Book Review | 56 Days #20booksofsummer21

Book thirteen, I can barely believe it although this book seemed fitting as I read the authors debut for last years challenge.

56 Days
Catherine Ryan Howard

No one knew they’d moved in together. Now one of them is dead. Could this be the perfect murder?

56 DAYS AGO
Ciara and Oliver meet in a supermarket queue in Dublin the same week Covid-19 reaches Irish shores.

35 DAYS AGO
When lockdown threatens to keep them apart, Oliver suggests that Ciara move in with him. She sees a unique opportunity for a new relationship to flourish without the pressure of scrutiny of family and friends. He sees it as an opportunity to hide who – and what – he really is.

TODAY
Detectives arrive at Oliver’s apartment to discover a decomposing body inside.

Will they be able to determine what really happened, or has lockdown provided someone with the opportunity to commit the perfect crime?

Amazon | Goodreads | Hive

I will admit I have been trying to steer clear of books featuring the pandemic because reading about something that I am experiencing is not always a good thing for me. However, I loved Catherine Ryan Howard’s first book The Nothing Man and I decided to take the chance that I would be so drawn in by the events that I wouldn’t really be bothered that COVID featured in the storyline.

Funnily enough, it is not a backdrop but a tool utilised in such a clever way that I needn’t have worried if I would find it enjoyable. It actually serves really well to create this claustrophobic atmosphere, that we can all relate to, which helps build the tension in the story as the two characters try to figure each other out.

The same with most thrillers of this type I wish I could discuss everything about this book with you but I wouldn’t want to spoil it. It is the type of book that slowly reveals enough information to keep you guessing and keep you wanting more and so many secrets on top of secrets. I love that I was constantly surprised by how everything fit together and I did not want to put this book down, if I could have managed it in one sitting I would have because I was just captivated.

I am so glad that I didn’t miss out on reading this because it is such a gripping and intense thriller and I am very much looking forward to seeing what this author comes up with next.