A very apt book for our current times. I felt like I was re-living the early days of the pandemic. A great read in a subject I suspect will feature a lot more in novels in time.

Thank you for my copy of this book to review.

I have read all of Catherine Ryan Howard’s books so far and have given them all 5 stars.

To be honest, I did wonder how long it would be til someone published a book around the lockdown and this did make me have some reservations, but I trust this author to write a good story and I wasn’t disappointed. You forget how eerie those first few weeks of the lockdown were but in a weird way I actually enjoyed reading about it.

It was a completely original storyline and I liked the psychological edge but with a detective side to it aswell, as with her other books too. I did think it was a bit slow to get going but then picked up about half way through. I liked how the chapters switch between time frames and I did not see the twist coming at all. I had to go back to the start of that chapter to make sure I’d read it right.

I will say that it was probably my least favourite of her books but it hasn’t stopped me giving it 5 stars still and recommending it to anyone that will listen. Definitely one of my favourite authors and one of those that you know you will enjoy before you even start reading.

March 2020. How could any of us forget it? As the world goes into lockdown because of the coronavirus global pandemic, one person is only too happy to be restricting his movements.
Oliver meets Ciara a few days before Dublin goes into lockdown and rather than stop seeing each other, they decide to move in together for 2 weeks until the lockdown is lifted.
At the end of the 56 days one of them will be dead.
I have to admit it was strange reading about the start of this pandemic, considering we are still very much going through it over a year later, but only Catherine Ryan Howard could write about something everyone wants to forget and make it so so interesting.
This book was tense, creepy, riveting and sad all at the same time and I loved it! I found myself really caring for Oliver and Ciara and really enjoying the banter between DI Leah Riordan and her young, playful colleague Karl. Super characters and lots of twists. You won't want to miss this one.
Thank you to Netgalley and Blackstone publishing for my ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

After being quite unsure yet curious to read a lockdown themed psycological thriller whilst still embroiled in the global pandemic,this storyline absolutely blew me away. So much detail of every day life under Covid restrictions, cleverly intertwined with an absorbing and very well written storyline. Really hope this is a massive success and will most definitely be looking out for this author's next offering.

56 days ago, Ciara and Oliver meet in a supermarket and start dating, just before Covid 19 reaches Ireland. When lockdown threatens to keep them apart, Oliver suggests moving in together. Ciara thinks it is a good opportunity for the relationship to develop without family and friends scrutinising it, while Oliver sees it as a chance to hide who he really is. At the present time, officers discover a decomposing body in Oliver's apartment. Has lockdown allowed the perfect crime to be committed?

Told from the point of view of the different characters, this is a clever plot and contains lots of twists and turns. An interesting read in today's Covid times!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book in return for my honest feedback.

A very clever idea, and a well-written book. I loved this, and couldn't put it down. Lots of unexpected twists, and I particularly enjoyed the idea of presenting the same scene from the point of view of each of the main characters. I would thoroughly recommend this book, and I look forward to reading more books by this author.

My thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic Books for a copy of 56 Days for an honest review..

This was my first book by Catherine Ryan Howard and I was really impressed with her style of writing.
I was drawn in by the premise, made even more pertinent taking place during the Pandemic.
This was an excellent read, suspenseful and really hard to put down.
I cannot recommend it highly enough.

It’s 2020 and Ireland like the rest of the world is in Covid-19 lockdown when a decomposing body is found in a ground floor apartment when the smell alerts a resident. 56 Days previously the ‘far off flu’ led to the cancellation of the St Patrick’s Day Parade just in case and Ciara meets Oliver in Tesco. They have a coffee and a few days later a date and it goes well. Thirty five days ago the Taoiseach announces a full lockdown and Oliver suggests Ciara moves into his apartment for the duration. In the present day DI Leah (Lee) Riordan and DS Karl Connolly investigate and brace themselves .....

This is a very engaging and powerful thriller with the Covid restrictions with which we are all too familiar adding an additional edge to the storytelling. The characters are very well portrayed, a bit enigmatic at times as you try to delve into what is their truth. I especially like the two detectives with their relationship and really good banter offering a bit of welcome light relief from the darkness of the tale. As Ciara and Oliver’s backgrounds and stories emerge there’s palpable tension, some shocks and it’s horrifying, chilling and sad. There are some good plot twists especially towards the end. I like the reference to The Nothing Man!

However, the constantly changing timelines takes a bit of getting used to and it does lead to some repetition especially with Ciara and Oliver’s perspectives, hence my four star rating.

Overall though, this is another compelling read from the author who creates clever and multilayered storylines.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Atlantic Books, Corvus for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Who is the goody? Who is the baddy? Just as you think you have got it straight there is another hairpin bend in the plot. The first COVID thriller I have read - I almost felt nostalgic for those innocent days when we thought it was going to be over in two weeks.

A young couple meet and decide that with lockdown coming fast they should move in together. As you can imagine, neither get what they are expecting. A top twisty, turny thriller.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of Ciara and Oliver. They meet in the supermarket in Ireland just before the 2020 pandemic reaches there. They start dating and decide very quickly the best thing would be for Ciara to move in with Oliver temporarily whilst the country is locked down. Nobody knows Ciara is there because the apartment comes with Oliver’s job and he is supposedly to live there alone. It is soon obvious that it was far too soon for them to move in with each other as they both secretly have their doubts about the other person. In present day a body is found in Oliver’s apartment, it is the detectives job to determine what exactly happened and why.

I really enjoyed reading about the start of the pandemic. I forgot just how scary things were back then and the author portrayed really well the fear and uncertainty of that time. This story is told from 3 viewpoints. The detectives investigating the body found in Oliver’s apartment, Oliver’s POV and Clara’s POV. I did enjoy this format although you do get to read the same thing just from a different viewpoint. I thought that it was very clever the way the real story of what is happening slowly reveals itself. I am really kicking myself for not seeing the twist coming. This story definitely kept me turning the pages and had me reading late into the night.

What a fantastic book. I was gripped from the start and it kept me up reading well into the night. The writing is excellent, the characterisation is great and the plot is exceptional, with twists and turns you don't see coming.

Two unreliable protagonists lead the reader down their own secret alleyways while a wonderfully drawn police duo bicker and banter as they attempt, not to solve a crime, but to find out if one has even been committed. Meanwhile, the stench practically lifts off the page. I can see this becoming a runaway success like Gone Girl.

I must now go and get Catherine Ryan Howard's other books. Thankyou NG for introducing me to this exciting writer.

Back in the early days of the pandemic, I had a conversation with a colleague at the book company where I work, in which we both said we were dreading the inevitable incorporation of pandemic storylines into literature. But I'm pleased to say we've been proven entirely wrong in our dread by 56 Days, Catherine Ryan Howard's new thriller set in Dublin during spring/summer 2020, in which lockdown and the pandemic are a key element of the narrative.

The creeping strangeness of those days in early March 2020. as shops, offices and pubs slowly emptied out before being finally closed by lockdown, is perfectly captured, and the triple narrative - first following IT worker Ciara as she meets handsome stranger Oliver in March, then switching to a Gardai detective discovering a body in a flat 56 days later, before giving Oliver's POV - left me constantly guessing and wrongfooted. A superlative thriller, highly recommended.

Took me a while to get into the story-line but persevered and it turned out to be a well written, tense thriller with good characters which I thoroughly enjoyed and can recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

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. 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?

liked the way this book jumped in time from different days in the 56 days and also to the present time. All perspectives were extremely interesting and I loved the slow reveal of information. I loved the main characters. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

56 Days absolutely blew me away!

A chance meeting just before lockdown in the supermarket leads Ciara and Oliver to living together for a couple of weeks while the world learns how to deal with the pandemic and they come to terms with their fledgling relationship.

Maybe it is too soon for them to move in together, but they don't want to be separated after they have just found each other.

A pacy novel with twists that lead to double bluffs, Suspense that draws you in and holds you captive.

Told in three narratives, Ciara, Oliver and a detective.

The pandemic wasn't the only deadly thing in this book and it was a truly phenomenal read.

At some point while reading 56 Days, I realised that a pandemic-set novel wasn’t necessarily something I was yet quite ready to read. Which is in no way the fault of the book or the author.

The beginning of the lockdown in Dublin is integral to the plot: Ciara and Oliver, who have recently started dating, decide to wait it out together (remember when it was only meant to be for two or three weeks?!) in Oliver’s much larger apartment. But somebody’s keeping secrets. And months later, a body will be found….

The era which we might now term Early Pandemic is well reflected - the supermarket queues, the travel restrictions - and really provides the perfect setting for this cleverly constructed story. Because there aren’t many circumstances in which it’s plausible to consider moving in - albeit supposedly very temporarily- with a near stranger and then being confined together for weeks, but a global pandemic is certainly one of them. (I mean, I wouldn’t do it, but I’m antisocial.)

We see events - sometimes the same events, like their meeting in a Tesco queue- from both Ciara’s and Oliver’s perspectives, and also, later, from that of police officer Lee. (I wasn’t sure what purpose was served by the early scene with her colleague Karl, though.) This is the first book I’ve read by Catherine Ryan Howard, so I’m not sure if the police officers are returning characters. Anyway, Lee is likeable enough and the police investigation believably portrayed.

56 Days is a very well constructed story with a number of surprisingtwists up its sleeve. Despite my ambivalence about reading about a pandemic which we’re still living through, I did enjoy it and will definitely look out for the author’s previous and future work. Many thanks for the opportunity to read and review.

I was initially hesitant about reading a novel focused around Covid. I wondered if it's too soon. It works in this novel. A lockdown romance is plausible, perhaps the rate at which the relationship moves is rather fast.
I enjoyed the underlying story and motivations for Ciara and Oliver. The ending isn't a surprise in terms of someone's death but the reasons were.

This was brilliant what twists and turns - the ending was brilliant just loved it so perfect. Normally I dont like multi timelines and persons but this worked.

I got really engaged with the story and the way the author brought in the Irish lockdown was really well done. It gave a different perspective.

I was given an advance copy by the publishers and netgalley but the review is entirely my own.

Ciara and Oliver meet in Dublin just as the pandemic is taking hold, and end up living together when lockdown is introduced. It’s told from various perspectives, jumping about from the day they met to the day the police call an end to their investigations and various points in between. It took me quite a while to get into this book and I didn’t really like either of the main characters. At times things were repeated, being told from Ciara and Oliver’s perspectives and different times in their short relationship. However, the story is so well written and plotted, taking the reader to places you really don’t think they’ll be going and with a very unexpected ending that it was worth keeping on reading. A timely tale.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Ciara and Oliver have just started dating when the unthinkable happens: the virus in the news hits Ireland, and the country is put into lockdown. When Oliver suggests that Ciara move in with him for the duration so that they can get to know each other better, Ciara quickly agrees: Oliver is smart, handsome, and intriguing, and she wants to learn everything she can about him.

But Oliver isn't who he says he is. What does he really want from Ciara? And what is it that he is keeping to himself?

I really enjoyed this well-written, smartly paced thriller, lent an extra edge given its setting against the coronavirus pandemic. The characters are well realised, and the revelations just keep coming. I don't think I predicted a single twist, which is very unusual given that I read a LOT of this type of book! I loved the twists, and that the author made us care for both characters, despite their flaws. I loved it, and will definitely be recommending!

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher, who granted me a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.