The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

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...

The most inventive debut of the year twists together a mystery of such unexpected creativity it will leave readers guessing until the very last page.

ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is hands down one of the most creative books I’ve read in a long time. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is Groundhog Day meets Agatha Christie. Fans who love whodunnit books will enjoy this story with its twists. The main character, Aidan Bishop, relives the same day over and over in a mission to find who murders Evelyn Hardcastle.

This isn’t your ordinary crime novel though. In this book, Aidan is able to ‘jump’ from one character to another, allowing him to live the same day through someone else’s perspective. I found this part of the book particularly clever and plotting the book with all the time shifts Turton adds to the mix must have been a mission and a half. It worked incredibly well though and it was my favourite thing about the book.

One thing that didn’t work well for me was the pacing. The book kicks off with a great start but after reading 20% of it, it stalled quite a bit as Aidan relived each day. The mini hints and clues kept me reading but it also got quite repetitive. The last 10-15% of the book then became very action packed as it tied everything together. The thing is, I loved the reveal and what came after it BUT since the book also introduced some new information at the end, I was left wanting more.  So yes, it’s a solid standalone, but I also wished it was a series? I mean that’s a good sign, right?

Overall, I would recommend this book for fans of mystery/crime/thriller books. It’s a unique novel with a blend of genres and I’m always going to love it for that.