"56 Days is entertaining and fast paced - Brief Encounter with a rampant virus and decomposing body. "
56 Days is entertaining and fast paced - a tale of two strangers who make a hasty decision at a time of extreme stress, fear and anxiety. Multi-layered, brimming with suspense and with well-portrayed characters, this book certainly kept me on my toes. Set in present times, it felt very familiar, occasionally too familiar - a reflection of the early days of the pandemic, when no one could have predicted what was to come. The book has a dual timeline, focusing on a murder investigation in the present day and an exciting new relationship in the past. Occasionally, the two main characters give their persepctive on the same scenes, leading to some repetition, but I found myself trying to read between the lines - what they weren't telling each other, the secrets they were hiding ... 56 Days was a brave book to write (who could have known we would still be living in a Covid-19-filled world on publication day), but it doesn't come across as gimmicky at all. An engaging, unsettling and surprising domestic noir thriller - Brief Encounter with a rampant virus and decomposing body.
| Primary Genre | Crime and Mystery |
| Other Genres: | |
| Recommendations: |
In 56 Days Catherine Ryan Howard once again delivers with a slickly constructed, intelligent and surprisingly emotive psychological thriller set in Dublin at the start of the Covid-19 lockdown and just after confirmation of the first Irish case.
In 56 Days Catherine Ryan Howard once again delivers with a slickly constructed, intelligent and surprisingly emotive psychological thriller set in Dublin at the start of the Covid-19 lockdown and just after confirmation of the first Irish case.
Immersive storytelling at its best, the book opens with savvy Garda DI Leah Riordan and DS Karl Connolly being called to an apartment complex where a fetid smell signals the presence of a two week old corpse. Roll back 56 days to what appears to be the inaugural meeting in a supermarket between two shy twenty-somethings, Oliver and Ciara, both of whom are recent newcomers to Dublin and the tentative romance between the pair that ensues. When the Taoiseach issue a wave of restrictions and lockdown becomes frighteningly realistic Oliver suggests that Ciara move into his more spacious apartment and, as two lone souls in Dublin, it makes sense.... Read Full Review
So. Many. Twists. Page-turning, edge of my seat stuff. Loved it.
Absolutely loved this book, such a page turner. Twisty, contemporary and believable, the characters came to life on the pages and kept me up reading until way later than I should have been!... Read Full Review
A new couple with plenty of secrets move in together for lockdown in this bang up to date, gripping crime thriller from the Queen of inventive plotlines.
As soon as I saw Catherine Ryan Howard had a new book coming out I knew I had to read it. I was blown away by the unique concept of her previous book, The Nothing Man, and from the synopsis I just new this was going to be another brilliant book with an inventive, and bang up to date, plotline.
Oliver and Ciara are both relatively new to Dublin, they are both far from family and friends and when when COVID-19 lockdowns are implemented they decide to take the plunge and move in together. 56 days later, and someone is dead.... Read Full Review
