Don't Trust Anyone!

TITLE: The Wasp Trap

AUTHOR: Mark Edwards

PUBLISHER: Atria Books

PUBLISHING DATE: September 16, 2025

PAGES: 327   

SOURCE: Library

FROM GOODREADS: 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 when the old friends find themselves held at gunpoint. They 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 The Wasp Trap. This 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.

MY THOUGHTS: If you love a good thriller where you have some truly despicable characters you are going to love to hate, this might be the book for you.  It is the first book I've read by the author, but I will definitely be checking out his backlist for more to add to my backlist.

Will and his post-college friends haven't seen each other in 25 years.  Following college, all six of them spent the summer at a reclusive professor's estate working on a dating app called Butterfly.net.  Soon though, the dating app wasn't enough and a side project, a test to see if someone is actually a sociopath, starts taking shape.  One night, during project ending celebration, something tragic happens and the project dissolves and everyone is sent home.  

Fast forward and the professor has passed away. Georgina and Theo, who married after that summer, and who are probably the most successful of the group have invited everyone to their home for a dinner and celebration of Professor Marlowe's life.  When they arrive, everyone soon realizes they have unpacked baggage and secrets from years ago.  In fact, Georgina and Theo have a college aged daughter themselves who has recently disappeared.  As the evening goes on, they gang finds themselves being held hostage by the chef catering the party and his assistant. They are demanding that someone in the group is holding a secret and unless they spill it, no one may make it out alive.  The problem is, there are so many secrets from that summer how will they know which is the right one?

This book was a lot of fun, and I basically read the whole thing one Sunday afternoon.  I found it hard to put down, in part because I love an alternating timeline and in part because this group of individuals was one hot mess.  Edwards managed to surprise me with some reveals as well as more than one twist and turn. The ending might be predictable to some, but it caught me off guard, furthering cementing my belief that I need to read more by this author. 

If you are looking for a solid lock-roomed mystery, then I definitely feel this is one you should grab.

MY RATING: 5 PAWS