"56 Days is entertaining and fast paced - Brief Encounter with a rampant virus and decomposing body. "
56 Days is entertaining and fast paced - a tale of two strangers who make a hasty decision at a time of extreme stress, fear and anxiety. Multi-layered, brimming with suspense and with well-portrayed characters, this book certainly kept me on my toes. Set in present times, it felt very familiar, occasionally too familiar - a reflection of the early days of the pandemic, when no one could have predicted what was to come. The book has a dual timeline, focusing on a murder investigation in the present day and an exciting new relationship in the past. Occasionally, the two main characters give their persepctive on the same scenes, leading to some repetition, but I found myself trying to read between the lines - what they weren't telling each other, the secrets they were hiding ... 56 Days was a brave book to write (who could have known we would still be living in a Covid-19-filled world on publication day), but it doesn't come across as gimmicky at all. An engaging, unsettling and surprising domestic noir thriller - Brief Encounter with a rampant virus and decomposing body.
| Primary Genre | Crime and Mystery |
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Closing date: 30/09/2026
In 56 Days Catherine Ryan Howard once again delivers with a slickly constructed, intelligent and surprisingly emotive psychological thriller set in Dublin at the start of the Covid-19 lockdown and just after confirmation of the first Irish case.
In 56 Days Catherine Ryan Howard once again delivers with a slickly constructed, intelligent and surprisingly emotive psychological thriller set in Dublin at the start of the Covid-19 lockdown and just after confirmation of the first Irish case.
Immersive storytelling at its best, the book opens with savvy Garda DI Leah Riordan and DS Karl Connolly being called to an apartment complex where a fetid smell signals the presence of a two week old corpse. Roll back 56 days to what appears to be the inaugural meeting in a supermarket between two shy twenty-somethings, Oliver and Ciara, both of whom are recent newcomers to Dublin and the tentative romance between the pair that ensues. When the Taoiseach issue a wave of restrictions and lockdown becomes frighteningly realistic Oliver suggests that Ciara move into his more spacious apartment and, as two lone souls in Dublin, it makes sense.... Read Full Review
So. Many. Twists. Page-turning, edge of my seat stuff. Loved it.
Absolutely loved this book, such a page turner. Twisty, contemporary and believable, the characters came to life on the pages and kept me up reading until way later than I should have been!... Read Full Review
A new couple with plenty of secrets move in together for lockdown in this bang up to date, gripping crime thriller from the Queen of inventive plotlines.
As soon as I saw Catherine Ryan Howard had a new book coming out I knew I had to read it. I was blown away by the unique concept of her previous book, The Nothing Man, and from the synopsis I just new this was going to be another brilliant book with an inventive, and bang up to date, plotline.
Oliver and Ciara are both relatively new to Dublin, they are both far from family and friends and when when COVID-19 lockdowns are implemented they decide to take the plunge and move in together. 56 days later, and someone is dead.... Read Full Review
*NOW A MAJOR SERIES STREAMING ON PRIME VIDEO, STARRING DOVE CAMERON AND AVAN JOGIA* 'Bloody good' The New York Times 'Terrific . . . you won't want to stop reading until the end' Karin Slaughter 'As good as suspense fiction gets' Washington Post No one knew they were together. Now one of them is dead. 56 DAYS AGO Ciara and Oliver meet in a Dublin supermarket queue, just as COVID-19 begins creeping across Ireland. A spark. A chance. A distraction - from everything they're trying to outrun. 35 DAYS AGO With lockdown looming, Oliver suggests they move in together. For Ciara, it feels like a rare opportunity to let a relationship bloom in total privacy. For Oliver, it's the perfect way to keep his past - and his true nature - hidden. TODAY Detectives force their way into Oliver's apartment and find a body decomposing inside. As they untangle a relationship built on secrets and half-truths, they face the ultimate question: Was this the perfect relationship - or the perfect murder? -------------- Winner of the An Post Irish Book Awards 2021 Crime Fiction Book of the Year Book of the Year for 2021 in the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Irish Times Readers are OBSESSED with 56 Days: 'Wow!!! I absolutely loved this book' Five stars, reader review 'Hooked from the very first page !' Five stars, reader review 'My eyes sting I read in one sitting I just could not stop!' Five stars, reader review 'Excellent atmosphere and circumstances for a perfect thriller!' Five stars, reader review 'Just when you think you have worked things out, it twists, but then twists another way!!!!' Five stars, reader review
56 Days features in the following genres: Crime and Mystery, Books of the Month, Thriller and Suspense, Psychological thriller, Fiction, Recommendations, Book Club Recommendations
56 Days is available in Paperback, Hardback, Ebook
56 Days was written by Catherine Ryan Howard and published by Corvus an imprint of Atlantic Books
56 Days has 428 pages
£8.99
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