The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle Book Review

Book Title: The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

Author: Stuart Turton

My Rating: 5*

Publisher: Raven Books

Publication Date: 08/02/18

Genre(s): Murder Mystery, Thriller

Pages: 505

Format Read: Paperback

Goodreads: The Rules of Blackheath

Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered at 11:00 p.m.

There are eight days, and eight witnesses for you to inhabit.

We will only let you escape once you tell us the name of the killer.

Understood? Then let's begin...

Evelyn Hardcastle will die. Every day until Aiden Bishop can identify her killer and break the cycle. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest. And some of his hosts are more helpful than others...

 

I have never read anything that is written like this before. The concept of a man having only 8 days to solve a murder and waking up each day in a different body is such a clever and thought provoking read and it is so brilliantly written with questions piling up with every clue revealed. This book kept me hooked from the very beginning until the end. Meeting each host and seeing how the day develops through different eyes felt like I was trying to solve the murder along-side Aiden and every time I thought I had the answer something else happened and destroyed my theory and also questioned my sanity (as well as Aiden’s).

I really liked how Turton wrote all 8 characters/hosts so completely different. It was brilliant to read the same day from the 8 different perspectives and finally being able to slot a piece together from a previous encounter, almost working backwards to figure it out and it really felt like I was in the mind of each individual. Even though the whole book is from Aiden’s perspective, the way each host’s personality traits were able to filter their way through into Aiden’s actions gave the story much more depth and intrigue. Every other character we meet is memorable and is connected to the story in some way. You will soon find out that no one is trustworthy and all would do anything to keep their secrets hidden.

The twists and turns kept coming throughout with every clue that was solved heightening the mystery of the murder and only adding more questions. Every single clue that is given to Aiden and the reader are so intricately woven into the story line, once you get further in, everything slowly starts clicking into place. One thing I especially loved was throughout the book a host would leave a note or some sort of clue for Aiden but it would make no sense at all until later on and it’s like a light bulb moment where it suddenly makes perfect sense.

Reading this book is like trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle with only one piece. But as the story progresses with each clue solved and more answers revealed, we are given more pieces to add until the very end where all is revealed and the puzzle is complete.

The ending really shocked me and I did not expect the outcome at all! Of all the possible theories I had imagined this one really took me by surprise. This book was a wild ride and will definitely keep you awake thinking of all the possibilities and you will not want to put the book down until you know the truth. Another one of my favourite books I’ve read this year, I recommend The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle to anyone who is looking for a good murder mystery with plenty of twists to keep you hooked from page one.