The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

I read this book within 5 days and let me tell you! This is BY FAR one of the best stories I’ve come across to date! The last 2 chapters had me audibly screaming and falling of the couch! I could barely put it down and honestly if I didn’t have to work, tend to my dog, and exercise, I would’ve read it in one sitting! If you love mysteries this should be on your shelf! You will be actively trying to figure out “who dun it” the ENTIRE time and you will NOT be be prepared for the twists and turns of this book or even be able to guess the ACTUAL outcome of this book! I sat in literal shock after finishing it because it was so good and actually hand clapped the author😂

Mystery? ✔️Captivating? ✔️Thought provoking? ✔️•Aiden Bishop has 8 days to solve a murder. He has 8 different people to utilize. But all 8 days are the same… and he is trapped in those 8 people.•At a masquerade ball, Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered. Aiden must figure out who commits this crime. He spends each day as a different “host”, desperately trying to unravel the mysteries of the house and those invited to the party. Who can he trust? Can he even trust himself?•I’m not a huge mystery fan, but this book was full of twists and turns that constantly left me wondering. The ending is incredibly surprising and leaves you thinking about what you would’ve done.•4 ⭐️•Content: violence, murder•#mystery #mysterybooks #evelynhardcastle #murdermystery #fiction #fictional #gothic #gothicmystery #gothicbooks #read #biblio #shelflife #shelflove #readersgonnaread #reader #readmorebooks #ilovebooks #goodreads #goodreadschallenge2024 #bookclubbook #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookrecs

Unlike many mysteries, this one was unpredictable to the very end. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes suspense.

A clever tale of a struggle of rehabilitation that is unknown to the protagonist. Complex story that is woven by intrigue into a wonderful fantasy.

The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - not sure what I just read. I don’t usually mind books with multiple POV but this one left me very confused. I struggled to keep up with who was who and when.  The “hosts” are out of order but all have the same purpose - to save Evelyn Hardcastle. SPOILER - - - Similar to Black Mirror White Bear episode. Blackheath is a prison with a murder to solve to escape repeating the time over again. The murder is nearly impossible to solve 1.) the footman kills the hosts 2.) if you fall asleep; you wake up with no memories of the events that happened 3.) Aiden gets 8 days to solve the murder - everyone else only has one day - one host. Aiden is there voluntarily to see what happens in this prison, to see if it was enough punishment. The others are all there because of their crimes. Anna killed Aiden’s sister. I may attempt a 2nd go through and read/listen to the book and take copious notes. I listened to the audio book and maybe that was the problem - I got confused and then distracted very easily. Usually I am locked into audiobooks.

THE most complicated mystery I've ever read. First, you must figure out the surreal story, which is the basis for the mystery. Then, you must follow it through multiple twists and turns until the very last chapter where everything comes together. It's an absorbing, fun book to read. Kudos to the author.

I love murder mysteries and I love sci-fi, so the premise of this book was extremely appealing. The thing with murder mysteries is that the reader is also another detective along for the ride. I was frustrated that so many clues were kept from the reader. I understand why, but I felt cheated from being able to solve the mystery. I took a star away for that. I understand that the detective changes bodies and his abilities change drastically depending on who he is, so I forgive the poor way he handles the investigation. Still, I’m having trouble believing this murder, the way it was painted, had gone unsolved for 30 years. How many people died? That had to bring up questions and people digging. And now, with this ending, does it mean history has changed? Then, I was disappointed we didn’t get to see more of the world that created such a prison or time loop. It might help answer the previous question.

I enjoyed “The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle”, by Stuart Turton, but it’s difficult to describe. It’s a murder mystery/time-travel/sci-fi novel, and at times it was difficult to follow who was who, but I was never tempted to quit!

I am honestly still not sure what I think about this book. I am not sure I even fully comprehend the story- even with sticky notes and diagrams to piece it all together. With that said… here are my thoughts:If Groundhog Day and Sherlock Holmes had a literary love child, it might look something like The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. Stuart Turton’s novel is a unique and ambitious blend of classic murder mystery and mind-bending time loop, where the same day keeps repeating—just with a twist.Aiden Bishop, the main character, is trapped in a bizarre cycle, waking up in the body of a different guest at Blackheath Manor each day. His only way out? Solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle before the loop resets. But with each new perspective, he learns more about the people around him, their hidden motives, and the dark secrets lurking beneath the surface.Turton’s writing is sharp, and his ability to weave a complex web of clues and twists is impressive. The setting—an old, crumbling estate straight out of a detective novel—adds to the eerie atmosphere. However, the plot is very complicated. With so many characters, shifting perspectives, and a timeline that keeps folding in on itself, it’s easy to get lost. This book demands full attention; if you step away for too long, you might struggle to remember who’s who and what’s happening.Would I recommend it? Yes—but with a warning. If you love intricate puzzles, don’t mind flipping back to reread details, and enjoy a slow-burn mystery that challenges you, this book will be a thrilling ride. But if you prefer a straightforward whodunit, you might find it more frustrating than fun. Either way, The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a story you won’t forget anytime soon.

This story is actually about a man named Aiden Bishop and his quest to keep Evelyn Hardcastle from being murdered. The story twists and turns it's hard to keep facts straight or which ones matter. The ending is totally unexpected, yet predictable once revealed. It will keep you on the edge of your seat until the end.

If I hadn’t read the summary I would have been extremely confused by the beginning character experience (Bell). With all the character (or host) changes (and repeats when a full day was not fulfilled) the stories became quite complex and downright confusing. Thankfully, the narrator had to replay the events to himself as new hosts or Anna or to his supposed allies. I did find it to be much longer than it needed to be and the end was really a stretch. But overall I enjoyed the book (but it won’t be one I’ll recommend to my book club group).

Context: I read this book as part of a book club, and it was one already on my TBR. We spaced it out over 3 weeks and discussed the read pages weekly.Review: This was an excellent book club book! It’s a complex story with a lot to theorize about and unravel. I adored the writing style - every time I picked it up, I was sucked right back in. I love twisty stories, so it would have been just as enjoyable as an individual read for me, but it’s pretty complex and so some readers may enjoy reading it most in a book club-like setting so they can discuss and ask questions. The main character was really interesting, and I’m a sucker for amnesia with a side of identity crisis. It was really fun to try and parse out what parts of his hosts were him and what parts were the hosts - made extra fun because the main character didn’t know either. The plague doctor was an interesting take on a character being a symbol of death without being Death. I’m also a sucker for Death-like characters. Perhaps it shouldn’t have been surprising to me for a time-loop story to have a theme of second chances, but it was. Overall, I’m happy with how it ended, though I do have mixed feelings about Anna, and it does leave some up for interpretation. I would have liked to know what the consequences of the characters’ choices are more clearly, and I would have liked to understand the world of this book better - specifically what time period did this actually take place in and is Blackheath technologically, supernaturally, or magically created?- Sofia

I am still processing the ending to this book so am not sure yet if it was satisfying. The mystery checks out the murders and the murderer all make sense.The time loop aspect is where it starts falling apart. At the beginning it seems to be a loop where everything MUST happen as it did in the previous loop. But in later loops things seem to change, But I might have to listen again to see if they really do or if they just appear to change.Regardless of weather things can change, it really bothers me that it never answers whether the cause of the time loop was scientific or supernatural. Minus one star for not explaining that.I really did enjoy the story though. This is an audiobook where you must pay attention. You must actively think about the story and use your mind to slot new clues in place. Even then I'm not sure it's actually possible to solve it before the characters do.If you like the traditional Agatha Christie type who-dun-it but wish they had more sci-twists to them then this novel is bound to entertain you.The narrator is marvelous at not only doing character voices but at using those voices to help the reader keep the story straight. With all the back and forth through time, and the repetition of events, it would be easy to get confused. But he keeps everyone in place with consistent voices and excellent timing of lines.

Just okay, way over-hyped if you're well-versed in sci-fi media.It got increasingly better as it went on. The first half was just okay, and the first time I tried to read it I stopped at Chapter 5 because all the first 4 chapters did were world building by info dumping.It was florid with clunky metaphors & similes throughout; terribly written. So many painful phrases, some that don't make sense at all.As such, I feel the author wasn't writing to be read, for normal people, but instead to shout "Hey I'm a writer! I'm in the club! Look at what I can do! Give me accolades! Gaze upon my works, ye mighty!" unfortunately.This book could've been maybe 40% shorter easily, and not miss anything crucial.The "OMG twist you'll never see coming" reviewers must be people who haven't experienced much sci-fi media in their lives and also miss blatant context clues.The twist 80% into the book is good stuff, but not surprising in the least. What made that chapter actually bad was the pure exposition by one character to the main character & reader explaining what this time loop murder solving is about... followed by the main character remembering his former life and just doing exposition on that.The "gotcha" at the very end regarding the murder (no spoilers of course) simply does the classic mystery novel thing of "You, reader, could never have seen this coming; we pulled this out of left-field to be a surprise." The movie Murder by Death (1976) famously ends by poking fun at all the bad mystery writings which end like this.No typos and no repetitive use of a single word/phrase which is always nice in 2024.Overall, I enjoyed it and I loved the ideas!It's unlikely I'll ever read it a second time nor will I recommend it.

I was intrigued enough to get this book after a friend of mine posted they’d just finished it and needed to discuss with someone who’d read it.So I read it. Now I understand– you literally can’t talk about anything in the book without spoiling it.A man wakes up in the woods outside an estate and sees a woman running for her life chased by someone– and tries to intervene. That’s literally all I can say, other than this is a mystery about the death (as you guessed it) of Evelyn Hardcastle.The general problem is that the man doesn’t quite remember why he’s in the woods, who the running person is, or his own name. However, throughout the story, we slowly pull back the layers of these mysteries, and find out he must race against time to find the murderer.He’s an incredibly unreliable narrator, which I liked for the first half of the book, but for the rest of the book, I discovered the writing style– quite distancing– made me not care. Kind of didn’t care about the other folks, either, despite an attempt at creating relationships, there was just waaaaaay too much to-ing and fro-ing of folks going to talk to another person, then another person, then talking to another person, and having to keep straight a quite complicated timeline.So if you like puzzles, or complicated scenarios, or are a gamer, I can see you enjoying this book quite alot. I read for emotional/character development or complex mysteries that help peel back the emotional layers of the protagonists, which this did not do. Quite flat characters, actually.

This book is irresistibly readable. The marketing blurbs compare it to lots of other things—novels and TV shows and movies—and I can see the inspirations there, but really it's completely its own thing. It borrows freely from multiple genres, but isn't constrained by any of them. You won't be able to put it down—not because the author relies on cheap cliffhangers, but because the story keeps growing more complex and fascinating as it builds on itself, and you just want to keep going.The story is ingenious, and almost impossible to summarize, yet not difficult to follow. Despite its intricate structure, Stuart Turton doesn't leave any loose ends dangling; he clearly thought through all the details with incredible care during the writing process. It all hangs together logically... important for almost any story, but especially crucial for a mystery. (After I finished, I went looking online to see if anyone had compiled a timeline of the book's events, and was astonished that I couldn't find one. I may have to do it myself.)The characters are fleshed-out and believable and fully motivated and never quite what they seem at first... just like in real life, you never really know what someone's thinking unless you're inside their head. The lagniappe in this book is that the protagonist gets to be inside a whole series of heads... not through the authorial convenience of third-person multi-perspective (as with Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, for instance), but for reasons that are actually intrinsic to the plot.The atmosphere, the ambiance, the sheer *mood* of this book, is always present but never intrusive. The setting is clearly described and easy to envision (the map inside cover of the softcover edition is wonderful, and although I was disappointed to discover that the hardcover also included a floorplan of the house, once I found it I realized that it corresponded almost perfectly to the picture the words had painted for me). Even the weather is practically a character in this book.And the writing itself deserves praise. It's clear, engaging, and captivating. It's expository when it needs to be, introspective when it needs to be, and suspenseful when it needs to be. Turton has a way with a clever metaphor that makes it seem effortless. Most importantly—and I can't emphasize this strongly enough because it's a weakness of so, so many novels—he *sticks the landing*. This book resolves what it sets up, in terms of both plot and theme, in a genuinely satisfying way that brings a sense of closure.It's almost impossible for me to believe this is Turton's first novel. I definitely look forward to reading others.

This murder mystery/Groundhog Day/Quantum Leap mashup essentially tells two stories. First, there's a straight-up English murder mystery complete with a tumbledown mansion, a family with a tragic past, strange house guests, and mysterious butlers and ladies' maids flitting in and out. Then, on a completely different level, there's a protagonist/gumshoe who relives the day of the murder 8 times, each time inhabiting a different houseguest. The protagonist is doomed to re-live the murder over and over until he can solve the mystery and escape from the doomed and unpleasant mansion.In some ways, the mystery and the Groundhog Day schtick mesh well together. You get to re-live the day of the murder from several different points of view, gradually picking up more and more details, until the final reveal. On the other hand, there are so many characters -- including, if I've counted correctly, two ladies' maids of dubious background, a skulking butler and an evil footman, all of whom are uber-mysterious -- that it's hard to keep track of them and their comings and goings. I'm pretty certain that the author drew up an elaborate diagram and timeline so that he could keep track of everything himself, and if HE had to do it for HIS OWN STORY, isn't it possible that maybe the plot ended up a little too cluttered? Plus, really -- the butler did it? No, actually, the butler didn't do the headline murder itself, but the butler sure did a cartload of other weird stuff including a bunch of ancillary murders, and I have to say that whoever is in charge of HR at this creepy mansion needs to be fired.It takes forever until the reader finally finds out why the Groundhog Day business is going on. I will try as much as possible to avoid any spoilers here, but let me say that the reason for the whole repeat-the-day-until-you-solve-the-mystery stuff is nonsensical and pointless. The story has a Deus-Ex-Machina character called the Plague Doctor who flits in and out of the story, giving hints and acting mysterious and stuff. When he finally explains why our protagonist and some of the other characters are repeating the day, I found myself scratching my head. Really? I thought. The reason they did it was so nonsensical that the goal of solving an arbitrary murder mystery seemed to have no connection to the reason they were there. Does being able to solve a complicated whodunit mean that you are a virtuous person? Does it mean that you have purged yourself of your own past misdeeds? Not really. The person who has solved this murder mystery has about as much moral heft as someone who completes an unusually complicated jigsaw puzzle. And if the murder mystery essentially exists in a place divorced from ordinary space and time, what is the point of solving the mystery anyway, since no justice system will follow up on your having solved it?Back to the murder mystery. It's generally a good idea for a classic mystery to have more than one murder. The first one gets the ball rolling. The second alerts the gumshoe to the fact that the danger is still out there. The third one ramps the danger level up to 11. But this murder mystery had so many damn homicides that, at the end, I had to count them up, and I'm not sure my tally was even accurate. Was it 8? 13? Jeez, am I supposed to keep track of that, too?Overall, this was a pleasant enough read. I started it on an airplane, so it wasn't as if I had much choice in the matter once I started it and was stuck in my seat for the next 5 hours. But as a mark of how good it was, I have to admit that, after I landed, I DID finish it, so it wasn't really that bad. It was readable and kinda fun. Sure, the mystery was so overly complicated and had so many overlapping characters that keeping track of them all became pointless after a certain point. And sure, there were so many homicides that I not only couldn't keep track of them, I found myself wondering why I was supposed to care about only one of them. And yeah, the Groundhog Day stuff turned out, at the end, to be pointless and stupid. But it was a fun read. I give it three stars.

I could not put this book down! I remember seeing this in 2018, as it was the Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Mystery and Thriller and for Debut Author. The cover caught my eye, as did the title. Unfortunately, I did not start reading this book until this past Sunday. Most of the books I read nowadays are actually books I listen to through the app Overdrive. James Cameron Stewart narrated. The production of this audio book was very well done.The book opens with the following invitation:You are cordially invited to Blackheath House for a Masquerade.Introducing your hosts, the Hardcastle Family:Lord Peter Hardcastle and Lady Helena Hardcastle and their son Michael Hardcastle, their daughter Evelyn Hardcastle.Notable guests:Edward Dance, Christopher Pettigrew, and Philip Sutcliffe, family solicitors.Grace Davies and her brother Donald Davies, socialites.Commander Clifford Harrington, Naval Officer (retired).Millicent Derby and her son Johnathan Derby, socialites.Daniel Coleridge, Professional gambler.Lord Cecil Ravencourt, banker.Jim Rashton, Police officer.Dr. Richard "Dickie" Acker.Dr. Sebastian Bell.Ted Stanwin.Principle Household Staff:The Butler, Roger Collins.The Cook, Mrs. Drudge.First Maid, Lucy HarperStable Master, Alf MillerArtist in residence, Gregory Gold.Lord Ravencourt's valet, Charles Cunningham.Evelyn Hardcastle's Lady's Maid: Madeline Aubert.We ask all guests to kindly refrain from disusing Thomas Hardcastle and Charlie Carver. As the tragic events surrounding them still grieve the family greatly.Chapter one starts off in the middle of the woods where a man, yet to be named, sees a murder and is shouting the name "Anna." He is then handed a silver compass and told "East." When he goes East, the man stumbles upon a residence and seeks shelter inside. Our main character appears to have suffered a traumatic event and must be told his own name: Sebastian Bell. Over the next few hours, Bell meets a man wearing a plague mask, and that will stay his name until the conclusion of the novel. The man, referred to as the Plague Doctor, tells Bell that he is actually Aiden Bishop, that he has eight days to solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle, each day Aiden will be given a "host" to occupy to help solve the mystery, and Aiden must find him by the lake at 11 PM with the answer or risk starting the loop all over again. Aiden can't believe this and ends up "wasting" two of his hosts in denial. Eventually, Aiden buys into what the Plague Doctor is saying and begins attempting to figure out who murdered Evelyn Hardcastle. Without giving spoilers, I want to address why I so thoroughly enjoyed this novel.First, it was very complex. Some popular authors, take James Patterson for example, do not always provide a complex story. I enjoy being challenged as a read and several times I fought the urge to pull out a notebook and pen to jot down clues. That urge, and the desire to figure out "whodunit" was very powerful and made me not want to book the book down. Between keeping track of which host Aiden was, who talked to who, how interactions from two decades ago bear relevance to the story at hand, as well ad Aiden being able to change the day over time while in different hosts, there is a lot to keep track of in the novel.Second, the setting was beautiful and tragic at the same time. The book is set on a remote estate called Blackheath. We are not given a specific time period, but it reminds one of the early twentieth century Gothic style. The estate is owned by the Hardcastles: Peter (patriarch), Helena (matriarch), Michael (son), Evelyn (daughter), and Thomas (deceased). As with most Gothic literature, the estate is eerie and holds many secrets. The death of Thomas Hardcastle almost two decades before has tainted the grounds. Most of the novel occurs in dark rooms and tiny spaces, or at night near the woods and the lake. Very foreboding. There are also secret passages ways, boat houses, and carriage houses, and other outbuildings scattered throughout the property that come up. Additionally, there are other elements about the setting, that would be spoilers, and so I will not discuss them. I find these elements brilliant.Third, I thoroughly enjoy the character development. We are forced, as the reader, to assume 9 different characters: Aiden and all eight of his hosts. Aiden in and of himself is a very complex character. We do not learn why he is at Blackheath until much later in the novel, but we do learn that he is no longer the Aiden he was when he originally came to Blackheath. Aiden has had to reinvent himself and choose who to be. Additionally, as Aiden gets closer and closer to day eight, the character of his hosts increasingly exert themselves on Aiden. Our protagonist is often having to shake off his hosts memories and personal flaws. Some of each host seems to "rub off" on him as the story unfolds.Finally, the numerous themes throughout the book have given me much to think about, as well as much to...