The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is my first read of 2020, and if it happens to set a precedent for the remainder of the books I read this year, I will be over-joyed.
Though I’m no sleuth by any means—my imaginary clients would demand refunds and the victims left to the will of the dastardly villain every time—I can’t resist a good mystery or thriller. A friend of mine recommended and lent The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle to me. He was confident the thriller/mystery would be right up my alley, and he was not wrong.
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle sets an intriguing premise reminiscent of a Groundhogs Day ‘Whodunit’ where our protagonist inhabits a number of hosts to relive the same day over and over to suss out the killer among his party. Given the unique nature of the detective work that must follow, the author, Stuart Turton, does a wonderfully thoughtful job of making each ‘host’ different in unexpected ways. Furthermore, he’s consistently conscious of how disorienting the process is for the protagonist amidst several other factors working against him.
This book was phenomenal, but reader be warned—this book isn’t one to put down and pick up every few days. The timeline is complicated (though well thought out and executed perfectly). If you want to follow it without stumbling, it’s best to read this book in a couple of long sittings if you can steal away from family and friends for a while.
The Rules of Blackheath
Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered at 11:00 p.m.
There are eight days, and eight witnesses for you to inhabit.
We will only let you escape once you tell us the name of the killer.
Understood? Then let’s begin…
***
Evelyn Hardcastle will die. Every day until Aiden Bishop 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. And some of his hosts are more helpful than others.
For fans of Claire North and Kate Atkinson, The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a breathlessly addictive novel that follows one man’s race against time to find a killer― but an astonishing time-turning twist means that nothing and no one are quite what they seem.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes
xxx
Rebecca