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The Wasp Trap
A dinner party in a beautiful Notting Hill townhouse turns into a sinister game as six old friends are forced to spill their darkest secrets…or else.
Six friends reunite in London to celebrate the life of their recently deceased ex-employer, a professor that brought them together in 1999 to help build a dating website based on psychological testing.
But what is meant to be a night of bittersweet nostalgia soon becomes a twisted and deadly game. The old friends are given an reveal their darkest secrets to the group or pick each other off one-by-one.
It soon becomes clear that their current predicament is related to their shared past. The love questionnaire they helped develop in 1999 for the dating site was also turned into a tool for weeding out The Wasp Trap. This experiment and the other tragic events of that summer long ago may help reveal the truth behind a killer hiding in plain sight.
Alternating between the past and present with a colorful ensemble of characters, The Wasp Trap is a fast-paced and twisty thrill ride that is perfect for fans of Lucy Foley and Alice Feeney.
336 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 16, 2025
882 people are currently reading
27403 people want to read
About the author
Mark Edwards
36 books5,893 followersMark Edwards writes psychological thrillers in which scary things happen to ordinary people.
He loves hearing from readers and always responds. Mark can be contacted in the following ways:
Email: mark@markedwardsauthor.com
Twitter @mredwards
Facebook/Instagram: @markedwardsauthor
You can download a free box set of 'Short Sharp Shockers' by visiting www.markedwardsauthor.com/free
Mark has sold over 5 million books since his first solo novel, The Magpies, was published in 2013 and has topped the bestseller lists numerous times. His other novels include Follow You Home, Here To Stay and The Psychopath Next Door. He has also published six books co-authored with Louise Voss. His next novel, The Wasp Trap, will be published in the UK/Australia in July 2025 and the US/Canada in September 2025.
Mark lives in the West Midlands, England, with his wife, their three children, two cats and a golden retriever.
He loves hearing from readers and always responds. Mark can be contacted in the following ways:
Email: mark@markedwardsauthor.com
Twitter @mredwards
Facebook/Instagram: @markedwardsauthor
You can download a free box set of 'Short Sharp Shockers' by visiting www.markedwardsauthor.com/free
Mark has sold over 5 million books since his first solo novel, The Magpies, was published in 2013 and has topped the bestseller lists numerous times. His other novels include Follow You Home, Here To Stay and The Psychopath Next Door. He has also published six books co-authored with Louise Voss. His next novel, The Wasp Trap, will be published in the UK/Australia in July 2025 and the US/Canada in September 2025.
Mark lives in the West Midlands, England, with his wife, their three children, two cats and a golden retriever.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,576 reviews
November 20, 2025
I'm normally a huge sucker for locked-room mysteries, but The Wasp Trap didn't quite do it for me.
Based on the sheer number of famous authors who blurbed for this book—Lisa Jewell, Ruth Ware, Alex Michaelides, Steve Cavanagh—you'd think this would be the best thing since sliced bread. So I settled in for what I assumed would be the mystery/thriller of the year, and let me tell you, the disappointment was real.
From almost the very first page, it felt like I was being sold a story instead of shown one. The characters in here, their interactions, the dialogue, all of it just wafted of inauthenticity. Real people don't behave like this, they don't talk like this, they wouldn't react like this. And so slow but surely, this slightly awkward and stilted representation sucked away any semblance of reality from the tale.
It is blatantly clear that every element in here exists solely to manipulate the story into revealing a predefined set of twists. And while I like a good twist as much as the next mystery-loving gal, the twists cannot be the only glue holding a story together.
It becomes a problem if the characters and the rest of the plot are relegated to such secondary nonimportance, I find it hard to even care. All the characters feel interchangeable, so what happens to one might as well be happening to another, for whatever is the difference? So much crazy stuff occurs in this story, yet my reaction to each and every single one is a shrug of indifference.
Even the premise in which this whole mystery is based upon—the dating app and the wasp test—did not ring true. There was no way such a generic app would've made anyone rich and the test is of such dubious moral and ethical ground, not to mention unsound science, it came across as a bunch of handwaving hocus pocus more than the gospel it was taken to be.
Also, I can't tell you how much I disliked our narrator Will. He is sniveling, meek, and paranoid, probably the most unappealing combination in a character ever. He spent the entire time (in both timelines) lusting after Sophie, expecting it to be reciprocated simply because he stared at her long enough. It honestly creeped me out. I really thought .
I'll give this some stars for the twists, but as a whole, the story was pretty middling.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
✧ Connect with me ✧ Instagram ✧
Based on the sheer number of famous authors who blurbed for this book—Lisa Jewell, Ruth Ware, Alex Michaelides, Steve Cavanagh—you'd think this would be the best thing since sliced bread. So I settled in for what I assumed would be the mystery/thriller of the year, and let me tell you, the disappointment was real.
From almost the very first page, it felt like I was being sold a story instead of shown one. The characters in here, their interactions, the dialogue, all of it just wafted of inauthenticity. Real people don't behave like this, they don't talk like this, they wouldn't react like this. And so slow but surely, this slightly awkward and stilted representation sucked away any semblance of reality from the tale.
It is blatantly clear that every element in here exists solely to manipulate the story into revealing a predefined set of twists. And while I like a good twist as much as the next mystery-loving gal, the twists cannot be the only glue holding a story together.
It becomes a problem if the characters and the rest of the plot are relegated to such secondary nonimportance, I find it hard to even care. All the characters feel interchangeable, so what happens to one might as well be happening to another, for whatever is the difference? So much crazy stuff occurs in this story, yet my reaction to each and every single one is a shrug of indifference.
Even the premise in which this whole mystery is based upon—the dating app and the wasp test—did not ring true. There was no way such a generic app would've made anyone rich and the test is of such dubious moral and ethical ground, not to mention unsound science, it came across as a bunch of handwaving hocus pocus more than the gospel it was taken to be.
Also, I can't tell you how much I disliked our narrator Will. He is sniveling, meek, and paranoid, probably the most unappealing combination in a character ever. He spent the entire time (in both timelines) lusting after Sophie, expecting it to be reciprocated simply because he stared at her long enough. It honestly creeped me out. I really thought .
I'll give this some stars for the twists, but as a whole, the story was pretty middling.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
✧ Connect with me ✧ Instagram ✧
September 6, 2025
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The Book Review Crew Blog
3.5 Stars
This author has been hit and miss for me. While I enjoyed both Here To Stay and In Her Shadow , The Darkest Water was a dud. I am happy to say The Wasp Trap was more to my liking. In this story, six friends reunite at a dinner party to honour their old professor and revisit the summer of '99 when they worked together developing a dating website. During the get-together, things take a sinister turn when they're held at gunpoint and are given an ultimatum: share your darkest secret from the summer of 1999 or be killed. As the night goes on, it becomes apparent that their predicament is somehow linked to their work. That work included a psychological test to weed out the psychopaths (also known as "The Wasp Trap"). With paranoia setting in and old secrets and betrayals being revealed, the group of "friends" tries to uncover the truth and figure out who this person is. Can they do it before it's too late?
Okay, this is as tense as it gets, and if you know me, you know I love tension. This is, I guess, what they would call a locked-room thriller, and it left me feeling claustrophobic—which is a very good thing. The pacing was amazing, and the plot was gripping. This is the definition of a page-turner. Where the book lost me, and a star, was in the character development; they felt more like caricatures than real people, and their dialogue didn't ring true. Another thing that wasn't perfect was the ending; you need to suspend belief quite a bit. BUT, this book had me flipping pages and kept me entertained; it was perfect for a bit of an escape. I just took it for what it was: a popcorn thriller. If you're looking for something with lots of depth, you won't find it here, but if you want a fun thriller with an intriguing concept, I can recommend this one.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
The Book Review Crew Blog
3.5 Stars
This author has been hit and miss for me. While I enjoyed both Here To Stay and In Her Shadow , The Darkest Water was a dud. I am happy to say The Wasp Trap was more to my liking. In this story, six friends reunite at a dinner party to honour their old professor and revisit the summer of '99 when they worked together developing a dating website. During the get-together, things take a sinister turn when they're held at gunpoint and are given an ultimatum: share your darkest secret from the summer of 1999 or be killed. As the night goes on, it becomes apparent that their predicament is somehow linked to their work. That work included a psychological test to weed out the psychopaths (also known as "The Wasp Trap"). With paranoia setting in and old secrets and betrayals being revealed, the group of "friends" tries to uncover the truth and figure out who this person is. Can they do it before it's too late?
Okay, this is as tense as it gets, and if you know me, you know I love tension. This is, I guess, what they would call a locked-room thriller, and it left me feeling claustrophobic—which is a very good thing. The pacing was amazing, and the plot was gripping. This is the definition of a page-turner. Where the book lost me, and a star, was in the character development; they felt more like caricatures than real people, and their dialogue didn't ring true. Another thing that wasn't perfect was the ending; you need to suspend belief quite a bit. BUT, this book had me flipping pages and kept me entertained; it was perfect for a bit of an escape. I just took it for what it was: a popcorn thriller. If you're looking for something with lots of depth, you won't find it here, but if you want a fun thriller with an intriguing concept, I can recommend this one.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
December 9, 2025
Bring out your popcorn boxes and favorite refreshments! Cancel your entire schedule, camp out on your cozy couch, and wrap yourself into a human burrito with the softest, fluffiest blanket you own—because once you open this book, you won’t be able to put it down. Get ready to dive into a locked-room mystery that’s smart, layered, and overflowing with tension. It’s a puzzle box of secrets stacked inside even more secrets, filled with "wait—what?!" moments, creepy surprises, and a brilliant guessing game that dares you to figure out who the real threat is before the last page.
I’ve always been a sucker for stories where a group of people is trapped in a single setting and forced to spill their darkest secrets, especially when the stakes are high and the secrets are deadly. Mark Edwards masterfully takes this setup and cranks it up with dual timelines, psychological suspense, and enough red herrings to keep you dizzy. The tension never lets up, and the pacing is near-perfect, gradually tightening the noose around each character until there’s no escape—literally and emotionally.
The story centers around six friends who, back in 1999, were university students working on a dating app with their charismatic psychology professor, Sebastian Marlowe. The project took a dark turn when they combined the app with a controversial psychopathy test—and then something so disturbing happened that Sebastian abruptly ended the whole thing. Twenty-five years later, the group—now mostly estranged—receives an invitation from Georgina and Theo, the power couple who ran with the idea and built a tech empire, to attend a dinner party in honor of Sebastian, who has recently passed away.
Each of the old friends comes with baggage:
Will, a failed writer now teaching and still haunted by what could have been.
Sophie, Will’s former flame, who inherited a quiet life from her grandmother but feels aimless.
Rohan, now married with kids, is battling financial struggles and hoping for a bailout from Theo.
Lily, the brilliant mind of the group, recently divorced with two children, is working on a top-secret tech innovation that could change everything.
Georgina and Theo seem successful and picture-perfect, but beneath the surface lies a gut-wrenching family tragedy that’s already fraying their bond. And then there’s Fin, a mysterious man who claims to have worked with Sebastian. His presence raises eyebrows—especially for Will, who notices Fin behaving oddly, almost too comfortably with the catering staff. He whispers with them, seems to know more than he lets on, and gives off a distinct vibe that something deeper is going on.
And then—bam! The doors are locked. Cell reception disappears. Strange voices echo through empty rooms. A chilling realization sets in: they are trapped. Not by accident, but by design. One of them holds a terrible secret from 1999—something that’s been buried too long. Until it's confessed, they cannot leave.
As tensions rise, friendships unravel, and paranoia kicks in, it becomes clear that someone among them is not who they seem. The group must reckon with the truth they’ve all been avoiding, but only one of them is keeping the most damning, life-altering secret—and that secret is the key to their survival.
The final reveal is a total knockout. Just when you think you’ve figured it all out, the rug gets pulled from under you in the best way possible. The ending is clever, satisfying, and darkly poetic, tying the mystery together in a way that lingers after the last page.
Overall, this book is an adrenaline-fueled rollercoaster of suspense, packed with clever clues, deep character work, and nonstop thrills. It’s fun, eerie, and completely addictive—the kind of story you’ll want to finish in one breathless sitting. I absolutely loved it and am happy to give it five locked-room stars!
A very huge thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing this thrilling mystery’s digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts. I truly appreciate the opportunity!
I’ve always been a sucker for stories where a group of people is trapped in a single setting and forced to spill their darkest secrets, especially when the stakes are high and the secrets are deadly. Mark Edwards masterfully takes this setup and cranks it up with dual timelines, psychological suspense, and enough red herrings to keep you dizzy. The tension never lets up, and the pacing is near-perfect, gradually tightening the noose around each character until there’s no escape—literally and emotionally.
The story centers around six friends who, back in 1999, were university students working on a dating app with their charismatic psychology professor, Sebastian Marlowe. The project took a dark turn when they combined the app with a controversial psychopathy test—and then something so disturbing happened that Sebastian abruptly ended the whole thing. Twenty-five years later, the group—now mostly estranged—receives an invitation from Georgina and Theo, the power couple who ran with the idea and built a tech empire, to attend a dinner party in honor of Sebastian, who has recently passed away.
Each of the old friends comes with baggage:
Will, a failed writer now teaching and still haunted by what could have been.
Sophie, Will’s former flame, who inherited a quiet life from her grandmother but feels aimless.
Rohan, now married with kids, is battling financial struggles and hoping for a bailout from Theo.
Lily, the brilliant mind of the group, recently divorced with two children, is working on a top-secret tech innovation that could change everything.
Georgina and Theo seem successful and picture-perfect, but beneath the surface lies a gut-wrenching family tragedy that’s already fraying their bond. And then there’s Fin, a mysterious man who claims to have worked with Sebastian. His presence raises eyebrows—especially for Will, who notices Fin behaving oddly, almost too comfortably with the catering staff. He whispers with them, seems to know more than he lets on, and gives off a distinct vibe that something deeper is going on.
And then—bam! The doors are locked. Cell reception disappears. Strange voices echo through empty rooms. A chilling realization sets in: they are trapped. Not by accident, but by design. One of them holds a terrible secret from 1999—something that’s been buried too long. Until it's confessed, they cannot leave.
As tensions rise, friendships unravel, and paranoia kicks in, it becomes clear that someone among them is not who they seem. The group must reckon with the truth they’ve all been avoiding, but only one of them is keeping the most damning, life-altering secret—and that secret is the key to their survival.
The final reveal is a total knockout. Just when you think you’ve figured it all out, the rug gets pulled from under you in the best way possible. The ending is clever, satisfying, and darkly poetic, tying the mystery together in a way that lingers after the last page.
Overall, this book is an adrenaline-fueled rollercoaster of suspense, packed with clever clues, deep character work, and nonstop thrills. It’s fun, eerie, and completely addictive—the kind of story you’ll want to finish in one breathless sitting. I absolutely loved it and am happy to give it five locked-room stars!
A very huge thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing this thrilling mystery’s digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts. I truly appreciate the opportunity!
September 21, 2025
3.5 ⭐️ I'm still debating which way to round so don't be surprised if it changes, but for now rounding down.
In the summer of 1999, six students were hired to help build a dating website and in the process created a tool to detect psychopaths. They all hoped to cash in on the dot-com boom, but the project was ultimately scrapped. Twenty five years later, they reunite to honor their late mentor, but the dinner party turns into a deadly game where each must confess the secrets they buried that summer or pay with their life.
The Wasp Trap is a dual timeline locked room psychological thriller with a clever premise that immediately caught my attention. Imagine if there were truly a tool to detect psychopaths and it was applied to online dating. Who would not want to know if their date was a psychopath?
The first quarter of the book moved quite slowly for my taste and I struggled to stay engaged, but once the pace picked up the story became more compelling. While there was tension throughout, it never quite felt fully thrilling, and the ending required some suspension of disbelief.
This was my first Mark Edwards novel, and I would definitely like to try another, so I would love any recommendations.
My thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the eARC. This book is now available.
In the summer of 1999, six students were hired to help build a dating website and in the process created a tool to detect psychopaths. They all hoped to cash in on the dot-com boom, but the project was ultimately scrapped. Twenty five years later, they reunite to honor their late mentor, but the dinner party turns into a deadly game where each must confess the secrets they buried that summer or pay with their life.
The Wasp Trap is a dual timeline locked room psychological thriller with a clever premise that immediately caught my attention. Imagine if there were truly a tool to detect psychopaths and it was applied to online dating. Who would not want to know if their date was a psychopath?
The first quarter of the book moved quite slowly for my taste and I struggled to stay engaged, but once the pace picked up the story became more compelling. While there was tension throughout, it never quite felt fully thrilling, and the ending required some suspension of disbelief.
This was my first Mark Edwards novel, and I would definitely like to try another, so I would love any recommendations.
My thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the eARC. This book is now available.
April 19, 2025
Clever, clever, clever! I always get excited when I see that Mark Edwards has a new book coming out! He has delivered yet again with the gripping, dark, suspenseful, and hard to put down The Wasp Trap! I am drawn to books that have a 'trapped' feeling and The Wasp Trap nailed it when Six friends gather in a Notting Hill townhouse to celebrate the life of their former professor. They won't be celebrating for long!!!
The friends were once classmates in 1999 and worked with their professor on a dating website. A website based on psychological testing. The love questionnaire they developed has become turned into a tool known as The Wasp Trap. Here's a hint - it's not for trapping annoying stinging insects!
As the night progresses, they find themselves held at gunpoint and are informed they must share their deepest darkest secrets to the group or be picked off one by one. As the group scrambles, the book goes back and forth to the past and then the present day as their predicament becomes dire.
This was a twisty, dark, clever, and suspenseful book which had the group wondering just how well they knew/know each other. It kept me on my toes and turning the pages. I enjoyed the tension, the dread, the questioning that begins, and the shocking reveal. Mark Edwards has pulled off another thrilling and gripping mystery thriller. I can't wait to read what he writes next!
Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com 📖
The friends were once classmates in 1999 and worked with their professor on a dating website. A website based on psychological testing. The love questionnaire they developed has become turned into a tool known as The Wasp Trap. Here's a hint - it's not for trapping annoying stinging insects!
As the night progresses, they find themselves held at gunpoint and are informed they must share their deepest darkest secrets to the group or be picked off one by one. As the group scrambles, the book goes back and forth to the past and then the present day as their predicament becomes dire.
This was a twisty, dark, clever, and suspenseful book which had the group wondering just how well they knew/know each other. It kept me on my toes and turning the pages. I enjoyed the tension, the dread, the questioning that begins, and the shocking reveal. Mark Edwards has pulled off another thrilling and gripping mystery thriller. I can't wait to read what he writes next!
Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com 📖
April 30, 2025
After reading the synopsis for this book, and viewing the title (which I found enticing), I decided to give this book a shot- and I am so glad that I did. It was fast read with short chapters (yay for that!), and there were twists galore!
The Wasp Trap is a story about six friends who meet up after 25 years to celebrate the life of Sebastian Marlowe, their former professor. These six friends meet up at Theo & Georgina’s beautiful house, and realize they have a bit of catching up to do since they haven’t seen each other since 1999. It was in 1999, that the six friends were creating a dating website together (with their late professor), and it was with this website that they also created a test to identify psychopaths. Between Will (who the story is narrated by), Sophie, Rohan, Theo, Georgina, and Lily- is there a psychopath amongst the group?
At Georgina & Theo’s dinner party to celebrate the life of Sebastian Marlowe, they are locked in their dining room and held at gunpoint. No one is leaving this room until someone reveals a secret they’ve been keeping since the summer of 1999. Who holds the secret? And will each member leave alive?
I enjoyed the flashbacks to 1999, and then back to present day in this story. There were also several twists that I didn’t see coming. However, if I’m being honest, I’m not real crazy how this book ended. I also think I missed a paragraph (or page), because I have no idea what happened to two of the characters in this story (Amber and Callum) 🤷🏻♀️ So for that I’ve dropped my rating down a bit. All in all this is still an enjoyable story in which I recommend!
(3.5 stars)
Many thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, and the author for a DRC copy of this book in which I had the pleasure of reading. All opinions are my own.
Publication date: September 16, 2025
Genre~ Mystery & Thrillers, General Fiction (adult)
The Wasp Trap is a story about six friends who meet up after 25 years to celebrate the life of Sebastian Marlowe, their former professor. These six friends meet up at Theo & Georgina’s beautiful house, and realize they have a bit of catching up to do since they haven’t seen each other since 1999. It was in 1999, that the six friends were creating a dating website together (with their late professor), and it was with this website that they also created a test to identify psychopaths. Between Will (who the story is narrated by), Sophie, Rohan, Theo, Georgina, and Lily- is there a psychopath amongst the group?
At Georgina & Theo’s dinner party to celebrate the life of Sebastian Marlowe, they are locked in their dining room and held at gunpoint. No one is leaving this room until someone reveals a secret they’ve been keeping since the summer of 1999. Who holds the secret? And will each member leave alive?
I enjoyed the flashbacks to 1999, and then back to present day in this story. There were also several twists that I didn’t see coming. However, if I’m being honest, I’m not real crazy how this book ended. I also think I missed a paragraph (or page), because I have no idea what happened to two of the characters in this story (Amber and Callum) 🤷🏻♀️ So for that I’ve dropped my rating down a bit. All in all this is still an enjoyable story in which I recommend!
(3.5 stars)
Many thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, and the author for a DRC copy of this book in which I had the pleasure of reading. All opinions are my own.
Publication date: September 16, 2025
Genre~ Mystery & Thrillers, General Fiction (adult)
April 8, 2025
Whew! This is another remarkable book from Mark Edwards! This was a fast paced top notch thriller and mystery read! It gave me chills, made feel nervous, gave me anxiety and had me feeling scared! Furthermore, I had no idea what was coming next! This book was about a group of friends that knew each other in the past, all meet together again for a dinner party. This is a dual timeline that goes back in time of 1999, then to the year 2024. During the dinner party, the six friends start to begin revealing their hidden secrets. This turns into a deadly game. There are so many twists and turns and the last few chapters literally had my jaw dropped! This was very well written and had a clear thesis. Overall, I rate this book a high 5 out of 5 stars!
Thank you to NetGalley, author Mark Edwards and Atria Books for this digital advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This book is expected to be published on July 31, 2025!
Thank you to NetGalley, author Mark Edwards and Atria Books for this digital advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This book is expected to be published on July 31, 2025!
October 27, 2025
Packed full of long-buried dark secrets and a seriously complex group dynamic, The Wasp Trap was the epitome of the best kind of locked room mystery/thriller. From the bodies dropping like flies to the multiple twists and turns, there was no guessing who the worst of the bunch really was. You see, this motley crew ran the gamut from evil as can be to morally gray. All concealing something about their past, it was a delight to find out what dark secrets each of them were hiding. A tense, twisty ride with plenty of juicy drama on top of the sharp, clever plotting, I couldn’t put this book down once I began reading as it was utterly addictive right from the very beginning.
Told via dual past-and-present timelines and multiple distinct POVs, the locked room element wasn’t the only winning piece to this puzzle of a whodunnit. Interweaving a heavy dose of psychological insight into the plot, I had a blast trying to figure out whether or not there was really a psychopath in the midst of this gang. Trust me when I say that the truth was shocking in the extreme. On top of the mere existence of the jaw-dropping twists, though, Edwards used the element of surprise in the best possible way. Twisted and cunning, he managed to throw enough red herrings into the mix to keep me from eking out the truth until the last possible second.
All said and done, from the 1990s nostalgia to the tiny taste of romance, this mystery/thriller had everything you could want in a novel. Even the epilogue was a home run. Throwing a Molotov cocktail of a twist in at the very last minute, it left me wondering if there is more to come with this story. After all, despite needing to suspend all disbelief in regard to the plot, it was a rollercoaster ride of tension, suspense, and unending dread that made me glad I wasn’t invited to this dinner party from hell. After all, there was no escape for this bunch, which made the constantly ratcheting pace, giggle-worthy dark humor, and heart-pounding action all the more fun. Rating of 4.5 stars.
SYNOPSIS:
Six friends reunite in London to celebrate the life of their recently deceased ex-employer, a professor that brought them together in 1999 to help build a dating website based on psychological testing.
But what is meant to be a night of bittersweet nostalgia soon becomes a twisted and deadly game. The old friends are given an ultimatum: reveal their darkest secrets to the group or pick each other off one-by-one.
It soon becomes clear that their current predicament is related to their shared past. The love questionnaire they helped develop in 1999 for the dating site was also turned into a tool for weeding out psychopaths: The Wasp Trap. This experiment and the other tragic events of that summer long ago may help reveal the truth behind a killer hiding in plain sight.
Thank you to Mark Edwards and Atria Books for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
PUB DATE: September 16, 2025
Content warning: violence, forced captivity, gun and knife violence, infidelity, mention of: cancer
Told via dual past-and-present timelines and multiple distinct POVs, the locked room element wasn’t the only winning piece to this puzzle of a whodunnit. Interweaving a heavy dose of psychological insight into the plot, I had a blast trying to figure out whether or not there was really a psychopath in the midst of this gang. Trust me when I say that the truth was shocking in the extreme. On top of the mere existence of the jaw-dropping twists, though, Edwards used the element of surprise in the best possible way. Twisted and cunning, he managed to throw enough red herrings into the mix to keep me from eking out the truth until the last possible second.
All said and done, from the 1990s nostalgia to the tiny taste of romance, this mystery/thriller had everything you could want in a novel. Even the epilogue was a home run. Throwing a Molotov cocktail of a twist in at the very last minute, it left me wondering if there is more to come with this story. After all, despite needing to suspend all disbelief in regard to the plot, it was a rollercoaster ride of tension, suspense, and unending dread that made me glad I wasn’t invited to this dinner party from hell. After all, there was no escape for this bunch, which made the constantly ratcheting pace, giggle-worthy dark humor, and heart-pounding action all the more fun. Rating of 4.5 stars.
SYNOPSIS:
Six friends reunite in London to celebrate the life of their recently deceased ex-employer, a professor that brought them together in 1999 to help build a dating website based on psychological testing.
But what is meant to be a night of bittersweet nostalgia soon becomes a twisted and deadly game. The old friends are given an ultimatum: reveal their darkest secrets to the group or pick each other off one-by-one.
It soon becomes clear that their current predicament is related to their shared past. The love questionnaire they helped develop in 1999 for the dating site was also turned into a tool for weeding out psychopaths: The Wasp Trap. This experiment and the other tragic events of that summer long ago may help reveal the truth behind a killer hiding in plain sight.
Thank you to Mark Edwards and Atria Books for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
PUB DATE: September 16, 2025
Content warning: violence, forced captivity, gun and knife violence, infidelity, mention of: cancer
September 23, 2025
"A dinner party in a beautiful Notting Hill townhouse turns into a sinister game, as six old friends are forced to spill their darkest secrets…or else." Remember a wasp lures its prey with sweetness...what begins as friends coming together for their former professor's memorial soon becomes a dark reveal as they are locked behind closed doors with a gunman threatening to kill them if they don't spill what happened in 1999. With the help of their Professor Sebastian, they created a dating website based on a psycho test. The love questionnaire they developed was turned into a tool for weeding out until it turned destructive. Now someone wants a dark secret revealed when all six have avoided the truth. This has a tremendous roller-coaster thrill with some dynamic characters. Who is the mysterious man? What is supposed to be a safe enclosure turns into a prison. A highly enjoyable psychological thriller and a must-read. Try not to get stung by a few characters.
Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.
Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.
August 4, 2025
HMM NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER
ᯓ★ Six old friends
ᯓ★ A dinner party
ᯓ★ A sinister game
ᯓ★ Darkest secrets to be exposed
I don’t know about you but when I read that I got goosebumps! I love a locked room vibe that holds plenty of tension and suspense and has people spilling their darkest deepest secrets in the hopes of not being killed off. But unfortunately, this book did not fully meet my expectations of what I wanted.
It started off on a bad start as it was so slow. The buildup and backstory of our characters were simply not interesting enough to be keep me entertained. I found them all quite dull.
But about a quarter way into the book, it picks up and piques my interest. The action is going, and I am locked in, but then it would dip into boring and pick up again. This happened for most of the book and then the last 15% was suspension of disbelief hardcore and I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity.
I can see what the author was trying to do with this novel, and although he did have me wanting to know what the ‘secret’ was, I also found myself getting irritated with the prolong and the eye rolling interactions from the characters.
The story is told in past and present chapters, and I enjoyed the present chapters more. Although not my favourite from Mr. Edwards, I will always be first to pick up his new releases.
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pre read
The cover is so enticing!!! 😍😍
It’s giving locked room vibes!
I hope this one delivers!
💛🤍💛🤍
ᯓ★ Six old friends
ᯓ★ A dinner party
ᯓ★ A sinister game
ᯓ★ Darkest secrets to be exposed
I don’t know about you but when I read that I got goosebumps! I love a locked room vibe that holds plenty of tension and suspense and has people spilling their darkest deepest secrets in the hopes of not being killed off. But unfortunately, this book did not fully meet my expectations of what I wanted.
It started off on a bad start as it was so slow. The buildup and backstory of our characters were simply not interesting enough to be keep me entertained. I found them all quite dull.
But about a quarter way into the book, it picks up and piques my interest. The action is going, and I am locked in, but then it would dip into boring and pick up again. This happened for most of the book and then the last 15% was suspension of disbelief hardcore and I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity.
I can see what the author was trying to do with this novel, and although he did have me wanting to know what the ‘secret’ was, I also found myself getting irritated with the prolong and the eye rolling interactions from the characters.
The story is told in past and present chapters, and I enjoyed the present chapters more. Although not my favourite from Mr. Edwards, I will always be first to pick up his new releases.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
pre read
The cover is so enticing!!! 😍😍
It’s giving locked room vibes!
I hope this one delivers!
💛🤍💛🤍
November 24, 2025
A novel with a fresh take on the whodunnit, and at times it worked really well. But there was a lot of backstory, and that made it a bit slow at times. I liked the turns and twists however, and the tense atmosphere.
September 20, 2025
Buzzing with secrets and suspense.
"The Wasp Trap" opens with six old friends reuniting in a Notting Hill townhouse for what should be a night of bittersweet nostalgia. in 1999, they’d been brought together by a professor to work on a dating website built on psychological testing. But the evening takes a sinister turn when they’re held at gunpoint and forced into a deadly game: reveal their darkest secrets from that summer 25 years ago, or face the consequences. As the standoff intensifies, the truth about that long-ago summer begins to surface, with devastating results.
I tore through this book in a heartbeat. It’s a classic locked-room setup with Mark Edwards’s trademark pacing: short, propulsive chapters, an ominous, claustrophobic setting, and plenty of smart twists to keep you guessing. The flashbacks to the group’s shared past were just as compelling - sometimes even more so - than the present-day standoff, which is probably because the dinner-table interactions under gunpoint didn’t always ring true, and the final standoff sometimes veered towards the absurd, but the secrets revealed and the way they tied back to that fateful summer were deliciously dark, and I couldn’t stop turning the pages.
Fast-paced, with an intriguing setup and full of twists, "The Wasp Trap" requires some suspension of belief, especially towards the end, but peeling back layers of betrayal and paranoia was both eerie and gripping, and I very much enjoyed being along for the ride.
Many thanks to Atria Books for providing me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
"The Wasp Trap" was originally published on July 1, 2025. The US edition from Atria Books was released on September 16, 2025 and is available now.
"The Wasp Trap" opens with six old friends reuniting in a Notting Hill townhouse for what should be a night of bittersweet nostalgia. in 1999, they’d been brought together by a professor to work on a dating website built on psychological testing. But the evening takes a sinister turn when they’re held at gunpoint and forced into a deadly game: reveal their darkest secrets from that summer 25 years ago, or face the consequences. As the standoff intensifies, the truth about that long-ago summer begins to surface, with devastating results.
I tore through this book in a heartbeat. It’s a classic locked-room setup with Mark Edwards’s trademark pacing: short, propulsive chapters, an ominous, claustrophobic setting, and plenty of smart twists to keep you guessing. The flashbacks to the group’s shared past were just as compelling - sometimes even more so - than the present-day standoff, which is probably because the dinner-table interactions under gunpoint didn’t always ring true, and the final standoff sometimes veered towards the absurd, but the secrets revealed and the way they tied back to that fateful summer were deliciously dark, and I couldn’t stop turning the pages.
Fast-paced, with an intriguing setup and full of twists, "The Wasp Trap" requires some suspension of belief, especially towards the end, but peeling back layers of betrayal and paranoia was both eerie and gripping, and I very much enjoyed being along for the ride.
Many thanks to Atria Books for providing me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
"The Wasp Trap" was originally published on July 1, 2025. The US edition from Atria Books was released on September 16, 2025 and is available now.
August 31, 2025
Cunning. Twisted. Propulsive.
Mark Edwards has brought ominous vibes in covered dish to this dinner party of old pals. I think I would've devoured this in a single sitting if not for a headache that just wouldn't quit. It is a perfect length for a suspense filled read and the pace is binge worthy. As it stands, I think I read this in three or four sittings, and I was thinking about it when I wasn't reading it. I may go back and reread this one again without breaking the momentum. It is a strong, intelligent mystery with plenty of suspense and high stakes.
A dinner party for six old friends turns deadly. A gunman walks in and demands that they disclose a secret from the summer of 1999 when they all lived and worked together alongside their recently deceased professor as they worked on a dating app to change the face of online dating. Everyone has secrets from that summer, but to divulge an incorrect secret can have dire consequences.
Who among them is holding the secret the gunman is after?
Is it Will?
He's the main narrator throughout. (although there is another POV featured sporadically) A struggling writer fixated on that persistent blinking cursor on the blank page. He has regrets about the past.
Is it Lily?
She's struggling with parenthood in the minefield of divorce. She is incredible with algorithms and was the brain behind the dating app they worked on. She of course has some irons in the fire but doesn't want her hard work to benefit someone else financially this time around.
Is it Sophie?
The one that got away as far as Will's concerned. She has been watching life slip by living off an inheritance. Or is she hiding?
Is it Rohan?
He is chasing the goal of becoming a businessman. During the summer in question, he had an unsettling friendship. Could that have negative consequences all these years later?
Is it Georgina?
Posh, successful and the one giving this dinner party. She's so together that it makes her seem rigid. Living in Notting Hill, married to Theo her longtime love and another member of the core group.
Is it Theo?
He has wealth, prestige and a loving family. Married to Georgina and by all appearances living the good life. Or are they?
Once everyone is locked inside the gloves come off. The internet is disabled and there are cell phone jammers to block any contact.
The clock is ticking....
I enjoyed pulling apart the threads in this one. There were surprise twists that I didn't see coming which are a thrilling find. When I first saw this cover, it brought to mind the first actual wasp trap, I ever saw. It was made from an antique glass jar with a simple but effective design. As I read, the setting of the novel and that jar kept rolling around in my mind. Leading me to find the title to be a perfect fit.
Clever plotting and layered characters made this more than the average edge of your seat ride.
I'll be avoiding all dinner invites for the foreseeable future!
Thank you to Atria Books for providing an ARC via NetGalley for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Mark Edwards has brought ominous vibes in covered dish to this dinner party of old pals. I think I would've devoured this in a single sitting if not for a headache that just wouldn't quit. It is a perfect length for a suspense filled read and the pace is binge worthy. As it stands, I think I read this in three or four sittings, and I was thinking about it when I wasn't reading it. I may go back and reread this one again without breaking the momentum. It is a strong, intelligent mystery with plenty of suspense and high stakes.
A dinner party for six old friends turns deadly. A gunman walks in and demands that they disclose a secret from the summer of 1999 when they all lived and worked together alongside their recently deceased professor as they worked on a dating app to change the face of online dating. Everyone has secrets from that summer, but to divulge an incorrect secret can have dire consequences.
Who among them is holding the secret the gunman is after?
Is it Will?
He's the main narrator throughout. (although there is another POV featured sporadically) A struggling writer fixated on that persistent blinking cursor on the blank page. He has regrets about the past.
Is it Lily?
She's struggling with parenthood in the minefield of divorce. She is incredible with algorithms and was the brain behind the dating app they worked on. She of course has some irons in the fire but doesn't want her hard work to benefit someone else financially this time around.
Is it Sophie?
The one that got away as far as Will's concerned. She has been watching life slip by living off an inheritance. Or is she hiding?
Is it Rohan?
He is chasing the goal of becoming a businessman. During the summer in question, he had an unsettling friendship. Could that have negative consequences all these years later?
Is it Georgina?
Posh, successful and the one giving this dinner party. She's so together that it makes her seem rigid. Living in Notting Hill, married to Theo her longtime love and another member of the core group.
Is it Theo?
He has wealth, prestige and a loving family. Married to Georgina and by all appearances living the good life. Or are they?
Once everyone is locked inside the gloves come off. The internet is disabled and there are cell phone jammers to block any contact.
The clock is ticking....
I enjoyed pulling apart the threads in this one. There were surprise twists that I didn't see coming which are a thrilling find. When I first saw this cover, it brought to mind the first actual wasp trap, I ever saw. It was made from an antique glass jar with a simple but effective design. As I read, the setting of the novel and that jar kept rolling around in my mind. Leading me to find the title to be a perfect fit.
Clever plotting and layered characters made this more than the average edge of your seat ride.
I'll be avoiding all dinner invites for the foreseeable future!
Thank you to Atria Books for providing an ARC via NetGalley for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
August 31, 2025
4.75 ⭐️
“Man is not what he thinks he is, he is what he hides.” - André Malraux
A group of friends hadn’t seen each other since the summer of 1999, when they worked together to create a dating website under a professor who had studied psychopaths for many years. That same summer, one of them created The Wasp Trap: a system used to figure out if someone has psychopathic tendencies or not. But without warning, it all came to an end.
Twenty-five years later, their old employer had died, and the power couple of the bunch decided to throw a dinner party to reminisce about that summer and to catch up with their friends. But little did they know that they were contestants of a deadly and sinister game, one that surrounded a secret that had been covered up all those years ago. But what could it be? Who among the six in the group was hiding something? Everyone has secrets, don’t they? More importantly, which one of them would die because of it?
This was one heck of a ride! I am still shocked at how it all turned out because my hypotheses and predictions were all wrong. My jaw literally dropped when the big reveal came. 😱
Everything about this book was so interesting. I was captivated by page 1, and I stayed up till three o’clock in the morning to see what in the world was going on and what was going to happen. I honestly was going to rate this four stars, but the ending bumped it up to a 4.75 because what the heck?! I did not see that one coming!
The writing was great, the characters weren’t one-dimensional and were fleshed out, and the plot kept me on the edge of my seat. I was, however, a little impatient with the pacing and the switch between the dual timelines, but I know backstory was needed to wrap this up in a way that would shock readers.
I thoroughly enjoyed this! It’s been a minute since I’ve read a mystery/thriller book like this, so maybe that’s why I rated it so high. Either way, I definitely recommend this book if you want something to thrill you, chill you, and keep you guessing and scratching your head the whole way through. 🔍
Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review! All opinions and statements are my own.
❗Content Warnings❗
Missing child, loss of parent(s), death, blood, violence, & murder
Swearing: Yes
Spice: Kinda? (There is a scene that isn’t detailed, and there are mentions of sex.)
“Man is not what he thinks he is, he is what he hides.” - André Malraux
A group of friends hadn’t seen each other since the summer of 1999, when they worked together to create a dating website under a professor who had studied psychopaths for many years. That same summer, one of them created The Wasp Trap: a system used to figure out if someone has psychopathic tendencies or not. But without warning, it all came to an end.
Twenty-five years later, their old employer had died, and the power couple of the bunch decided to throw a dinner party to reminisce about that summer and to catch up with their friends. But little did they know that they were contestants of a deadly and sinister game, one that surrounded a secret that had been covered up all those years ago. But what could it be? Who among the six in the group was hiding something? Everyone has secrets, don’t they? More importantly, which one of them would die because of it?
This was one heck of a ride! I am still shocked at how it all turned out because my hypotheses and predictions were all wrong. My jaw literally dropped when the big reveal came. 😱
Everything about this book was so interesting. I was captivated by page 1, and I stayed up till three o’clock in the morning to see what in the world was going on and what was going to happen. I honestly was going to rate this four stars, but the ending bumped it up to a 4.75 because what the heck?! I did not see that one coming!
The writing was great, the characters weren’t one-dimensional and were fleshed out, and the plot kept me on the edge of my seat. I was, however, a little impatient with the pacing and the switch between the dual timelines, but I know backstory was needed to wrap this up in a way that would shock readers.
I thoroughly enjoyed this! It’s been a minute since I’ve read a mystery/thriller book like this, so maybe that’s why I rated it so high. Either way, I definitely recommend this book if you want something to thrill you, chill you, and keep you guessing and scratching your head the whole way through. 🔍
Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review! All opinions and statements are my own.
❗Content Warnings❗
Missing child, loss of parent(s), death, blood, violence, & murder
Swearing: Yes
Spice: Kinda? (There is a scene that isn’t detailed, and there are mentions of sex.)
September 23, 2025
Are old friends the best friends?
Six old friends get together for a dinner party at a residence where they all worked together on a dating site, under the tutelage of a professor in 1999. The idea was to psychologically test people to find their perfect match.
When the project fell apart, the friends scattered, and the mystery of why pervaded their lives.
When the party supposedly designed to honor the now dead professor turns into a fight for one's life, the party is over and the "fun" begins. A gun is pointed in the friend's direction and they are told they must reveal a secret. The gunman and his sidekick are intent on finding a truth which none of the friends seem to have.
However, some juicy secrets do eventually reveal themselves and murder is on the menu. It also seems that during this time a psychological test to find out if one was a psychopath had also been in the works.
But what could be this secret that some might lose their lives for? Told in both the past and present time events, this story was a trip into a scary evening with someone who might just hold a secret to their continuing lives. Bon Appétit
Six old friends get together for a dinner party at a residence where they all worked together on a dating site, under the tutelage of a professor in 1999. The idea was to psychologically test people to find their perfect match.
When the project fell apart, the friends scattered, and the mystery of why pervaded their lives.
When the party supposedly designed to honor the now dead professor turns into a fight for one's life, the party is over and the "fun" begins. A gun is pointed in the friend's direction and they are told they must reveal a secret. The gunman and his sidekick are intent on finding a truth which none of the friends seem to have.
However, some juicy secrets do eventually reveal themselves and murder is on the menu. It also seems that during this time a psychological test to find out if one was a psychopath had also been in the works.
But what could be this secret that some might lose their lives for? Told in both the past and present time events, this story was a trip into a scary evening with someone who might just hold a secret to their continuing lives. Bon Appétit
October 10, 2025
Not sure what happened. Would it be that I wasn't in the "mood" for this book, or that the characters were boring? Well each to his own, it didn't hold my attention at all.
September 22, 2025
ARC for review. To be published September 16, 2025.
3.5 stars
In the summer of 1999 Professor Sebastian Marlowe hired six recent university graduates, Will, the narrator, Georgina, Theo, Sophie and Rohan and they, along with his nephew, Dominic who did odd jobs, and cook/cleaner Eve, spent the summer at his home in the country. The six were working on an idea dreamed up by the professor, a new dating app based on an extensive personality profile. While working on the app the group decides to use the profile as the basis for a test for psychopathy, an interest of the professor’s, as a type of surprise for him. However, at the end of the summer the professor suddenly decides to scrap the entire app with no explanation.
Now, more than twenty years later, the group of six meets at Georgina and Theo’s home to remember the recently deceased professor. But, apparently, at least one of the six has a secret that he or she has been keeping all these years. A secret that may be worth the lives of all six.
This was definitely an above average thriller. I liked both the scenes set in 1999 and the now. There was just one part that bothered me a bit (no spoilers) but it ended up advancing the plot, so…. Anyway, loads of people like thrillers so I can definitely recommend this one.
3.5 stars
In the summer of 1999 Professor Sebastian Marlowe hired six recent university graduates, Will, the narrator, Georgina, Theo, Sophie and Rohan and they, along with his nephew, Dominic who did odd jobs, and cook/cleaner Eve, spent the summer at his home in the country. The six were working on an idea dreamed up by the professor, a new dating app based on an extensive personality profile. While working on the app the group decides to use the profile as the basis for a test for psychopathy, an interest of the professor’s, as a type of surprise for him. However, at the end of the summer the professor suddenly decides to scrap the entire app with no explanation.
Now, more than twenty years later, the group of six meets at Georgina and Theo’s home to remember the recently deceased professor. But, apparently, at least one of the six has a secret that he or she has been keeping all these years. A secret that may be worth the lives of all six.
This was definitely an above average thriller. I liked both the scenes set in 1999 and the now. There was just one part that bothered me a bit (no spoilers) but it ended up advancing the plot, so…. Anyway, loads of people like thrillers so I can definitely recommend this one.
September 14, 2025
Mark Edwards.. you very clever man!! i could not put The Wasp Trap down, this could be your best book yet!! What an absolute page turner, and cast of highly unlikeable characters in a crazy crazy story.
25 years after they had last seen each other, 6 friends reunite to celebrate the life of their professor who has recently passed. But of course, things go horribly wrong when they are held hostage in the Notting Hill home and threatened with their lives if they don’t give up the secrets from 1999 when they were working on a dating app that was based on your psychological profile.
This was such a brilliant storyline and I honestly had no idea where it was going to go and who was going to be good or bad. It could have been anyone. It was all very well put together at the ending, and that very last chapter was perfect.
Thank you so much Atria Books for my early copy to read on Edelweiss. Such an honour to be able to get in early with this amazing book and author
25 years after they had last seen each other, 6 friends reunite to celebrate the life of their professor who has recently passed. But of course, things go horribly wrong when they are held hostage in the Notting Hill home and threatened with their lives if they don’t give up the secrets from 1999 when they were working on a dating app that was based on your psychological profile.
This was such a brilliant storyline and I honestly had no idea where it was going to go and who was going to be good or bad. It could have been anyone. It was all very well put together at the ending, and that very last chapter was perfect.
Thank you so much Atria Books for my early copy to read on Edelweiss. Such an honour to be able to get in early with this amazing book and author
July 23, 2025
“It’s in those moments when the subject believes himself to be unobserved that the mask slips and the true self can be glimpsed.” This story made me question if it is truly possible to ever really know someone. Secrets prove to be dangerous and keeping them may be deadly. Mark Edwards masterfully executes a cleverly crafted plot that is thought-provoking with shocking twists and turns. This character-driven story is smart, original, and entertaining. I was immersed in the mystery of “the secret” and the discovery of its keeper. The journey to the surprising conclusion is gripping and intense. I highly recommend this book to all thriller addicts. Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for my copy.
September 30, 2025
So much positive buzz for "The Wasp Trap".
🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝
Not from this reader.
This book's premise was buzz-worthy:
A dinner party in a beautiful Notting Hill townhouse turns into a sinister game as six old friends are forced to spill their darkest secrets.
The book's pacing dragged in places.
Instead of building tension, the narrative was bogged down in unnecessary detail.
Perhaps there were too many characters?
(I prefer books with fewer, well-developed characters).
Characterizations were disappointingly shallow, with all six characters feeling more like stereotypes than fully developed people.
After a very, very slow buildup, the ending felt anticlimactic and unsatisfying.
Author Mark Edwards wowed me with "Keep Her Secret" and "The Blissfully Dead".
This book lacked the suspense and psychological edge I expected and craved.
I listened to the audiobook, expertly narrated by John Hopkins and Anna Burnett.
2 stars, rounded up.
June 13, 2025
5⭐️ positively loved it! This is the kind of book that not only makes for a captivating read but would also translate so well to the screen and you can literally see the visual movie unfold in your head as you read along.
Read it you love high life and death stakes, trapped door / locked room thrillers featuring a group of people who have no choice but to start spilling secrets.
The group in question go back to the 1990s when they were developing a dating app together, at the time they decided to lowkey combine this with a secret test for psychopathy and **something** bad enough happened to shut the whole project down.. interesting right?
Now here we are present day when they find themselves once again reuniting over a pleasant dinner that doesn’t stay pleasant for so long.
What a dynamic cast of characters as well as plot, this one moves quickly and will keep you reading until you get to the end, expect to cancel your evening plans because once you start this you genuinely won’t want to put it down, it’ll have you hooked!
This one has my full recommendation!
Thank you for the gifted copy,
Publishes : September 16th
Read it you love high life and death stakes, trapped door / locked room thrillers featuring a group of people who have no choice but to start spilling secrets.
The group in question go back to the 1990s when they were developing a dating app together, at the time they decided to lowkey combine this with a secret test for psychopathy and **something** bad enough happened to shut the whole project down.. interesting right?
Now here we are present day when they find themselves once again reuniting over a pleasant dinner that doesn’t stay pleasant for so long.
What a dynamic cast of characters as well as plot, this one moves quickly and will keep you reading until you get to the end, expect to cancel your evening plans because once you start this you genuinely won’t want to put it down, it’ll have you hooked!
This one has my full recommendation!
Thank you for the gifted copy,
Publishes : September 16th
September 13, 2025
4.5 stars. My first Mark Edwards book and I can’t wait to read more. I absolutely love a good’n scary locked-room thriller and this hit the mark.
In The Wasp Trap, Edwards takes it up a notch by introducing us to six 6️⃣ old college friends and what will soon become the most terrifying night of their lives. The six had developed a dating website back in 1999 during college.. but with a reckless TWIST involving a psychopath test.. and are now reuniting at a dinner party in honor of their late psychology professor. Unbeknownst to them they are about to become entrenched in a real game of life or death.
Invited to the lavish home of one of the original six, they are held at gunpoint and threatened to reveal their deep, darkest secret from ‘99 or.. dun dun dun.. lose their life.
Suspensive, atmospheric and very dark (yes it goes there).. this has you questioning the motive and just when you think you know.. Edwards pulls the rug out from under you. Such shocking secrets and twists, wowza, so good. And I loved the innuendo with the title, brilliant! Do recommend. Pub. 9/16/25
Thanks to Atria Books via NetGalley for the advanced reading copy! All opinions are my own.
In The Wasp Trap, Edwards takes it up a notch by introducing us to six 6️⃣ old college friends and what will soon become the most terrifying night of their lives. The six had developed a dating website back in 1999 during college.. but with a reckless TWIST involving a psychopath test.. and are now reuniting at a dinner party in honor of their late psychology professor. Unbeknownst to them they are about to become entrenched in a real game of life or death.
Invited to the lavish home of one of the original six, they are held at gunpoint and threatened to reveal their deep, darkest secret from ‘99 or.. dun dun dun.. lose their life.
Suspensive, atmospheric and very dark (yes it goes there).. this has you questioning the motive and just when you think you know.. Edwards pulls the rug out from under you. Such shocking secrets and twists, wowza, so good. And I loved the innuendo with the title, brilliant! Do recommend. Pub. 9/16/25
Thanks to Atria Books via NetGalley for the advanced reading copy! All opinions are my own.
September 20, 2025
Friends who haven’t seen each other for 25 years were invited to spend the weekend to celebrate the life of their boss who had passed.
Was that really the reason? It was more like tell your secret or die.
As a few guests arrived and stood on the porch, they heard a scream and once they were in the house, their guests dead bolted the door.
Pretty odd, and to top it off, there was no phone service.
Everything seemed cordial and casual, but all of this was concerning.
Just what was going on?
We find out once dinner was over.
The chefs who prepared the dinner are actually thieves and murderers and told the group they have to tell them the secret they were keeping from 1999 or they won't get out alive.
Everyone is dumfounded - no one has a clue what secret the chefs are talking about.
A very tense, slow-moving read at first, but once the evil characters come on the scene it picks up.
This is my first book by this author. I do have to say the book was a little too brutal for me and a bit too long, but it was well written, cleverly put together, and the tell-all at the end was good. 4/5
Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Was that really the reason? It was more like tell your secret or die.
As a few guests arrived and stood on the porch, they heard a scream and once they were in the house, their guests dead bolted the door.
Pretty odd, and to top it off, there was no phone service.
Everything seemed cordial and casual, but all of this was concerning.
Just what was going on?
We find out once dinner was over.
The chefs who prepared the dinner are actually thieves and murderers and told the group they have to tell them the secret they were keeping from 1999 or they won't get out alive.
Everyone is dumfounded - no one has a clue what secret the chefs are talking about.
A very tense, slow-moving read at first, but once the evil characters come on the scene it picks up.
This is my first book by this author. I do have to say the book was a little too brutal for me and a bit too long, but it was well written, cleverly put together, and the tell-all at the end was good. 4/5
Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
July 23, 2025
I was skeptical about this from the jump. What does a psychopath test have to do with a dating app? Why are these people all agreeing to meet up when they haven't seen each other in 20+ years and arguably wouldn't want to be there? But it didn't seem to be pulling too many silly thriller tricks, things moved along, and I thought maybe it will make it work.
It did not. Instead the piles of things that didn't make sense just continued to get larger and more numerous. And for me, that is the fastest way to get me not to care at all about your thriller. But at least Edwards' style of moving you along is better than you get from some of the bigger thriller writers. If he had a stronger plot I would have been on board.
It did not. Instead the piles of things that didn't make sense just continued to get larger and more numerous. And for me, that is the fastest way to get me not to care at all about your thriller. But at least Edwards' style of moving you along is better than you get from some of the bigger thriller writers. If he had a stronger plot I would have been on board.
November 28, 2025
"The Wasp Trap" is a solid psychological thriller with readability and tension. The premise is instantly intriguing: an unsettling, isolated environment; a creeping sense that something is off; and characters whose intentions never feel fully clear. Edwards knows how to create an atmosphere that keeps you turning pages, and the setup had me hooked quickly.
Where the book falters a bit is in its follow-through. The middle section drags, circling the same suspicions without adding much new information, and some character decisions feel more convenient than believable. The final twist is interesting but doesn’t land with the punch I hoped for; it’s clever, but not as emotionally satisfying or shocking as expected.
Still, Mark Edwards’ writing is clean and engaging, and the tension holds just enough to keep the story moving. It’s an easy, fast read with bursts of suspense and a few genuinely eerie moments.
Where the book falters a bit is in its follow-through. The middle section drags, circling the same suspicions without adding much new information, and some character decisions feel more convenient than believable. The final twist is interesting but doesn’t land with the punch I hoped for; it’s clever, but not as emotionally satisfying or shocking as expected.
Still, Mark Edwards’ writing is clean and engaging, and the tension holds just enough to keep the story moving. It’s an easy, fast read with bursts of suspense and a few genuinely eerie moments.
August 1, 2025
3.25 / 5 Stars
This thriller had a really interesting concept but the pacing was too slow for me to be anything above an “eh.” In 2024, six friends reunite in London to celebrate the life of their recently deceased ex-employer, a professor that brought them together in 1999 to help build a dating website based on psychological testing. During that summer in 1999, they also created “The Wasp Trap,” a series of tests that can assess whether someone is a psychopath (not to be used on the dating website, unfortunately). In the present time, their dinner party turns deadly when they end up being forced to reveal dark secrets or to kill each other. What are the secrets from their past and will they be able to save each other?
You will probably like this book if you like:
🐝 Dual timeline
✒️ Multiple POVs (first person for Will, third person for others)
🐝 Dinner party from hell
✒️ Everyone has a secret
🐝 Multiple intertwined relationships
✒️ 25 years since they’ve seen each other
🐝 Who is the psychopath?
I love a dual timeline, but because of the switching between 2024 and 1999, it took over 100 pages to get to the deadly twist where they have to start revealing their secrets, which felt slow to me. The information that we learned in 1999 was fascinating but that made the present day chapters feel less interesting in comparison because everything moved more slowly there. And everything got resolved too quickly at the end though I did appreciate that they acknowledged that the characters might have some sort of PTSD after their insane night together!
I generally liked and was invested in the characters. Will is our main protagonist - he was the copywriter for the dating website (the name he came up for the dating website is kind of hilariously cringing but go off, 1999 Will). We also have the other five students plus some staff. Most of the characters were pretty well developed, except for poor Rohan, who was so underdeveloped that I don’t even remember what his job in 1999 was. (Sales? IDK). And of course with a bunch of horny undergrads in a house for the summer working on a dating website, there was some romance and it got messy which was fun.
There were a lot of great twists and I do love a book about psychopaths but I want a thriller that I can’t put down and this wasn’t like that for me mostly due to pacing.
Thank you Atria Books for the ARC!
Publication Date: September 16, 2025
___________________
Pre-Read Thoughts: I need to read something other than romance.
This is a thriller about six friends reunite in London to celebrate the life of their recently deceased ex-employer, a professor that brought them together in 1999 to help build a dating website based on psychological testing. Except that they end up being forced to reveal dark secrets or to kill each other. Why? Because that the love questionnaire they made was also used to find psychopaths -- WHOOOPS. Honestly, bless their work. The LEAST we can do is weed out psychopaths on dating websites.
This thriller had a really interesting concept but the pacing was too slow for me to be anything above an “eh.” In 2024, six friends reunite in London to celebrate the life of their recently deceased ex-employer, a professor that brought them together in 1999 to help build a dating website based on psychological testing. During that summer in 1999, they also created “The Wasp Trap,” a series of tests that can assess whether someone is a psychopath (not to be used on the dating website, unfortunately). In the present time, their dinner party turns deadly when they end up being forced to reveal dark secrets or to kill each other. What are the secrets from their past and will they be able to save each other?
You will probably like this book if you like:
🐝 Dual timeline
✒️ Multiple POVs (first person for Will, third person for others)
🐝 Dinner party from hell
✒️ Everyone has a secret
🐝 Multiple intertwined relationships
✒️ 25 years since they’ve seen each other
🐝 Who is the psychopath?
I love a dual timeline, but because of the switching between 2024 and 1999, it took over 100 pages to get to the deadly twist where they have to start revealing their secrets, which felt slow to me. The information that we learned in 1999 was fascinating but that made the present day chapters feel less interesting in comparison because everything moved more slowly there. And everything got resolved too quickly at the end though I did appreciate that they acknowledged that the characters might have some sort of PTSD after their insane night together!
I generally liked and was invested in the characters. Will is our main protagonist - he was the copywriter for the dating website (the name he came up for the dating website is kind of hilariously cringing but go off, 1999 Will). We also have the other five students plus some staff. Most of the characters were pretty well developed, except for poor Rohan, who was so underdeveloped that I don’t even remember what his job in 1999 was. (Sales? IDK). And of course with a bunch of horny undergrads in a house for the summer working on a dating website, there was some romance and it got messy which was fun.
There were a lot of great twists and I do love a book about psychopaths but I want a thriller that I can’t put down and this wasn’t like that for me mostly due to pacing.
Thank you Atria Books for the ARC!
Publication Date: September 16, 2025
___________________
Pre-Read Thoughts: I need to read something other than romance.
This is a thriller about six friends reunite in London to celebrate the life of their recently deceased ex-employer, a professor that brought them together in 1999 to help build a dating website based on psychological testing. Except that they end up being forced to reveal dark secrets or to kill each other. Why? Because that the love questionnaire they made was also used to find psychopaths -- WHOOOPS. Honestly, bless their work. The LEAST we can do is weed out psychopaths on dating websites.
May 26, 2025
Pick up
THE WASP TRAP,
the new twisty thriller by Mark Edwards, and clear your schedule. Once you start, you won’t want to put it down. Fast-paced, unexpected, and devilishly devious, this is one wild ride with an ending I didn’t see coming.
September 18, 2025
I am not going to like doing this review. I’ve been a fan of Mark for many years now, I’ve read and reviewed a lot of his books and have rated most highly. Not the case with this one unfortunately.
Another reviewer commented that if they’d not seen Mark’s name on this cover they’d not believe he wrote it. I totally agree. This is not the standard of storytelling I’ve known from Mark. In saying that out of all the books I’ve read they do vary in ratings. Some I’ve really loved, some fell flat this being one of them.
Where do I begin? The plot switches between two timelines and I know the past timeline (1999) is designed to build the picture of the characters and how they all come to be sitting around a dining table in a dining room with a couple of lunatics with shotguns demanding to know a secret, or die one by one. But, I was SO bored going back there. I felt it was too wordy with very little going on until closer to the end. Then it got a bit more juicy.
The current day plot started out really interesting. I was definitely intrigued for a while then it started to get so unrealistic I was getting frustrated. The characters never really expanded so most were very hard to connect with, very one dimensional and even key figures seemed to be very peripheral.
But..then it just got ridiculously silly. Very unbelievable and at times I saw such major plot holes that didn’t make sense. It got very disjointed too, jumping timelines then throwing in new elements to confuse it more. It just was all over the place. When it got near the end and the “reveals” occurred I was so dissatisfied that it led to where it did. It felt like too much was crammed into the end part of the book and the rest of it was excruciatingly slow. If this was not Mark Edwards and my hope for a turnaround this would have been unfinished for me.
The lack of realistic storyline is what really lets this down. It’s way too far-fetched and too much mixed in. Like overkill that didn’t enhance the plot. Tied in with the non-existent character development and depth which also lets it down. It could have been a really good novel but it wasn’t for me.
I hate to rate this only 2 stars and if you’ve not read any books by Mark Edwards don’t let this one alone put you off. I’ve raved about some other books he has written. This is hopefully a temporary blip for me in my reading journey of Mark’s books. Overall it was really boring sadly. I’m going to bump up my reviews of his other books I have reviewed on Goodreads so you can compare, don’t write him off based on this review alone. Try The Magpies if not read it already.
Many thanks to Atria Books via NetGalley for my ARC.
Thanks SO much for taking a little time to read my review. Your likes and comments mean a lot to me. 😻
Feel free to add me as a friend or follow me for more book reviews. You can browse through my many great books reviewed for your next awesome book to enjoy.
If you are an Author or Publisher and you’d like me to consider reading and reviewing your book(s) please just message me.
You can also find me on Amazon UK where I am a Top 500 Reviewer.
Another reviewer commented that if they’d not seen Mark’s name on this cover they’d not believe he wrote it. I totally agree. This is not the standard of storytelling I’ve known from Mark. In saying that out of all the books I’ve read they do vary in ratings. Some I’ve really loved, some fell flat this being one of them.
Where do I begin? The plot switches between two timelines and I know the past timeline (1999) is designed to build the picture of the characters and how they all come to be sitting around a dining table in a dining room with a couple of lunatics with shotguns demanding to know a secret, or die one by one. But, I was SO bored going back there. I felt it was too wordy with very little going on until closer to the end. Then it got a bit more juicy.
The current day plot started out really interesting. I was definitely intrigued for a while then it started to get so unrealistic I was getting frustrated. The characters never really expanded so most were very hard to connect with, very one dimensional and even key figures seemed to be very peripheral.
But..then it just got ridiculously silly. Very unbelievable and at times I saw such major plot holes that didn’t make sense. It got very disjointed too, jumping timelines then throwing in new elements to confuse it more. It just was all over the place. When it got near the end and the “reveals” occurred I was so dissatisfied that it led to where it did. It felt like too much was crammed into the end part of the book and the rest of it was excruciatingly slow. If this was not Mark Edwards and my hope for a turnaround this would have been unfinished for me.
The lack of realistic storyline is what really lets this down. It’s way too far-fetched and too much mixed in. Like overkill that didn’t enhance the plot. Tied in with the non-existent character development and depth which also lets it down. It could have been a really good novel but it wasn’t for me.
I hate to rate this only 2 stars and if you’ve not read any books by Mark Edwards don’t let this one alone put you off. I’ve raved about some other books he has written. This is hopefully a temporary blip for me in my reading journey of Mark’s books. Overall it was really boring sadly. I’m going to bump up my reviews of his other books I have reviewed on Goodreads so you can compare, don’t write him off based on this review alone. Try The Magpies if not read it already.
Many thanks to Atria Books via NetGalley for my ARC.
Thanks SO much for taking a little time to read my review. Your likes and comments mean a lot to me. 😻
Feel free to add me as a friend or follow me for more book reviews. You can browse through my many great books reviewed for your next awesome book to enjoy.
If you are an Author or Publisher and you’d like me to consider reading and reviewing your book(s) please just message me.
You can also find me on Amazon UK where I am a Top 500 Reviewer.
August 25, 2025
First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Mark Edwards, and Penguin Random House (Canada) for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.
Always eager to tackle books by Mark Edwards, I eagerly accepted this ARC. Edwards presents another great psychological thriller that pulls the reader in from the opening pages and does not let go for a moment. A dinner party of former work colleagues appears to focus on the death of their mentor. However, things take a turn and their pasts begin to haunt them. Mark Edwards delivers a gripping story that has all the elements of a great read!
After twenty-five years apart, six friends gather for a quaint dinner party to remember their mentor. Their dinner in Nottingham Hill is meant to fete their work on a website that sought to explore psychological testing back in 1999. However, something soon appears amiss.
As the night progresses, the past comes to haunt the guests. Someone in the house has a vendetta to settle and begins putting guns to the heads of the guests, seeking that they share their darkest secrets or face death. What’s worse, it will be at the hands of the other guests in the house.
A shared past has surely awoken an angry wasp-like sentiment. What could this be and how will it resolve itself before everyone is killed? A chilling story that keeps the reader on the edge of their seats and flipping pages well into the night.
I find much entertainment when Mark Edwards is on point. He is able to pull out something dark and twisted in the most apparently mundane situations. Edwards takes hold of the narrative from the opening pages and spins it into an effective story, making the most of what lays before him. As things increase in intensity, he adds worthy characters whose backstories are essential to the central components of the piece. Tossing in some plot points that have needed twists and there is little to stop Edwards from being successful with this psychological thriller. I am hear to see where things are headed!
Kudos, Mr. Edwards, for a great story!
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at: http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
Always eager to tackle books by Mark Edwards, I eagerly accepted this ARC. Edwards presents another great psychological thriller that pulls the reader in from the opening pages and does not let go for a moment. A dinner party of former work colleagues appears to focus on the death of their mentor. However, things take a turn and their pasts begin to haunt them. Mark Edwards delivers a gripping story that has all the elements of a great read!
After twenty-five years apart, six friends gather for a quaint dinner party to remember their mentor. Their dinner in Nottingham Hill is meant to fete their work on a website that sought to explore psychological testing back in 1999. However, something soon appears amiss.
As the night progresses, the past comes to haunt the guests. Someone in the house has a vendetta to settle and begins putting guns to the heads of the guests, seeking that they share their darkest secrets or face death. What’s worse, it will be at the hands of the other guests in the house.
A shared past has surely awoken an angry wasp-like sentiment. What could this be and how will it resolve itself before everyone is killed? A chilling story that keeps the reader on the edge of their seats and flipping pages well into the night.
I find much entertainment when Mark Edwards is on point. He is able to pull out something dark and twisted in the most apparently mundane situations. Edwards takes hold of the narrative from the opening pages and spins it into an effective story, making the most of what lays before him. As things increase in intensity, he adds worthy characters whose backstories are essential to the central components of the piece. Tossing in some plot points that have needed twists and there is little to stop Edwards from being successful with this psychological thriller. I am hear to see where things are headed!
Kudos, Mr. Edwards, for a great story!
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at: http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
February 26, 2025
OH MY GOODNESS! What can I say about The Wasp Trap?
This was a very, very easy 5 stars. I couldn't put it down. I got takeaway for dinner so I didn't have to stop reading!!
The Wasp Trap is a story about a psychopath. But the question is, who is the psychopath? And what do they want?
More than that, it's a story about friendship, betrayal, lies, family, unrequited love and a few other things.
We hear stories about a group of friends from two time periods: 1999, the summer it all went wrong, and 2024, 'now'. But unlike some stories that constantly switch between time periods, this works really well. It switches every few chapters, so there's time in between to understand what's happening.
A married couple invite their old friends to a dinner party, many of them haven't been in touch since 1999. Before too long, they'll all regret having accepted it.
The suspense, creepiness, foreboding and mystery that is weaved throughout this story is pretty incredible. Everything was done SO WELL. There are twists upon twists and if you tell me you saw them coming, I wouldn't believe you!
As I was reading, I kept thinking, 'this is where X book went wrong' or 'if only X book was written like this'... I compared The Wasp Trap to so many stories I'd read lately that simply didn't work for me, and I think I will continue to do so in the future, because it is just SO GOOD. Mark Edwards knows how to write the perfect crime/mystery/suspense novel and I'd recommend this book to absolutely anyone who's looking for something more.
You won't regret it.
A huge thank you to NetGalley, Michael Joseph and Mark Edwards for the ARC - I feel very privileged.
This was a very, very easy 5 stars. I couldn't put it down. I got takeaway for dinner so I didn't have to stop reading!!
The Wasp Trap is a story about a psychopath. But the question is, who is the psychopath? And what do they want?
More than that, it's a story about friendship, betrayal, lies, family, unrequited love and a few other things.
We hear stories about a group of friends from two time periods: 1999, the summer it all went wrong, and 2024, 'now'. But unlike some stories that constantly switch between time periods, this works really well. It switches every few chapters, so there's time in between to understand what's happening.
A married couple invite their old friends to a dinner party, many of them haven't been in touch since 1999. Before too long, they'll all regret having accepted it.
The suspense, creepiness, foreboding and mystery that is weaved throughout this story is pretty incredible. Everything was done SO WELL. There are twists upon twists and if you tell me you saw them coming, I wouldn't believe you!
As I was reading, I kept thinking, 'this is where X book went wrong' or 'if only X book was written like this'... I compared The Wasp Trap to so many stories I'd read lately that simply didn't work for me, and I think I will continue to do so in the future, because it is just SO GOOD. Mark Edwards knows how to write the perfect crime/mystery/suspense novel and I'd recommend this book to absolutely anyone who's looking for something more.
You won't regret it.
A huge thank you to NetGalley, Michael Joseph and Mark Edwards for the ARC - I feel very privileged.
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