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

Adian wakes up each day in a different body. He is charged with one task, find out who killed Eveyln Hardcastle. The issue is that he doesn’t remember much when he wakes up and his hosts aren’t the most savory of people. The mystery begins to unravel and he realizes this is more than a simple murder case. What if the answer to this mystery destroys more lives then is saves?

“Live doesn’t always leave you a choice in how you live it.”

Page 120

“Every life has such weight. I don’t know how anybody carries even one.”

Page 396

I picked up this book merely for the summary. I had not heard of it or seen it anywhere until I found it in the bookstore. I then began seeing it more places later on. I liked the idea of him switching bodies, that is what drew me into the story.

I am not the biggest mystery fan. I like them but they have to have more to them then just being about a murder and putting the pieces together. I watch a lot of shows like Bones and Criminal Minds and I think that makes it hard for me to read these book because I can predict them too easily. I like when I don’t know what is coming and have to put the pieces together.

The mystery of this book was fantastic. It was so intricate that you really need to pay attention as you read or else you will miss pieces. It was well- laid out. Sometimes these kind of stories will be hard to follow or else the clues are super obvious. Or you get that moment where all the information is dumped onto you in one minute. This spread it all out well, the pieces fell naturally into place and weren’t forced.

I thought too the vast difference in the hosts was extremely interesting. They were all very specific people and you realize quickly that everyone is showing one face to the people in the house and hiding secrets of their own. It becomes one of those stories where it is not as much about the murder but all the issues being hidden by everyone else. I also like that everyone’s tales intertwined with each other. There was no line left hanging.

The ending of his book and the twist is what made this book for me. I had an idea there was something more coming but not to the extent of what was revealed. It reminded me of the “White Bear” episode in “Black Mirror.” (Which is one of my favorite Black Mirror episodes). It threw the whole thing to a whole new level. The ending made you question everything and I found myself thinking about it days after I closed the book.

“…what use is rearranging the furniture if you burn the house down doing it?”

page 150

I think the only part that tripped me up a little was keeping the characters straight at times. As I stated above they all have their own stories and their own pieces to the puzzle and I found myself a little lost at times. I was trying to remember what one person did and who they were related to. I think maybe even including a form the reader can fill out and track the information would have been fun and helpful.

“These masks we wear betray us. They reveal us.”

Page. 277

There was nothing in this book that was not acceptable to me. I thought the mystery tied up well. The overall story tied up well. The characters were engaging. The setting was fun, if not a little generic. It was a fun read.

I gave this story four stars. I loved the way it was written, it was a well woven mystery and I was enthralled with the whole story. Just a few more ways to keep things straight would have made it a five star read.