Wasn’t a fan of this book it didn’t grab me any part of the story and if it wasn’t for it being on audio there is no way I would’ve finished it. I found the Covid setting to be done a little bit oddly however I have seen some pretty good reviews about this book so I may be in the minority.

This was the first COVID-related novel that I've picked up, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I greatly enjoyed this story of two newly dating characters that move in together during Ireland's first two week lockdown. Fifty-six days later, one of them is dead and the novel moves back and forth in time, leading to the final chapters that reveal all. Great read!

I wasn't sure I was ready for a story with Covid-19 in it yet, but I went with it and I am glad I did!
The dual merging timelines of the 56 days between the start of Oliver and Ciara's relationship and the day one of the bodies is found decomposing in the shower during lockdown.
Really, this mystery is in that sentence and saying more is just too much. There is tension, questions of reliability, confusion, twists, and masking.
There is no scenario where this story would work outside of Covid restrictions, so this really does fit. I appreciated the ability to take a story from the devastating real-life struggles to a pretty gripping story. It makes me wonder what decisions were made in the last year and a half that would never have been made without the push from restrictions? A fascinating premise.
The characters were written well, though I still cannot imagine moving in together without knowing each other. Fortunately, fiction takes us where we would never go ourselves sometimes! I liked the dual merging timelines of the police finding the body and discovering the clues as we read from the 56 days ago tagline in both Oliver and Ciara's voices. I liked that they both had a lot to hide and discover. I liked where the sympathy drive took me in the story, and I liked the ending, though I felt a bit kicked in the gut and sad.
The narration was very good. Alana Kerr Collins did a lovely job with the different voices and I was easily able to follow along and feel the tension with the characters. I think I would have a harder time reading this than listening to it. I cannot read in accents well, and this took it a step up with narration!
If you are ready for engaging with a tension filled mystery and not letting Covid take away all our fun, then definitely grab this book!
Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audio in exchange for my honest opinion.

A good, quick thriller with multiple POVs and a timeline that merges past and present. I really enjoyed the twists and turns in this one. I found the setting being the beginning of the pandemic interesting but not overwhelming. While a fun, fast paced read I also found this one to pose some deeper questions about how one's past affects one's future. I definitely recommend this one!

This book was actually surprising! I always love a book that has a surprising and unpredictable ending! Ciara meets Oliver right before Ireland goes on lockdown and through this time both have secrets that are unfolding. I definitely recommend this book!

This book was such an interesting ride! For starters, as an American it was really interesting to read about how Ireland handled the initial lockdowns for the pandemic - it's a striking contrast to how many states handled it and while I know the work is fiction, the lockdown details were not.

Some authors can't handle time jumps - things get confusing and it can be a pain to read or especially listen to, but Howard did an excellent job with it. I really appreciated seeing certain points from both Ciara and Oliver's perspectives, but also the interludes of the officers. Leigh and Carl were hilarious and I loved their banter back and forth as well.

There were so many times I thought I had it all figured out - who Ciara really was, who Laura was, what their purposes were, what Oliver had done - but by the end I was happy to be wrong about every single one of my theories. Howard did such an amazing job weaving a complicated tale and delivered more than a few twists including one that was so big, I had to go back and listen to that part again just to make sure I understood it. Fantastic work, honestly, and such a compelling and fast read. I can't recommend it enough!

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced audiobook copy of 56 Days! A thriller about Covid? Is it too soon? I’m not sure but this is was a wild ride!

56 days ago Oliver and Ciara meet. It’s February 2020, right before lock down. The couple wants to keep seeing each other so they decide to move in together. Today, a body has been found.

What I thought was the best part of this book was the structure. I have a feeling this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. We flip back and forth between different days, between Oliver, Ciara & the detectives solving the case but we also play around with what day. Often too we’ll hear about the same day from both perspectives.

Now what I didn’t enjoy was the whole reveals ag the end. I felt unsatisfied and questioning why we were even following the detective point of view. One other thing is the ending felt unfinished like I was missing a couple more chapters.

Overall, the writing and the playing with perspectives and time was fun but fell a little flat for me!

This was an intriguing thriller. Going back and forth from time. Oliver sees a woman and think she is a reporter that found him. We don’t know right away why he is so suspicious. However, when he meets her they have a connection and he dismisses his paranoia. What did he do and who is this woman? Solid thriller in the background of Covid.

This audiobook kept me on my toes! Every time I thought I had an idea on what was going to happen next, I found myself second guessing it. I found myself gasping at points and I couldn’t put this down. This was such a clever story about COVID. At first that made me a bit nervous if I’d like it but it didn’t stop me from devouring this story. Overall fantastic!

Nice! I actually really enjoyed this book. Good mystery, good writing, exciting but also kind of chill... Had all it needed to make me happy...

If you want to see my much more in depth review, you can check it out on my book blog NovelOnMyMind.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an audiobook version of 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard in exchange for an honest review.

❤️️ ❤️️ ❤️️

This was a fairly engrossing thriller centered around the pandemic events of 2020. I found both timelines interesting, although I didn't necessarily need so much time spent on the relationship between the two characters. The story was very topical to read in the present day. Unlike other pandemic fiction, the author purposely leaves their own opinions out of story. Instead, the pandemic is used more as a plot device to push the narrative forward. Since the story was told in multiple perspectives, I found sections to be quite repetitive since I was often rereading the exact same conversation between the two main characters. This was a fast and easy read but I am not sure how memorable it will be. I would recommend to those that enjoy reading all these pandemic stories that are now getting published. 

Disclaimer I received an audiobook copy from the Netgalley review program.

My favorite way to consume books is by reading the physical copy while listening to the audio. My plan was to make this my first audio-only read. Unfortunately, I have a very strange affliction and have a difficult time understanding accents. Because the narrator of 56 Days has an Irish Gaelic accent (as she should…the story is set in Dublin), I had to purchase the physical copy while listening along to the audio. The narrator did an excellent job, however. There are no frills (one narrator who does not use separate voices to distinguish characters during dialogue) but the reading was clear, emotional, and told the story well. The premise engaged me immediately and kept me interested; I finished the book in two sittings because I needed to unravel the mystery. I had an intense reaction to the characters; I cared about Ciara and Oliver. I became angry with their flaws as if they were actual friends and looked forward to the comic relief provided by the detectives. I was apprehensive about the inclusion of COVID as part of a plot being distasteful, but I found the commentary on fear of exposure and lockdown incredibly relatable. I loved the alternating points of views between Ciara and Oliver - the reader/listener gets each perspective of the same event which fleshed out the story for me. I thought this was executed perfectly. 56 Days is a fast-paced mystery that compelled me throughout. The premise, the twists, the dialogue, the characters, the comic relief, the underlying theme of good vs evil. I really enjoyed this book!

The mystery/ thrillers of Catherine Ryan Howard have helped get me through this pandemic. I devoured one after the other on audio book over the last 18 months, walking many extra miles with the dog to keep listening to her propulsive storytelling. It seems fitting that I wrap my CRH binge with 56 Days, a psychological thriller set in the first few weeks of lockdown when we all thought it would be over soon. That period almost feels romantic and nostalgic now, doesn't it? It works well as a ticking clock device as Howard unfurls the tale of Ciera and Oliver, whose pandemic romance is the opposite of innocent and spontaneous. But who is stalking whom and for what reason? The author`uses a back-and-forth timeline to get the most out of the twists, reveals and multiple points of view. I admit, I put my own writing aside to keep listening to 56 Hours which kept me guessing until the very end. Terrific narrator. Well done. 4 stars.

I finished this a few days ago and loved it! I read parts physically and listened alongside.

It was slower paced but utterly compelling and I was immediately drawn in from the first chapter.

I had lots of theories running through my head while reading too. I adore Catherine Ryan Howard and will definitely be picking up whatever she writes next!

I would highly recommend picking up a copy if you’re looking for an compulsive story to read this autumn.

Review coming to IG soon.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this one. Is it too soon? Will it be too gimmicky? It sat in my Kindle for a couple months before I got to it. I found it surprisingly gripping though. The twists were a bit predictable for me, but I read a lot of this genre. The plot is definitely original and feels very feasible, given we all had the quarantine experience and can picture ourselves in this situation. I’m glad I read it and I’ll recommend it to anyone looking for this kind of vibe.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Ooooo this book had me hooked from the off. The fact it was based around the covid 19 pandemic had me intrigued and Catherine pulled off the story line spectacularly. I listened to the audio version and the narrator Alana Kerr Collins did an epic job. She fit the bill perfectly and I just got lost in the story. I loved the back and forth timelines and multiple pov. The banter between Garda Leigh and Karl had me chuckling in places which broke up the tension of the story and gave it a good lift. The story was full of twists and turns and just when I thought I had sussed it I was proven wrong and was shocked at the outcome. Having never read a Catherine Ryan Howard book it was great to go into this with fresh eyes and I will definitely be looking to read more of her books. Highly recommend this book

Fantastic fiction and wonderful listen on audio! Great combination of a Covid character study and police procedural. My favorite part, outside this intriguing locked door type mystery, was the banter between the two lead investigators-spot on and some great life observations.

“People think the decisions you make the change the course of your life our big ones. Marriage proposals. House moves. Job applications. But she knows it’s the little ones, the tiny moments, that really plot the course.”

Highly recommend!

Ciara and Oliver meet prior to the Covid-19 lockdown, they won't be allowed to mix households so they decide to continue their blossoming romance by moving in together. But, there are secrets between them, that have been allowed to fester and in 56 days one of them may not survive.

56 days is a delicious thriller which takes place in three fragmented timelines, when Ciara and Oliver meet, while they are cohabiting, and once a crime has been committed. Within this fragmented timeline we get the perspective of Ciara, Oliver and Leah the lead detective on the case. Now some may get frustrated with this fragmented timetable but I really liked it, I thought it was innovative and it kept me alert and engaged in the story, which as a thriller lover is a very good thing since many can be redundant. Finally, 56 days is not a book about Covid-19 , it is a book about how the Covid-19 lockdown can enhance or obstruct our future plans, including our most nefarious ones. I highly recommend it.
I must say that Alana Kerr Collins brought this book to life for me. Her narration of all the characters where wonderful, she read at the right pace, her voice had the right cadence and inflection which she kept me engaged in the story. Well done

56 Days was high on my TBR list solely for the time period it takes place in. The author handled the COVID-19 pandemic timeframe wonderfully, and described the early days of this crazy time in our lives to an absolute T. I was quickly whisked back to March 2020, lockdowns, business closures, the disappearance of toilet paper, and complete stillness. It was quite eerie to read about, but very well done. 56 Days is slow-burning, intense, and super twisty! Highly recommend!

I love a great mystery that I cannot solve and this story had every twist possible to the very end! 56 Days takes place just before Ireland's COVID lockdown and the twisting plot extends right through it for... yes... 56 days. The reader will experience the viewpoints from 3 main characters: Ciera, Oliver, and the lead detective. Ciera and Oliver do not know each other but happen to meet, get to know each other enough and decide to move in with each other right as the full scale lockdown begins. What could possibly go wrong, right? The story bounces from past to present but the author uses these moments to help build up the suspense and mystery. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for sharing the ARC. A must read for our library mystery lovers!