I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is a mastercraft in historical fiction, unlike anything I've read since Agatha Christie.
Evelyn is going to be killed. Again. Every night her murder goes unsolved, the gala party where she dies restarts and Andrew is always too late to save her.
The writing is hugely atmospheric, and sets the scene perfectly. The descriptions are rich and detailed. It's almost like stepping back in time and being with these characters, living (and dying) amongst them. The plot is also quite unique in that the story is told over and over with Andrew taking the role of a different character every night with small hints and clues drip fed throughout, almost like a historical 'Groundhog Day' meets 'Cluedo'. However, the plot can never be taken at face value, as nothing is really as it seems and characters constantly surprised me.
It's not an easy read by any stretch of the imagination - there's twist and mysteries that left me completely baffled and had me desperate to understand what was going on, but that's what makes this such a compelling read. You really want to know what happens, as you try to draw conclusions before Andrew. I found I was especially drawn to Evelyn, and as her story unravels I felt a need to know who killed her.
That said, at times I felt a disconnection with some of the other characters as I was mainly so invested in Andrew and Evelyn, and sometimes it took a while for me to get my head round Andrew as a new person with different mannerisms every night.
Still, I thought this was like a breath of fresh air for the mystery genre. Different and exciting.
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is available to purchase now from: Amazon
- 4 stars
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