The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
Published by Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication date: September 18, 2018
Genres: Book Clubs, Debut, Fiction, Mystery, Suspense
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The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is the most delightful mashup of the game Clue (Mrs. Drudge in the kitchen, Lord Ravencourt in the library, anyone?), the movie Groundhog Day, and the book Life After Life. If that sounds like a hot mess, and you’re backing away, trust me, it’s not. It’s dark, dangerous, and delicious. Set on a decaying estate, it takes place over a long weekend that is a macabre memorial ‘party’ to commemorate the death of the owners’ son nineteen years ago. The narrator is Aiden Bishop, and you’ll be spellbound as he goes through eight days of hell, repeating each day, but in a different person’s body. All to solve a murder. That hasn’t happened yet.
When we meet Aiden, he is not in his own body nor does he have any idea what’s happened to him. It takes a man in black cloak and mask, whom he calls the Plague Doctor, to explain his situation to him and it’s not a fun one. His mind and spirit are placed in one of the many house guests’ bodies, and with their personality, for 24 hours. Then he is transported to another guest at a different point in the weekend. Within eight days, using these people, he needs to find out who tries to kill the owner’s daughter, Evelyn Hardcastle. Solving the murder is the only way he will be returned to his own body and life. As if the task isn’t big enough, there are others who are in the exact same situation and only the first person to solve the crime will get out. How dishy is that?!
So begins what is fabulously complicated and snarky reading. Aiden is an observer of his host’s body and so is aware of all their worst traits, even as he is stuck living within them. The only thing he has going for him is that he retains his memory, meaning as he travels back and forth in time in these people’s bodies, there is the possibility that if he is smart, he can leave clues for himself. But he is still held to eight days to figure it all out before his memory is erased and he starts again.
There is much that could go wrong with a book like this. Namely, loose ends, too many false trails, unnecessary details…the list is almost endless. Thankfully, author Stuart Turton either has an encyclopedic, photographic memory or he wrote a computer program for the novel because for every detail, every clue, every question, there is an answer. This could make for a fiendishly complex but dry mystery, but there is snark and wit throughout The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. The title is the clunkiest thing about the novel because everything else works seamlessly. Is there a lot of detail? Yes. Is it easy to second guess? Yes. And if you are the kind of reader who must figure out whodunit then this novel might not be for you. But for anyone who can relax their mind and leave the heavy lifting to an author, then this literary charmer, filled with nefarious goings-on, unlikable characters, and a plot that corkscrews with twists, is reading perfection. Pure entertainment with an ending that made me shake my head—in the best way. In case you’re not quite sure how I feel about The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle: READ THIS BOOK.
Fantastic review Catherine! I read a few pages of this but got distracted and never picked it back up. Everything you said about this makes me think I need to…I always loved Clue!!
For being dark and creepy, it’s also funny. It’s a wonderful mashup of so many things.
Wow! What a great review. I’ll be honest, this is one I’d never really considered, but you’ve convinced me I should have. I’m thinking this might be a good book for the summer when I have more time to relax and enjoy its complexities.
It may just be a case of ‘right book, right time’ and won’t work as well for others but I loved it. I could see it as summer read!
Great review and so glad this book worked for you! To me, the pacing made me feel like a hamster on a wheel, getting nowhere. I think the issue is that I read 75% of it in one sitting (on a cross country flight..) and kind of got bored (of being on a plane) but pushed on due to lack of anywhere to go, so I ended up feeling stuck.. which also happens to be a major feeling in this book, so the whole thing felt a little claustrophobic to me. I can definitely see if being more enjoyable if broken up a little more!
That’s so interesting, because I did not want to put it down! It did get pretty crazy by the middle, but the Twilight Zone aspects of it appealed to me. I can see how it could make you buggy, though.
Based on your review I got the audio book. Super excited. Stay tuned.
Oooo…now I’m nervous. I have a caveat. There are so many characters in the novel that, if not done right, audio could be annoyingly confusing. If that’s the case, dump it and try the print. Don’t give up completely! Unless of course, you hate it. 😉
I’m in the middle of it and I’m confused! I think I’m going to have to read it twice, the second time to follow all the clues.
I don’t think you will- he wraps up everything by the end and answers all the questions. I had a lost feeling as well and just went along with it and was delighted.
I recently came across your site, and as an avid reader, it felt like a treasure. I read a few of your reviews, placed a few of the books you recommended on hold at my library, and then!! I came across this review. I loved this book. It was so different from anything I’ve read–and having been reading voraciously for decades, that is surprisingly hard to experience. The ending was brilliant. Being willing to sit in the confusion and disorientation during the beginning and middle of the book (letting us feel just a bit of what the character himself would have been feeling) made the resolve even more meaningful. Now, of course, I’ll be checking out your reviews all the time looking for other gems like this one.
You are so kind! Thank you, I love it when voracious readers can find book ideas here. It’s the only reason I do it.
I love your description of sitting in the confusion. It is perfect for that book and also for another I read recently. I had to give up on “answers” and neatly tied threads and hope the author knew what they were doing. Thankfully, they did, but it doesn’t always work out.