A twisty take on an old favourite, in the form of the country house murder mystery. Aiden Bishop is forced to live the same day over and over, but as different people. Each time he falls asleep, (or gets boshed over the head) he wakes in a different person, trying desperately to solve the mystery of who killed Evelyn Hardcastle, in order to win his freedom. He has no idea who is keeping him there, or why, and barely any idea of who he really is. Blackheath, the former grand mansion he is trapped in has fallen into disrepair, and his fellow guests have all been convened there in a macabre recreation of a house party twenty years before, when the young son of the house was murdered. Aiden is surrounded by a cast of odd characters with malicious motives of their own. I assumed the story would have more old-world charm, but it’s hard to place in time at all. There are dark doings, and it is all rather theatrical. It’s a clever idea, very plot-driven, and I was keen to get to the end and have it all explained; but ultimately felt I didn’t know enough about any of the characters to really care what happened to them. When I finally did know all, it left me rather puzzled. Nevertheless a good original mystery.
