Good Reads Challenge: (Book Review) The 71/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
Hello gorgeous, happy mid-week-Wednesday! and welcome to the blog.
It’s a beautiful day, to have a beautiful day!
How is everyone doing? I hope you’re having a positive day, staying hydrated, taking time to spend with friends and family, and enjoying life.
It’s almost here people, yes that would be Fall (not officially), but Fall is on everyone’s minds. Fall colors, cooler temps, and all the holidays that follow.
This past weekend was so much fun as I shared last week that Friday we had dinner at The Hamilton (here in D.C.) and saw the musical Six (The Musical). Six is a modern retelling of the lives of the six wives of Henry VIII presented as a pop concert.
I’m currently reading “Dark Corners by Ruth Rendall“, and the characters are driving me mad. I’m still behind on posting my reviews here but I did finish The Final Girls Support Group. The book was just ok but the Audible narrator’s voice was annoying and I’ll tell you why in my next post.
Today I’m sharing my latest book review The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
Title | The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
Author | Stuart Turton
Pages | 458
Genre | Mystery, Thriller, Horror
GR Rating | 3.87
Purchase | Amazon
Synopsis
Aiden Bishop knows the rules. Evelyn Hardcastle will die every day until he 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 at Blackheath Manor. And some of his hosts are more helpful than others. With a locked-room mystery that Agatha Christie would envy, Stuart Turton unfurls a breakneck novel of intrigue and suspense.
My Rating & Review (☆☆☆)
Let me start by saying that this book is well written with complex characters and interchanging stories, but with so much happening with each character’s backstory, it left me confused.
Typically, I don’t read period pieces because they are a bit dry for me, but this book got such good reviews from Good Reads I figured I had to check it out because reviews work right.
Well after getting into the first few chapters I knew that I would never finish it, so I purchased the audiobook version to get through it. I get the story. Evelyn Hardcastle will die every night until someone figures out who killed her. So, you have a period piece that is part Groundhog Day part Russian Doll right?
Quote from The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
“If this isn’t hell, the devil is surely taking notes.”
Aiden Bishop (the main character) understands the game and knows that he must find out who murdered Evelyn or else he’s trapped in an endless loop of waking up in a different body every day. (Maybe it would be a better movie)
There were many plot twists in this book but because there was so many spread out over several characters, I forgot most of them as soon as moved on. Too many to explain (if I could remember), but it’s one of those novels that I mostly forgot.
Quote from The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
“Too little information and you’re blind, too much and you’re blinded.”
There are no likable characters in this book as everyone is blackmailing someone else or they’re just despicable people, so I can understand why it’s named an Agatha Christie-Esq book. However, all that was lost on me because as soon as I thought the character was close to finding out the killer, he’s already awakened into another body with another complex backstory, and I’m lost again.
I do like a mystery to challenge me, take me outside my horror novel box, and make me think a bit, but this book was lost on me. But if you’re looking for a complex, multiple-storyline, mystery novel, then this one is for you.
My Good Reads Challenge Progress
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