A solid & intriguing mystery
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle has, by far, one of the most intriguing premises of any book I've ever read. Aiden Bishop (whose name we don't get until like 50% of the way into the book, even though it's on the back cover??) is put into a new body each day for eight days and must solve the murder of a woman he doesn't know or else he'll be stuck in a loop forever. So pretty normal stuff.
Evelyn Hardcastle's plot was something straight out of Agatha Christie. I read A LOT of murder mysteries and crime books, and normally I can figure out the pattern and at least piece together part of the mystery before it's revealed. This was some Murder on the Orient Express or And Then There Were None plotting, because I didn't have a clue what was going on until it was revealed.
That being said, the premise of this book is pretty confusing, and I spent about 2/3 of the book trying to figure out the "rules" of the universe the book was set in (it doesn't help that Aiden Bishop himself knows just about nothing about his universe either). I feel like part of the reason the murderer is so hard to guess/figure out is because the reader is spending the majority of his or her time trying to figure out what's going on in the first place (who's getting murdered? who's who? etc.). Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming my inability to figure out the killer on bad world-building: the plot was really and truly convoluted (but followable) and I doubt I'd be able to solve the mystery even if it were set in the modern day.
While the premise of Aiden waking up in different bodies each day is intriguing, their personalities seem to leak into his, and as a result I felt I never really got to know Aiden himself, or any of the other characters. The moment I'd get invested in or attached to a host, he'd be gone, replaced by the next one. The one host that I did really connect to and enjoy reading about (likely because he was a police officer and I prefer reading procedurals, so it was something familiar) was gone within a few chapters and never even made a cameo again.
Also, Aiden seemed overly invested in both Evelyn Hardcastle and Anna, a mysterious woman he has a connection to. Considering that Aiden has lost all of his memories and is struggling to first find his footing and then escape himself, I was a bit confused by his concern for the well-being of two women he didn't really know. His connection to them was necessary to advance the plot, but beyond that the relationships didn't really make much sense.
Overall, a solid mystery, even if it was lacking in characterization and world-building. 3.5/5 stars.
Evelyn Hardcastle's plot was something straight out of Agatha Christie. I read A LOT of murder mysteries and crime books, and normally I can figure out the pattern and at least piece together part of the mystery before it's revealed. This was some Murder on the Orient Express or And Then There Were None plotting, because I didn't have a clue what was going on until it was revealed.
That being said, the premise of this book is pretty confusing, and I spent about 2/3 of the book trying to figure out the "rules" of the universe the book was set in (it doesn't help that Aiden Bishop himself knows just about nothing about his universe either). I feel like part of the reason the murderer is so hard to guess/figure out is because the reader is spending the majority of his or her time trying to figure out what's going on in the first place (who's getting murdered? who's who? etc.). Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming my inability to figure out the killer on bad world-building: the plot was really and truly convoluted (but followable) and I doubt I'd be able to solve the mystery even if it were set in the modern day.
While the premise of Aiden waking up in different bodies each day is intriguing, their personalities seem to leak into his, and as a result I felt I never really got to know Aiden himself, or any of the other characters. The moment I'd get invested in or attached to a host, he'd be gone, replaced by the next one. The one host that I did really connect to and enjoy reading about (likely because he was a police officer and I prefer reading procedurals, so it was something familiar) was gone within a few chapters and never even made a cameo again.
Also, Aiden seemed overly invested in both Evelyn Hardcastle and Anna, a mysterious woman he has a connection to. Considering that Aiden has lost all of his memories and is struggling to first find his footing and then escape himself, I was a bit confused by his concern for the well-being of two women he didn't really know. His connection to them was necessary to advance the plot, but beyond that the relationships didn't really make much sense.
Overall, a solid mystery, even if it was lacking in characterization and world-building. 3.5/5 stars.