ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – Vivian Dies Again by C.E. Hulse

Posted on 27th January 2026 By Nicola

Vivian Dies Again by C.E. Hulse will be published by Viper Books on 29th January 2026. My thanks to the publishers for sending a proof and a finished copy for review.

Time heals all wounds. Except blunt force trauma.

Vivian Slade is a cautionary tale. The wrong side of thirty, she’s no longer the life and soul of the party – she’s a party of one. But she’s determined to turn over a new leaf, even if that means going to a family gathering where everyone hates her.

Turns out, someone really hates her – enough to push her off a balcony to a very messy end. But then Vivian wakes up! Only to be murdered again. And again. Stuck in a baffling time loop, Vivian’s only ally is a sleep-deprived waiter who just wants to finish his shift. Will Vivian be able to solve her own murder? Only time will tell…

Viv is a nightmare. She’s the party guest that nobody wants to see, the bane of her family and friends’ lives, an utter catastrophe. At a memorial gathering for two family members she is unceremoniously tipped over a balcony to her death. Except this is no ordinary murder. Vivian is doomed to die over and over again, going back to the same moment a staggering eighty-four times. Only a waiter at the gathering knows what has happened and he seems to be stuck too, so he alone must help Viv to find her way out of the loop.

This is such an unusual and cleverly written story. I know that if I came across Viv in real life she would do my head in, but in Vivian Dies Again she is funny and chaotic and rather likeable in her own calamitous way. I had no idea how she was going to get out of the time loop but I was along for the ride….and what a ride!

Whilst there is an element of madness about the whole thing, C.E. Hulse’s adept writing style keeps it from descending into silliness. I thought the time loop was executed perfectly as I was hurled back and forth between the many murders and throwbacks to Viv’s behaviour in the past until the reason for her murder became clearer. Viv is a brilliant creation and the other characters are so well-drawn. This is a crime caper with a difference and I loved it.

C.E. Hulse lives in Manchester with her husband and a small controlling dog. She is the author of four books under the name Caroline Hulse: The Adults, Like a House on Fire, All the Fun of the Fair, and Reasonable People. Her work has been published in fourteen languages and optioned for television. Vivian Dies Again is her debut crime novel.