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hanarama's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
CW: imprisonment, violence, gore, blood, death, death of a child
The Good:
• Unique storytelling device
• Interesting mystery
The Bad:
• Lackluster worldbuilding
• Too many twists
You Might Like this if You Like:
• Agatha Christie
• Time travel
• Sherlock Holmes
At its core, I think that this is a really fun mystery with a unique premise. As the story unfolds, the time loops begin to make more and more sense. Seeing a mystery from so many different angles really helps to fill in clues and makes the hunt for answers feel more dynamic. All of the hosts give fresh voice to the main character, but I would have liked for their characters to be more distinctive in their narration. Some of the differences feel more like telling rather than showing.
I did feel like the world building beyond the primary setting was incredibly underwhelming. The explanation that's given is lackluster, and I honestly would have preferred to not get any answers about the world outside the estate.
Additionally, I feel like the end of the story has too many twists. It starts to feel like there are too many endings, and the story just keeps going. Some twists work and make sense (or can even be guessed by the reader) but it just keeps going and going.
I would have liked a tighter plot without so much of the other stuff. Overall though, I had a lot of fun with this book.
The Good:
• Unique storytelling device
• Interesting mystery
The Bad:
• Lackluster worldbuilding
• Too many twists
You Might Like this if You Like:
• Agatha Christie
• Time travel
• Sherlock Holmes
At its core, I think that this is a really fun mystery with a unique premise. As the story unfolds, the time loops begin to make more and more sense. Seeing a mystery from so many different angles really helps to fill in clues and makes the hunt for answers feel more dynamic. All of the hosts give fresh voice to the main character, but I would have liked for their characters to be more distinctive in their narration. Some of the differences feel more like telling rather than showing.
I did feel like the world building beyond the primary setting was incredibly underwhelming. The explanation that's given is lackluster, and I honestly would have preferred to not get any answers about the world outside the estate.
Additionally, I feel like the end of the story has too many twists. It starts to feel like there are too many endings, and the story just keeps going. Some twists work and make sense (or can even be guessed by the reader) but it just keeps going and going.
I would have liked a tighter plot without so much of the other stuff. Overall though, I had a lot of fun with this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Gaslighting
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
davidrb's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I waffed on what to give this, but I decided that despite my reservations, this thing slaps beyond belief. It completely shifted my perspective on what a good mystery can be, and what a good book can be in general. It was engaging, and I have a feeling I'll get even more out of rereads, but it also has a solid heart: more than I thought it would. Do yourself a favor and pick this up! It's fun.
Points deducted for being kinda slow to start (took me a few tries before I got into it) and a weird, prolonged section of fatphobia.
Points deducted for being kinda slow to start (took me a few tries before I got into it) and a weird, prolonged section of fatphobia.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence
claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
When Dr. Bell wakes, he is in a forest, with no memories—not the previous day, not his family, not even his own name—just the name Anna. He hears a woman calling for help and then a gunshot, and then a mysterious person (a murderer?) hands him a compass and tells him to go east. Following these dubious directions, he arrives at Blackheath, a crumbling estate currently hosting a reunion of sorts. On the following day, Bell wakes up as the Butler, and learns that he is not Bell, and it is not the following day. He is someone else entirely, but he will be trapped in a new body every day for eight days—but really just the same day, re-lived eight times from eight different perspectives. The only way to escape: he must solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle, who dies every evening like clockwork. But there are others in the house also trying to solve the murder—and only one can escape. There are many secrets in Blackheath, and Evelyn’s is not the only murder.
I could barely keep track of all the characters, let alone the twists and turns of the plot. Everything was a red herring, but also nothing was, because there were so many details and so many awful deeds and characters up to no good. This book reminded me a bit of <i>The Guest List</i> because both books consist of a group of unbearable characters trapped in one place. Both have dark, twisting plots and new details (and crimes), both past and present, are slowly revealed as the story progresses.I The ending really threw me off though, because it felt totally different from the rest of the book. The worldbuilding was half-baked at best, and so few details were given about the world outside of Blackheath that I thought there was little point in giving any at all. Why introduce Anna/Annabell and Aidan’s backstories and then barely use them? I did appreciate the anti-prison stance the story took, as well as the themes of forgiveness and the ability of people to change for the better.
I think I’ve mentioned this in other reviews, but I’ll say it again: while it’s not a bad thing to have a male author, it is a red flag for me if I can tell that the author is a man from the writing alone. This was one of those books. I mean seriously, you’re going to have your protagonist jump between eight different bodies and not one of them is going to be a woman? I can’t put my finger on it exactly, but I could also tell from the way Turton described his female characters...so yeah, that rubbed me the wrong way on occasion. There was also some fatphobia in his descriptions of Ravencourt, so if that’s a trigger for you, I’d avoid this book.
Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the vibe of the ending):Like… sort of happy? I guess? I liked the message of the ending, but it wasn’t exactly satisfying.
I could barely keep track of all the characters, let alone the twists and turns of the plot. Everything was a red herring, but also nothing was, because there were so many details and so many awful deeds and characters up to no good. This book reminded me a bit of <i>The Guest List</i> because both books consist of a group of unbearable characters trapped in one place. Both have dark, twisting plots and new details (and crimes), both past and present, are slowly revealed as the story progresses.
I think I’ve mentioned this in other reviews, but I’ll say it again: while it’s not a bad thing to have a male author, it is a red flag for me if I can tell that the author is a man from the writing alone. This was one of those books. I mean seriously, you’re going to have your protagonist jump between eight different bodies and not one of them is going to be a woman? I can’t put my finger on it exactly, but I could also tell from the way Turton described his female characters...so yeah, that rubbed me the wrong way on occasion. There was also some fatphobia in his descriptions of Ravencourt, so if that’s a trigger for you, I’d avoid this book.
Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the vibe of the ending):
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Vomit
Minor: Abandonment, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
keen's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
So this was an interesting book to read. I was recommended it while hearing positive reviews. What encouraged me the most was that comparisons were made to the visual novels, Higurashi and Umineko, both stories involving similar bits of plot details Umineko takes heavy inspiration from Agatha Christie as well, which this book clearly shares.
Which made me very disappointed when I came out of the book feeling nothing at best, and confusion at worst.
Let's begin with the good things:
This is a book with an interesting premise. Being trapped in a time loop, with eight lives/days to figure out a woman's murder. I used to be a big fan of murder mysteries before moving onto fantasy and science fiction, so to see those genres mixed together in a novel sounded like my type of thing.
I also really liked the message in the book. It's something that could be applied to real-life and how social media has affected it. To give more details, which are all big reveals from the near end of the book...
Blackheath is revealed to be one of many prisons. Their purposes are to keep criminals within time loops to solve unsolved murders as a way to atone. Blackheath is for the worst of the worst. Aiden Bishop came to Blackheath on his own to hunt down and torture Anna for publicly killing and torturing his sister. After so many loops, the two developed amnesia.
This brings us to the message. Without their memories, Aiden stops hunting Anna down, and Anne becomes a better person. The two begin to care for one another and work to get out of the loop together. Because Anna has very little relation to her old self, the argument is that she doesn't belong in Blackheath because she has already atoned.
This would've hit harder if the two didn't have amnesia. Of course, if a horrible person gains amnesia and develops a new personality from it, it's hard to blame them for the actions of their past self. Additionally, what I'd want wouldn't fit the story without major plot changes. That being the two remembering what they've done and actively atoning for it. I believe this is a better example of a person not being who they are any longer. Even if they were a terrible person, accepting their crimes and doing what acting better from that point on is a more relevant message.
On a smaller note, this reveal led to a weird post-fridging moment for Aiden. Fridging being a storytelling method of a woman being brutally murdered and/or tortured to push the male lead into action. In this case, the whole reason Aiden is in Blackheath is that his sister went through public brutality.
Back to no spoilers!
The start of the book didn't really capture me. In fact, the more I read, the more frustrated I became. I realized the time looping aspect was too repetitive for me, making me feel like I was trapped in a story that couldn't be changed. Perhaps that was the point, with Aiden feeling the same way, but the character's frustration shouldn't become mine's. I want to feel supportive of the character, maybe with a little frustration. Not where I wanted to quit the book to get out of the narrative loop. I wanted the feeling of a genuine break from the loop. Those were the victories I was wishing for.
My incapability to connect to Aiden didn't help either. He was a character I was simply following throughout the story. I didn't enjoy any other character much either. The vast majority have more flaws than virtues. In fact, I would've been fine with a flawed character if they were interesting. A story based on time loops makes character development very difficult, sadly.
I've actually wondered if there was something to Blackheath that made the characters more willing to speak to Aiden. It was like they were NPCs, where if Aiden had the right reputation and/or items, he could ask endless questions with little to no questioning back.
There was so much information to take in, from the loops to the large cast of characters to the culmination to reveals. Now, I'm no good at uncovering mysteries. I like mystery books to take me on a ride where I can point at hints, note them down, then continue reading. At the end, I hope to feel satisfied by explanations of what I've missed. I couldn't bother trying to delve into this one because there was a mystery for everything. I was very thankful when things were spelled out for me; otherwise, I would've needed to hope someone online could explain the book to me.
This book only invested me as the climax reached its boiling point. Every mystery book makes me wonder how the mysteries would be tidied up, if they are at all. This book was the same. I won't reveal how that goes, but I can say that I was somewhat sated by the end. Not impressed, but not upset either. I believe this book would be better as a reread now that I can see the complexity made simple.
And that's why I'm disappointed. There was plenty of potential for a great story, yet I was too confused and frustrated to stay attentive from the beginning.
On the note of the audiobook, the narrator's tone felt too flat for me to properly enjoy. It did the job just fine, but I didn't feel immersed by his voice. The number of times I had to get the book and reread things he spoke, not because of him being unclear but because the book is unclear, didn't contribute to my enjoyment either.
Which made me very disappointed when I came out of the book feeling nothing at best, and confusion at worst.
Let's begin with the good things:
This is a book with an interesting premise. Being trapped in a time loop, with eight lives/days to figure out a woman's murder. I used to be a big fan of murder mysteries before moving onto fantasy and science fiction, so to see those genres mixed together in a novel sounded like my type of thing.
I also really liked the message in the book. It's something that could be applied to real-life and how social media has affected it. To give more details, which are all big reveals from the near end of the book...
This brings us to the message. Without their memories, Aiden stops hunting Anna down, and Anne becomes a better person. The two begin to care for one another and work to get out of the loop together. Because Anna has very little relation to her old self, the argument is that she doesn't belong in Blackheath because she has already atoned.
This would've hit harder if the two didn't have amnesia. Of course, if a horrible person gains amnesia and develops a new personality from it, it's hard to blame them for the actions of their past self. Additionally, what I'd want wouldn't fit the story without major plot changes. That being the two remembering what they've done and actively atoning for it. I believe this is a better example of a person not being who they are any longer. Even if they were a terrible person, accepting their crimes and doing what acting better from that point on is a more relevant message.
On a smaller note, this reveal led to a weird post-fridging moment for Aiden. Fridging being a storytelling method of a woman being brutally murdered and/or tortured to push the male lead into action. In this case, the whole reason Aiden is in Blackheath is that his sister went through public brutality.
Back to no spoilers!
The start of the book didn't really capture me. In fact, the more I read, the more frustrated I became. I realized the time looping aspect was too repetitive for me, making me feel like I was trapped in a story that couldn't be changed. Perhaps that was the point, with Aiden feeling the same way, but the character's frustration shouldn't become mine's. I want to feel supportive of the character, maybe with a little frustration. Not where I wanted to quit the book to get out of the narrative loop. I wanted the feeling of a genuine break from the loop. Those were the victories I was wishing for.
My incapability to connect to Aiden didn't help either. He was a character I was simply following throughout the story. I didn't enjoy any other character much either. The vast majority have more flaws than virtues. In fact, I would've been fine with a flawed character if they were interesting. A story based on time loops makes character development very difficult, sadly.
I've actually wondered if there was something to Blackheath that made the characters more willing to speak to Aiden. It was like they were NPCs, where if Aiden had the right reputation and/or items, he could ask endless questions with little to no questioning back.
There was so much information to take in, from the loops to the large cast of characters to the culmination to reveals. Now, I'm no good at uncovering mysteries. I like mystery books to take me on a ride where I can point at hints, note them down, then continue reading. At the end, I hope to feel satisfied by explanations of what I've missed. I couldn't bother trying to delve into this one because there was a mystery for everything. I was very thankful when things were spelled out for me; otherwise, I would've needed to hope someone online could explain the book to me.
This book only invested me as the climax reached its boiling point. Every mystery book makes me wonder how the mysteries would be tidied up, if they are at all. This book was the same. I won't reveal how that goes, but I can say that I was somewhat sated by the end. Not impressed, but not upset either. I believe this book would be better as a reread now that I can see the complexity made simple.
And that's why I'm disappointed. There was plenty of potential for a great story, yet I was too confused and frustrated to stay attentive from the beginning.
On the note of the audiobook, the narrator's tone felt too flat for me to properly enjoy. It did the job just fine, but I didn't feel immersed by his voice. The number of times I had to get the book and reread things he spoke, not because of him being unclear but because the book is unclear, didn't contribute to my enjoyment either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Murder, Physical abuse, Stalking, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Rape, and Suicide
Minor: Drug use and Gaslighting
More...