The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards

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🐝🕷️ The Wasp Trap Review – A Twisty Dinner Party from Hell ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

⚠️ Trigger Warnings

Before we dive in, here’s what to expect:

  • Graphic violence & murder

  • Death (including child death)

  • Sexual assault

  • Emotional & physical abuse

  • Substance use

  • Strong language

  • Psychological trauma

📚 Overview of The Wasp Trap

The Wasp Trap (2025) by Mark Edwards is a psychological thriller that takes a familiar premise—a reunion dinner party gone horribly wrong—and absolutely runs wild with it.

We’ve seen this setup before:
A group of people. A shared past. A secluded setting. Secrets. Lies. Someone dies. 🍷🔪

But honestly? It never gets old. Because the magic of this trope is that it can go anywhere. And this book? It goes everywhere.

😏 Why This Trope Still Works (And Always Will)

There’s something irresistible about:

  • “Which one of you is hiding something?” energy

  • The slow unraveling of past sins

  • The paranoia of no one being trustworthy

Sometimes the host is behind it.
Sometimes it’s a guest.
Sometimes it’s everyone.
Sometimes it’s the person you least expect 😬.

And The Wasp Trap leans all the way into that chaos.

🤯 My Thoughts (Spoiler-Free Section)

I was completely hooked.

There are SO MANY mysteries layered into this story:

  • What happened to the Butterfly Net project?

  • What secret are Callum and Amber hunting?

  • What really happened to Olivia?

  • Why does everything feel… off?

It made this book insanely bingeable. Like, “just one more chapter” until suddenly it’s 2 a.m. and your life choices are questionable 😅

And the twists??
I didn’t see any of them coming.

🚨 SPOILER WARNING 🚨

From here on out: FULL SPOILERS, including the ending!

🧠 Full Plot Summary (Spoilers & Ending Explained)

🏡 1999: The Setup

Six young people are brought together at Thornwood estate by Professor Marlowe to develop a revolutionary dating site called Butterfly Net.

The group:

  • Lily

  • Sophie

  • Georgina

  • Rohan

  • Theo

  • Will

Meanwhile, Lily secretly develops a psychological test to identify psychopaths—The Wasp Trap 🐝

Things go sideways when:

  • Lily discovers Dominic is likely a psychopath

  • She witnesses him murder Eve

  • She drowns him in the lake (or so she thinks…)

Marlowe covers everything up. Project canceled. Everyone sent home.

🕰️ Present Day: The Dinner Party From Hell

25 years later, the group reunites at Theo and Georgina’s ultra-secure home.

Things get weird fast:

  • Tech malfunctions 📵

  • Doors lock 🔒

  • Strange noises echo 👀

Then BOOM—
Callum and Amber pull guns and take everyone hostage.

Their demand?
👉 Reveal a secret from 1999.

And if it’s not the right secret?
💀 Someone dies.

🔥 The Confessions Begin

Secrets spill:

  • Theo admits to blackmail → killed anyway

  • Will confesses an affair → not enough

  • Lily reveals Dominic’s “death” and Eve’s murder

Still not enough.

Then…
😳 Dominic walks in. ALIVE.

🧩 The Truth About Dominic

Turns out:

  • Dominic survived the attack

  • Marlowe helped cover up Eve’s murder

  • Dominic has been Marlowe's research subject ever since

Dominic teams up with Callum and Amber to uncover a final secret—one that could destroy his future. After spending more than twenty years as Professor Marlowe’s psychological “lab rat,” Dominic is set to inherit Marlowe’s entire estate. But on his deathbed, Marlowe reveals a chilling detail: someone witnessed the disposal of Eve’s body.

Now paranoid that this unknown witness could expose him—and cost him both his inheritance and his freedom—Dominic hires Callum to orchestrate the deadly dinner party. The plan is simple in theory and brutal in execution: force the group to confess until the witness reveals themselves. In return, Dominic promises Callum a share of the inheritance… assuming they survive long enough to claim it.

👀 Meanwhile… Mia’s Investigation

Theo and Georgina’s daughter Mia has been secretly investigating her missing sister, Olivia.

She:

  • Hires a detective (Finn)

  • Discovers connections to Thornwood

  • Finds a hidden passageway

Inside?
👉 A trunk full of secrets… including Olivia’s diary.

💀 The Real Twist (And It’s a BIG One)

Ready?

👉 Georgina is the real psychopath.

  • She switched her psychopathy test results with Dominic’s

  • She was the witness to hiding Eve's body and blackmailed Professor Marlowe with the info

  • And worst of all…

👉 She murdered her own daughter, Olivia.

Yeah. That’s the moment your jaw hits the floor.

🔫 Final Showdown

Chaos erupts:

  • Georgina kills Callum and Amber

  • Dominic shoots Sophie

  • Will knocks Dominic out

Then Mia confronts her mother with the truth.

Georgina:

  • Fully admits everything

  • Plans to kill everyone to cover it up

But Mia?
💥 Knocks her out cold.

🚪 The Ending

  • Survivors escape

  • Georgina and Dominic are arrested

  • Sophie survives

  • Will and Sophie finally get together ❤️

And Mia?

😶 She takes the psychopathy test herself.

Because after everything…

She needs to know.

😱 Final Thoughts

This book delivered EVERYTHING:

  • Unpredictable twists (Dominic being alive?? I gasped)

  • A truly chilling villain (Georgina = nightmare fuel)

  • Multiple layered mysteries

  • A fast, addictive pace

It’s one of those thrillers where every time you think you understand what’s happening…
Nope. Think again.

⭐ Rating: 5 Stars

Absolutely devoured this. No notes. No complaints. Just vibes and chaos.

📖 If You Loved This, Read These Next:

  • The Guest List by Lucy Foley

  • The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

  • The Dinner Party by Nina Manning

  • One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

  • The Magpies by Mark Edwards

If you love:
✔️ Locked-room tension
✔️ Dark secrets from the past
✔️ “Everyone is suspicious” energy

…this one needs to go on your list immediately. 🐝📚

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