The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

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Manufacturer: Stuart Turton
Brand: Mystery, Murder Mystery
Brew: Paperback
Steeping Time: 464 pages
Tea Service: Book Club
Strength:

Synopsis: Aiden Bishop knows the rules. Evelyn Hardcastle will die every day until he can identify her killer and break the cycle. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest at Blackheath Manor. And some of his hosts are more helpful than others. With a locked-room mystery that Agatha Christie would envy, Stuart Turton unfurls a breakneck novel of intrigue and suspense.

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is an Agatha Christie murder mystery on steroids.

My best way to describe it is Clue meets Groundhog Day, a murder mystery on constant loop. And before I get too far, there is no difference between The 7 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. There was a title copyright issue in the US, so the 1/2 was added.

We start the novel with Sebastian Bell, and things are not looking good. He doesn’t know who he is, how he got to where he is, or how to get back to wherever he came from. He doesn’t even recognize his own hands. We stay with this character, in a haze of confusion and chaos, for seventy pages. Stick it out through that first chapter if you find yourself struggling. I thought there was plenty going on to keep me glued to the pages, but others in our book club heavily disagreed and found it too slow. I had an audible ‘oh s—‘ moment when chapter two got underway, and I bet you will too.

Personally, I found this book incredibly engaging.

I was rushed to read it in time for book club, but I’m sort of glad I was forced to read it quickly. There is so much going on that it’s easy to forget details if you put the book down for a few days. I’ve never been one to take notes while reading a book (unless it was for school and I had to), but I was tempted for this one. The world that Stuart Turton creates is like a house of mirrors in a lightning storm. Think you know something? Give it a few pages. You’ll find out you know nothing.

Our book club had massively mixed reviews for The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. Out of the five of us, we had one DNF, one who finished but didn’t like it at all, one who finished but thought it went a few twists too far, one who almost finished it in time but was enjoying it, and me, who gave it five cuppas (or stars, to those that do non-tea-based rating systems).

Our DNFer didn’t make it past chapter 1, which I think is a real pity. However, after discussing the book during our club meeting, she said she was glad she didn’t finish it because she didn’t think she’d have enjoyed any of it. Not every book is for every individual, after all. Many characters in this book are unsavory, so be forewarned if you don’t want to read anything that probably comes with a trigger warning.

I loved the quick pace, constant character changes, and the never-ending guessing this book brought on.

I didn’t guess the ending, which I adore, and I was rather surprised by it. The setting, a crumbling estate in the English countryside, is precisely the kind of setting I love. A lot of elements came together beautifully to form a book I really enjoyed. There are so many classic mystery components to this story, but it also has its fair share of surprises. I found it a delightfully maddening and refreshing take on an age-old genre. I’d like to read The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle for a second time, just to see how many connections I missed on the first go. And I’m also highly looking forward to future books from Stuart Turton. What crazy world will he drop us into next?

Have you read The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about it! Want to read it for yourself? Click here to get a copy of your own.
Cheers,
Lydia