Suspense | Book Chatter

The Wasp Trap
By Mark Edwards
Atria, September 16, 2025, 336pp.

The Short of It:

A dishy little read about old friends, some enemies and secrets.

The Rest of It:

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. ~the publisher

The Wasp Trap alternates between present day and 25 years in the past. These folks are techies working on a dating app but in doing so, they live together with the company’s owner in a rambling house. There, friendships are forged and relationships are built. But that’s not the only thing going on there.

Fast forward to 25 years later. They’ve been invited to a dinner party and the old gang is reunited but not everyone feels wonderful about the event. Grudges, hurt feelings and the fact that their hosts seem overly successful feels like a bit of show.

Theo and Georgina are married now with two teens. Money is clearly not a problem for them. As each of the guests arrive, they can’t help but notice the extravagance of the place. Theo and Georgina have their own issues though. One of their daughters went missing, and the other is sifting through secrets and trying to put clues together to find her missing sister.

This is a crazy read. I’m all for dinner party drama but the party quickly goes south, even before the food is served. Edwards wastes NO time introducing the threat which takes over the entire party. Someone has a secret and someone needs to spill it in order to survive.

Why? How does the secret play into the story? Who does it affect exactly? How can they get out of this when no one can be trusted? These are the questions that you’ll ask as you read this tightly wound story.

I’ll give you my take. I didn’t care for any of these characters. Some are vapid. Some seem to be accessories like a bangle on your wrist. Others are a bit more complex but we don’t spend enough time with those characters. The missing girl story is interesting but getting to it, the path to that plot thread was a little weak in my opinion.

Parts of the story are too convenient. I did enjoy picking it up to read but often I wondered where it was going. If you need a fast-paced closed door type of read, like for a plane, this would be good.

Otherwise, you might find yourself getting frustrated with the plot and the convenience of how it all wraps up.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

Bright Young Women
By Jessica Knoll
S&s/ Marysue Rucci Books, 9781501153235, August 2024, 400pp.

The Short of It:

A killer, a house full of sorority girls, what could go wrong?

The Rest of It:

Plenty! Knoll wastes no time, we learn very early on what happened to those sorority girls, we just don’t know who did it. Pamela, the sorority president takes her role very seriously. In the aftermath of what’s happened, she feels the weight of the world on her shoulders. Contact the parents, get the other girls to safety, talk to the police and yes, the press.

She is the only one who saw his face. As a law students, she knows the importance of this and knows that cases can go sideways quickly. For that to happen though, they have to have the suspect in custody.

That’s where Tina comes in. She shows up out of nowhere, offers to help. Offers a place to stay. Gives Pamela pointers on who to talk to in the press and who to steer clear from. Tina is a problem. She lost her friend Ruth years earlier and has been hell bent on finding her killer. Tina’s instincts and intentions seem good but is she taking Pamela down the wrong path? Plus, Tina has a horrible reputation with law enforcement so her friendship with Pamela is questioned.

I was very invested in this story for the first half. The details as they unraveled piqued my interest. Pamela is a strong, likable character but Tina is not and her opinions take up much of the story. I also felt that although Pamela’s closeness to one of the victims is what drives her to look for her killer, I did not know enough about the girl to really care for her. Sure, no one wants someone to be murdered but besides her being a sorority sister, what gives?

The author makes some decisions with some of the characters that raised my eyebrows. They felt like an addendum rather than part of the story. Kind of tacked on for mystery’s sake. I didn’t care for it. Also, the sexual orientation of the girls was woven into the story, but I’m not sure it was needed or if it brought anything else to the story, really. My opinion.

My book club chose this book for January’s meeting. I really liked that first half but it left me a little frustrated by the end. I looked back at another book by this author, Luckiest Girl Alive, and felt the same way.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

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