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Catherine Ryan Howard

Goodreads Author

Born

in Cork, Ireland

Website

http://www.catherineryanhoward.com

Twitter

cathryanhoward

Genre

Thriller, Crime

Member Since

March 2010

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/cathryanhoward

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Catherine Ryan Howard is an internationally bestselling crime writer from Cork, Ireland. Her debut novel, DISTRESS SIGNALS, was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey/New Blood Dagger. THE LIAR'S GIRL (2018) was shortlisted for the Edgar Award for Best Novel. REWIND (2019) was shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year and is currently being developed for screen by Clerkenwell Films (Misfits, Lovesick, The End of the F***ing World.) THE NOTHING MAN was a no. 1 Irish Times bestseller and a no. 1 Kindle bestseller (UK) and was shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year. Her next novel, 56 DAYS, will be published in August 2021. It is a thriller set in lockdown that Catherine wrote while she was in lockdown.

Prior to writing full-time, Cat ...more

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Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Catherine Ryan Howard In November 2011 the Guardian newspaper in the UK/Ireland had a cover story in their 'Weekend' magazine about a British woman who had disappeared from…moreIn November 2011 the Guardian newspaper in the UK/Ireland had a cover story in their 'Weekend' magazine about a British woman who had disappeared from a Disney cruise ship. My mother had read it and saved it for me because I used to work in Walt Disney World in Orlando and she thought the Disney connection would interest me. The story was tragic and unsettling - but what really struck me about the piece was that it mentioned something called the International Cruise Victims organisation, a U.S.-based lobby group. I'd never been on a cruise at that stage, but I had what I think are typical ideas about cruise holidays: sun, fun and endless buffets at sea. So what was this group about? Victims of what? And why were there so many of them that this group (clearly) needed to exist? I started researching cruise ship disappearances and maritime law, and what I discovered shocked me. Another part of my brain, the wannabe-crime-writer part of my brain, also thought, 'A cruise ship is the perfect place to get away with murder.' That's how the idea for DISTRESS SIGNALS was born.(less)

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Catherine Ryan Howard

This answer contains spoilers… (view spoiler)[ A number of readers have asked me to confirm the how the two storylines in DISTRESS SIGNALS (the present day with Adam vs the past with Corinne/Romain…more A number of readers have asked me to confirm the how the two storylines in DISTRESS SIGNALS (the present day with Adam vs the past with Corinne/Romain) are connected. They have their own theories and as I believe books belong to their readers, whatever they think is right! But when I was writing it, here's what *I* was thinking...

Adam's girlfriend goes missing and he traces her to a cruise ship - the Celebrate. He also finds a man - Peter - whose wife Estelle went missing in very similar circumstances almost exactly a year ago. ***SPOILER*** Peter tells Adam his theory of what happened to them: that they were murdered by a serial killer who's discovered that a cruise ship is the perfect hunting ground. ***EVEN BIGGER SPOILER*** His basis for this is that a third woman, a crew member called Sanne, died in suspicious circumstances on one of the ship's earliest voyages. Romain's storyline leads up to Sanne's death - explaining how he came to be the way he is, and how and why he killed Sanne. ***MASSIVE SPOILER NOW*** But of course, Peter really only has two women who fit his theory: Sanne and Estelle. And so, without Sanne - and that alternate storyline - Peter would have no serial killer theory at all. In fact, it's Sanne's death that started this entire tragedy. Without her, Peter might never have got it in his head that Estelle was murdered and he might never have taken such drastic action to ***REALLY, THIS IS ABOUT TO RUIN THE ENDING FOR YOU IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT, SERIOUSLY GUYS*** bring the FBI, the experts in serial killing, to the ship. The really sad thing is that Romain was dead before Estelle even disappeared, and readers who got to THE END will know where Estelle went. So there was no need for this tragedy to happen, no reason for Adam to suffer and absolutely no reason for Sarah ****SERIOUSLY, SPOILERS!!!**** die.

That's how they're connected. (less) (hide spoiler)]

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Catherine Ryan Howard’s books

Average rating: 3.94 · 33,178 ratings · 4,863 reviews · 17 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Liar's Girl 3.92 avg rating — 11,106 ratings — published 2018 — 28 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Nothing Man 4.22 avg rating — 7,445 ratings — published 2020 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Distress Signals 3.85 avg rating — 5,113 ratings — published 2016 — 21 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	56 Days 3.88 avg rating — 5,051 ratings — expected publication 2021 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Rewind 3.74 avg rating — 2,442 ratings — published 2019 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Backpacked: A Reluctant Trip Across Central America 3.68 avg rating — 773 ratings — published 2011 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mousetrapped 3.53 avg rating — 768 ratings — published 2010 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Results Not Typical 3.45 avg rating — 165 ratings — published 2011 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Self-Printed: The Sane Person's Guide to Self-Publishing: How to Use Digital Self-Publishing, Social Media and Common Sense to Start Earning A Living ... or Shouting 'Down With The Big Six!') 4.54 avg rating — 180 ratings — published 2011 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	More Mousetrapped: A Little Bit More From That Year and A Bit 3.60 avg rating — 55 ratings — published 2012 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Catherine Ryan Howard's Blog

Watch the REWIND Book Trailer

Greetings from the road! I’m in the last week of what feels like a month of travelling: I went from a week teaching crime writing at West Cork Lit Fest to a fun-filled 24 hours at Harrogate, to Geneva to teach plotting at a writing retreat on Lake Annecy to, as of today, officially being on holiday somewhere sunny. (And… relax.) But I wanted to share with you the utterly amazing – and seriously cr

Catherine’s Writing

Opening of BACKPACKED: A Reluctant Trip Across Central America (Select)

1 chapters — updated Sep 03, 2011 03:58PM

Description: The prologue of my new travel memoir, BACKPACKED. A flash-forward to half-way through my trip and the middle of a night in the dusty, hot town of Choluteca, Honduras, I wonder how it is that I, the most reluctant backpacker ever, ended up here...

Chapter One of Mousetrapped: A Year and A Bit in Orlando, Florida (Travel)

1 chapters — updated Mar 27, 2010 11:12AM

Description: The story of how I came to be working in Walt Disney World is actually all Stephen King's fault. Yes, THAT Stephen King. No, really. Well, him and the Ebola virus. It's a long story...

Catherine is Currently Reading

Catherine Howard is currently reading

Six Stories (Six Stories, #1)

by Matt Wesolowski (Goodreads Author)

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Apr 25, 2017 02:26PM

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Catherine’s Recent Updates

Catherine Howard answered A Goodreads user's question: I was curious about the line in "The Nothing Man" that states Cork residents in 1990 were ready and willing to talk to police and respected the uniform. However, in Northern Ireland during the Troubles that went through the 1980s, people never talked to police. Were the attitudes toward police that much different? Yes - we're talking about two different countries and two different police forces.
Mar 23, 2021 04:25AM · 1 like · like

Catherine Howard answered A Goodreads user's question:

I was curious about the line in "The Nothing Man" that states Cork residents in 1990 were ready and willing to talk to police and respected the uniform. However, in Northern Ireland during the Troubles that went through the 1980s, people never talked to police. Were the attitudes toward police that much different?

Yes - we're talking about two different countries and two different police forces.

Mar 23, 2021 04:25AM · 1 like · like

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Quotes by Catherine Ryan Howard

“[P]ersonally, I know I’d prefer to read an honest review by someone who has no reason to lie, than a book reviewer who has an employer and a publishing house to keep happy.”
― Catherine Ryan Howard

tags: bloggers, reviewers, reviews

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“These are no dark magicians. They have no special skills. People seem to forget that we know their names because they got caught. In fact, the only remarkable thing about them is what they took from the world: their victims. It’s their names we should know.”
― Catherine Ryan Howard, The Nothing Man

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“I didn’t want to go but I had no choice in the matter. I was too young and too numb to recall the journey, leaving me utterly lost, disoriented, and unable to find my way back. I’m still here. Until recently, I had resigned myself to the fact that I would be forever. But something unexpected has happened. A visitor has arrived and he knows the way back. He says he’ll take me with him. We leave soon. I’m finally getting to go home.”
― Catherine Ryan Howard, The Nothing Man

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Polls

Voting for March 2021 Group Read - A three word title

The Night Whistler by Greg Woodland

7 votes, 23.3%

The Escape Room by Megan Goldin

6 votes, 20.0%

Death in Delft by Graham Brack

4 votes, 13.3%

Tell Me Lies by J.P. Pomare

4 votes, 13.3%

Bitter Wash Road by Garry Disher

3 votes, 10.0%

The Nothing Man by Catherine Ryan Howard

2 votes, 6.7%

The Shadow Man by Helen Fields

2 votes, 6.7%

A Fatal Obsession by Faith Martin

1 vote, 3.3%

Truth and Lies by Caroline Mitchell

1 vote, 3.3%

Keep You Near by Robin Roughley

0 votes, 0.0%

The Athenian Murders by José Carlos Somoza

0 votes, 0.0%

The Fourth Monkey by J.D. Barker

0 votes, 0.0%

30 total votes

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Around the World ...: Gail - ATW - 2013 frequent flyer	89	99	Dec 28, 2013 09:28AM
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The Seasonal Read...: Fall Challenge 2015: Completed Tasks (DO NOT DELETE POSTS)	3284	576	Nov 30, 2015 09:01PM
Goodreads Ireland: Aug-Oct Quarterly Nominations	20	37	Jul 23, 2016 04:14PM
A Good Thriller: PIFM - October 2016 Read	19	74	Sep 19, 2016 10:16AM
Goodreads Ireland: Aug-Oct: Distress Signals	19	52	Nov 23, 2016 09:32PM

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Catherine’s Quotes

“The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.”
― Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams

tags: hope

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