In hindsight, I was really lucky that I walked into this book blind, with no significant knowledge of the plot. And about 70 pages later, with the first major plot twist, my enjoyment of this book was greatly enhanced. I would strongly recommend everyone to do the same if possible.
At its heart, this book is a mind-bending murder mystery. But it is also about the myriad interesting characters populating this book. And eventually, it is about redemption. So that's what makes this book doubly delicious ‒ as the mystery unfolds page by page, we are treated to some fascinating characters through the course of the book, many of who are neither black nor white, as we are initially led to believe.
Like all books or movies of this genre, there are inherent flaws to the "circular logic" used. I cannot explain this further without revealing some spoilers, but this book overcomes most of the flaws. I re-read the book, noting down questions that needed answers as the book progressed, and it was immensely satisfying to see that practically all the questions had been answered by the end. That make this one of the cleverest books that I have read. And finally, I'm a sucker for interesting trivia. The fact that this book was published in the US as The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle to prevent a conflict with another title was, by itself, worth half a rating point!
His next book, The Devil and the Dark Water, is expected later this year. I can't wait for it to be published!
Pros: Gripping from start to finish, an extremely clever plot
Cons: An extremely convoluted plot too (which may not work for everyone)
PS: I'm reactivating this blog after over 10 years, and am also moving to a simpler 1-5 rating system. 3 would mean that the book is just about readable, 1 or 2 would mean that the book deserves to be binned, while 4 or 5 would imply different degrees of a very good book.
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