Book Review : The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

Blurb:

Tonight, Evelyn Hardcastle will be killed … Again

It is meant to be a celebration but it ends in tragedy. As fireworks explode overhead, Evelyn Hardcastle, the young and beautiful daughter of the house, is killed.

But Evelyn will not die just once. 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. Every time ending with the fateful pistol shot.

The only way to break this cycle is to identify the killer. But each time the day begins again, Aiden wakes in the body of a different guest. And someone is determined to prevent him ever escaping Blackheath…

Review (*spoiler-free):

As it appears in the image, I read ‘The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle’ by Stuart Turton and not ‘The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle’ apparently. It seems that I read the British edition, hence the difference in titles. Nonetheless, it doesn’t matter much as long as Evelyn Hardcastle dies more than seven times! This is the author’s debut novel and it turned out to be a mighty impressive one, winning the Costa book awards in 2018! It took him more than two years to write the book and I think that’s pretty justified, given the complex plot and characters. You have to render your utmost attention while reading every chapter as they depict the same day over again but from eight different perspectives.

The story is about solving Evelyn Hardcastle’s murder, in a mansion near to a forest in Britain, amidst a party, set around 1920s. As the blurb says, Aiden Bishop wakes up in the body of eight different guests and relives the same day over. His task is to find out who wants to murder Evelyn Hardcastle in lieu of his freedom from Blackheath, the mansion. There’s Aiden, the mysterious Anna, Evelyn and eight other hosts – a corsage of peculiar characters with secrets of their own. There’s love, murder, plots, lords, a potential marriage, a not-so-forgotten death and deceit. There’s also this fantastical phenomenon of time loop – reliving the same day, and body swapping (well, not exactly). It’s a whirlwind, really.

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Author Interview : Adi

Image Courtesy: Google Images

Have you read India’s first Tantric thriller ‘Tantra‘ yet? If you haven’t, go grab a copy NOW. Read it, come back, and read my review here.

Brief Blurb:

Anu is a leather wearing, no-nonsense professional guardian with a reputation for killing the most dangerous vampires in New York City. But when her enemies murder the one person she truly cared about, all she wants is vengeance. The only clue points to New Delhi, so Anu puts in for a job transfer…

… At first, it seems Anu’s biggest challenge will be evading the nice boys her aunt wants her to marry. But when children start disappearing, she discovers forces older and darker than anything she’s faced before. All of Delhi is in danger, especially the sexy stranger who sets Anu’s pulse racing.

If you have read the book already, and biing nails for a sequel – here’s something better to read in the meanwhile – an exclusive interview with Adi, the author of Tantra.

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Conversation:

1. To begin with, heartiest congratulations for Tantra! You seem to have struck the right chord with the tagline ‘India’s first Tantric thriller.’

I was hoping I would strike some sort of chord! When the book came out I was shocked at the absolute lack of fiction involving Tantra despite how well it is ingrained into our society. I think a lot of people might have been put off by the vampire bit in it though, even though the book is absolutely about tantra, and the vampires are there just for the ride.

I would love to know how it all began. What made you think of having a female superhero as the protagonist?

Adi (Image Courtesy: Facebook)

Years ago in college I wrote a short story about an old jaded vampire hunter who eventually took in a protégé. When I finished that story, I found myself more interested in exploring the life and tale of the protégé, Anu Aggarwal, than the mentor himself. I have always had amazing and strong female role models my entire life. Starting with my mother and grandmother, and extending to my aunts, friends and my teachers. I guess there was not one moment where I decided I wanted to write a female superhero. But as I did I realized how amazing it was, and how much it was needed. Most young girls today do not have strong female models who they can relate to. While women are doing incredible things in this country from politics to business, most of them are not young, and are not facing the problems of the young in daily life. I guess what also attracted me was the notion of a young woman in India which poses its own unique and wonderful contradictions just wanting to be explored. India needs a few female superheros and I was happy to be able to write one.

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Book Review : Age of Hiblisk

Image Courtesy: Google

Blurb View:

It is the journey of Prince William and Princess Sara, the protagonists,through the magical and spiritual worlds of Pantolis, Hiblisk, and Ikra. As their voyage unfolds, they realize the true motive behind the terror employed by the dark forces of Dushtt to claim supremacy over the lands of Pantolis and beyond. Every new revelation brings to light the methodical madness employed by the dark forces and secrets of Mother Nature, which have been safely guarded for ages by the various civilizations of the secret worlds.
Their journey also introduces them to the divine forces that monitor the functions of the world and gives them access to legendary, mystical weapons and advanced spiritual knowledge which illuminates the flow of their understanding and actions towards various aspects of life. They use the knowledge gained, to try and bring peace, to their war ravaged lands and fight the ever-growing might and influence of the mysterious dark forces that haunt their kingdoms. Will the light of all that is divine, fighting under the banner of Prince William and Princess Sara, flicker away into oblivion against the might of the dark forces under Dushtt, or will they survive? ……..Only time in her womb holds the answer, potent enough to change the outlook of the very world we live in.

Review:

Fantasy is pretty much a revered genre in fiction where things could go either way for the author and the readers. I have read fantasy novels which are trash, as well as the ones shooting way high in fame and popularity like the Harry Potter series. There is another breed which is mediocre. It is quite painstaking to read these mediocre ones. They keep challenging you to read towards the last page just so you know the whole story. I had picked this book for review expecting an interesting fantasy thriller written by yet another Indian author making his debut. The consequence though, was not at all pleasant for me.

Firstly, the blurb had its own promises of a taut fantasy thriller, the tagline ‘A Story with a Soul’ and an attachment of two printed maps inside. That is quite enough to attract people who want to read such a book. But – this one is a classic example of an editorial disaster, overuse of vernacular English and a mediocre plot – all three concocting to a not-interesting-read-at-all. The editors of this book have done a terrible job at the author’s expense. There are typographical errors on pages 15, 20, 31, 35…And then I lost interest even noting them down any more.

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Book Review: Tantra

Blurb View:

Image Courtesy: Google Images

In India, she finds more than she expected. For one thing, her fellow operatives have made a truce with the vampires. For another, it’s way too hot to wear leather.

At first, it seems Anu’s biggest challenge will be evading the nice boys her aunt wants her to marry. But when children start disappearing, she discovers forces older and darker than anything she’s faced before. All of Delhi is in danger, especially the sexy stranger who sets Anu’s pulse racing.

To prepare for the coming battle, Anu must overcome her personal demons and put aside years of training. This time, her most powerful weapon will come from her mind, not her weapons belt.

Review:

As I glanced the blurb, I was not too impressed since fantasy/vampire thrillers are genres I mostly stay away from. It is futile to explain why they fail to arouse the core column of interest inside me. Perhaps I like being grounded to reality through the books I savour. Nonetheless, I chose to read the book solely to review it. And I have to admit, I am impressed, indeed. Owing to the ‘vampire’ and ‘vengeance’ mentioned on the blurb, readers would tend to assume such in the initial chapters but the plot unfolds gradually.

The protagonist Anu Aggarwal is portrayed as a no-nonsense professional guardian, who despite of being utterly professional gets emotionally involved in her profession for reasons personal. I liked the idea of the heroine being the so-called ‘coconut-type’, putting on a stern persona but having a perfectly sensible and emotional interior. She is shown as a skillful vampire-hunter with no mercy for the bloody creatures. Having confessed that I haven’t read a single vampire thriller till date, or watched the popular series of vampire movies, I certainly felt clueless about the techniques of fights and jargon used. I wish the author would have explained the background to some extent as to why or how Anu became a guardian, and how do her likes take down vampires. Little episodes about how Anu tries to cope with the Delhi culture, her doting aunt, relatives and the process of arranged marriage are well sketched to grasp the readers’ interest. Few of them are hilarious and reflect the show-off traditions of upscale Delhites.

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