The Wasp Trap is an absolutely thrilling, tautly plotted puzzle of a novel by Mark Edwards. The first timeline of this double-locked-room mystery takes place in July 1999. A group of recent college graduates are gathered at a country estate outside London by a charismatic psychology professor to work around the clock on a dating website. In truth, they also work at developing a test to identify psychopaths (their mentor's first interest). "The lothario. The salesman. The affluent couple, the joker and the local girl. Finally, me, the wordsmith, whose role was to write it all down. If any of us were a psychopath, I already had a good idea who it would be." The bulk of the novel is narrated by Will, an aspiring writer who often feels trapped on the outside.
Twenty-five years later, to commemorate the death of their former employer, the "affluent couple" of the original project hosts their old friends for a lavish dinner party in their high-security Notting Hill townhouse. But immediately the evening shifts from awkward to nightmarish, part home invasion and part sinister game. The group is commanded to reveal a secret from the storied summer of '99. Each dinner guest denies knowing what information is sought, but each, of course, does harbor secrets. The once tight-knit group fractures amid secret and not-so-secret sexual tensions, financial pressures, and old jealousies, especially with a suspected psychopath or two in their midst.
Offering twists and turns and surprises through his novel's final pages, Edwards executes a highly satisfying thriller with this intriguing blend of terror and nostalgia for youth and freer, more hopeful times. --Julia Kastner, blogger at pagesofjulia