The Trap

catherine ryan howard's “the trap” starts off with an intriguing idea—a mystery inspired by real disappearances that had me hooked from the beginning. i was hoping for a real page-turner, but things didn't quite pan out that way by the end.

the story takes us through different viewpoints, which i thought would be exciting, but honestly, it didn't really grab me. i was often confused on who's perspective i was reading from especially in the beginning of the story. i think if you read synopsis more in-depth before you start a book, you'd be fine but i like to go in only knowing a view buzzwords specificlaly for thrillers.

lucy and nicki, the main characters, didn't come across as real as i hoped they would. lucy's hunt for her missing sister felt kinda weak, and nicki's character just left me puzzled.

at first, i was curious to see where everything was headed, but the excitement sort of fell off during the first half. the writing was nice and all, but the story just didn't come to life. the potential i saw at the start seemed just fizzled out. just when things seemed like they were picking up, it was too late to reignite my interest in the story.

i'm still kinda stuck on the big twist at the end, i could see it being a good ending but i think just with the rest of the story being so slow and boring, the ending didn't really impact me. the journey to get there was a bit of a letdown. it felt like the twist was tossed in without much connection to the slow build-up. there were parts of the story that seemed important but ended up not really mattering at all. it overall just left me with a sour taste in my mouth.

looking back, “the trap” had potential but sadly it stumbled when it came to putting it all together in a way that worked. while i give props to the author for trying something ambitious, i was really hoping for a more exciting and well-crafted story. this one could've been a real rollercoaster, but instead, it left me wanting more.