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karenschlesser's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide, Death of parent, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship
taliatalksbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard was a bit convoluted, but oh so worth it. I usually hate non-linear, repetitive timelines, and I fully expected this to be one of the worst offenders after the first few chapters, but I very quickly learned I was going to be proven wrong. I really liked the characters in this book, and felt torn between loving them and hating them (but loving to hate them). I loved the way it switched perspective, and our author really delivered here because I almost never say that. The way details were revealed kept you guessing throughout, and while I would say this is more of a mystery than a thriller, I was intrigued and devoured this in 2 sittings (because silly me I started it at 9PM on a work night). I could have easily read this cover to cover if given enough time and I think if you’re a fan of mysterious but realistic stories, this would be a great fit. I truly liked this book far more than I thought I would, so I tip my hat to @bookofthemonth for bringing this one into my life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Medical content, Terminal illness, Violence, Murder, Child death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders
pookiee's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
a mystery in the time of the first COVID-19 lockdown in Ireland sounds interesting, but didn’t end up being so.
it is deeper than the average thriller, at least. the author believes in the reformation of criminals, but what happens in this book didn’t help that point
it is deeper than the average thriller, at least. the author believes in the reformation of criminals, but what happens in this book didn’t help that point
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent and Stalking
Minor: Vomit, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
caityg22's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Suicidal thoughts
vj_thompson's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Just when you think you know what’s going on, it just got better and better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, Bullying, Murder, and Child death
Moderate: Blood, Alcohol, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
Minor: Death of parent
minimicropup's review
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Narration: 👌
Excellent narration and character voicing. Paired with the writing it felt cinematic.
Atmosphere: 🫶
Well-balanced sensory and observational details paired with MC interpretations
-Set in IRL Dublin early 2020. The pandemic isn't centre stage; it's happening around the characters but we do experience the mixture of anxiety, surrealism, and novelty that it brings to their lives. No graphic descriptions of COVID suffering or politics (but the seriousness of it isn't ignored either).
Main POVs: 👌
-An intelligent, competent, but slightly rattled Detective Inspector at the scene of a body found under mysterious conditions in an apartment bathroom
-A slightly overwhelmed 25-yr old web service concierge and recent arrival in Dublin. They have a bit of social anxiety and are living in a small studio apartment when they stumble into a conversation with a person they've noticed from their daily lunch stops
-A 29-yr old architectural technologist also recently arrived in Dublin. They are living in a company-provided apartment and start a conversation with a person they've noticed from their daily lunch stops who seems to share their interest in space tech
Show'n'tell: 👍
Well-balanced with a few hiccups. Like bringing a crayon set to a virtual Teams class. A bit of stuttering and repetition, but it's a cool crayon set and unconventional medium so the 👏 are genuine.
Cred Rating: 👍🕵️ Plausible
True crime type with realistic police investigation and conclusions. The spark that starts everything in motion needed a lot to line up for it to happen and if even one thing was off the story technically wouldn't exist, but that's still realistic.
Reading Journey: 👍
Binge-watching YouTube and Netflix + take-out splurges with your bestie.
Good match if you like:
-Who? How? Why? Murder Mysteries
-Fractured timelines. Each chapter varies from today to ~70 days, ~50 days, ~20 days ago and are arranged non-chronologically.
-Multiple POV of same event narrations (bit repetitive at the time, but by the ending I saw why it was done and it didn't bother me)
-Mixed bag of twists and reveals (one "twist" at ~60-70% mark will probably be more of a reveal to some readers, but there are a few more twists to come and I didn't predict the last one)
-Slight touch of enemies-to-lovers romance
-Sprinkling of revenge trope
Vibes: 😛😷🤫
Format: Library audiobook via Libby
Excellent narration and character voicing. Paired with the writing it felt cinematic.
Atmosphere: 🫶
Well-balanced sensory and observational details paired with MC interpretations
-Set in IRL Dublin early 2020. The pandemic isn't centre stage; it's happening around the characters but we do experience the mixture of anxiety, surrealism, and novelty that it brings to their lives. No graphic descriptions of COVID suffering or politics (but the seriousness of it isn't ignored either).
Main POVs: 👌
-An intelligent, competent, but slightly rattled Detective Inspector at the scene of a body found under mysterious conditions in an apartment bathroom
-A slightly overwhelmed 25-yr old web service concierge and recent arrival in Dublin. They have a bit of social anxiety and are living in a small studio apartment when they stumble into a conversation with a person they've noticed from their daily lunch stops
-A 29-yr old architectural technologist also recently arrived in Dublin. They are living in a company-provided apartment and start a conversation with a person they've noticed from their daily lunch stops who seems to share their interest in space tech
Show'n'tell: 👍
Well-balanced with a few hiccups. Like bringing a crayon set to a virtual Teams class. A bit of stuttering and repetition, but it's a cool crayon set and unconventional medium so the 👏 are genuine.
Cred Rating: 👍🕵️ Plausible
True crime type with realistic police investigation and conclusions. The spark that starts everything in motion needed a lot to line up for it to happen and if even one thing was off the story technically wouldn't exist, but that's still realistic.
Reading Journey: 👍
Binge-watching YouTube and Netflix + take-out splurges with your bestie.
Good match if you like:
-Who? How? Why? Murder Mysteries
-Fractured timelines. Each chapter varies from today to ~70 days, ~50 days, ~20 days ago and are arranged non-chronologically.
-Multiple POV of same event narrations (bit repetitive at the time, but by the ending I saw why it was done and it didn't bother me)
-Mixed bag of twists and reveals (one "twist" at ~60-70% mark will probably be more of a reveal to some readers, but there are a few more twists to come and I didn't predict the last one)
-Slight touch of enemies-to-lovers romance
-Sprinkling of revenge trope
Vibes: 😛😷🤫
Format: Library audiobook via Libby
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Medical content and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Sexual content
Medical content refers to the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. I have delayed or DNFed a few pandemic plots because it was too-much-too-soon for me, however, it wasn't an issue for me in this plot. There are no graphic depictions of specific COVID cases or deaths. Death is described by police officers finding a body that has been decomposing. Murder is child-on-childcassiebartelme's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
hadn’t read a thriller in awhile and this one was pretty good. This is the first book I’ve read where the COVID lockdowns were a major factor in the story which gave it a different element which I appreciated. I never want to say too much about a thriller and give away anything so I’ll just give it a generic “yeah, pretty good. Kept me reading”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
paulrichard's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
blackcatkai's review
dark
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
CW: child death/murder, violence, blood, bullying, toxic relationship, suicide mentioned, murder, alcohol use, drug use, some fatphobia, casual ableism, stalking
this was an absolutely wild ride of a book. it had a lot of cute moments of romance that i was totally rooting for the MCs to make it through and then the twists kept coming and i could not stop reading. usually i dont care for detective/cop POVs, but even those aspects here were delightful. it might be Howard's writing, or it could be because Irish law enforcement read differently than US law enforcement, but whatever. i liked it, i had the best time, i will absolutely be picking up more from this author!!
this was an absolutely wild ride of a book. it had a lot of cute moments of romance that i was totally rooting for the MCs to make it through and then the twists kept coming and i could not stop reading. usually i dont care for detective/cop POVs, but even those aspects here were delightful. it might be Howard's writing, or it could be because Irish law enforcement read differently than US law enforcement, but whatever. i liked it, i had the best time, i will absolutely be picking up more from this author!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Stalking, Drug use, Fatphobia, Suicide, and Ableism
ashleylowry's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death, Grief, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Violence, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Blood
Minor: Death, Abandonment, Child death, Vomit, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, and Drug use