Catherine Ryan Howard brings the uncertainty of lockdown in Ireland vividly to life in a book that starts with finding a decomposing body. In 56 Days, the story is told of two people who move in together - to be a household - when lockdown is announced. 56 days after they meet someone is dead.

The book shifts between the perspectives of the two people involved in a relationship and the police investigating what could be an accidental death, but has some suspicious elements.

There are secrets and layers and new perspectives with timelines that let you keep track of what happened when--and what you as a reader know. The psychological element is key to what made a supenseful read that kept me up late.

I wonder sometimes how much a book is built on what the reader versus the character knows. This is a book where that question is critical.

The claustrophobia and uncertainty of lockdown and the question of how the past can shape our present makes for a dark, compelling read.