Thank you @blackstonepublishing @netgalley for a copy of this book. This book started off with such an intriguing start and it sort of stalled from there. The story was told in multiple POV and different timelines. I got a bit disinterested in the middle and the ending left me really questioning the characters. This one did not work for me.

This was my first book from this author and will not be the last! Nicki goes off to meet friends at a Dublin Pub and is never seen again. Nicki turns out to be the third missing woman from the area. Her sister Lucy is determined to find out what happened to her. We also have Angela, who is a paper pusher with the police dept. and longs to be an officer, trying to solve the case on her own to get a foot in the door. Both are great female leads. We also have Mr. No-Name, driving around with an unidentified victim in his backseat. Fun, right? These characters are centered around a well-written, suspenseful and at times funny, story that I could barely put down to go to work! On a sidenote, as an American longing to visit Ireland someday, I also really enjoyed the setting. I had previously downloaded 56 Days by this author but had not read it yet. Starting that one next! Don't let this one get away!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Catherine Ryan Howard and Blackstone Publishing for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

In return for my frank evaluation, NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing gave me access to this book.

What a terrifying and completely gripping psychological suspense novel that kept me on the edge of my seat right up to the very end! I've never read anything by Catherine Ryan Howard before, but this book was excellent! This is an OUTSTANDING thriller because of the suspense, tension, fast pacing, many points of view, original narrative, surprising twists and turns, and a fantastic finish! I couldn't put the book down once I started reading because I was so intrigued! I was in utter awe of it!

I LOVED this book and it is one of the best thrillers I've read this year! This book is very atmospheric and was truly thrilling. It has twists and surprises. This is an absolute masterpiece and I HIGHLY recommend it to those that enjoy thrillers and crime stories. Special Thank You to Catherine Ryan Howard, Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Several young women have been reported missing in separate incidents in Dublin--are their disappearances linked? As the police investigation stalls, Lucy O'Sullivan--desperate to find her sister Nicki--undertakes a daring, dangerous investigation for answers. Will Lucy's actions provide a much-needed lead in the case or result in devastating consequences?

Told from the multiple viewpoints of characters intimately connected to the story, The Trap is a compulsive page turner with unexpected twists and turns aplenty.

I have enjoyed previous titles by this author, but this one completely missed the mark for me. I felt like I was struggling to stay connected from the beginning on this one.

This book was definitely twisty, it was an engaging read with several main characters that I really enjoyed. I really enjoyed the chapters from the bad guys P. O. V. Those are always intriguing to me. I did find some parts to be a bit confusing and I haven’t decided how I feel about her endings. I’m usually pretty happy with an open ended ending to a good book. One that leaves you with questions, I’m an odd ball with that. I don’t need everything wrapped up in a neat little bow. However, I did find this ending a bit lackluster for me.

Oh man, I LOVED this dark true-crime thriller! Catherine Ryan Howard never fails to bring chills to my spine and The Trap is no exception! Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop, and the writing is phenomenal.

This. Was. So. Good!!!! Not sure how it isn’t being raved about all over social media but I’m obsessed. Loved the characters and the twists. I couldn’t put it down. 10/10, 5 stars!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC!

This book is a psychological thriller set in Dublin. It centers around three missing women and the people tasked with finding them. The book was not predictable and had several twists and turns throughout the book. I really felt this was a clever and well-written book.

I enjoyed 56 Days, so I had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

The story just.......ends? I'm ok with a cliffhanger, but this felt lazy. Much like the constant references to the detective's "tepid tap water" and vague pandemic callbacks.

I struggled to like or identify with any of the characters and the story itself didn't go anywhere. Overall, it felt sloppy and unfinished.

A young woman walks along a country road in the middle of the night - she has no phone signal whatsoever, and her stiletto heels are killing her. In the distance, she hears a car engine, and all too quickly the car is pulling up alongside her. It’s a male driver - does she get in, can he be trusted? She doesn’t really have a choice, stuck out here in the middle of nowhere……

The storyline follows Operation Tide and its search for a serial killer. Lucy’s sister Nicki is one of the missing persons believed to have been abducted by the killer, but Lucy has no faith in the investigation and decides to take matters into her own hands.

Told from multiple points of view, The Trap takes the reader into some scary places, but sadly I couldn’t connect with any of the characters, and also found it slow going at times. I really thought I would love this one, and it started off really well, but for me, not one of the author’s better books.

The Trap was one of those books that will suck you in from the beginning, and you will not want to put it down until it is over. It has some unpredictable twists that will have you guessing until the very end. It also has a unique POV change as one one perspective is from the serial killer himself. I was right in between a four and five star rating.

WAIT, WHAAATTTTT??!!??!?! 🤯🤯🤯

Catherine Ryan Howard delivers her best work yet in this mindblowingly good thriller! It was gripping and propulsive with plenty of wit and razor-sharp commentary. I loved the opening chapter, the cast (which was just the right number of characters and POVs) and what a terrific job the author has done with the missing-woman trope. She truly nailed it.

I also really enjoyed trying to piece everything together like a puzzle but wow I never saw all that coming! The plot, execution, red herrings and twists are seriously chef's kiss. I reread the book again the very next day to see what I'd missed and it turns out the clues were there along. Mind freaking blown!!!

But while I very much enjoy the author's work (this is my 4th novel by her), I still am not a fan of her extremely convoluted sentences that go on and on and garbled writing. Which is a shame because everything else is 5 stars.

Nevertheless, this is an extremely well-crafted, impressive and outstanding thriller. The reference to The Nothing Man was simply delightful!

I loved 56 Days and devoured it in one day, so I was excited to see The Trap as an upcoming release! Howard excels at weaving a web of lies and misdirection until the last 50 pages or so. I never see her twists coming and The Trap is no different. Following women at the center of an Irish serial killer's spree, she carefully crafts her trap for the sister left behind. My one gripe is also something I would compliment her for, and that is the feeling of unfinished business that this book left me with. Her author's note about the Vanishing Triangle helped it make more sense though. Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone for an advanced eCopy!

Lucy’s sister, Nicki, went missing a year ago, the third woman in 3 years. The one thing that ties them all together is each victim’s cell phone is found by the side of the road. The trail has gone cold, but Lucy is so obsessed with finding her sister she puts herself in danger over and over again to do so (sets a trap, if you will).

We also hear from the perspective of the policewomen, two characters I liked quite a bit. Their POV helped eased some of the tension and was a welcome relief.

All perspectives were compelling, but the one from the serial killer, as we find out he is an average Joe, married to a woman who is a true crime fan (oh, the irony…), plus how he chooses and abducts his victims, was particularly creepy. I suspect most of us will be able to relate in some part to how we judge a person on how ordinary they seem, and how we women usually want to appear to be nice and helpful, instead of following our instincts. All while falling into a trap set by a diabolical killer. The book is titled properly.

I was a bit frustrated by Lucy and the stupid decisions she makes, putting herself in danger over and over. But, let’s face it, a lot of people do stupid things.

The ending? I loved it! It was surprising and unexpected in a good way. No predictability here. Not all the blanks are filled in, but it didn’t leave the reader frustrated or hanging. Readers will “know” what will happen next (at least what I choose to believe what will happen next). I appreciate authors who trusts their readers to fill in the blanks.

Don’t miss the author’s note at the end!

Big thank you to Catherine Ryan Howard and NetGalley for the ARC.

I was surprised at how much I liked this book. There were many moving parts at one time. Several people, separate story lines. While some things I felt had fallen a little flat due to there not being enough developments in either depth or description, the story overall was well done. I was kept completely engrossed and kept wanting to get back to it. With so many characters and story lines, it kept my brain very busy trying to follow each plot as well as trying to figure out how it all connected. If 2 specific areas had been better explained this would be been 4 stars all the way. This book keeps you wanting to know more! Definitely recommend. Nothing too graphic (which I don't mind graphic at all), but simple and suspenseful.

There are times when you sit back and wonder, would I do such a thing as placing myself in danger to find a missing relative? For that is exactly what Lucy, sister to the missing Nikki does, hoping to trap a kidnapper who has captured not only her sister but as she later learns other women as well.

There is the faceless man who travel the dark lonely lanes outside Dublin, to find another woman to prey upon. The killer has a certain types, but the police (Guarda) have been clueless to finding this man. Until recently when a special task force was formed after a young girl of some wealth and background was taken.

Angela was a civilian member of the missing person's unit so desiring to become a full fledged Guarda, that she seems at many times to be the push behind the investigation. When she finds and investigates a single thread in this woven psychological thriller, she in her way break open the case, but in the meantime might ruin her chance of becoming what she desires.

This was an intense game, one that constantly had me shaking my head at the utter stupidity of Lucy, out there all alone, taking such chances that put her life in severe risk. Then there were the kidnapper's chapters that sent definite chills down one's spine.

This book was based on actual happenings in Ireland in the 1990's and to this day, not a person, those poor kidnapped women or the perpetrator have been found.

Catherine Ryan Howard, did a fine job of keeping the telling intense and although the ending was ft up in the air, this book will make you wonder once again why people do what they do?

Jan and I enjoyed this book and had some ideas as to who this mysterious psycho was but never got it right. Thanks Jan for another "fun" read.

I just finished reading The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard. I have previously read several of her books and really enjoyed them. This one, however, missed the mark a bit for me. I liked the premise of the book, but there were a lot of characters that I found myself getting confused between. While this particular book wasn't for me, I'm sure there are many readers who will thoroughly enjoy it! I will still continue to read Catherine Ryan Howard's future books!

Review of The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard

Thank you so much to @blackstonepublishing for the digital copy of this book. Also, thank you to @libro.fm for the listening copy. I mostly listened to it, but also followed along on my Kindle. This one has such a haunting premise. A devoted sister is searching for her missing sibling and puts herself at great risk to try to find her sister and her potential killer. It reminded me so much of a movie from the early 90s called the vanishing with Sandra Bullock. That movie haunts my nightmares and this book reminded me of it a lot. This one had a super fun twist at the end that you’ll never see coming. I love the point of view of the killer in this one as well.

Synopsis:

One year ago, Lucy’s sister, Nicki, left to meet friends at a pub in Dublin and never came home. The third Irish woman to vanish inexplicably in as many years, the agony of not knowing what happened that night has turned Lucy’s life into a waking nightmare. So, she’s going to take matters into her own hands. 
Angela works as a civilian paper-pusher in the Missing Persons Unit, but wants nothing more than to be a fully fledged member of An Garda Síochána, the Irish police force. With the official investigation into the missing women stalled, she begins pulling on a thread that could break the case wide open—and destroy her chances of ever joining the force.
A nameless man drives through the night, his latest victim in the back seat. He’s going to tell her everything, from the beginning. And soon, she’ll realize: what you don’t know can hurt you …