Lucy is desperately trying to find her sister. She’s been missing for a year, and her disappearance is tied to several other missing women. Denise is a detective attached to the cases; alongside a civilian worker named Angela, Denise is trying to figure out what happened to these women and if the cases are even connected. Told through multiple points of view, including the presumed guilty party, readers are put on a roller coaster that doesn’t stop. As the mysteries unravel, readers are left questioning everything they thought they knew about the story. The writing and plot devices used by the Catherine Ryan Howard are surprising and satisfying despite Howard not giving the readers all of the answers. This book is a must read for mystery lovers; the twists are infuriatingly amazing.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this title from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Wow, this was really dark. I was a bit surprised!

Overall, I found it compelling and I felt I needed to keep reading. I thought the jumping in perspective was a little confusing and the end was a little vague.

Thank you Netgalley & Blackstone Publishing for an eARC of The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard! Howard is one of my favorite authors - I absolutely love everything she writes, so I was thrilled to get my hands on this early copy.

I can see this one having polarizing reviews, because while some may find this a slow burn, it's so expertly written and gives you a true - "wait, what?" moment at the end that I found myself wanting to read the book back from the start knowing what I then knew. For me, that's a sign of a great read!

The book follows a series of unsolved disappearances in Ireland in the 90s, and one woman finding herself risking absolutely everything to catch this killer. A year prior, Lucy's sister, Nicki, went to meet friends at a pub and never came home. Lucy's life has turned into a nightmare, constantly wondering and trying to figure out what happened to her sister - And the other missing women who vanished inexplicably.

I loved the alternating POVs between Lucy and the investigator Angela. It was a great balance between that police/procedural feel and more of a psychological thriller that kept me on edge the entire read!

What a fun thriller! This author never disappoints. The multiple POVs kept this one super interesting and fast paced. I didn’t love the ending which is why it’s not a 5 star, but overall would be a book I recommend to others.

My insanely delayed review of The Trap is not indicative of it's quality. It is, in fact, an incredible thriller. Probably one of my recent favorites.

There are multiple POVs and time-lines, and it took me a bit to get into a few of the perspectives (namely the Missing Persons officers), but ultimately loved the way they all come together with the big reveal at the end. It's absolutely one of my favorite endings of any thriller I've read. I was so blown away, I'm currently reading another book from the author, Catherine Ryan Howard.

I enthusiastically recommend this book, and furthermore this author, as I'm already loving my current read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC I received in exchange for an honest review. I'm sorry it was so late!

Catherine Ryan Howard shows the lengths a woman will go to find her missing sister:

Lucy's sister Nicki left the pub she had been with her friends one night and was never seen again. Nicki is also not the only one who has gone missing, at least 3 women are missing and have been linked together and the agony of not knowing does not just haunt Lucy but the other families as well.It has now been one year and Lucy is trying everything she can in order to find who may have taken her sister. The more risks that Lucy is willing to take put her closer and closer to her own danger.

I slept on this book too long as I find that Howard can be hit or miss for me, but this one was totally a hit and this is no wonder as it hit on some key things that I enjoy in mystery/thriller books; Bad guy perspective, twists and turns along the way, multiple POV, small town fee to it (even though it is Dublin).

What I really enjoy about Ryan Howard books is that we typically get the persepctive of the bad guy. Gives you insight as to why they do what they do. In this one we get a lot of detail from how he did things and how he got so successful in his practice in getting the women but also evading the police. This was my favourite POV in the book as i found it really intriquing and slightly different from when you read the killer's POV. We do get Lucy's and a civilian worker, Angela's POV as well (in order to get the police information perspective) and while those other two POV are interesting, i think the the killer POV ios the most interesting.
There are quite a few major twists throughout the book and while the majority of them come in latter half of the book the build up was well done. It was awesome not to be able to predict where Howard was going to take things in this book and I think she shed light on some of what happens in the police department of making things Fit when they need to as well as shining a light on the media as to how when the 17 year old is reporting missing the media is all up in arms but when "older" women in their 20s are reported nothing is really said. I found it extremely impressive that that Howard did not take the easy way out and you’ll either appreciate for what it is or not, but i thought it was not only a bold choice but one that I really liked.

For some reason this book felt a little long, even at just over 350 pages in my kindle. I cant figure out or pinpoint why i felt this, maybe as there are multiple POV and some are go in very different directs but it just felt a bit long to me.

If you have been considering reading this book i would say move it farther up your TBR list. I really enjoyed it and when the twists stop coming they do not stop. I know i'm going to be reading more by Howard.

Enjoy!!!!

Edge-of-your seat thriller. This was my first Catherine Ryan Howard book, but definitely not my last. I found myself annoyed with the main character multiple times for making dangerous decisions, but at the same time totally understanding. A bit twisty, I found it unpredictable, which is the best kind of thriller. Character development was pretty good - unreliable narrator who was not always likeable or even relatable, and a lot of it was pretty far fetched, but it definitely kept my interest!

What's scarier than feeling afraid doing your everyday activities? Leaving a bar and just trying to get home and going missing.... The Trap feels ripped from the headlines and drives fear right into your throat. Read with the lights on!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝘼𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙖 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡-𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙄𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙖 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧.

I went into this book completely blind and I’m so glad I did. I did this one as a mix between the ebook and audio (primarily audio), and I felt like the story was told in such an interesting way.

The cases of the missing women in this book were chilling to read about and disturbing at times. I enjoyed that the author told the reasoning behind why this book came to be.

The book is told through a few different perspectives and I found the characters to be intriguing in their own way.

However, there was a lot being told throughout the book and I ended up finding myself confused at times. I had to reread a few parts to fully understand what was going on.

This was such a fun read and I found the reveal to be fascinating!! I’m so glad I picked this book up and can’t wait to read more from this author.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the review e-galley and Libro.fm for the ALC in exchange for my honest review!

Despite being an avid crime fiction reader, I find CRH’s books quite hit and miss, largely because of how convoluted they are. I love a multi-perspective narrative but I found it to be a bit clunkily employed in The Trap and I kept having to check who I was with now which removed me from the story

Catherine Ryan Howard is an auto-read author for me! THE TRAP is about one woman (Lucy)'s journey finding her sister after she disappeared under mysterious circumstances. At the same time, multiple women are being reported missing, finally getting attention of the local police force. The police try to find the apparent serial killer, but Lucy chooses to take matters in her own hands.

THE TRAP is told from multiple POVs, with the serial killer's POV being the most enthralling. This is very slow moving book and can feel a bit slower than you probably would expect. I usually binge read this author's books, but it took me a few days to get through. All in all, THE TRAP was a good thriller and I will definitely be picking up her future reads!

Three women have disappeared into thin air, never to be seen again...Lucy Sullivan is looking for her sister in a very unusual way. She sets a trap for her sister's abductor, walking the dark streets night after night. The first chapter is FIRE! You have so much suspense and confusion- it sets the tone for what is one exciting story! She is reckless, living with her sister's boyfriend and searching for answers!

At the same time Angela, a Gardai staff member for the Missing Person's Unit, has a discovery, which leads to an important clue in the case.
One of the three narrators is also the killer- love to see the perspective of the killer!
They stories intertwine and twist around each other like snakes.
It's such a great thriller, I devoured it!
4 stars.

One of my favorite books so far! Told from multiple viewpoints, including that of the murderer, which was the most fascinating part of the novel. I don't know how I feel about the ending though, felt a bit incomplete and sudden. But overall, I looked forward to reading it every night to get to the end, and sad when it ended, and highly recommend this one.

I thought this thriller was quite clever. It fooled me, and it had been a while since I had been stumped! I will say sometimes it's a bit confusing, especially on audio, so I'd recommend having a physical copy to flip back through. It's certainly unique and entertaining, so I recommend adding it to your TBR. I'm a big fan of this author and can't wait to read what she writes next!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hmm. I was so excited to read this, considering the synopsis sounded extremely interesting. But in the end the book was just OK. It wasn’t my favorite but I didn’t hate it. Overall: a big meh feeling.

What did I enjoy?
• dark, entertaining, creepy, and twisty. This book stressed me out at times (in a good way)!
•unreliable narrators
• puzzle piece like

What could have been better?
• I started reading this book as an audio, which was not the best decision. I think the narrators were not as clear and it confused me most of the time.
• switching to the Kindle, the formatting was odd, but I didn’t know if it came from my Kindle or if that’s how the book was set up.
• some random plot holes
• the ending????

While this one started slow, I absolutely felt the slow burn paid off and I really ended up enjoying it! Thank you so much to Blackstone Publishing for the ARC

I absolutely loved this psychological thriller about three missing women in Dublin. I loved the quick pace and could not read fast enough. I felt like the ending was a little lacking, but I still really enjoyed this twisty thriller.

I don't understand why Catherine Ryan Howard isn't a bigger name in the mystery genre. I find her books well plotted page-turners that creep you out and make you think a little deeper. Maybe that is why I think of her alongside the challenging, but great Catriona Ward.

When I picked this up, I wanted to be thrilled and it delivered. It reads like a BBC crime drama and I loved all the procedural twists and turns. The opening scene alone will pull anybody in. A girl walks down the side of the road at night hoping to be picked up by the murderer of her sister. It reminded me of a twist on the male gaze the way that Scarlett Johanson's character in "Under the Skin" picks up unsuspecting hitchhikers who think they have won the lottery being alone with a beautiful woman, only to be dispensed with them later. I do wish that we returned to that scene a few more times to really feel the characters desperation to find her sister, but it appeared in other ways in the book with the added characters.

In the end it was a critical look at true-crime culture and the way that 24 hour news sort of warps our sensibilities when it comes to crimes against women. Yes, there are people out there willing to do bad thing against women, but then there is also the frenzy that surrounds these cases that can get out of hand and take on a completely different nightmare. It was a smart read and I enjoyed it.

This was one of my most-anticipated reads of the year and to be honest, I kept putting it off because I was worried it wouldn’t live up to my expectations. I finally dove in and let me tell you- I could not stop reading! The alternating POVs took me a second to get comfortable with, but once that clicked for me, I was hooked. I loved this story with all of its twists and turns. They were complex and really made me think. Angela was probably my favorite character, but I also liked Lucy and was surprised by how emotional I was by the end. If you enjoy serial killer thrillers, you definitely need to pick this one up. It’s a contender for my favorite book of the year!

O. M. G. This book, THIS BOOK. You think you know, but you don’t really know. I absolutely promise this book is going to have you scratching your brains out by the very end. Catherine Howard wove a delicious mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.