I enjoyed The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton, but I’m not going to lie, I had to concentrate. There is a lot going on in this story, there are loads and loads of characters and the plot twists and turns are complicated.
Long story short, each time Aiden Bishop wakes up over the course of a day he is in a different person’s body, eventually learning that he has been tasked with solving Evelyn Hardcastle’s murder within a week (for Aiden, the same day repeats over and over during the seven days). If he can work out who murdered Evelyn before two unknown competitors can, he will be free to return to his own life. Aiden can remember everything his host bodies see and do from when he was in their bodies and heads, but his memory of who he was/is as ‘Aiden’ and why he is at Blackheath House has gone.
The story is set during the 1920s. Lord and Lady Hardcastle, Evelyn’s parents, invited a large number of people to a house party at their crumbling mansion, all of whom were at Blackheath when the Hardcastle’s small son was murdered 20 years ago. Every night at 11pm in Aiden’s present time, Evelyn, now a woman in her twenties, is killed.
As his week passed, jumping in and out of the minds and bodies of his various hosts, Aiden realised that he could view the events of the week from many points of views. Aiden’s past and present hosts and a mysterious housemaid assist him, but another competitor, a sinister footman, kills or disables Aiden’s hosts to prevent him from solving the mystery.
My understanding is that the author holds Agatha Christie’s works in high regard and the Golden Age feel of this story certainly pays tribute to her influence.
The plot was ingenious, but I would also have preferred it to be simpler. I tried reading this book in sections, then in one go, but short of taking my own notes I couldn’t remember everything that was going on. I also found myself skimming over descriptions that sometimes got in the way of the urgency of the story.
I’m very fond of time loop or time travel stories, and although I didn’t enjoy this as much as Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, or the film Groundhog Day, I did appreciate the cleverness of the plot, liked the writing style and will definitely read other books by Stuart Turton.
Rose Reads Novels 
Comments on: "The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton" (19)
It sounds interesting, but more complicated than my brain can deal with these days.
It was clever, but I had to concentrate. This suited me at the time, but I agree, sometimes we just need comfort reads. Hope all is well with you.
I had no I idea what this book was about, but always assumed it wasn’t for me, but I love time slip novels and may have to give this one a try one day – sounds like a great holiday read.
‘Time slip’ is a terrific name for this type of story, and yes, it would be ideal for a holiday read.
That does sound like a good story. I had to take notes recently when I read a book called The Lantern Men, by Elly Griffiths, I had pages and pages of notes on all the different characters and who they were and what they did and how they knew each other, haha.
You’re not the only one who takes notes, although pages and pages for The Lantern Men sounds like a big effort! Was the story worth it in the end?
Haha, it was a bit disappointing in the end, like you said with the Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, I was skimming over descriptions that got in the way of the urgency of the story, and the final conclusion was difficult to believe, and the explanation for the red herring was entirely impossible, so that was a shame, because apart from that it was good writing. 😀 Never mind. Now I’m reading The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, and it’s good. 🙂 I hope you’re enjoying what you’re reading now. 🙂
That is a shame. It sounds as if a few tweaks and the book would have been memorable for all the right reasons.
Glad you’re enjoying The Historian. I looked it up and see it is a retelling of Dracula… hopefully it is keeping you on the edge of your seat 🙂
Thank you, yes it is keeping me on the edge of my seat, haha. 🙂
You’re right about the other book, definitely.
Had I been writing a review of this one, I would be saying exactly the same things, Rose. I did enjoy it but it had me beyond baffled at times. I’ve thought about trying another of his books but never felt quite strong enough!
It’s funny, I understood going back and forwards in time with no problems at all, but all of those characters and each with their own agenda! Swamped!
Time slip is a good term, and time loop! I do like these kind of stories and this sounds very appealing, if the author can keep it all under control then I think it can be very effective and this sounds like the author does even though you had to concentrate!
I would say that the author had the story in hand, but only just!
It must be hard enough to write a straight story from beginning to end. This one, with the time going back and forwards constantly must have been a monster to write.
I just recently finished this one and you are spot on in my reaction to it too. I listened to it on audio and definitely had to concentrate. I thought it was such a unique premise but I do wish it had been pared down in some way.
I don’t think I would have been able to follow this as an audio book, since I went back to previous pages to re-read quite a few times.
It wasn’t an ideal format; I would have liked to go back a few times too! By the end, I was mostly just sitting and listening to it rather than trying to do other things while listening.
Concentrating!
Oooh, I love that premise. In a VERY limited way it reminds me a bit of Run Lola Run (Lola Rennt), in that the main character keeps experiencing the same set of events (and frequently meeting failure) but can make changes to her decisions on every run. First movie I ever bought on Blu-Ray!
I’m going to see if I can find Run Lola Run, it sounds terrific!