I just called it quits on this halfway through. Totally agree with this video!!

Throughout reading this book, I kept mentally wincing... I was just so confused and angry and annoyed! I fully agree with you both about Seven Deaths. The upcoming reads sound great, looking forward to reading them with you both! Congratulations too Pip xx

When you first started reading “The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle”, I wrote that I was struggling big time with it. I did finished it and like you and Pip, I didn’t enjoy it, found it too confusing, and felt cheated big time. Thank you for making me feel a bit more normal since I felt like I was the only one out there who just didn’t like it.

Been looking forward to this. The only reason I finished the book was because I knew this was coming!

I agree with your comments about Seven Deaths, I really struggled with it and almost gave up several times. Thank you for voicing and explaining your responses. Brilliant video as normal.

I loved it - thought it was really unique and clever!

i listened to the spoiler and i'm very glad i did..no evelyn hardcastle in my future thank-you very much.

I never had trouble mixing up the characters and while i did think it was a bit long, the plot was fast, complex, and engaging to me. Seems like I could attribute all that to a really good audio experience so if you ever consider rereading, I'd get the audiobook.

I felt pretty much the same as both of you about the Seven deaths. I don't know why so many people absolutely love it. I don't think I would have finished it if I hadn't listened to it on audiobook.

I really enjoyed this book. It's not a classic murder mystery in that the reader is given a chance to solve it, but more in the thriller genre where you just go along with the ride. I agree on that fact that women are poorly written and some of the characters are stereotypes, but it's written in the world of a golden age mystery, so that may have been deliberate I thought the idea was very original and engaging, although I agree it was too long and could have been trimmed. It's a book that has stayed in my brain which is always a good sign.

I didn't finish The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. I don't think I even got to 1/3 of it. The concept was interesting, but I was not enjoying reading it. None of the characters had any depth... Now that I've watched you discuss how it ends I'm even surer that giving up on it was the right decision!

OMG - YES! I just finished Evelyn Hardcastle tonight. The only reason I didn't chuck it early on was (1) I spent $25 on it, and (2) it's my book club book and I've skipped a lot of our books this year. It sounded like something I'd love: Agatha Christie meets Groundhog Day; Gosford Park, Life After Life by Kate Atkinson; even the Time Traveler's Wife. But no! I didn't buy the base premise of this book from the beginning. People kept popping up with "rules" but I couldn't make any sense of any of it. The setting was lovely, the premise was fun, the sentences were beautiful, but the story was a manic, meaningless mess. I did hear that it's a novel version of a video game . . . haven't seen the author own up to that, but that makes the most sense. Maybe gamers like this more? And Simon, YES!, it would have been so much more interesting if one of his bodies was a woman character. Instead he's trying to save Evelyn! Trying to save Anna!

@SavidgeReads

3 жыл бұрын

Hahaha. I love this mini rant. Hahaha. Pip and I saw his new one in the bookshop the other day and it was a nope from us.

I liked it, but it’s true that I did wanted to know more about Anna and their past, so in a way it was really disappointed ☹️ and I just realized some stuff after you pointed it out!!! Thank you for these videos, I love crime time!

Congratulations Pip

I wanted to love this book so much. But I couldn’t tell my elbow from my a**ehole by the end of it 😂 Congratulations to lovely Pip!!

@ianw1962

5 жыл бұрын

Lol had that same feeling with this book. Amazed that I finished it. Congratulations to Pip. Love these videos with both of you.

I completely agree! I didn't get along with it at all, and found it frustrating and over-complicated.

I know I’m late to the game on this one but I loved 7 deaths and wanted to see other reviews of this. I totally get your critique of this book and was bothered in particular that he didn’t go into any female characters. I really expected him to go into Helen towards the end and was shook by her death! I loved the prison concept though and thought it was open for interpretation. I hardly ever read crime either. At the start I thought god this is too clichéd he lost his memory and it all in a mansion. I also love the guessing game and had kept getting it wrong but I also loved that! It kept me on edge and wanting to know more to understand why and how it kept going in bonkers directions. I thought structurally the sequences of events and how they tided together was mind blowing. But from everything you’ve both said it making me take a step back and look at it differently😆

I'm sort of torn in two with this book. I loved the premise- it immediately drew my attention. It's so very original, which does make a change from so many mystery/thriller books which seem to all follow a very similar vein and can get very same ol same ol. However, I thought this book was WAY to complex- I think the author tried to be too clever and turned what, for me, would have been a brilliant read into a mind-boggling state of confusion. I was annoyed as you both were that Aiden didn't wake up in the body of a female character, I didn't understand what the plague doctor outfit added to the story, and why the second plague doctor, Silver Tear was slotted in at random. I didn't like how the book jumped around from day 2 to suddenly back at day 8 etc. That was quite hard to keep up with. I personally, was hoping for an ending like Sarah Schmidt came up with- the idea that Aiden was the murderer and perhaps suffered with multiple personality disorder- each character being a different aspect of his personality. The day repeating itself over and over again is like his conscience going over the same day for the rest of his life. A mental prison. I agree that the female characters lacked depth and I wanted a bit more backstory on certain characters, like Anna in particular. This book could have been condensed a whole lot more and made more crisp. A found myself feeling a little frustrated, but there again, being in an endless loop would be frustrating, so perhaps the author intended us to feel that way. I liked it, but I also didn't!

Cosign EVERYTHING you both had to say about this one. So disappointed I’ve put this author on my DRA list - don’t read again, I just made that up 😆

I couldn't agree more. This book completely pissed me off and I gave up on it at about 40% in. My first DNF in yonks. Love you two

Simon and Pip, I completely agree with you! I have no idea why it's so well reviewed. I found the plot lines hard to follow since all the characters were British men with similar names, couldn't understand the introduction of the new maid 3/4 of the way through, and really didn't like the ending and subsequent vague environment the characters were placed. One thing though, beware, spoilers follow: The parents may not have seen Evelyn in the day that was re-lived over and over again, and that's how the con was able to go forward. This is because the endless day is in fact just that one day, the day before and after don't exist in the simulation. How that relates to the historical real world crime, I'm not sure...

Really enjoyed Seven Deaths... and as I was reading it I found myself wanting more details about the different characters in the book. Loved the idea of Bishop becoming the same person again and again. I didn't mind the end at all ... it cleared a number of points up but yes I agree not all of them. I didn't find the author misogynist in the least. All the women in Black Leopard Red Wolf are nasty bits of work too but I wouldn't call Marlon James a misogynist. Maybe Turton's next book will have a more well-balanced list of characters. Am about to start At Dusk by Hwang Son-yong (International Booker Prize Long List) and hope you review it to hear what you have to say.

So I started this whilst on a plane and was sipping through it quite merrily, then once I got home, I put it down and then found it a real effort to pick up again. I managed to get halfway through and the thought of there still being so much still to go just made me want to chuck it across the room. I realised that I couldn’t work it out and that... I just didn’t actually care. I’m glad I watched the spoiler.... although it’s not made me understand what the hell was going on any more than I already did. Just a big fat “meh”, from me. And I’m annoyed that I wasted time only getting halfway through.

Lol. I thought it was one of the best books I read all year. Different strokes and all...

I’m so glad I’m not the only one who didn’t like this book!

I keep getting the Seven Deaths book mixed up with the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo lol.

@Georgesmomsu

5 жыл бұрын

Ha! Me too .. I ended up getting the seven husbands on audio accidentally.. it is good though 😂

I was increasingly frustrated by this read and almost gave up multiple times. The two reasons for struggling on were the high opinions of it out there and my stubbornness to know what was going on. In the end I was left unsatisfied with its answers to the many mysteries. I was also frustrated by the misogynist views and the lack of developed female characters. I’d be interested to see if it was ever made into film and improved upon as the concept is fascinating. Perhaps this would be a rare case where a film adaptation had an ending/reveal different to the book? As always great crime time and banter. Thank you!

The reason for the 7 deaths vs 7 1/2 deaths is because of the release of the 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo the American publisher renamed it to 7 1/2 deaths prior to release to avoid confusion.

When I started reading it I was filled with excitement. I could see a potentially awesome and wild sci-fi idea coming to life with a thriller/mystery added and I thought that this book was right up my street. However, the more I think about this book post-reading it, the more I agree with your opinions guys. I think if we had gone into this world knowing that the house was a construct and a prison, then the mystery could have been more captivating for me. If this book was sold as a sci-fi novel with a costume-drama-twist, then I would have enjoyed it more. Think Westworld meets Downton Abbey. Actually, the whole sci-fi element of this book really intrigues me, and I think there's a potentially awesome TV show idea there. But as a crime novel, it falls short. Way too long and drawn out than was necessary. Give the main character 3 days to figure it out, from 3 different perspectives and more understanding of the concept of the prison, then maybe this book could be better. The characterisation was not good, I completely agree Simon. The ugly men were evil. Women were basic to absent. Aiden should have jumped into a woman! How interesting could it have been!!! Also, "You've semi-died, love!" LOLS!!!!

I'm with you two on this. The book was over-hyped. I don't like Groundhoug Day or Groundhog Day-esque stories. I found that by the end I was reading the words but the story had lost all sense to me that I was just reading to get it over with rather than actually understood or liked the story. I definitely wasn't a fan x

I didn't completely hate The Seven 1/2 Death of Evelyn Hardcastle but I had to keep flipping back to the beginning because I had trouble remembering whose body Aiden was now in. I agree about the lack of depth in description about all of the women in the story. I found that to be a serious let down. The plot holes and lack of explanations were also problematic. Even after reading, I had no idea about whom the 1/2 death referred.

I didn't love it or hate it, but then again I love time loop stories and the 'twist' reminded me of an episode of "Black Mirror" (White Bear, I think) , so I didn't come as much of a surprise. I did think it was about one hundred pages too long. So, I guess my view was that it so-so.

Congrats Pip :) I loved My Sister The Serial Killer, so glad it made the shortlist for The Woman's Prize :) Oops I gave Evelyn Hardcastle five stars, I think I liked it because it was a little bit different from what I usually read was a nice change from the normal crime I read, however I feel you both had valid points, Simon you are totally correct he should have woken up in a woman's body how convenient it was all men! I loved the sections with the plague doctors and found them creepy as however I think I would have preferred if they were left ambiguous rather than being explained but that's just me!

I loved Evelyn Hardcastle! Do you think the men are represented in a positive light in comparison to the female? You discuss the poor representation of women but, personally, I don't think that men come across any better! The whole book felt full of villains to me.

@sarahk1695

5 жыл бұрын

But there are plenty of men who are more interesting or grey, like Bell or the blackmailer whose name I've forgotten. They had depth and intrigue, whereas every female character in this was either a murderer or murdered. I thought it's especially a shame because there were so many characters and therefore so much opportunity to do something different.

I have to say my feelings were just about the same with this one. I don't have a problem with the reveal that it was a prison, that was a vaguely interesting idea to me. I do have a problem with the implication that the only way people can be redeemed or become better is by forgetting their whole identity. Anna was so meek and dependent on Aiden in the final scenes, which didn't get at all, as it didn't work with her (albeit thin) characterization in the rest of the novel. Ugh I'm so frustrated

Totally agree with you! I really did not like the seven and half deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. Ridiculous and way too complicated.

Thank you, Pip. My biggest problem with this book was that it was too long. It definitely bogged down in the middle and I was only getting through 2 pages at a time. It felt about 50 pages heavy for me. Other than that, I actually enjoyed it. When all 3 of you mentioned during Crime Time Half Time that you’d be furious if Aiden didn’t jump into a woman’s body, I was a bit non-plussed. I didn’t find that egregious or misogynistic or even lazy. It just wasn’t something I thought necessary. (I am a woman, by the way.) It’s not a book that stayed with me. I found myself saying “oh right, I forgot about that” a lot during your review. I guess the premise was so novel it carried the book for me. 🤷‍♀️

I completely agree with you about Evelyn Hardcastle. I thought the end of it read as if he was trying to come up with a reason for this whole idea he'd had, and I was SO annoyed with the lack of female characters. There was a massive cast of characters, any of them could easily have been a woman.

I really enjoyed the book but I listened to it on audiobook so maybe the narrator made it easier to keep track of the different characters. I do agree with Pip about wanting to know more about Anna and what she did (I was imagining a kind of V is for Vendetta type scenario) and agree that a female body would have been interesting. Also it's a good point about the villainous characters, other than Daniel, being physically othered.

I did not like this book at all...too many characters who lacked depth...complicated and confusing too. Did read until the end but did not really care what happened ...not one I would recommend...on the other hand I loved My Sister the serial killer and look forward to your discussion on this...

They weren't all together at one time. The mother and father were never seen with her in the same place... because she killed them off first. You might like the audiobook! The narrator is excellent and the characters come alive much more. I love your comment about women though. In fact, I think in the book there is even a comment from Daniel that a future host would be a woman, but it wasn't because he was lying.

Yay!!so pleased crime time is back!! Completely agree about Seven Deaths!! Really disliked it and felt like it was a complete waste of my time. Expected so much more!! Xx

I couldn’t disagree more about Seven Deaths, I didn’t find it too complicated, but didn’t view it as a whodunnit or crime...but... the audiobook was stunning, atmospheric and well voiced - with nicely differentiated characters. The plot was easier to parse that way. It’s the first time I’ve ever disagreed with your opinion. Oh no!

@jcoxbell

5 жыл бұрын

James Cross agree the audiobook was well done!

agree with the 7 1/2 book analysts it’s has to many twists and asides.

Oh I was so excited to read this book but sadly I was disappointed 😞 like stated it made me very upset to find out it was a prison and there were tons of other prisons all around, it was very misogynistic, and to find out that aiden went there over and over to revenge his sister but just ended up falling in love with the killer🤔 and was willing to live on the run with this “horrible” person! I too feel duped!

I had felt quite lonely because i really disliked this book and thought I was in the minority. Simon, you very eloquently and perfectly expressed my thoughts about "The Seven Deaths.. .". I finished it feeling so disappointed and cheated. Hated it and read most of it thinking "it will pick up. There has to be a very good reason for all the positive reviews". But alas sometimes you jist have to accept that you occasionally swim against the tide and that is not a bad thing.

Totally agree I do not think there was much character development not only the female characters also the male characters. Did not care if they all died, well they did over and over again. Shame as this novel had lots of promise.

I'm reading this book and it feels like wading through treacle. As one of the other comments said, I'm reading but it's not going in and I just can't engage at all. Going to dnf it 😪

Also not a fan of 7 Deaths. It was too long and confusing and I just couldn't keep up. The author would sometimes write something as if it had meaning from a previous host but I'd completely forgotten/lost track so it was lost on me. Apparently it took him 10 years to write it 😲😬

I DNF’d it .. .i found it confusing and didn’t connect with any characters..m I would like to try it again on3 day .. maybe

I agree, I didn't like the book at all and found it a frustrating read . Also congratulations Pip.

I wonder myself what the hype was all about. And I listened to it on audio. Not worth the time

So .... the Seven Deaths. I wish it had been less mystery and more about the backstory as Pip said. I was floored at the end and loved the whole IDEA of that being a prison, however, i dont see how being in that position gives anybody empathy or rehabilitation....thats a stretch. And i wss dyinnng to know the backstory. Im hoping turton does a prequel and sequel. If he does, ill reserve my judgement, if he doesnt.....grrrrrr.

Congratulations Pip