The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. This title is what grabbed my attention when I heard about the book for the first time. Reviews by fellow bookworms convinced me that this is a book I shouldn’t miss. I’ve wanted to read it ever since it was released. But, as is the case with most of my hopeful tbr list, this too didn’t happen until now.
Aiden Bishop wakes up in a forest in a stranger’s body. He has no memory of himself or what happened. As he goes through the day, trying to figure out what’s happening, he comes to know that he has seven chances to solve a murder. The murder of Evelyn Hardcastle. Each day, he wakes up in a new body with the knowledge of what happened in the previous days. If he does not solve the murder in 7 days, his memory is wiped clean and the cycle continues.
This was the perfect book to start the year with! I know I’m late with this review. But better late than, never right?
When I started the book, honestly, I couldn’t understand what the hype was all about. As the book progressed, all it did was confuse me more and more. Too many characters! Too many things going on that didn’t make any sense! Even though it wasn’t boring, I couldn’t make head and tail of the plot.
But then halfway through the book, some of the things started to fall in place. I could keep track of all the characters and it started to get more intriguing. In the last quarter of the book, on each page, I had a lightbulb turning on in my head where I thought “Oh! This is what happened”. The last few chapters just blew my mind. Until then I had my mind set on rating the book 3.5. But all the events leading up to the climax couldn’t have been done better.
The only downside I felt is that there was not a lot of character development. I did not really empathize with any of them but all of that did not matter as I was completely engrossed in the plot. Nothing else mattered.
I just wish I had read it as a physical book. I’m sure I would have enjoyed it even more then. Knowing what I know now, a reread might also be a good idea.
My Rating: 5⭐.