Very impressed!

So this is my first book by this author and I can’t believe it’s taken me so long but also very happy I have so many of his books to go and read!!

I won’t go into basic plot except to say a professor, a group of young students. A dating website in the making and a whole host of drama!

This completely had me hooked, I enjoyed the concept, I thought the characters were great and had a lot of depth to each person, there is dual timeline which is a big favourite of mine.

There are also secrets.. lots of secrets!

100% recommend loved it

Mark Edwards delivers a captivating psychological thriller in The Wasp Trap. The novel alternates between two timelines: the summer of 1999 and the present day. Six friends reunite in London to celebrate the life of their recently deceased ex-employer, a professor who brought them together to build a dating website based on psychological testing. What starts as a nostalgic dinner party quickly turns into a sinister game, as the friends are forced to reveal their darkest secrets or face deadly consequences.

Edwards masterfully builds tension and suspense, keeping readers hooked with unexpected twists and turns. The characters are well-developed, each hiding secrets that add depth to the story. The dual timelines create a rich narrative that explores the impact of past events on the present.

The Wasp Trap is a must-read for fans of thrillers who enjoy intricate plots and psychological depth. It's a thrilling ride that will leave you questioning who you can trust.

I was delighted to be able to get an advanced copy of “The Wasp Trap”. Whenever I start reading a book by Mark, I always wonder what situation is he going to drop me in this time. While there are always characters at the centre of the story rather than making you, the reader, the protagonist, he has this knack of making the situations, at least at the start of the story, seem so relatable. And that’s often what makes them so tense and engaging.

Please note that there are some excerpts from the book which may act as spoilers.

Given the title, this book did not really start where I expected – rather in the first chapter (after a Prologue) we’re going to be at a dinner party at someone’s house. This certainly sounds relatable. However, the dinner party and the house is quite different to any I have been to – and, more than anything, points to the problems that authors often face these days… the advent of the internet and mobile phones. This is something that I have discussed before with another of my favourite authors, Sarah Lotz. It is also a challenge that I expect to be coming up against in the fourth in my series of Iwakura novels. Being isolated – so having no internet access and no mobile phone signal – is also one of the conventions that I found appear in (English-language) disaster movies. The need to continue to incorporate, and sometimes stay ahead of, current technology is very difficult for creators – and it can go horribly wrong (the James Bond movie “Die Another Day”, I’m looking at you).

In the case of “The Wasp Trap”, which has two timelines – one of which is actually directly related to advent of consumer usage of the internet, just about manages to deal with the internet/mobile-phone problem in the more contemporary (house party) timeline. It does feel a bit forced at times, but it is necessary to keep the degree of tension for, what is in effect, a small-scale disaster (as I have written about in my research what constitutes a disaster can vary from a personal situation through to larger events that make the news) and where isolation is key to allowing the story to proceed.

As usual there were a few particular bits of text that stood out for me that I found either helped provide insights into the characters or more general points. For example,
"It was like being a work experience kid on the Manhattan Project."
Given my own interest in the Manhattan Project (see, for example, In the Shadow of the Mushroom Cloud: 75 Years since the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Book Review: “The World Set Free” by HG Wells, and A Collection of Audiobook Reviews (3)) and referring to it in one of my classes the same week that I was reading the book, I particularly liked this analogy.

The protagonist is a wannabe-novelist, so even compared to Mark’s typical novels, it was especially easy for me to relate to him. I could relate to the following
"if I was ever going to write something worthwhile, I should do what I always advised my students to do and draw on my own life?"
Actually, I have done this not only with my novels, but also with my research. Autoethnography is an important aspect of research and something that happens more than is often acknowledged. It is also something that I recommend my students, final year students and post-graduate students especially, to do.

Unfortunately I could also relate to the following comment about a university where
"they were always threatening to close the course, especially in recent years when all the focus was on STEM subjects."
A few weeks before I started reading “The Wasp Trap” I got the news that my university, Cardiff University, is planning on closing down all its language programmes, including the Japanese programme that I lecture on. I got the notice of my potential redundancy the next morning. Although I have posted about this on social media, I have yet to do a blog post about it, but may well do soon.

The protagonist has feelings for one of the other key characters, Sophie, and I love some of the descriptions of the interactions with her, such as
"I took one end of a sofa, with Sophie beside me. It felt good having her that close to me."
and
"When she left the room I was keenly aware of her absence. If she smiled at me or touched me casually during a conversation, I would experience a rush of elation and longing. I closed my eyes and saw her face. So this is love, I remember thinking"
and
"she saw me only as a friend and colleague, and even though I didn’t only want to be in the friend zone, I valued that too highly to risk ruining everything by blurting out how I felt. So I stayed quiet, while still spending as much time in her company as I could."
and
"I’m acting like a moron because proximity to you melts my brain."
and
"I caught my breath when she passed me the phone and her fingers brushed mine. I wondered if she could feel me trembling, hear my heartbeat. I could smell her, the heat coming off her body, the faint odour of fresh sweat mixed with a perfume I couldn’t identify. It made my head swim. I’m sure she must have known the effect she was having on me because she was silent. We both were, just breathing."
When another of the key characters, Lily, asks the protagonist, Will, why he hasn’t done anything about his feelings for Sophie, I think the interaction is really good –
"‘What’s stopping you?’
‘Isn’t it obvious? Fear of being rejected.’ She tutted.
‘So what? If she says she just wants to be friends or whatever, just accept it and move on. That’s got to be better than never knowing.’ She waited for my response. ‘What is it?’
‘I’m scared that she’ll laugh at me.’"

During one of the moment’s when Will is trying to buy them more time in their difficult situation, he ponders the following,
"Telling my story would buy me ten or fifteen minutes. Maybe a miracle would happen. An alien invasion. Nuclear war. An earthquake. We could but hope. And who knew? Perhaps unburdening myself of it before I left this mortal coil might make my spirit lighter as it flew up – or plummeted down."
This idea that something even more awful, such as an alien invasion, nuclear war, or earthquake may be a salvation reminds me of the ‘Yatta!‘ moment in “Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead” when the protagonist realises he doesn’t need to worry about going to work as there are zombies everywhere.

Another insightful comment in “The Wasp Trap” was
"There were theories that many of the most powerful people in the world were psychopaths, and some of them were able to do more damage than their criminal counterparts."
This sentence seems particular topical at the moment given the leadership of USA, Tesla, Russia, and Israel, amongst others.

Overall, this book is another to add to the ‘classic Mark Edwards’ collection and I highly recommend it.

Another brilliant thriller from this author. Cleverly weaving between two timelines a dinner party’s guests are reunited years after working together on a romance website for an eccentric professor. The party takes a sinister turn where everyone is forced to reveal past secrets and builds to a violent climax with lots of trademark plot twists the author is so good at. There’s a lot going on in both timelines but the pace is perfectly executed.

This was a slow start, so slow I nearly gave up but glad I didn’t.
When Georgina & Theo’s daughter goes missing and they invite their old friends over for dinner as it’s been years since they have seen them since they all worked together on a project together.
Does anyone know what happened to their daughter? Could it be caused by a secret from over 20 years ago.
As I said very slow burn for me but interesting once the accusations start to fly.
Thank you Marl Edwards & Net Galley for an advanced copy.

Brilliant! The story is set in a single night when some old friends meet up for dinner. I couldn’t imagine that this one night and one house/dinner party can be made so interesting. Lots of twists and turns and I just couldn’t put the book down. The plot was great and the book was so fast paced that it kept me hooked since the first page. Mark has churned out another bestseller - kudos to him! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and definitely recommend it.
Thank you to the publishers Penguin RandomHouseuk for an advanced copy of this ebook and giving me a chance to review this book!

A duel timeline story about a group of people who worked on developing a dating app twenty five years ago. Most of them haven’t seen each other since then but when the app creator dies they are all invited to a dinner party.
A twisty psychological thriller that I found a bit slow at times but overall I enjoyed the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

The King of psychological thrillers is back with one of his most gripping novels yet.

Six friends. One reunion. Many deadly secrets. In 1999, Will and five other graduates were handpicked by a psychology professor to invent the latest in online dating, one that could change the dating world. But nothing went according to plan. Fast forward 25 years and Will has been invited to a reunion dinner, but all is not as it seems.

Mark Edwards has written a fast-paced, gripping, locked room mystery-style novel that I found completely unpredictable, with Mark's signature dark twists scattered throughout. I was so absorbed in this book that I read it in only a few sittings, grabbing it at any chance I could get as I couldn't get it off my mind. Just as you think you've got it figured out Mark throws another twist into the mix and makes you question everything.

In 1999, six recent graduates work for a psychology professor on a revolutionary new dating website. Twenty-five years later they gather for a reunion dinner to remember the late professor. But what really happened back then? What secrets does each dinner guest hold? And how many of them will get out of the dinner alive?

With a large cast of characters, dual timelines and twists, the book is another solid, straightforwardly told suspense story from this bestselling author. Fans of Mark Edwards know what to expect and won’t be disappointed.

With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.

On publication, I will post my review on my blog.

Mark Edwards knows how to write a good thriller and The Wasp Trap is yet another piece of brillance! He's come a long way since The Magpies (one of my all time faves) and this is yet another shocking and punchy thriller that left me wanting more. Taut and twisty, but nuanced too, I loved it.

Mark Edwards is the gift that keeps on giving.
I thought that his last book was his best, but with this latest read his gone up another level yet again.
His ability to make you totally invested in both the good and the not so good characters is second to none,you find yourself liking not only the good ones but rather taking to the baddies as well.
I enjoyed the dual timelines, taking us back to 1999 and to the present day and the twists along the way.
This has it all mystery,intrigue tragedy, and buried secrets galore with an ending that surprised me not once but twice.
It is an excellent psychological thriller that I HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
Secrets,secrets, secrets, how quickly will you tell me yours?
Thanks to Netgalley and Michael Joseph Penguin RandomHouseuk for the Arc.

I hadn’t read any books by Mark Edwards before, but after reading The Wasp Trap that will change!

This was one heck of a rollercoaster ride of a thriller. It was fast paced with lots of twists and turns.

It centres on the summer of 1999 where six graduates: Will, Susanna, Theo, Georgina, Rohan, Lily work on a dating website over a summer for an eccentric professor.

The story moves between a reunion dinner party twenty-five years later and the events of that summer in 1999.

The tension builds slowly and I loved the initially awkwardness of the dinner party - six people who haven’t stayed in touch coming together twenty-years later for a reunion dinner. From there the tension builds and builds…..

I can’t wait to read more books by Mark Edwards!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House, for making this e-ARC available to me in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I really wanted to love this as it sounded great.
It was a very up and down book for me, sometimes it really held my interest and then at times I just lost it.
I found that there just seemed to be so many secrets, quite a few characters to try and keep track of, that it just felt a bit too much at times.
Having said that, there were times when I felt the book really picked up and I just couldn’t put it down.
There was a few surprises along the way but I did see the ending coming on this one.

Wowee what a gripping read!! Dragged me in and then kept me gripped turning pages until late into the night. Full of suspense and twists you won't see coming with a real sting in the tail at the end. Well done Mark on another fabulous read!!

I have read some 5 star books already this year but this is among the best. I was blown away by it.

A group who spent one summer together over 20 years ago working for an eccentric psychology professon is brought back together after his death. They attend a dinner party but will they all get to leave?

The story hooked me immediately, there were so many twists and turns and red herrings and surprises. I did not want it to end but I was really happy with the ending. The author left no string untied.

A truly excellent read

OMG this new book from @markedwardsauthor which will be published on 31 July is absolutely compelling! I read it in a couple of days!

Mark is one of my must buy, must read authors so I was delighted to be able to read this one early via @netgalley. Thank you NetGalley 👍

A reunion of 6 people who used to work together on a start up company (building the perfect dating website) in the late 90s during the dot com era.

This book has everything; a reunion, a missing daughter, flashbacks, conflicting loyalties, a crush, unwelcome guests, buried secrets, a cat (if you know Mark you won’t find this a surprise!) and loads of tension. The dinner party reminded me a bit of an Agatha Christie novel as secrets are revealed.

Mark builds the tension effortlessly and I liked the way you get a more rounded impression of the characters from the flashbacks.

Expect this book to be taken away on holiday and appear on many a sun lounger throughout the world this summer.

Fantastic 5 star read

I really enjoy Mark Edwards books. I received an Arc from netgalley and couldn't wait to get stuck in and finished in a day. This book keeps you hooked from the start a real page turner. When a group of friends meet up over 20 years later surely there is going to be drama and that is definitely what we get when trying to find out a secret from 1999. I will definitely be recommending this book to readers of the plot thickens book club on facebook and Instagram. This book will have you screaming at the characters as you read with major twists.

A must 5 star read

Brilliant! This is an absolute rollercoaster of a ride! I couldn't put this book down, it was so so good.

In 1999 Will joins a group of other recent graduates to work on a pioneering new dating app for an eccentric professor, until things begin to go wrong. Twenty five years later he receives an invitation to a dinner party to reunite with the old gang. As soon as he arrives he gets a bad feeling and when an unexpected guest turns up it becomes clear that someone is trying to hide what happened all that time ago.

Having recently read a book by Mark Edwards and really enjoying it, as well as being attracted to the storyline and cover of The Wasp Trap, I knew I had to put it to the top of of my TBR. Wow what a story! I could not put this down and was desperately turning the pages, only now I wish I had read slower as I’m gutted its finished. The premise of the story is fascinating, I enjoyed the exploration of psychology that was involved and the multiple interwoven mysteries that were there to be solved.

The story is told in two timeframes which really helps build the backstory, while creating tension and suspense. The author expertly places the twists and turns, with some great surprises a long the way. I found I was constantly second guessing myself. There are a few characters to get your head around but I feel that the characters were developed so well that these all became easy to distinguish between early on in the novel.

The pacing is great and there is a creepy, dark undertone running throughout. I will definitely be recommending this clever, complex mystery and it’s perfect for those looking for an unpredictable, twisty read they won’t be able to put down. This author definitely knows how to write a thriller! I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next and I’ll be revisiting the books I have yet to read by him. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

While I've read a lot of 'reunions with a twisted secret' books over the last few years, this was a strong entry in the sub genre. I read this one in two sittings and found myself keep reading 'just a bit more' to see where it was going.
What made this book stronger than so many others of the reunion theme? Apart from the writing, which was as strong as the author's work always is, I appreciated the fact there was a genuine reason for the flashbacks and that it really tied in with the current day actions - actually wanting to know more about how and why the (slightly) disparate group came together and what it was they were working on. I also enjoyed the fact that everyone had a secret = rather than the typical, 'one of us knows something...but the author is going to drag it out throughout the book'.
I enjoyed this one and will be going back to check out the couple of books I haven't read in the author's strong back catalogue .