Tonight, Evelyn Hardcastle will die... again.
As fireworks explode overhead, celebration turn to tragedy when Evelyn Hardcastle, the daughter of the house, is killed.
Until Aiden – one of the guests summoned to Blackheath for the party – can solve her murder, the day will repeat itself, over and over again. Always ending with the fateful pistol shot.
The only way to end this cycle is to reveal the killer. But each time the day begins again, Aiden wakes in the body of a different guest. As Aiden begins to understand how to play the game, he realises he isn’t the only player, and that someone is determined to make sure he never escapes Blackheath.
Well, where do I start? 4 days after finishing this book I am still unsure where to begin with this review. I have swung from love to dislike and finally reached indifference in the middle.
Firstly, I want to comment on the writing and the construction of this story. For a debut novel it is, quite simply, amazing! How the author managed to keep track to actually write something comprehensive is incredible. So, kudos to Turton.
Now onto my thoughts regarding my reading experience. This title was recommended to me by my boss, and therefore I felt some obligation to giving it the benefit of the doubt…and it just happened to be on TBR pile anyway. At first, I found it quite difficult to get into, it was slow to start, and I wasn’t sure whether I should continue. Again, obligation overrode the urge to quit and I persevered.
I felt at about a third of the way through the momentum did start to increase, and I was definitely intrigued to see where Turton was going to take this story. To say I was unhappy with the outcome would be a lie, but I was less than “wowed” by it. I had begun to predict the reasoning behind Blackheath and this seemingly endless game being played, but I was still hoping for something extra. Sadly, it never came. For a story veiled in such mystery the ending fell a little flat and, dare I say it, neatly tied up.
I probably wouldn’t recommend this book to any of my friends; however, I can see from other’s reviews it has been a real hit for a lot of people. I will, though, make one suggestion for future readers, if you don’t have time to dedicate to this book in sizeable chunks you will, more than, likely become lost in the complexity of the structuring.
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