Reviews with content warning for Confinement - The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

I thought this was a very intriguing premise for a book. Until about half way through I didn't make any connections to what was happening and it was a little slow.

I figured out pretty early that this was some kind of prison system, but as for the actual murderer(s) this was a very tangled web.

Overall I thought it was a great read, especially for Agatha Christie book lovers.

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nini23's review against another edition

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mysterious

Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

Convoluted but not necessarily clever. The fat-shaming, oy! What happened to Phillip Sutcliffe discovered by Charles Cunningham to have the porcelain beak costume in his closet - no reaction whatsoever by Aiden when he meets Sutcliffe. A forgotten loose end?

What I found interesting I wish the author had elaborated more upon:-
- the influence of the host's personality, impulses and thought patterns upon the mind occupying the body
- the class differences especially the indignities suffered by the maids, stablehands, butlers etc.

The sinister atmosphere is well set up though the answer to this locked door murder mystery puzzle is not something one could have figured out from the clues provided.

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uv_sensibility's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

The first 100 or so pages were strong and enthralling. Then the gratuitous fatphobia came in. And then, the myriad of underdeveloped concepts.

I feel like this book could've been so much better if the author split it up into a series. I loved the murder mystery, time-travel, groundhog day concepts. It's a very twisty book, but some of the twists just didn't do it for me. They felt unresolved & medium-rare.

The author has a very strong voice and is great at writing vividly. I felt that his (over)use of dialogue was overdone. Sometimes less is more, you know? Then again, that's down to personal preference.

Also, a bit of a nitpick, but... why does the summary give us the MC's name if he spends the first 100 or so pages trying to find his identity? I feel like that could've been kept secret to naturally unravel in the story rather than have us already know the answer
...😅

It's an easy read despite its length. The concepts are fun and the author knows how to write. But... the twists and turns, characters, and some concepts feel underdeveloped. It could've benefited from being split into a multi-part series. And, once more, was the fatphobia really that necessary?

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