With The Wasp Trap, Mark Edwards takes two very common crime fiction tropes, merges them, and then turns them on their heads—creating one gripping read in the process. The first trope is the closed circle of suspects: a group of people in an isolated locale who are trapped without hope of rescue anytime soon. In the case of The Wasp Trap, it’s a group of friends/co-workers gathering for an evening of reflection after the passing of their former employer. The second trope is the split timeline with secrets from the past: you know the deal, alternating chapters from the past and present with each providing the occasional shocking revelation that changes the course of the novel. Here, Mark Edwards reveals that these friends have been out of communication since their summer employment ended quite suddenly twenty-five years earlier, but each of them only know part of the story.
Back in 1999, six individuals were hired by Sebastian Marlowe to help with the development of a new dating app, one that was guaranteed to revolutionize the way people picked their partners, by delving beneath the surface traits to match personalities. These strangers were required to live on-site at the Marlowe residence for that entire summer, so quickly strangers turned to friends. With each bringing a different skill to the table (for example, the novel’s main narrator was in charge of writing most of the copy needed for the app/marketing, while another was responsible for the coding needed for functionality, etc.), so you can imagine that the desire to be the “teacher’s pet” was high among these upstarts.
Now, after Sebastian’s passing, the group has reassembled to mourn, but also to analyze exactly what happened that summer. The evening starts like any other, before quickly devolving into a life-or-death situation tied to the events of the past. You see, the dating app questionnaire was also useful in ferreting out psychopathic traits in individuals—ostensibly as a way to avoid dating them, but could it have been used for more nefarious purposes?
The Wasp Trap also blurs the line between mystery, domestic suspense, and thriller. Fans of traditional mystery plots will find their reading compelled by a desire to know why the employment opportunity ended so quickly that summer in 1999. Meanwhile, domestic suspense fans will relish the tangled web of relationships amongst this group of people—both what is known at the start and what is exposed as the evening progresses. And lastly, for readers who love the ticking timebomb of the classic thriller, this novel’s set-up more than provides that element—though telling you about it would be too much of a spoiler. Suffice to say, there are chapters that are so intense, many readers will need a break before being able to continue reading.
Mark Edwards has planted many surprises along the journey of reading The Wasp Trap. Veteran crime fiction fanatics will no doubt guess a few of the developments along the way—which actually helps to ratchet up the suspense—but every reader is bound to be blindsided by at least one or two of the secrets this group holds. If you are looking for the type of book that grabs hold and doesn’t let go until everything is revealed, Mark Edwards’ The Wasp Trap is exactly what you are looking for.
BUY LINKS: The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards
