A time loop story also requires meticulous plotting, but it’s often already a mystery, where the story might hinge on figuring out what trapped the characters in the first place. A murder mystery focuses more explicitly on whodunit, and it might dwell on characterization as much as clue-laying and tight plotting. Stitching together time loops and murder mysteries may not sound like the easiest marriage, but in Deathloop and Evelyn Hardcastle, they mesh extremely well. Deathloop and The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle both pull from the best of these genres, creating something unique yet familiar. Agatha Christie murder mysteries continue to be popular as well. Time loops are a science-fiction trope that’s littered across film, with Groundhog Day as the de facto icon of the genre, and many other examples since. Plus, each category is enduringly popular on its own. Deathloop and The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle both combine time loops with murder mysteries - genres that are similarly dense with detail and encourage clue-finding. Though I’m not the first to make this comparison, I found the two echoed one another so closely because they mash up genres in an eerily similar way. If you liked one, you just might like the other. As I wrapped up my current Deathloop playthrough, I was intensely reminded of a book I had just finished - Stuart Turton’s 2018 murder mystery best-seller The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.