The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle Hardcover – September 18, 2018

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 continue to think about. Some themes include: good vs evil, betrayal, fate vs free will, injustice, and manipulation to name a few. We are told in the book that Aiden is up against two other rivals. We learn that Aiden must present the final answer to Plague Doctor before the other two in order to escape Blackheath's continuous loop. As time goes on, we assume as the reader that those two rivals are Anna and a dark, murderous character called "The Footman." Aiden is trying to free not only himself, but Anna as well. Anna and Aiden represent "good" and The Footman represent evil. It is a constant cat and mouse game throughout the novel between these two forces. Another theme is the theme of betrayal. The Plague Doctor, and other characters, hint to Aiden that he is being betrayed. The turmoil Aiden goes through in whether to decide to trust others lingers throughout the book. Blackheath's loop is likened to fate; this day has been repeating, ad nauseam, for a lengthy period of time. Yet the Plague Doctor and Aiden attempt to exert their free will on the loop. You will have to be the judge of if they are successful. We see the injustice of not only Evelyn's murder, but Thomas' and others as well; and we see manipulation of events and characters regularly.I do not think I can praise this book enough as a fantastic murder-mystery and an absolute page turner! I hope you each decide to pick it up for yourselves, and when you do, come back here so we can chat about the mystery that is Blackheath.Happy Reading!-Hession

June 22-24, 2020I’m still tempted to say that this is one of my favorite books of all time. It combines so so many story elements that I love - murder mystery (especially in the style of Agatha Christie), time travel, old time-y British setting, and impossible-to-guess, super clever reveals. It is definitely one of the most unique books I have ever read. There are a lot of mystery books, and a lot of time travel books, and old-timey Agatha Christie type books, and there are probably a few body swapping books out there too. But to combine all of that into this book plus for it all to play out so cleverly just kinda blows my mind. I have been wanting to reread it for some time.I FREAKING LOVE THIS BOOK. I loved it just as much as the first time I read it. It is slow moving at times and you are going to be confused a good bit of the time reading it. But that’s the whole point. And I promise that EVERY question is answered and the answers are worth it. It’s so clever that the ending is basically unguessable. There are so many tiny puzzle pieces that build the ending so so so cleverly.”Are things always like this? The explanations arriving before the questions?”That quote basically sums up this super crazy puzzle of a book. But it’s awesome.I already wrote a long review below the first time I read this so I’m gonna end it there. I just want to say that Stuart Turton is a genius and I hope he keeps writing books set in this world. There are endless possibilities here.*****Sept 18-21, 2018I don't remember the last time I looked forward to reading a book after reading the premise as much as this book, and let me just say that it lived up to and more than completely surpassed my expectations. In the high I'm currently feeling after finishing this book I feel like it's one of the best books I ever read and will now be up there on the list when someone asks me what my favorite book of all time is.I just had a good feeling going into this one that it was right up my alley. It has time travel, murder mystery, old timey, body swapping...it's Agatha Christie meets Quantam Leap meets Groundhog Day meets the most twisty, amazing, mind-blowing storyline and an incredible cast of characters. This book should be a classic. It's one that as soon as I finished reading I wanted to start over and read again, and I guarantee on a second or third reading it would be even better because you'd pick up small clues and details you wouldn't get from the first reading. It's a book I wanted to read slowly because I never wanted it to end and also a book I wanted to devour because I couldn't wait to find out how it ended.Just the way everything came together was absolutely incredible. I cannot imagine the amount of planning and foresight it took for all of these pieces to connect SO seamlessly. Because everything doesn't happen exactly in chronological order, sometimes we got the answer before we knew the question. And yet everything came together so perfectly. Like when something would happen you’d wonder why in the world would that happen. And then days and chapters later from another host’s perspective it would be revealed in a way that makes completely sense. Literally EVERY detail is important, that's why I really want to read this book again. And maybe even again.Some things I saw coming, and I felt very clever for having figured it out. But seriously. I had no idea or even scratched the surface of the web of secrets yet to be revealed. The mystery kept changing, as one question is answered 5 more pop up in their place. But I felt completely satisfied with the answers by the end of it. I'm still processing everything.The characters were amazing. Aiden is great, but even though he's the narrator and the main character he's not even the main one you focus on, since each one of his hosts has a little piece of themselves in him. Every chapter, every new day, Aiden felt like someone new to fall in love with. Rashton was probably my favorite host, but all of them really were so different and awesome in their own way. Anna was such a good character too. It was never clear who was trustworthy and who was not. The characters were so memorable, I know I’ll keep thinking about them for a long time.The atmosphere was great too. It was dark and creepy, and the location was so well-described I felt like I was there. It felt like a real place and at the same time had this whimsical not-quite-real feeling that just set the mood for this crazy story.I want everyone to read this book!! 5 stars doesn't truly express how much I absolutely loved it. It took some of my favorite subjects and threw in memorable and real characters, an intriguing and twisty storyline, and reveals that had me reeling, that I can't help but classify it as one of my new absolute favorites. READ IT!

Really keeps you guessing through and through, as the protagonist continues to peel back layer after layer of the complex plot put before them. Would recommend keeping notes as you go through, as at points it gets complex, but it's not necessary. I plan on giving this a second read to look for all the details I missed that now make sense.

When the book begins you do not understand anything however it is still gripping. The book is really great the more you get into it the more exiting it becomes. Then why 4 stars? The ending!! it is not awful it is just underwhelming. Good book to get started into mystery, easy enough read, entretaining.

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is the most unusual mystery I have read. I have finished it for a first time, but shall soon go back for a second go-around to take in some of the very unusual aspects of the novel. The death referred to is viewed from the perspective of several people, each who contributes to or obfuscates the advancement of the eight days in which the plot develops.It is a fascinating and far from simple telling and will best be read by people who are willing to accept that the basic premise is certainly not at all basic as the novel develops. I am enjoying it greatly but it is not a straightforward read, and it is far more complex than an 'Agatha Christie' novel.

Buen libro aunque un poco confuso

La historia me gusto muchísimo, lo recomiendo, es bastante original

Great book! Challenging and it keeps you interestes until the end, the end of the book si amazing, a true surprise