The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

I’d heard wonderful things about this book so of course I snatched it up when I saw it in the charity shop. As expected it sat on my tbr for a ridiculous length of time until I finally got around to reading it!

I’ve seen this described as Agatha Christie meets groundhog day and… it’s just the perfect explanation. Take a Christie style mystery, and lock them into one location using some time loops and trickery, and see what comes of it!

I adored how bits of the mystery were slowly revealed to us, as well as adding in more mystery along the way! There was so much character development, and given the nature of the book (I ain’t giving ANY spoilers!) this was done incredibly well and I love how different characters were interwoven.

The one thing that I felt let this book down was the ending. Of course given that it’s a Christie-esque novel you do expect the details to be wrapped up in a nice little bow. But it felt a little bit unbelievable, and a bit too far with how the conclusion lay. A few small tweaks here would’ve made the book perfect for me.

On CAWPILE I gave the book:

Characters: 8

Atmosphere: 8

Writing: 8

Plot: 7

Intrigue: 7

Logic: 7

Enjoyment: 8

Which gave me an overall score of 7.57 which is a lovely 4 star read!

Highlight here for trigger warnings: fatphobia, murder, gun violence, child death, suicide, death of parent, drug use, ableism, animal death, infidelity, rape, mental illness, torture

So despite the ending not quite being up to snuff for me, I did still love this book! And I will say that this does really pull off the Agatha Christie vibes incredibly well! I rate most of her books 4 stars too so that even matches up! I’m excited to read more from this author! (and I already have The Devil and the Dark Water on my shelves!) Let me know whether you’ve read this book and what you thought of it!

First Lines Friday! #25

It’s time for another First Lines Friday! Hosted by Wandering Words!!

What if, instead of judging a book by its cover or its author, we judged the book by its opening lines?

Here is how it works:

– Pick a book and open to the first page.

– Copy the first few lines without revealing which book it is.

– Reveal the book!

So… do these first lines entice you?

Arent Hayes howled in pain as a rock slammed into his massive back.

Another whistled by his ear, a third striking his knee, causing him to stumble, bringing jeers from the pitiless mob, who were already searching the ground for more missiles to throw. Hundreds of them were being held back by the city watch, their spittle-flecked lips shouting insults, their eyes black with malice.

Scroll down to reveal the book!

The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton

I am so excited to read this book. I read The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Turton and really enjoyed it, giving the book 4 stars, and I’m really hoping for more of the same from book #2! This time our characters are stuck on board a ship in 1634, where devilry stops the smooth sailing and there’s a mystery to be solved. I’m hoping to add this one onto my September tbr and fingers crossed I’ll love it!

Alphabetised Death

A serial killer is working his way through the alphabet, killing off not only those who’s initials fit his theme, but those with this feature who also live in a town with the same first letter. A very specific event, and to add to this predictability, letters are also sent from the murderer to Poirot before each event! What on earth is occuring?

Agatha Christie does it again, of course! This book, I knew from the title and the cover, was going to be one of my favourites. Don’t ask me how I knew, I just did! From the start Christie lets you further in to behind the scenes, similarly as to how the killer lets Poirot in more than usual. However, of course, things are not quite as simple as they seem and multiple twists and turns occur throughout with so many intertwining sections that you’ll need to focus to keep track! But don’t worry, the story is as gripping as always so you’ll have no issue with being completely immersed.

Another greatly enjoyable Christie book, although you guys knew that before even clicking on the review soooooo…. 😀

Poirot and Christie strike again with a peril and a young woman

Yes yes, another Poirot! These are just such easy reads, and while I’m in the end stages of my MSc that’s really what I need if I’m going to read at all (spoiler alert these reviews are normally quite behind my actual reading schedule and I haven’t read anything in weeks. Blimmin’ thesis taking up all my time!!!)

This one really got me riled up at the end, even after reading so many books from Christie in a row she still manages to astound me and take twists that are more than surprising! Of course I won’t spoil the twist but Poirot is helping a young girl who seems to be the target of various failed assassinations for an unknown reason. This specific Poirot novel goes through twists and turns as Christie analyses her view of the young people of her time and that makes it such an interesting read as always. Agatha Christie has such a good understanding of people and how they operate, as shown so clearly in her writing, but she also seems to be fully aware of biases which she may be victim to. This adds another layer of nuance to Poirot and Hastings’ portrayals, done in two very different ways, and I feel like this book is a beautiful example of that.

As always I recommend, I have quite a number of reviews on Agatha Christie’s work at this point so I definitely recommend going through my back-catalogue to find the right one for you!

The Mystery of the Blue Train

The Big Four

Poirot Investigates

The Monogram Murders

The Thirteen Problems

Death in the Clouds

The Mystery of Three Quarters

The Mystery of the Blue Train

Another Poirot! Yes, I always read these bad boys quickly once I get my hands on them. They just fly by!

In this story, Poirot is travelling by train from England to France when a murder occurs onboard, so of course the ever humble Poirot declares himself the only man fit to solve the case and begins to track down clues!

This case had so many twists and turns, and I actually ended up shouting at the book at one point because I had about 3 people that I thought were the murderer! One of those three guesses turned out to be pretty accurate, but the fact that I couldn’t pin the damn thing down speaks to Christie’s genius.

Have you read this book? Let me know in the comments below! I want to know if you guessed the culprit!

The Mystery of Three Quarters, an homage to classic mystery

I adore classic mystery stories. I’ve loved the original Sherlock books for as long as I can remember, as well as Agatha Christie’s writing, so when I spotted this little gem on NetGalley I just had to request it and luckily my request was granted!

This is the third book in this new installment by Sophie Hannah in the Hercule Poirot series and follows Poirot investigating an apparent murder where a forger has pretended to be him and has accused individuals of the crime via letters. This, of course, intrigues him and he begins to delve deeper into the mystery that has been laid out.

The writing style is done very well, and really gives you the feel of a classic Christie book. There are obviously imperfections in the writing, however, it is a well written piece and incredibly enjoyable. I found myself speeding through the book, and it was finished in no time at all. Always a sign of a good book for me. I definitely want to go back to the first two books Sophie Hannah released and delve into those too, as I can only imagine how much I’ll enjoy them. If you enjoy a traditional mystery then definitely pick this up. Great fun, enjoyable plot twists and all-in-all something that fits in well alongside Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle.

Trust Your Eyes

I hadn’t thought I would ever read this book, but I bought it secondhand for my Aunt, as she reads all of Linwood Barclay’s books. I decided that I’d read it to understand what she found appealing about his writing and I’m pretty glad that I did as I enjoyed the book.

I did find it a little hard to get through, as I was constantly putting the book down both to give myself time to think about the events which were happening and also because I cared too much about the characters in the book and didn’t want to read on as I didn’t want anything bad to happen to them!

I really enjoyed how the stories which are shared with us across the book slowly start to interlock with each other as the different characters come together, with lots of different plot lines, some of which set in the past, slot into place.

There is the main plot twist ending of the book, which was captivating and interesting, but what really got me was the tiny little twist at the very very end of the book. You’re just coming down from the high of finishing the story off and finding out the ‘solution’ and how it all resolves, you’re calm. And then you get hit with a startling twist, that you can do nothing about as the book ends here. Such a great way to end a novel of this genre and I am seriously considering reading more of Linwood Barclay now that I’ve dipped my toes into his writings.