From the Bookshelf of 2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge…

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

Stuart Turton

Start date: January 1, 2024

Finish date: January 31, 2024

Discussion: November 2025 Group Read

Why we're reading this: Group Read for January 2024
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November 2025 Group Read

The Travelling Cat Chronicles: Reviews by 2025 Reading Challengers
By Winter , Group Reads · 3 posts · 26 views

last updated Nov 11, 2025 01:53AM

The Travelling Cat Chronicles: Mid-Reading Discussion
By Winter , Group Reads · 8 posts · 29 views

last updated Nov 06, 2025 04:59AM

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What Members Thought

Nov 12, 2018 Susan Liston rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: own-it, read-2019-fiction, mystery

UPDATE BELOW:
DNFing this for the moment. I was so hopeful about this, I bought it. A country house murder mystery where the narrator switches identities. I wasn't sure exactly how this would work but I assume it would allow us to see each suspect's point of view combined with the POV of the person solving the crime, a unique idea, certainly. Each time there is a body switch we/he would find out some new details by seeing things from a new perspective. But no, it's not like that. The character po UPDATE BELOW:
DNFing this for the moment. I was so hopeful about this, I bought it. A country house murder mystery where the narrator switches identities. I wasn't sure exactly how this would work but I assume it would allow us to see each suspect's point of view combined with the POV of the person solving the crime, a unique idea, certainly. Each time there is a body switch we/he would find out some new details by seeing things from a new perspective. But no, it's not like that. The character pops in and out of bodies in a confusing fashion, there are other people there doing the same (?) and there is a bad guy disguised as a footman lurking around killing rabbits and a sort of Cruise Director popping up all over wearing a plague doctor's masque. (this would be an effective visual, but not on the page..."In the corner stood the man with the plague doctor's mask." (not a direct quote) I am SO CONFUSED and although I guess I"m supposed to be, it's boring to be totally confused as nothing much seems to be happening anyway. I made it halfway , to page 250. Since this book is mine, I will put it aside and perhaps give it another go in the near future, I see all these rave reviews from people who are maybe not as dense as I am? Oh well.

1/27 Okay, okay I went back and finished this as a buddy read with Bookaxe. This time I read more slowly and carefully, and I had a much easier time of it, I do tend to read too fast sometimes. So I'm thinking, this is not that bad, perhaps the confusion was just my lack of concentration. Then I hit around page 300 and I started to get a bit mixed up again, but I soldiered on. By the time I got to the end I was audibly sighing. I have SO many questions, did I just miss the answers or were the answers not there? Why do so many other people seem to revel in this book, did it make sense to them? I'm at sixes and sevens. (I am going to give this two stars because I did enjoy a portion of it when I was thinking there was a CHANCE I was going to get an resolution that I could sink my teeth in, and the author certainly did put in a lot of effort) Sigh.
1/27 Later
Okay, I've been reading more opinions of this book and I think I've hit on something...no one has any idea what is happening , but some people have figured out an explanation for themselves that satisfies them, so they are content and don't feel like they've wasted a bunch of time ploughing through these 500 pages. Maybe. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Nov 16, 2019 Angela Jones rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club-books

I loved the story, but felt it was just a little too convoluted and there were too many characters and details to keep straight. Other than that, it was very well written and I didn't see the twists coming. ...more

1 like · Like · see review