The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard is my fourth novel I’ve read by Howard and they just keep getting better and better! Everything about this book was thrilling….
The plot, characters, and ending were absolutely brilliant!
Catherine Ryan Howard is one of the best psychological thriller authors out there.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing
eARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC to review!
Rating (on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being excellent)
Quality of writing: 5
Pace: 4
Plot development: 4
Characters: 4
Enjoyability: 4
Ease of Reading: 4

Overall rating: 4 out of 5

First of all, I loved this cover! It gave a wonderfully ominous and spooky vibe, which was true to the words within. I particularly enjoyed the police procedural sections of the story. The POV of the serial killer felt like it rambled, but relished the twists and the ending left me satisfied!

Twisty, suspenseful, and shocking! Told from multiple POVs with Howard's engagning writing, this book had me hooked from the start. We get the alternating perspectives of Lucy, whose sister Nicki went missing over a year ago, and who will go to any lengths to find out what happened; Angela, who works in the Missing Persons Unit and aspires to be a Garda, and inserts herself into Operation Tide - the task force set up to investigate three seemingly connected missing woman - and ends up working alongside Detective Denise Pope; and the man the media has dubbed The Phantom, who is more than happy to share his back story with his latest victim. "The Trap" is an enthralling read that masterfully explores the dark recesses of the human mind, making it a highly recommended choice for fans of psychological thrillers.



I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Blackstone Publishers and to Catherine Ryan Howard for the opportunity.

A creepy story inspired by a real life series of disappearances and murders in and around Dublin in the 1980s and 1990s, The Trap is a heartbreaking story of love and loyalty.

Two sisters, one missing and the other determined to make the police take a series of disappearances seriously. An Irish setting. The disturbing POV of the person responsible. This book sent literal shivers down my spine! Justice for the women of the Vanishing Triangle - someone needs to solve these crimes!

The Trap was just what I was craving- a fast paced thriller I couldn’t put down! It is told from alternating POV which always has me turning the pages quickly. The story follows a serial killer who is taking women in Ireland and is told from the POV of the serial killer, a victim’s sister, the police detectives on the case, and one of the missing women. I was captivated from the get go and enjoyed each POV but was especially interested in the serial killer’s story.

If you like a quick thriller- this would be the perfect book to pick up! This is my second book by the author but I will definitely be reading some of her older books now.

Thank you netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

{3.5 stars}

Young girls are going missing in Ireland and the police seem to have no credible leads. Lucy is determined to find her sister Nikki, one of those missing girls… including offering herself up as one to catch the killer.

Like all of Catherine Ryan Howard‘s books this one has great pacing and all of the charm of Ireland. It touches upon the biases we have towards missing women and how some get coverage and others do not. It also gives us a view into the killer’s mind which, or some of my favorite chapters. My favorite character, though was the police trainee, Angela, who had no business sticking her nose in but made some of the best finds.

Thanks to Blackstone Publishing for gifted access via NetGalley. All opinions above for my own.

Sad to say this book was just okay. I was totally intrigued by the first chapter, but the slow pace and lack of character development didn’t keep me invested in the story. The ending, while twisted, didn’t have the climactic wow factor I crave in a thriller.

Although I am a fan of CRH and some of her previous works, I stopped reading this book at the 20% mark because I didn't understand where it was going. It did not flow like the writing I know and love from Howard and it felt like I jumped straight into the middle of a book when I first started it-- nothing was making sense. I wanted to love this so bad because I was highly anticipating it, but if a book is going to hook me it's got to do better than that.

One year ago Lucy’s sister, Nicki, left her friends at a Dublin pub and vanished into the night. Nobody seemed to care that Nicki went missing until a wealthy debutant is snatched outside of her home in what appears to be a string of connected cases. Lucy, not seeing the results she wants, takes matters into her own hands to catch the man responsible. Angela, a civilian from the Missing Persons Unit, discovers something that could potentially solve the case of the missing women or destroy her dreams of joining the Irish police force. A man who has never been captured for his crimes is about to share all of his secrets with one woman…his latest victim.

The Trap is an exciting new twisty thriller that takes you once again into the mind of a killer. I really enjoy how the reader is given the killer’s perspective (much like her novel The Nothing Man). This story primarily follows Lucy who is searching for his sister. She appears to be a victim in case involving several missing women. About to give up on her search for the killer, a new clue indicates the women might still be alive. Another thing that I found interesting was reading about the authors childhood and how she was inspired for this novel. This was such a quick entertaining read for me…I highly recommend checking out this new twisty thriller.

The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard is a well written mystery thriller!Lucy is searching for answers to the mystery of what happened to her sister Nicki who disappeared after a night out at a pub with her friends.Three women have disappeared in the last three years and Lucy cannot find peace until she finds answers to what caused the disappearance of her sister.Angela wants to be a Garuda-a full fledged policeman.Now she is just a civilian working in the office of missing persons.She wants o sole the case and has some clues.You will not want to stop reading The Trap until you come to the stunning conclusion.This book will be enjoyed by those who love mysteries and thrillers!Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read this ARC of The Trap!.

Thank you Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of Catherine Ryan Howard’s newest thriller! I enjoyed 56 Days so I was excited to pick up The Trap.
After several young women have gone missing, Lucy takes matters into her own hands in an effort to find out the truth about what happened to her sister. Told from alternating points of view, we also hear from the killer himself, which makes for a few hair-raising chapters.
Out August 1st —- be sure to check it out!

The Trap is a great book! I am a huge fan of Catherine's books and was stoked to get approved for an ARC of The Trap. This story was insane and kept me on my toes. I loved the different view points throughout the book, yet you didn't know who the person was from one viewpoint until the end. Highly recommend.

The Trap was so good! I flew through it and couldn’t put it down.
In Ireland, a few women went missing and were believed to have been victims of the same crime due to similar circumstances. The book was in multiple POVs from one of the sisters to a civilian working for the Missing Persons Unit to an unnamed man with a dark secret.
The cases and the family members left behind were intriguing and the man’s POV was captivating and awful at the same time. You’d think with these POVs, we’d have a clear picture of what happened, but there were twists and turns throughout the investigation that were unpredictable and shocking.
I don’t want to spoil anything, but I really loved the way it all came together and the way it ended. I definitely recommend this book and it’s the perfect late summer thriller to stash in your beach bag or curl up with on the couch.

The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard

One year ago, Lucy’s sister went missing. Now three Irish woman are all missing altogether. Convinced, this is the work of a serial killer, Lucy is desperate to do anything to find her sister, even if it means putting herself in direct sight of the serial killer.

I really enjoyed the storyline but felt a little frustrated by the end (no spoilers) but it left me with some questions. The first half of the book felt faster than the second. It follows multiple narrators but mostly Lucky, Angela (Missing Persons Unit within Guard) and the serial killer. It was a unique plot for a thriller, I hope you pick this one up!

If you have a fascination with true crime and serial killer stories this book is for you. I was in the story from the very beginning. You can’t help but sympathize with the main character right away. A woman looking for her sister who has been missing for a year, she is tortured by the unknown, desperate. Wondering if her sister is alive or dead, needing closure and doing anything to get it. You will follow her on her desperate journey to find answers. I was surprised by the perspective of the serial killer. This does not have a happy ending. It is a story that has definitely darkened my mood. It touches on the subject of not all missing women get the same attention from the press or law enforcement. Definitely line up a happy read when your done with this one, it’s dark.

Wow!
This book was AWESOME! Catherine Ryan Howard knows how to write amazing thrillers (The Nothing Man still creeps me out, a year later), so when I got my hands on this ARC I was over the moon.
This is my third book from her and she’s for sure in my must read author list.

I was immediately pulled in, and got an eerie, creeped out feeling from the very start. This book was sooo twisty and I loved the surprised. The theories and guesses were swirling in my head.
There were so many times I felt on edge while reading, and if a thriller can do that…well, then it’s fantastic.
It was so well written and the plot was carefully planned out so there was never a dull moment…and that all makes this one super binge worthy!!!!

Hearing from multiple POVs made this one great and I loved the characters (but you know I actually hated some of them). They were all linked together, yet had such different roles in this story so I loved getting to really dive into their minds.
I thought it was super clever to throw in the serial killers point of view, which was chilling, and also the chapters I really looked forward to.

I thought the ending was brilliant- it left enough room for your mind to run wild and will keep this book in your mind for a long time!

I find it really interesting when we get the killer’s perspective in thrillers. This book down’s try to humanize the person responsible and their POV is interspersed between two other characters we follow along, Angela and Lucy.

Lucy eats and sleeps her sister’s missing person case and spends most of her time dangerously trying to find the person responsible for her disappearance. Multiple women have gone missing now and she becomes increasingly intent on finding out what happened.

Angela is a civilian who wants nothing more than to be on the police force. She becomes instrumental in the investigation into the missing women.

There is a task force in charge of seeking out the missing women but there is a group of people close to the case who feels they are not doing enough. We get so many intersecting characters in this intense story.

I feel like even though there is a lot happening in this story, it has a very character driven plot. You really get involved in the brains of these characters; their day to day lives, how they act, how they think, and i really enjoyed that aspect of this book. This was my first book from this author and I am so intrigued by the writing style.

I was a little underwhelmed by the ending, but it felt realistic in a sense. The human brain is a strange place, with Catherine Ryan Howard showcasing that dry well.

This author has quickly become one of my favorites! I like the character development, and the spooky scenes and all of the books. I feel like this one, has an amazing creepy setting. Unbelievable characters. This is now an auto buy author for me!

This was a solid, reliable thriller read, but it didn't wow me. I was a fan of Catherine Ryan Howard's previous work.

Lucy's sister Nicki went missing a year ago and is presumed to be one of three victims of a serial killer. The local PD has a task force set up, but Lucy doesn't feel they are doing all they can.

The book had a plot twist, and what I would describe as a plot twist within a plot twist, that I can't fully explain without spoilers.

I couldn't decide if everything felt a little disjointed, or if it all fit together too perfectly. It felt a little like I was reading more than one book.

The premise had serious potential, but it fell a little flat, and there were a lot of things that were left unanswered.

This is a tough one to review adequately because of spoilers. I would describe the book as fine, but not memorable.

I will say that I didn't particularly like the main character. She made some incredibly dumb decisions.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing for an advanced copy of this book for an honest review.