A gripping tale of missing women in Ireland and loosely based on fact. Though a little slow at times, the author has created a very readable psychological thriller. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

She's back with another banger!!! This time, the main character is trying to coax the man who took her sister into taking her. The pace was brilliant and the short chapters really effective. The twists were great, some expected and some definitely (!!!) Not. This will be another hit for CRH on release no doubt!

The Trap is the highly anticipated new thriller from Irish Queen of Crime Catherine Ryan Howard. Fans already know to expect an intelligent pacy thriller from the author of 56 Days and Run Time.

With The Trap, Howard has delivered yet another propulsive thriller that keeps you guessing right to the end.

Sharply drawn characters and a dynamite plot flawlessly executed; The Trap ticks all the boxes.

Set in Dublin Ireland The Trap is a fantastic psychological thriller.

When Lucy's sister Nikki goes missing after a night out with friends, the Garda take little notice until seventeen year old Jenna also goes missing ,with another missing woman Tana the cases are linked together and Operation Tide is put together.
With no physical evidence and no sightings to go on the Garda are stumped.
After over a year since Nikki disappeared Lucy decides to take matters in her own hands and starts to look for the monster that is abducting women.
She goes out late at night in the hope that she is taken so that she can find out about what happened to her sister.
Angela is a civilian working in the missing persons unit but wants to be a Garda and as fate turns the tide for her when a woman who works in a charity shop comes in with some personal items that were donated to the shop Detective Denise Pope takes her under her wing and gets her to help with Operation Tide.
Pope is the FLO for both Lucy and Roland, Tana's husband but Pope suspects that Roland is involved in his wife's disappearance as they have recently separated due to his violent behaviour.
There are several narrators in the book one being the killer himself which takes on a great twist in the book.
Brilliantly written and with great characters.

A first read from this author.

It started off well, it took me in and I was hopeful for some excitement. Whilst it was interesting to start with, I found it slow and it took me a while to finish.

Disappointed in not knowing what Caroline did or didn’t do and really disappointed in the ending. The high ended with a low.

Irish writer Catherine Ryan Howard writes a chillingly dark and unsettling psychological thriller that is inspired by the Vanishing Triangle unsolved cases of missing and murdered women in Ireland. It has a tense and terrifying beginning that will just grab you, it is dark and the middle of the night and Lucy is doing what all women and girls are warned never to do, she is getting into a stranger's car, it all gets scary as I worry that she will never make it to her destination, there is a palpable sense of relief when she is dropped off without any dire consequences. However, all is not as it seems as a part of Lucy is disappointed, for she is acting as bait to catch a monstrous serial killer, and this means she has to continue repeating her actions.

This is the behaviour of a despairing woman who feels herself being pushed into her dangerous course of action, a year ago her sister Nicki disappeared and she is not the only missing woman, the police inquiries with Operation Tide, has yielded not a single viable lead. Additionally, there are problematic issues are raised as to what kind of female victim the police are prepared to take seriously. This is a multilayered suspense story, with multiple narrators, which chillingly includes that of the unnamed killer, how far will they go to ensure they will remain undiscovered? We also get the voice of the determined Angela, a civilian, working in the Garda Missing Persons Unit, who begins to make some headway and then there is the remarkable Garda Officer, Denise Pope.

This is trademark well plotted, gripping, and twisty storytelling with some great characters from the author, although I did feel a little disappointed with the element of the ambiguous in the conclusion. This is for those readers who love their darkest of psychological thrillers. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Trap. The blurb pulled me in and the story kept me turning the pages. I wanted to know what was going to happen. No spoilers but OMG that twist towards the end, I never saw it coming and I was on the edge of my seat reading the remainder of the story. If you enjoy psychological thrillers you’ll definitely enjoy The Trap. The writing is flawless and it’s so easy to become so absorbed that you forget your reading. I was fully invested in Lucy’s story and I loved Denise and Angela. All in all a gripping 5 star read that you won’t be able to stop thinking about.

Wow what a story. As someone who loves thriller books, I’ll be honest and say it takes a lot to impress me but Catherine Howard managed it with this one. The Tag line intrigued me and from the second I started the book the pace was gripping. There was so many twists which I’d completely not seen coming and I couldn’t wait to see how it was gonna end. Without ruining the plot of the book, I’d recommend just reading it for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.

This was one of those books that you keep thinking about days after reading with its gut wrenching twist and fascinating characters, it’s also quite a horrific study of how a fictional crime could be so badly investigated by the police. Told from a few different viewpoints which flow really well but primarily that of Lucy whose life has been on hold since her sister disappeared. I loved getting inside the head of different characters especially that of the perpetrator and the way Lucy was getting increasingly desperate and frustrated was increasingly easy to believe. This is really well planned and I certainly didn’t predict how this would conclude.

The Trap begins with a truly scary scenario. A girl looking for her missing sister walks alone on deserted roads in the middle of the night hoping the suspected serial killer will pick her up. She is picked up by a man who acts quite creepily and locks her in the car. She is however taken to the nearest service station and let out of the car.
The book is told from many pov’s but is not confusing as long as you keep them all straight in your head and some aren’t who they seem to be.
Lucy, who seems a bit deranged at times, is looking for her sister Nicki who has been missing for over a year, Angela is a rookie recruit in the police force, Denise her boss. Then there is the serial killer himself who tells his story. The book perhaps could have had a bit more detail and a bit less rumination which was quite repetitive. The twist at the end had me going back and reading the start again. All in all not a bad read.

#TheTrap. #NetGalley

Another excellent read by Catherine Ryan Howard. Her books just never disappoint. I was gripped from the first page and as usual did not expect the twist at the end. Be sure to read the acknowledgments as this very interestingly explains where Catherine got her idea from. Already looking forward to Catherine's next book.

A gripping thriller to keep you up at night. When her sister Nicky goes missing, Lucy sets out to find the kidnapper by becoming his next victim. But things aren’t quite as they seem and history repeats itself. A crafty storyline that draws you in and drags you closer to understanding in cunning ways. This book was well constructed and aside from a few needless references to her previous books the story continued at pace. Thank you to Netgalley for the advance reader copy.

This is one of those books that just grabs you by the scruff of your neck and want let you go until you've finished it. You spend all the time wanting to read to the end to find out what happens and then the moment you do, you are sad the journey is over. The book was expertly plotted, with twists a plenty and a story that just keeps you hooked. Bravo.

It started brilliantly I thought I was in for a rollercoaster ride but as the plot went on I just found the number of red herrings scattered about made it feel like I was at a fish market. The voice of the killer was very irritating (as I suspect it was supposed to be) and his method of choosing victims was cleverly, alarmingly simple , I enjoyed the big plot twist but the ending - argh! The whole point of putting up with unfeasible scenarios, wading through the smugness of the killer's prose and following the police's tenuous investigation was the resolution and this one is incredibly unsatisfactory. A cruel trick Ms Howard!

Set in Ireland, story revolves around missing women who never seem to be found, our main character decides the only way to find her sister, is if she her self is also taken. She roams lonely roads at night hoping to meet the person who took her sister.

This book keeps you page turning, what will happen next?

A pacy detective story set in Ireland.
Angela is a wanna be detective but at present works for the police as a civilian in the missing persons unit.
When a handbag with the I/D of a missing woman inside it is handed in alarm bells start ringing and Angela is sure that there is something more sinister going on
Denise is a FLO on a live missing person investigation that she is pretty sure is more than that. When her and Angela’s paths cross they begin to investigate further
Loved this - lots of seemingly unconnected goings on - surprises in store

What a fast-paced rollercoaster The Trap is! Right from the get-go you are hooked. There is no gentle easing into the story here! The twists and turns have you guessing and surmising throughout, and I found it so difficult to put the book down once I’d started reading.
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I liked how the chapters were written from different POVs. This was done so cleverly to just continually drop hints and clues to help you stitch the pieces of the puzzle together. It’s extremely clever writing by Catherine, and the plot twists are just mind blowing. You definitely get an “I didn’t see that one coming” vibe on more than one occasion.
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The thing that prevented that fifth star for me though, was the ending. I’m all for a cliffhanger ending but this didn’t feel like that. It just came to an abrupt halt and I feel like one more chapter could have just tied it all together nicely.
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Overall though, an incredible, quick read that I would highly recommend. I’d like to thank NetGalley and Catherine Ryan Howard for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Modern day Ireland and the news is buzzing with the disappearances of several young women. Over eighteen months there are at least 3 cases, possibly more. The Gardai are convinced the cases are linked, but are they? And, as yet, no perpetrator has been caught.

This was a slow starter, but after the first couple of chapters it quickly hit its stride. A few surprises and a good twist made it a very enjoyable book. Nice relationship developing between Angela and Denise too, more of them please!

Although entirely fiction, the reader can’t help but notice the similarities between this book and the so called Vanishing Triangle, cases that have baffled and flummoxed the Irish police for decades. The author mentions this in her note.

An addictive, well written thriller that I definitely recommend.

Thank you NetGalley.

The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard has a unique premise which drew me to the book. Tense, with oodles of suspense, it’s just up my alley! Lucy, using herself as bait, gets into a man’s car with the sole purpose of finding out if he could be her sister’s abductor. It’s brave women like this you simply love to root for. But the conversation that ensues is so creepy, I wanted her to jump out and get the hell away from him. Even I felt trapped, my hand reaching for the door latch! It’s this chapter sets the atmosphere for the rest of the book, which is inspired by Ireland’s cold case “Vanishing Triangle”.

After such a ripping pace in this opening, the book slows which, in my opinion interrupts the action. I would have liked to have stayed with Lucy, especially her sacrificial drive to find the killer. The book is told in four points of view, Lucy (the sister of the missing victim) Angela, (who works for the Garda Missing Persons Unit), the killer who is downright creepy and where the hairs on the back of my neck were palpable. Then there’s Denise Pope, highly respected Garda who I really loved. Her perspective into the ineptitude of the operation and judgements tossed around by those who question whether the missing women’s cases are worth pursuing, makes for a tough debate. But it’s Pope, as you’d expect, who helps to bring the book to its unexpected and jaw-dropping conclusion.

Fiction doesn’t get any better than this. With complex, detailed layers, it’s a real page-turner for me. Jam-packed with indelible characters and unforgettable twists, it comes to a blistering, action-packed finale. The Trap simply has to be read in one sitting.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Random House UK for the privilege of receiving an advance copy of this fabulous book.

Really not sure about this book. It started really well and I was full of hope for a good read. Sadly it slowed down and I had to force myself to read it. It then picked up again three quarters through the book, but the ending was disappointing leaving the reader to come to their own conclusions. Bit of a circular tour!