the 7 1/2 deaths of evelyn hardcastle: groundhog day meets agatha christie
- paigenherbooks
- Dec 4, 2022
- 6 min read
4/5
The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle was a fantastic and thrilling novel that held my attention from the first page to the last. A story with Agatha Christie and Quantum Leap undertones combined with a wide cast of characters and intriguing world-building, this story was one that has easily become a “must-read” to any fellow readers. I adored this book and the premise, hence the ⅘ stars, though with major plot holes gaping still at the finish of the story, I was left feeling a little confused and underwhelmed. That being said, the novel was still an exceptional read and Turton did a great job creating a murder mystery unlike any others.
Synopsis: It is meant to be a celebration but it ends in tragedy. As fireworks explode overhead, Evelyn Hardcastle, the young and beautiful daughter of the house, is killed.
But Evelyn will not die just once. Until Aiden – one of the guests summoned to Blackheath for the party – can solve her murder, the day will repeat itself, over and over again. Every time ending with the fateful pistol shot. The only way to break this cycle is to identify the killer. But each time the day begins again, Aiden wakes in the body of a different guest. And someone is determined to prevent him ever escaping Blackheath...
This story was unique.
That’s the top takeaway after reading this. Following a man who has no idea where he’s at or who he truly is, our main character, Aiden Bishop must solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle in eight days…while being eight different people who are all at the party. The writing is intriguing and exciting, the plot fast-paced enough to where I was seemingly hanging on the edge of my seat trying desperately to solve all of the pieces together and figure out who the murderer was. The plot itself was done exceptionally well, you as the reader are engaged from page one and get to see the same day over and over again with a new perspective each time. I loved this aspect as not only is Aiden finding more things out, it gives the reader the unique opportunity to try and solve the murder in realm time. To see what clues lurk behind or around each character.
Which leads me to the characters.
Aiden lives in the bodies of eight different people and each one is as unique as the story itself while still playing into archetypal roles. It was simply just fun. A "doctor" who is actually a drug dealer, an old lady with all the secrets, an expert blackmailer who is in it just for the money, and the list goes on and on. The author did a great job of creating these characters that were eccentric enough that their personalities, memories, etc flowed through and within Aiden himself as he took over the bodies. He would act in ways that were fitting for the character and could feel their emotions or knowledge that they themselves had. This helped progress the book in a beautiful and exciting way. Seeing the dots connect ever so slowly while also getting to know Aiden as a character himself was an intriguing part of the story.
There are two other main characters beside Aiden that play a large part within the story.
Anna and The Plague Doctor.
Anna is another person within the story that is just like Aiden, except she only ever is herself and only gets to relive the day over and over and over...exponentially. No "eight days with eight different hosts". Anna is the only thing that Aiden remembers when he wakes up, her name that is. As we see Anna and Aiden's relationship build it's clear that there is care for each other and while thoughts of a romance bloom it's never acted upon which I really, really loved. This isn't a romance novel and it doesn't need a romance subplot to make it any more interesting. It's one of the few cases within a book where there is a strictly platonic relationship between a male and female character and I LOVED IT. There is TOO much going on within this story to then try and implement a sub par romance, so cheers to the author for sticking to the story.
Then we have The Plague Doctor, a man on the outside dressed as his name suggests that tells Aiden bits of information about who he is, what he's doing here, and to remind him he needs to get out. The Plague Doctor was an interesting character that I wish we could have seen more of. He was the only connection to the "outside world" (more on that in a bit) and his story line and motivations captivated me. I wanted to really know why he was helping Aiden, I wanted to know how he became this sort of "game master" and so much more...we didn't learn really any of that and this is where the plot holes started to grow.
The outside world building was fascinating and without giving too much away it made sense...until it didn't. Aiden and the readers are told why he's there and how he's there but it's such a vague and half baked answer that when the novel ends I was left confused and with way more questions. Like the murder was solved but there was still so many different questions that needed to be answered that simply weren't. It's as if the author gave us everything we needed to know and then jerked the rug out from under our feet when we asked "why". I'm not sure if this is to setup another novel or what, but I closed the book a little disappointed and underwhelmed. It was an amazing idea that would have been wonderful to see fleshed out but since it was just left hanging, it brought the book down with it.
My only other issue with the novel was that at times it was too much. At one point Aiden gives Anna a book or a piece of paper detailing out who he's been and a time line of events, I think the readers should have been given this information as well. It brought me out of the story a few times when I was trying to remember who was who and what was happening when. I think if I would've known that I would have kept a scratch piece of paper and jotted down the notes I needed. This saturation of information at times made it hard to follow or to be able to cognitively piece the puzzle together on the murder. Though I will say, regardless of the plot holes the ending was something I could have never anticipated and the twist, wooo done very very well.
The thematic elements or the message the story was perpetrating was one that was also done very well and was a bit heartwarming at times. Without giving too much away (the twist is too good) the act of personal change and forgiveness. Aiden throughout the story changes drastically from the beginning just in the few pages that we as readers get to know him, along with Anna who also changes a lot from her "previous life". There's a scene that is truly beautiful between The Plague Doctor and Aiden where Aiden states that another character isn't who they are anymore and essentially that if he can forgive them so can everyone else. Aiden's main argument and lesson that he learns through getting to know eight different people along with the rest of the cast of characters is that everyone has their issues, but it's how others treat them and how they behave that really makes a mark on others. That by forgiving someone or simply understanding that people aren't static you yourself can live a happier and more full-filled life.
Essentially "let it go".
The Seven 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle was a truly amazing murder mystery novel that I immensely enjoyed and would recommend to anyone who wanted a "Clue" like plot with more twists, death, betrayal, and 1920's aristocrats vibe. I mean who doesn't love a murder mystery with a sprinkle of time travel combined with snobby rich people?
I know I do.
Here's to winter reading & more,
xoxo
paige :)
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