Review: The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank you for Netgalley, Sourcebooks and Stuart Turton for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advanced copy.

Imagine being trapped in another person’s body, your memory wiped and the same day keeps repeating over and over again. That is the situation Aiden Bishop finds himself in. The only way to escape is to solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle. He has 8 days and 8 different “hosts” to help him.

Welcome to Blackheath Estate, or should I say Hotel California. You can stay, but you can never leave. Well, you can leave, but first you have to find out who the murderer of Evelyn Hardcastle will be, seeing as she isn’t dead just yet, today. The reader is thrown into this story and kept off balance, trying to figure out this maze of events, people and places. Aiden wakes up in these different guests bodies and has to walk a fine balance of using his hosts skills to aid in his endeavour, while trying not to succumb to the darkest parts of their souls, all the while trying to hold onto the bits of his own personality and not lose himself to the host. Aiden has to be careful as there are two other also trying to escape. Can he trust them to help? Probably not, since only one can solve the mystery and be allowed to leave.

What an original premise. A fresh idea that plays out into the most interesting, intricate, spooky thriller that I have read this year. This lives up to and exceeds all the hype it has received. It is multi-layered, smart, and so complex. You are glued from beginning to end. You follow each host through a roller coaster ride desperately trying to fit all the clues together, but don’t bother. You will never see the end coming. Turton does an amazing job of keeping the plot clean and tight, I can’t even imagine how hard that must have been. The characters are so well drawn, each having their distinct quirks, and all relevant to the plot. Never do you feel overwhelmed by different plot lines or lost with the amount of characters. It is seamless, from beginning to end.

Very reminiscent of Agatha Christie, “Murder on The Orient Express”, with multiple characters, multiple storylines that somehow fit together. Think the character of Death in “The Book Thief”, with The Plague Doctor all-knowing and setting the rules of the world. I know people have alluded to “Groundhog Day” but it is not a true repeat of each day. First, the main character inhabits eight different hosts, so each time we repeat a day, it is a different character, with a new perspective and new personality traits. Second, the day doesn’t repeat the way it does in “Groundhog Day”. He can enter into a different host at any point during the day. Thus, it feels more like a new day each day, rather than a repeat of one day over and over. The one linking event is the death/suicide of Evelyn. There are so many interesting, thoughtful parts to this story but rather than spoil it I am trying to keep the details brief. It would take an essay to unpack what there is to talk about making this the perfect book club novel.

It is such a remarkable read. I don’t think I’m doing it the proper justice here but I highly recommend it. I think it is pure genius how Truton weaves together this fantastic tale. The build up of tension and excitement meant that I couldn’t put it down until I finished it. The characters were authentic and multi-dimensional. I suspect that reading it a second and third time will only increase the charm of this unique story. Which I plan to do.


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