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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A cool concept and a pretty tight core mystery up to a point, it's let down to me by some really poor characterisation, writing and overexplanation, along with some conclusions that left me irritated. It is however very well paced, and quite darkly funny at points.
The groudhog day idea here was brilliant as it began to ramp up, very clear in the main rules of the loop and mysterious enough that you wondered what was driving it. Keeping the rivals hidden could've been done much better, theDaniel twist was obvious a mile off and the book would benefit with much more space from Anna at times. The incredibly unnecessary overexplanation of the loop and the doctor, how it functions, whose behind it, why everyone is it in just sucked most of the joy out of the book for me, with the rest of the joy was sucked out at the final reveal.
Which is a shame as the the main mystery of the novel is really good! Him having to solve this thing, pulled in different directions by the personalites, juggling the mystery of the murder and the loop, working out who is trying to kill him all are great concepts but just generally developed poorly and executed terribly. I loved the actual detective work (especially thepoliceman ), and while the whole setup for past and future selves got a little bit too self-congratulatory it was cool to see unfold in real time.
I do wish those personalities, and those outside of the control of the main character, felt a bit more real. The cast wasn't particulary large or hard to follow, they just tended to lack a unique voice outside of a character trait or two and it felt like the personalities of the cast were made up of backstory over being. A bit more development of character from all would've lended a lot to the book, and especially the ending, which felt tagged on and a bit of an odd spin.
We are never shown or told thatEvelyn is a psychopath from any source aside from themselves in that last monologue, almost everyone saying exactly the opposite throughout the book. It feels cheap to set up clues to allow basically anyone to have killed Thomas only to try and force this twist at the end and it ruined the only part of the book I was still enjoying up to that point, the mystery. A braver author would've allowed for more questions to linger, and a braver one still would've stopped this from being a mystery rescue mission and kept it a tight mystery thriller.
The groudhog day idea here was brilliant as it began to ramp up, very clear in the main rules of the loop and mysterious enough that you wondered what was driving it. Keeping the rivals hidden could've been done much better, the
Which is a shame as the the main mystery of the novel is really good! Him having to solve this thing, pulled in different directions by the personalites, juggling the mystery of the murder and the loop, working out who is trying to kill him all are great concepts but just generally developed poorly and executed terribly. I loved the actual detective work (especially the
I do wish those personalities, and those outside of the control of the main character, felt a bit more real. The cast wasn't particulary large or hard to follow, they just tended to lack a unique voice outside of a character trait or two and it felt like the personalities of the cast were made up of backstory over being. A bit more development of character from all would've lended a lot to the book, and especially the ending, which felt tagged on and a bit of an odd spin.
We are never shown or told that
This took the "murder mansion" trope somewhere totally unexpected. Scandalous, violent, and full of unexpectedly dark and bizarre and unpredictable twists, this book kept me insatiably curious up until the last page.
The beginning was rather slow, with the first four days laying groundwork and leaving the protagonist unsure and often guessing. But as the days went on and we met more and more characters (or even just the darker side of characters we already knew), the tension and my own curiosity ramped up.
The three big reveals in the last act did not really work for me, though. Daniel, the nature of Blackheath, and Thomas's killer all sort of felt like too much. It grew too complicated and ridiculous. Part of me wanted certain things to remain unknown. And Anna's past was disregarded too quickly (or perhaps revealed too late) to really give it the weight it needed.
That being said, this book is everything a murder mansion story wants to be when it grows up, and I look forward to seeing more from Stuart Turton.
The beginning was rather slow, with the first four days laying groundwork and leaving the protagonist unsure and often guessing. But as the days went on and we met more and more characters (or even just the darker side of characters we already knew), the tension and my own curiosity ramped up.
The three big reveals in the last act did not really work for me, though. Daniel, the nature of Blackheath, and Thomas's killer all sort of felt like too much. It grew too complicated and ridiculous. Part of me wanted certain things to remain unknown. And Anna's past was disregarded too quickly (or perhaps revealed too late) to really give it the weight it needed.
That being said, this book is everything a murder mansion story wants to be when it grows up, and I look forward to seeing more from Stuart Turton.
I liked all of the information one had to keep track of with all of the twists and turns. Wish there was more of a conclusion.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this book! I found it took quite a while for me to get into as it was personally a little hard to follow with so many characters (and was a little bit graphic when it came to violence) but I came to truly appreciate all the characters and what they each individually brought to the plot! I did NOT expect the ending, the details and how it all came together was fascinating! Super interesting book!
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this book. A time travel who dunnit with so many twists and turns. Cleverly written with respect to both plot and language. My cup of tea!
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced