The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

By Stuart Turton

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

Released: September 18, 2018

Pages: 432

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark

Overall: 5/5

Plot: 4/5

Characters: 3/5

Setting & World-building: 4/5

Emotional Investment: 5/5

"The dead cannot expect a debt from the living"

Omg, this book caused my mind to be twisted so many times. Imagine Groundhog's day but with like a murder mystery, and a dash of memory loss. This book is absolutely riveting, kind of confusing but after 100 ish pages, you won't be able to put it down.

Quick Summary: Aidan Bishop wakes up every day in the body of a new guest at the Hardcastle mansion. He has to solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle in 8 days to break the cycle, but some hosts are more cooperative than others.

Okay, where do I even begin? First of all the entire concept of this book is a murder that just keeps happening is so intriguing. When Aidan inhabits a new guest the new personalities are really potent. Because Turton does a great job making sure Aidan has a personality but the host's personality is also evident. You never know who to trust and because of that you are super on edge and paranoid (but in a good way).

The number of plot twists in this book also had me screaming. Everyone betrayed everyone, which kind of sounds like a stretch, but it totally was. The ending lowkey had me screaming. My favorite character 100% was Cecil Ravencourt. A very old man with a sharp-witted brain, and OOOO his valet, Cunnigham. Both of them made me want to cry with happiness and scream with pain at their stupidity sometimes.

The one problem I may have had with the book is the build-up to the ending was super good, but the ending was kind of a letdown. Like the ending was good but I thought it would be bigger and more climatic. I also wish there was some sort of closure like how the story ends with Aidan.

At the end of the day, I will recommend this to everybody because everybody needs to read it ASAP. This was a sad review but I love this book so much.

Quotes

"He pities me. That's the worst part. Anger's solid; it has weight. You can beat your fists against it. Pity's a fog to become lost within"

"Are we shards of the same soul, responsible for each other's sins, or entirely different people, pale copies of some long-forgotten original?"

"Life doesn't always leave you a choice in how you live it"

"Every man is in a cage of his own making"

"We are never more ourselves than when we think people aren't watching"

"Do you know how you can tell if a monster's fit to walk the world against, Mr. Bishop?

You give them a day without consequences, and you watch to see what they do with it"

" Too little information and you're blind, too much and you're blinded"