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3.83 AVERAGE

dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

What do you get when you combine an Agatha Christie novel with Groundhog Day and a heavy-handed moral? You get The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. I am a big fan of whodunnits and time travel (when not a romance), so naturally, I enjoyed the book. 
 
I can’t give this five stars because I enjoyed the book more in retrospect than I did while reading it. This book is very long and I really struggled to get through the first 200 pages. It just didn’t grip me until all the puzzle pieces were clearly starting to pile up. The book is very complicated due to the time travel aspect and there are a lot of characters that you need to remember. I wouldn’t recommend reading this if you’re looking for something quick and easy. This book will be best served when you have time to think about what’s going on. Even then, I’m sure I missed little inconsistencies and plot holes my first time through. A true review of this book would require a second read, in my opinion. 
 
On another note, I wish we had gotten more information on the world outside Blackheath, and as always (I’ll type this until I’m blue in the face), I very much dislike when (especially 1st person POV) characters scheme behind the scenes and keep the reader unaware. Especially in this book, nothing would’ve been made less dramatic by having the reader in on everything.
 
At the end of the day though, the moral about
mentally rehabilitating prisoners
was fair and the mystery was enticing. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix

oliv90058's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 36%

it just didn’t keep me interested
slow-paced

I was so excited for this book. An unique spin on Groundhog Day/ Clue, but I found it super boring. The ending redeemed the rest of the book for me.
challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

review du 31/03/2020

"If this isn’t hell, the devil is surely taking notes."


Ce livre a été une bonne, voire une excellente surprise pour moi ! Je ne lis que très peu de livres mettant en scène une enquête policière qui ne soit pas de la "pure" fantasy, à l'exception de l'occasionnel roman d'Agatha Christie au bord de la plage l'été. Je ne savais donc pas vraiment à quoi m'attendre.

Je ne pensais pas me retrouver absorbée dans l'intrigue à un point tel que je ne m'imaginais plus quitter Blackeath. Aiden Bishop est un narrateur comme vous n'en n'avez jamais vu, ni lu, puisqu'il se réveille chaque jour, le même jour, dans un nouvel hôte, avec un seul ordre : résoudre le meurtre d'Evelyn Hardcastle, qui a inévitablement lieu à 23h.

Je craignais au début de ne pas réussir à m'attacher au narrateur, étant donné le fait que je déteste quand il y a trop de POV dans un roman. Mais sur ce coup-là, pas du tout ! Je n'irai pas dans les détails pour ne pas spoiler, mais n'ayez pas peur d'être confus. C'est normal. Accrochez-vous bien, et vous finirez par tout comprendre, je vous le promets.

L'ambiance au départ me semblait assez "classique". Un manoir dans la campagne, un casting de personnages assez communs dans tout policier (j'appelle le bon docteur, l'héritière revenue de France, le majordome, la bonne...), rien de plus ordinaire, non ? Et en fait, pas du tout. J'ai eu l'impression que le manoir devenait de plus en plus pervers à chaque jour, à chaque réveil, et j'étais fascinée.

Bien sûr, je n'ai pas résolu le mystère, j'avoue ne même pas l'avoir vu venir, ce qui ne me surprend pas. La fin m'a en revanche énormément plu, et j'étais très satisfaite par comment toutes les pièces de ce puzzle ont fini par s'emboîter.

The ending let me down. It felt quite cliched.

As usual, books are rated in regards on how they meet what they set out to do.

This mystery novel, with additional elements I particularly love, grasps you in its claws and doesn’t let you go. Mixing genres in a particularly intriguing manner, it was an excellent summer read.
dark mysterious slow-paced

 3 stars simply because I was hooked (at the start) and was intrigued by the mixture of Groundhog Day elements meets Clue and a very "Agatha Christie-esque" vibe. I was 100% sure I was going to love this one.

Sadly, I didn't feel that same enthusiasm when it reached its end. Such a cool concept - unique even with all the undertones of the above mentioned works - but ended up falling a bit flat for me before I reached the conclusion.