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Catherine Ryan Howard

Biography

Catherine Ryan Howard

Catherine Ryan Howard is an award-winning, #1 bestselling thriller writer from Cork, Ireland. Her work has been shortlisted for the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best Novel, the UK Crime Writers Association John Creasey/New Blood and Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Awards, and the An Post Irish Crime Fiction Book of the Year multiple times.

Her novels have been included in The New York Times Best Thrillers of the Year, The Washington Post’s Best Mysteries and Thrillers of the Year, and The Sunday Times (London)’s Best Thrillers of the Year. She is published in 20 languages, and a number of her titles have been optioned for the screen. 

Catherine’s fifth novel, 56 DAYS, won the An Post Irish Crime Fiction Book of the Year and was longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, the world’s most valuable annual literary prize. A screen adaptation starring Dove Cameron and Avan Jogia debuted exclusively on Amazon Prime Video in early 2026.

Prior to writing full time, Catherine worked for a travel company in the Netherlands and in Walt Disney World, Florida. She lives in Dublin.

Catherine Ryan Howard

Books by Catherine Ryan Howard

by Catherine Ryan Howard - Domestic Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Thriller, Women's Fiction

When Ellie moves to 1 Delaney Row, she hopes to find a fresh start --- a place where no one knows her name, her history or her secrets. But what she doesn’t know is that her new home is already hiding someone else’s secrets --- and the people determined to keep them are watching her. As Ellie starts to unravel the house’s disturbing backstory, coming closer to the shocking mystery at its center, she unwittingly puts herself on a deadly collision course not just with her new home’s history, but with her own as well.

by Catherine Ryan Howard - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

One year ago, Lucy’s sister, Nicki, left to meet friends at a pub in Dublin and never came home. The third Irish woman to vanish inexplicably in as many years, the agony of not knowing what happened that night has turned Lucy’s life into a waking nightmare. So she’s going to take matters into her own hands. Angela works as a civilian paper-pusher in the Missing Persons Unit, but wants nothing more than to be a fully fledged member of An Garda Síochána, the Irish police force. With the official investigation into the missing women stalled, she begins pulling on a thread that could break the case wide open --- and destroy her chances of ever joining the force. A nameless man drives through the night, his latest victim in the back seat. He’s going to tell her everything, from the beginning.

by Catherine Ryan Howard - Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Feeling her stardom fading, struggling soap actress Adele Rafferty is ready to give up on her dreams when she gets a last-minute offer to play the lead in an upcoming horror film, Final Draft. Could this be her big break? Will she have redemption for what happened the last time she was on a film set? Adele doesn’t think twice before signing on the dotted line. Adele quickly makes her way to the set, deep into the isolated and wintry woods of West Cork, Ireland, miles away from civilization and cell service. When real life on the set starts to somehow mirror the sinister events portrayed in the script, Adele fears the real horror lies off the page. Isolated and unsure who in the crew she can trust, is there anywhere or any time left to run?

by Catherine Ryan Howard - Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

56 days ago. Ciara and Oliver meet in a supermarket queue in Dublin and start dating the same week COVID-19 reaches Irish shores. 35 days ago. When lockdown threatens to keep them apart, Oliver suggests they move in together. Ciara sees a unique opportunity for a relationship to flourish without the scrutiny of family and friends. Oliver sees a chance to hide who --- and what --- he really is. Today. Detectives arrive at Oliver's apartment to discover a decomposing body inside. Can they determine what really happened, or has lockdown created an opportunity for someone to commit the perfect crime?