Rating: 4 / 5
I saw mixed reviews for 56 DAYS by Catherine Ryan Howard, but I knew that I had really loved her previous books so was happy to add this one to my Book of the Month box a while back.
56 DAYS follows Ciara and Oliver, a couple who have just met as Covid begins to take off in Ireland. As restrictions are being put in place, the pair decide to move Ciara into Oliver’s much larger apartment. In the present day, a body has been found in the apartment, but the timeline goes back and forth in time to slowly unveil how the two met, the secrets each of the main characters is keeping, and how it came to this deadly conclusion.
I enjoyed this mystery quite a bit, but I can see where it wouldn’t be for everyone. It definitely has a slow burn build and it leans heavily into the early days of Covid and the life in lockdown. I can’t imagine moving in with a nearly complete stranger, even under the early assumption that the lockdown would only be for two weeks, but Ciara and Oliver each have their own reasons for making this drastic move.
This book brought in a few twists I expected, but not always exactly in the way I expected and it kept me wanting to continue reading. I wound up doing most of this one on audio, hanging out the best of lockdown partners, Kylee and I thought the audio was well done!
DG Reads 