured out the ending before the end!

I absolutely loved this book! Catherine Ryan Howard never fails to weave a twisty mystery that keeps you guessing until the very end. What I love about her writing is how her characters are so well-developed and every subtle shift and twist feels completely believably and yet shocking at the same time. 56 Days was no exception to this, and while it was hard reading about the pandemic at times and re-living those early days, the setting for this story just made you want to keep reading until you knew what happened. So well done!

This book was so so incredibly twisty and expertly written and highly original. I was hesitant to read something with the pandemic as a background but this was so good. I've already recommended to several friends.

This review is also posted on Goodreads. This review contains spoilers




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?

I was not super impressed with this story line. I enjoyed the detectives banter much more than the chance relationship of Ciara and Oliver. Both of these characters seemed odd and to lack social skills, there were unnecessary bathroom trips, and repetive storytelling that didn't seem to have a purpose. The whole story is based on a childhood incident that is briefly told by Oliver and then.....nothing. He's dead, the detectives "solve it" and she tells her mom presumably while dying how her brother was killed.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing, the author, and Netgalley for my free copy to review!

As someone who had a lot of anxiety during covid and decided to go on meds for it during this time AND THEN decided to come off also during covid, I will say that I have not been gunning to read covid-based fiction. HOWEVER, the premise of this book sounded really interesting and I decided to try it out.

This book was marketed as a thriller (which I suppose it is), but what I really liked about it was that it started out like a contemporary fiction book about a couple who falls in love during a pandemic. We have alternating perspectives between Oliver and Ciara. There are little hints to this or that which is the thriller element, but I mainly was just enjoying watching them start out their relationship.

By the end of the book we have discovered every step leading up to the dead body (which we learn about immediately). I found the style of story telling very interesting and despite the fact that it does involve a dead body, I found this to be much less gruesome than most thrillers I read so it may be a good gateway thriller.

Ciara and Oliver met right before the entire country shut down for the pandemic. They hit it off and were in the early stages of dating when a pandemic threatened to shut the entire city down. They were both alone in Dublin with no family or friends nearby, so it makes sense when Oliver invites Ciara to stay with him at his flat during the duration of the lockdown. Especially since there was a "spark" between them from the very beginning. Fifty-six days later, a man is found dead in Oliver's flat. What happened to Oliver and Ciara? Will the detectives be able to track the last fifty-six days to determine what really happened?


As the United States is battling the fourth surge of the pandemic, there are some people who believe that it is "too soon" to be writing about the pandemic. As the title indicates, the timeline for 56 Days jumps all over the place. From "before" to "after." Oliver, Ciara, and the detectives trying to solve this crime are all narrators. What we, the readers, don't know until pretty far into the book is that there is a connection between the characters that changes everything. I don't want to give too much away, but the connection is pretty intense. CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS.



Bottom Line - 56 Days is a thriller set in the thick of the worst health crisis the world has seen in over a hundred years. Make no mistake, the story is compelling and you won't be able to stop reading.


Details:

56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard
On Facebook
Pages: 305
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Publication Date: 8/17/2021
Buy it Here!
Thank you to NetGalley for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Secrets from the past come back to haunt a couple and threaten their relationship. A decomposing body found in an apartment building set off a chain of events that force the characters to look at past events. This was a fast, entertaining read and I flew through it on audio. Alternate time periods and an excellent narrator create a great deal of suspense. Clues unfold chapter by chapter right up until the big, unexpected reveal at the end. This had a fabulous flow to it and I highly recommend the audio version.

Oliver Kennedy and Ciara Wyse met each other exactly 56 days ago. They see each other for the first time in a Dublin supermarket. They are both alone and new to the city, and seem to be brought together by chance. They decide to have coffee and spend time getting to know each other. There is definitely a spark and connection they want to explore. The Covid-19 virus swiftly sweeps in and threatens their budding romance. After a night in Ciara’s small flat, Oliver suggests something seemingly crazy. If they have to abide by the lockdown, why not do it together in his larger apartment. Ciara considers his offer, and in normal circumstances this idea seems outrageous, but the world is facing a pandemic -- what could be more unlikely than that.

This is where the romance turns thriller, as TODAY, Dublin detectives get called out to that very same apartment, where neighbors smell a terrible stench seeping out into the hallway. A stench that is only the beginning of a mystery with more back and forth turns than you can imagine. Oliver has a deep, dark secret that he is guarding with his life -- literally. Ciara isn't quite what she seems either. There are skeletons residing in her closet too.

Howard crafts a pandemic romantic thriller that is filled with details that have you guessing at every turn. Just when you think you know where the plot is going, you get whiplash from the 180 degree turn the story takes. The author switches point of view throughout the story but the style supports the overall intrigue. Just when you think you know who Oliver and Ciara really are, the rug is pulled out from under your feet. I have not read Howard before, but will definitely check out her past titles. Don’t miss this one, but buckle up your figurative seatbelts.

I found this book engrossing, entertaining, and unputdownable. The characters were well written. The end was certainly a surprise to me,

Highly recommend it to mystery readers who like a fast-paced thriller with endless plot twists.

This book was fantastic!

Told through varying timelines we open the book up with today, and there has been a murder. Question is who is dead, and who’s the murderer? As we navigate the different timelines we meet 2 of our characters, Ciara and Oliver. They meet one day, right before the pandemic hits, and sparks fly. Immediately you realize that each of these characters have secrets, and these secrets are slowly revealed to you throughout the novel. I think the author did such a great job at unraveling the secrets and storyline. I really found myself immersed in Oliver’s character. I really wanted to find out about his past and his secret.

Amid the pandemic, the world, or at least Ireland, is going into lockdown and Oliver has the bright idea that even though it has been only a month since they met, they should temporarily move in together so they can resume their relationship and see where this goes. A bit rushed? Ummm yes but this really hit home because my husband and I moved in together fairly quickly so I was really able to relate to this portion of the story. Luckily my husband’s and my story doesn’t end so tragically, lol. Any who, obviously things didn’t go so well with them because a decomposing body has been found in Oliver’s apartment and the road to finding out this mystery is a hell of a fun time, IMO.

I really really enjoyed reading a thriller focused around the pandemic. It was fun being able to relate to the story through this horrible time that caused so much fear and commotion in the world and being able to see it through the eyes of two people half across the world was even better. I thought the pacing of the story was on point and the fleshing out of the characters was great as well. I thought I was going to be confused with so much jumping around in timelines but it flowed pretty seamlessly and I found myself following along just fine. The conclusion really left me satisfied and the turn of events were brilliant, IMO. I also loved the author’s notes at the end. It added a little something special to the story. I will definitely check out more by this author.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing the audiobook. I thought the narrator was fantastic and gave the book a certain atmosphere I would not have experienced reading this book physically. I might be being biased with the audiobook because I just love the Irish accent!

Overall, a very entertaining story and I highly recommend it to those who love a good slow burn mystery and to those who have a fascination with pandemics as I do.

We're all wondering if a novel set amongst the pandemic and lockdown is too soon to read. It will definitely be up to you as a reader, but it is no doubt a strange time to already be reading about... It took me several chapters to really get into, but the twists and turns were rapid-fire after that. I thought the ending was going one way and then it went another way!

This was a decent mystery novel. It takes place during the initial phases of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns, however, I wouldn't stay that's the main focus of the story. It was more about the...opportunities lockdown conditions provided for certain characters' objectives.

I really liked the author's writing and the way the story was laid out - the way certain information was parceled out really built up my interest - but I also wouldn't say it blew my mind.

This book bored me. The author uses covid-19 as a means of forced proximity and there are so many more creative ways to do that without dredging up feelings about a very real event. For a while I thought it was going to be insensitive to the very real domestic violence situations that many have dealt with over the past 1.5+ years, but it ended up going in a different direction.

Narration: Excellently done, Scottish accent to match the setting

Thanks to Blackstone Publishing and Netgalley for my copy to review.