Review: 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard

Author: Catherine Ryan Howard
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Publication Date: August 2021

No one knew they'd moved in together. Now one of them is dead. Could this be the perfect murder?
56 DAYS AGO
Ciara and Oliver meet in a supermarket queue in Dublin the same week Covid-19 reaches Irish shores.

35 DAYS AGO
When lockdown threatens to keep them apart, Oliver suggests that Ciara move in with him. She sees a unique opportunity for a new relationship to flourish without the pressure of scrutiny of family and friends. He sees it as an opportunity to hide who - and what - he really is.

TODAY
Detectives arrive at Oliver's apartment to discover a decomposing body inside.

Will they be able to determine what really happened, or has lockdown provided someone with the opportunity to commit the perfect crime?

56 Days is a mystery that takes places during the initial COVID lockdown.  Ciara and Oliver meet then decide to move in together once the pandemic causes lockdowns in Ireland.  56 days later, one of them is dead.  Detectives have to piece together what happened.

I'll be honest, I probably should have DNF'd this book.  I was really kind of bored throughout the book.  The story goes back and forth between the present, during the 56 days and before the 56 days. It is also told through multiple perspectives.  I'm not sure that format worked for me.  Because some of the scenes were repeated only in a different perspective and it dull.  Some scenes were almost copy and paste word for word.  I didn't like either Ciara or Oliver.

  Having the story take place during a real pandemic that we all have been experiencing made it seem kind of like a gimmick to me.  There was one twist that I didn't see coming, but I guessed most of the rest.  The ending was lackluster.  I'm not sure I would recommend this one.