I have a feeling that 56 Days is a book that will divide opinion. The Covid pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns were extremely difficult for many people and as a result they may not want to be reminded of it in such detail. However, there is no doubt that it has provided a very unique scenario in which to set a thriller (the type of story that simply couldn't have existed without it), and Catherine Ryan Howard has definitely taken a negative situation and created something very special out of it.

The lockdown provided the opportunity to tell the story differently. The fact that people were not allowed to mix or socialise meant that an extra layer of mystery and confusion could be added in, but, I was surprised that this was actually more of a background to a story that I didn't see coming at all. The direction of the investigation and how it played out was unexpected, dark and thought-provoking.

Overall I thought this was an interesting whydunnit, the writing really transported me back to the beginning of the pandemic but it was done in a sensitive and thoughtful way, really highlighting the skill of the author.

This book is set over Covid. It feels more like a mystery than a thriller
I liked the writing and the characters were well developed. It is a slow burn. I did have to suspend my disbelief at times.

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

I absolutely loved this novel. Focused around a couple who meet just as the pandemic hits.

After a chance meeting in a supermarket, they are keen to get to know each other better. When a new and frightening lockdown threatens to keep them apart, they decide to move in together.

But how well do they really know each other?

And what unique opportunities will the pandemic offer those with something to hide.

Great, as always, from Catherine Ryan Howard. Deft and productive handling of the pandemic as a setting. Compulsive!

I loved the plot to this book, such a clever use of the pandemic of 2020, to use lockdown as a murder opportunity, the murder mystery, the who-dun-it and the use of small nuggets of information left out for you to find. So why didn't I give it 5 stars? I didn't like the style of writing,. I also didn't think the book needed to be as convoluted as it was. Probably a third of it didn't need to be there. And it was just plain confusing. But as I said, the ideas were brilliant but I don't know, I just didn't enjoy it on paper.

Set during the first lockdown in Ireland, 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard* is a novel full of secrets. We know from the blurb that Gardaí find a decomposing body, but figuring out who the victim is and what happened isn’t going to be easy. I wasn’t a fan of this one, but it is difficult to discuss why without giving too much away.

Unfortunately I really struggled to connect with this book and after multiple attempts have had to mark as dnf.

Original and maybe the start of a covid lit theme? Who knows. Gripping from the start, twisty where needed and genuinely scary in parts. Not too much covid don’t worry

The first thriller I've read set during the pandemic, this was an exciting and tense study on just how well we know each-other. Loved the twist, absolutely did not see that coming, and using the lockdown was a clever way to connect to an anxiety that we were, by that point, all too aware of. Can't wait to see what Catherine Ryan Howard does next!

A thriller set on the backdrop COVID-19 lockdown. Oliver and Ciara had met 56 days ago, not wanting to stay away for the two weeks of initial lockdown, Oliver invited her to live in with him. After 56 days, Detective Sergeant Leah was called to investigate the decomposed body of Oliver. Slight slow in pace, it took me time to warm up to the story. I liked the secrets revealed. Quite gripping when the investigation started. Some sections felt to be repetitive. An enjoyable read.

You had me at covid! As a fan of the author I was very excited to see 56 days available. It was an excellent read, tense, edge of your seat fantastic. A great read.

Interesting read, huge fan of the author. Pulled in quickly and devoured page after page. I have loved this one.

This was an excellent thriller, hold in varying timelines over quarantine. Brilliantly paced. Page turner!!

Wow!!!! What a book!!!! I was gripped from page one and got blindsided by every twist and turn. Highly recommend

56 days ago, Ciara meets Oliver during her lunch break and the two of them strike up a timid relationship. As Covid-19 hits Irish shores, they venture out on their first weeks of dating and by the time the work from home mandate is brought into place, and the 2km travel radius is implemented, Oliver asks Ciara if she wants to move in for the few weeks the believe they will be restricted at home.

In present time, a body is found in the apartment - two weeks ago, and putrefying. But is it Oliver or Ciara? And what happened to the couple in the first blooms of love that ended in a corpse rotting in a bathroom.

This was a strange, yet mostly enjoyable read that brought me straight back to those weird hazy days when Covid-19 began to affect the Irish population and everything grinded to a halt. It feels almost dreamlike now remembering the first few weeks when we thought it was only going to last a fortnight, and then the 2km exercise radius, the queuing outside of supermarkets and the fear/suspicion of anyone you see including your neighbours.

I listened to this on audiobook and enjoyed the narration by Alana Kerr Collins. At first the story flashed back and forth between Ciara, and a female garda detective on the case of the dead body but gradually Oliver's POV is brought in and while I liked seeing what was going on on his side, there was a bit of repetition of conversations and scenes that I don't always think added something new.

The end of the story ended up a but more mundane than I was expected, and not as dark and twisty a I was hoping for.

I don't like books that are written from different characters perspective. It is lazy in my view they just regurgitate what's happened and put another slant on it which is easy to pad a book out. Set in the pandemic lockdown and a not very interesting characters. A very hard going book.

Ciara and Oliver meet by chance one day in a supermarket in Ireland and pretty soon their relationship grows. But Ireland is about to be plunged into lockdown, as Corona Virus reaches its shores. They decide to move in together, but as the title suggests, their relationship is doomed to last just 56 days. The story is very cleverly written with chapters interchanging with the voices of Ciara, Oliver and the police, all with their own story to tell. What brought Ciara and Oliver together, and why is one of them now lying dead in Oliver's apartment? I really liked the perspective that lockdown brought to this book. It was realistic and plausible, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A good concept about two stranger who meet just before lockdown and decide to live together to see how their relationship goes. Both are hiding who they really are and just as you think you’ve worked it all out, there are twists and you have to reevaluate. I enjoyed this book, the characters are well defined and the plot moves at a great pace.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atlantic Books, Corvus for the arc of 56 days by Catherine Ryan Howard, Author of Rewind and The Nothing Man.

5 STAR READ- SUCH A SENSATION, GRIPPING RIGHT TO THE END, EDGE OF SEAT GRIPPING THRILLER! HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

56 days ago the same day COVID 19 Hit Ciara and Oliver met in a supermarket- in the que..

Then lockdown hits Oliver suggests Ciara to move in with him.. then detectives are outside his house due to a decomposing body inside the apartment.. Will there investigation provide answers to what really happened during lockdown was it a perfect opportunity to commit a crime...