The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton Review

The 7/12 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle | Stuart Turton | Sourcebooks Landmark| Pub: 9/18/18

"People are murdered every day. Righting one wrong can’t be the only reason for all of this.”

Right when I joined bookstagram in January of 2019, I saw this book EVERYWHERE. Naturally I went to my local Half Priced Books and asked them to order it for me. They hadn’t even heard of it!

Here we are now a year later, and I have finally read the book. It was incredible. I am actually really upset that I am done reading it. It is truly one of the only books that has ever stumped me. Hand me a mystery or thriller and I typically can figure it out before it ends, sometimes even before halfway through, but not this book. Even as the ending was unfolding, I couldn’t grasp what was happening. Truly a work of art.

The book is about a man name Aiden Bishop. He is trapped in Blackheath to solve a murder. He repeats the same day for 8 days until it is solved and each day he wakes up as someone else. Some of his hosts are helpful and some set him back.

The only way Aiden can escape is by telling the Plague Doctor who committed the crime by 11 pm that night. But Aiden isn’t the only one trapped in Blackheath that is trying to solve the murder. Only one person can be released. Will it be Anna, Aiden or Daniel?

There was a questions and answers section in the back of the book done with Stuart Turton and he said this book took him 3 years to write. Since each character that Aiden becomes is connected somehow to the others, any minor change Stuart made in one chapter would mean he would have to go through the entire book because it would change EVERYTHING. Honestly, it was worth it.

Now you’re probably wondering why I am raving about how much I loved this book but only giving it 4 stars. So here is why: I still have too many questions and I feel the end needed a bit more.

We find out the murderer, but I wanted to see what Aiden’s life went back to once he escaped the prison of Blackheath. I wanted more information on why Aiden CHOSE to be there. Did the outside world time freeze while Aiden was trapped in Blackheath for 30 years? (He didn’t know it was 30 years because he forgot everything every time the loop ended and it began again). But he also didn’t age in the loop… AND why was Daniel there? Anna and Aiden made sense since that was explained but there was no explanation for Daniel.

I do hope Stuart writes another mystery soon because I would be absolutely thrilled to read it! If you love mysteries, do yourself a huge favor and read this book.

Synopsis (Credit: Goodreads)

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER.

"Gosford Park" meets "Groundhog Day" by way of Agatha Christie – the most inventive story you'll read this year.

Tonight, Evelyn Hardcastle will be killed... again.

It is meant to be a celebration but it ends in tragedy. As fireworks explode overhead, Evelyn Hardcastle, the young and beautiful daughter of the house, is killed.

But Evelyn will not die just once. Until Aiden – one of the guests summoned to Blackheath for the party – can solve her murder, the day will repeat itself, over and over again. Every time ending with the fateful pistol shot.

The only way to break this cycle is to identify the killer. But each time the day begins again, Aiden wakes in the body of a different guest. And someone is determined to prevent him ever escaping Blackheath...

SELECTED AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE GUARDIAN, I PAPER, FINANCIAL TIMES AND DAILY TELEGRAPH.