56 DAYS by Catherine Ryan Howard
Blackstone Publishing; 8/17/21
CBTB Rating: 5/5
The Verdict: claustrophobic, tense, irresistible psychological suspense
Catherine Ryan Howard is one of my favorite “hidden gem” psychological thriller writers who really isn’t that “hidden” anymore—her work is finally getting the widespread acclaim it so richly deserves with the publication of her much-buzzed-about new thriller 56 DAYS, available today in the US. In 56 DAYS, Catherine Ryan Howard gives readers an utterly riveting thriller that weaves timely topics into its gripping and twisty central mystery. In this psychological thriller, a new couple decides to move in together when Covid-19 reaches Ireland’s shores and a strict lockdown is imposed. But before the lockdown period is up, one of them will be dead. Tense, claustrophobic, and wholly original, Catherine Ryan Howard’s 56 DAYS brilliantly uses the geographic restriction of Ireland’s stringent early-2020 lockdown rules to turn up the pressure on our story’s unwitting pair of lovebirds. In 56 DAYS, nothing is what it seems, and no one is to be trusted. 56 DAYS is easily one of my favorite crime books of 2021—pick this one up for a high-concept thriller that brilliantly captures the honeymoon phase of a new relationship and twists it into something dark and sinister as only Catherine Ryan Howard can.
Plot Details:
No one even knew they were together. Now one of them is dead.
56 DAYS AGO
Ciara and Oliver meet in a supermarket queue in Dublin and start dating the same week COVID-19 reaches Irish shores.
35 DAYS AGO
When lockdown threatens to keep them apart, Oliver suggests they move in together. Ciara sees a unique opportunity for a relationship to flourish without the scrutiny of family and friends. Oliver sees a chance to hide who -- and what -- he really is.
TODAY
Detectives arrive at Oliver's apartment to discover a decomposing body inside.
Can they determine what really happened, or has lockdown created an opportunity for someone to commit the perfect crime?
For years now, Catherine Ryan Howard has been writing some of the most structurally-inventive, wholly original crime novels out there, and I couldn’t be more excited to see that her new book 56 DAYS is finally garnering the widespread acclaim that her work so richly deserves. From “book-within-a-book” crime fiction (The Nothing Man) to a suspense novel structured like a video tape (Rewind) and more, Catherine Ryan Howard’s books push the envelope of what’s expected in contemporary suspense fiction, delivering truly unforgettable reading experiences. The same can be said of her highly-anticipated 2021 release 56 DAYS. In this high-concept thriller, Catherine Ryan Howard puts her inimitable crime writing talent to work on a twisty tale inspired by Ireland’s strict lockdown rules in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our story begins with a meet cute worthy of your favorite rom-com: one day, while at the grocery store on her lunch break, Ciara has a chance encounter with a handsome and intriguing stranger, Oliver. One thing leads to another, and soon enough, the pair is dating… but just as their relationship is being solidified, a new and frightening virus - Covid-19 - reaches Ireland’s shores. The Irish government acts quickly, putting in place a strict lockdown with serious implications for the new couple: no one is allowed to leave their homes, and no one is allowed to visit with anyone from households other than their own. Determined not to let the pandemic ruin the most promising relationship she has had in years, Ciara agrees to move in with Oliver for the duration of lockdown. After all, it’s only going to be for a couple weeks, right? But like in any new relationship, there many things Ciara doesn’t know about her new boyfriend… and Oliver may not be quite who he says he is. As days pass, Ciara becomes increasingly suspicious of the man she has just let into her life. And before lockdown is lifted, one of the two will be dead.
If you take away only one thing from this review, I hope it will be this: 56 DAYS is not strictly a Covid-19 thriller. Rather than being a focal point, Covid-19 is on the periphery of this story, its presence mainly felt through passing mentions of hand-washing, masks, and, of course, the subsequent rules put in place by the Irish government that create the unique set of circumstances that make this story possible. Lockdown is the external force that facilitates our story’s central plot; the meat of the story is all interpersonal secrets and dark, hidden motivations. In this way, 56 DAYS is something like a high-stakes domestic thriller—an immersive and gripping concoction that manages to be both relatable and utterly thrilling at all once. Central to this story, then, are the characters of Ciara and Oliver themselves. It’s nearly impossible to say much about these characters for fear of spoilers (so much of the unique pleasure of this book comes from finding out just how little these characters know about each other—and, in turn, how little us readers know, too!), but what I can say is this: Catherine Ryan Howard is a master manipulator of readers’ expectations in the best possible way. Over the course of our story, readers are drawn ever deeper into the minds of both Ciara and Oliver. Expertly utilizing alternating timelines and points of view, Catherine Ryan Howard deftly moves readers from the present into the past and back again, slowly but surely building out a 360-degree view of a budding relationship where everything isn’t quite as it seems, and no one can be trusted.
True to form for an author who has become known for clever manipulations of plot structure, Catherine Ryan Howard’s newest book exemplifies her talent for using unexpected timelines and storytelling devices to craft truly unique suspense novels. 56 DAYS is not a straightforward, linear thriller; this book jumps between present-day, near-past, and the start of Ciara and Oliver’s relationship with ease, even going so far as to give readers different perspectives on the very same scene, all in the name of fleshing out our understanding of the fateful events that led up to someone’s death. No matter how creative Catherine Ryan Howard gets with her story’s timeline, the reading experience here is always seamless and effortless—readers will never feel lost or confused as to where they are in the story, or how one scene relates to the next. A key element of the book that gives it its grounding in the present day is the unexpected inclusion of a third point of view outside of Ciara and Oliver: the point of view of two detectives who have been tasked with solving the murder at the apartment that sets our story in motion. From the outset of this story, readers know that someone isn’t getting out of this new relationship alive, and Catherine Ryan Howard keeps readers utterly hooked throughout the book with three key questions driving our story forward: who is dead? Who is the killer? And why did they commit murder? Tasked with answering these questions are a pair of detectives, whose interspersed chapters keep readers grounded in time and place even as our story’s flashback chapters told from Ciara and Oliver’s points of view continue to unfurl. There is a delicious balance of domestic suspense and police procedure at play here, and Catherine Ryan Howard has a gift for doling out just enough information in each chapter to keep readers coming back for more… and to keep readers on their toes as to what is really going on here. Remember that saying that goes something like “there are three sides to every story: yours, mine, and the truth”? That’s a point that Catherine Ryan Howard ably proves with her book’s three intertwining points of view. So who’s telling the truth, and who’s a killer? Readers will be on the edge of their seat to find out.
56 DAYS is an expertly-crafted blend of domestic suspense and murder mystery. Set against the backdrop of Ireland’s lockdown in early 2020, 56 DAYS takes all the anxiety, uncertainty, fear, and isolation of lockdown and, into the heart of this potent mixture, drops an unwitting pair of new lovebirds. This pressure cooker provides the perfect backdrop for a story of secrets and manipulation in a relationship, one that comes to life vividly on the page thanks to Catherine Ryan Howard’s expert literary sleight of hand. 56 DAYS is the kind of thriller that reminds me why I love the thriller genre: its brilliant plotting is paralleled by superb (and sinister) character development that truly did keep me guessing until the book’s final pages. This is another winner by an author who has quickly become one of my favorites. I can’t wait to see what Catherine Ryan Howard writes next.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. All opinions my own.
Book Details:
Publisher : Blackstone Publishing; Unabridged edition (August 17, 2021)
Language : English
Hardcover : 450 pages
ISBN-10 : 1982694653
ISBN-13 : 978-1982694654
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