Book Review: 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard

 

Book: 56 Days

Author: Catherine Ryan Howard 

Pages: 432

Read on: Kindle 

Read in: ~4 hours 

Plot Summary: 

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?

Things I Liked: 

1. The premise of this book was very interesting. A couple that meets just before the pandemic and starts dating. When the Lockdown gets announced in Ireland, they decide to move in together and one of them ends up dead. Nice, right? And totally believable, right? After all, between baking banana bread and sourdough and making Dalgona Coffee, it is very possible to really get sick of the people one's been sharing a house with and end up murdering them, right?! 

2. The build-up to Ciara and Oliver actually moving in is really nicely done! As we get to know Ciara and Oliver, the author cleverly lays out a brilliant and barely noticeable trail of breadcrumbs about both our protagonists. There are small moments in these chapters when you furrow your brow and wonder why this is being said about this character... does this make sense? The exposition, if you will, of this book is as good as any that I've read in a crime fiction novel. 

3. The book is also very atmospheric. We feel the emptiness of Dublin in the days leading to the Lockdown and fully becoming quiet during it. We feel the doubts Oliver and Ciara have for each other. We feel the cooped-up-ness of the residents of The Crossing- the apartment where Ciara and Oliver lived- as they stand in balconies and try to get a bit of the good summer weather. The quietness of the city and the isolation of the people comes alive really well in this book. 

4. The mystery unravels very slowly and when you think that you have figured everything out, there is a new little twist. Loved that about this book! (Don't want to give too much away about the mystery because that's the whole heart of this book.) 

5. The book is well written and fast-paced. Never a dull moment and no superfluous information. Always a good thing to have in a murder mystery. 

Things I Didn't Like: Nothing much really. 

Rating: 4/5 

This is a good mystery book to pick up! Highly recommend!