The Trap

Howard’s propulsive new thriller (after Run Time) is inspired by a spate of unsolved disappearances in Ireland in the 1990s. The author examines the devastating effects of “not knowing” for the families of disappeared women. Lucy O’Sullivan’s sister Nicki left a Dublin pub a year earlier and never came home. Every waking moment of Lucy’s life since is an obsessive and reckless drive to “trap” the killer and find out what happened to Nicki, as well as three other women who the Irish police believe are connected. Lucy makes herself into bait on dark, lonesome roads to attract the women’s killer and gain the dangerous knowledge that could potentially make her his next victim. Meanwhile, Angela Fitzgerald—a civilian working for the Missing Persons Unit—comes into possession of a bloody clue that hints at a fifth victim. She teams up with detective Denise Pope to find answers, hoping that her instincts will earn her a spot with the An Garda Síochána, the Irish police force.