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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Make sure when you pick this up to read you have the day free, because once you start it you won’t be able to put it down! The story has timelines of 1999 and present day which I really enjoyed and I thought were well done. I was kept on the edge of my seat with how the atmosphere and tension throughout. I loved all the twists, some of them really took me by surprise. One of the reasons I read it so quickly was due to getting so engaged in Mark’s writing and the need to know what happens next. I can’t wait to read more from Mark.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
The Wasp Trap
This thriller had me hooked from the beginning ! I thoroughly enjoyed the way the author had you suspecting every single character.
During a dinner party, friends are forced to reveal who has the secret ? I can admit I continuously guessed the wrong person.
This jumps between the past and present in a way that doesn’t feel jarring, and keeps you hooked . I yelled at my Kindle because I was too invested in what was happening then it would go to a different timeline. Author did a great job of keeping me hooked.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This thriller had a really interesting concept but the pacing was too slow for me to be anything above an “eh.” In 2024, six friends reunite in London to celebrate the life of their recently deceased ex-employer, a professor that brought them together in 1999 to help build a dating website based on psychological testing. During that summer in 1999, they also created “The Wasp Trap,” a series of tests that can assess whether someone is a psychopath. In the present time, their dinner party turns deadly when they end up being forced to reveal dark secrets or to kill each other. What were the secrets from their past and will they be able to save each other?
You will probably like this book if you like:
🐝 Dual timeline
✒️ Multiple POVs (first person for Will, third person for others)
🐝 Dinner party from hell
✒️ Everyone has a secret
🐝 Multiple intertwined relationships
✒️ 25 years since they’ve seen each other
🐝 Who is the psychopath?
I love a dual timeline, but because of the switching between 2024 and 1999, it took over 100 pages to get to the deadly twist where they have to start revealing their secrets, which felt slow to me. The information that we learned in 1999 was fascinating but that made the present day chapters feel less interesting in comparison because everything moved more slowly there. And everything got resolved too quickly at the end though I did appreciate that they acknowledged that the characters might have some sort of PTSD after their insane night together!
I generally liked and was invested in the characters. Will is our main protagonist - he was the copywriter for the dating website (the name he came up for the dating website is kind of hilariously cringing but go off, 1999 Will). We also have the other five students plus some staff. Most of the characters were pretty well developed, except for poor Rohan, who was so underdeveloped that I don’t even remember what his job in 1999 was. (Sales? IDK). And of course with a bunch of horny undergrads in a house for the summer working on a dating website, there was some romance and it got messy which was fun.
There were a lot of great twists and I do love a book about psychopaths but I want a thriller that I can’t put down and this wasn’t like that for me mostly due to pacing.
Thank you Atria Books for the ARC!
Publication Date: September 16, 2025
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
'The Wasp Trap' is a suspenseful, twist‑filled locked‑room thriller that I felt largely delivered. In this split timeline story Mark Edwards gives us a reunion gone wrong that is tension filled from minute one.
The story see six former colleagues reunite for a dinner to commemorate their former leader but things go very wrong, very quickly. The dual timelines worked overall, especially from the halfway mark when everything starts to unravel, however the 1999 story felt little lacklustre for me at the start.
There are plenty of twists and suspense throughout the story and the ultimate conclusion/reveal was really satisfying and was one that I didn't see coming. The characters are generally well realised and Will's voice makes for a good central narrator - relatable and believable.
If you want a tightly plotted, suspenseful thriller with plenty of secrets and clever psychology this will be a book for you.
Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for a digital review copy of "The Wasp Trap" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.
The story see six former colleagues reunite for a dinner to commemorate their former leader but things go very wrong, very quickly. The dual timelines worked overall, especially from the halfway mark when everything starts to unravel, however the 1999 story felt little lacklustre for me at the start.
There are plenty of twists and suspense throughout the story and the ultimate conclusion/reveal was really satisfying and was one that I didn't see coming. The characters are generally well realised and Will's voice makes for a good central narrator - relatable and believable.
If you want a tightly plotted, suspenseful thriller with plenty of secrets and clever psychology this will be a book for you.
Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for a digital review copy of "The Wasp Trap" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an ARC of The Wasp Trap.
I have enjoyed several of Mark Edwards’ books recently, especially The Psychopath Next Door. So I was hopeful of another corker as I started this one.
It was a much slower burner than previous reads, but I enjoyed how the characters were developed and the flashbacks to 1999, the last summer they had all been together.
The lives of each of the characters were intertwined more than initially it seemed they would be, and the twists kept coming in the final quarter of the book.
Overall, a decent read that kept me entertained, I look forward to the next!
I have enjoyed several of Mark Edwards’ books recently, especially The Psychopath Next Door. So I was hopeful of another corker as I started this one.
It was a much slower burner than previous reads, but I enjoyed how the characters were developed and the flashbacks to 1999, the last summer they had all been together.
The lives of each of the characters were intertwined more than initially it seemed they would be, and the twists kept coming in the final quarter of the book.
Overall, a decent read that kept me entertained, I look forward to the next!
mysterious
tense
fast-paced