Study Guide: The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton (SuperSummary)
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Community Reviews
3.5 stars —
A wonderfully wild book with a unique take on the time loop tale.
There was a definite sense of excitement watching the story unfold and then piece itself together, so much so that the 400+ pages flew by. However, due to the significant amount of build up, the ending did seem to fall a bit flat. Overall, an engaging story that I'm happy to have spent a rainy day reading.
A wonderfully wild book with a unique take on the time loop tale.
There was a definite sense of excitement watching the story unfold and then piece itself together, so much so that the 400+ pages flew by. However, due to the significant amount of build up, the ending did seem to fall a bit flat. Overall, an engaging story that I'm happy to have spent a rainy day reading.
What a beautiful topsy turvy book! Set in a world I hope to never visit! I don't know how to review this book without giving away some major spoilers but let's just say this book gets very T-W-I-S-T-Y (and I love it!). There are parts that are confusing as we meet Aiden across different hosts as they act out the same day with one purpose, to solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle. I love that our hosts are all (at times horribly) flawed individuals and their abilities and personalities and pasts all influence how Aiden continues his investigation! I will admit I had NO IDEA about the final twist and I don't really know if tiny clues were there or not. I will have to reread to see what I missed.
Several thoughts...
First of all, why are there numerous books with “7’s” and “Evelyn H’s” in the title?? I only became aware of this because I could never remember the name of this book and when I would google it, I’d find several titles that were similar.
But for the actual book... The amount of disdain and disgust thrown at disabled and fat bodies was horrific and never addressed. Apparently these are the main characters opinions once he is on his way out of this weird rehab? The entire bashing of Ravencourt really rubbed me the wrong way and left me with a bad taste in my mouth. In addition, this whole book was similar to watching an episode of Scooby Doo as a child. You never knew near enough to solve the crime, usually Bc you had never been introduced to the character behind the mask before the unmasking. Reading it felt a bit like listening to someone’s dream. Hard to follow, and not very cohesive.
First of all, why are there numerous books with “7’s” and “Evelyn H’s” in the title?? I only became aware of this because I could never remember the name of this book and when I would google it, I’d find several titles that were similar.
But for the actual book... The amount of disdain and disgust thrown at disabled and fat bodies was horrific and never addressed. Apparently these are the main characters opinions once he is on his way out of this weird rehab? The entire bashing of Ravencourt really rubbed me the wrong way and left me with a bad taste in my mouth. In addition, this whole book was similar to watching an episode of Scooby Doo as a child. You never knew near enough to solve the crime, usually Bc you had never been introduced to the character behind the mask before the unmasking. Reading it felt a bit like listening to someone’s dream. Hard to follow, and not very cohesive.
Solvable or not?
Is there enough to be your own sleuth...
I don't think it is. If it is, then it takes someone much more adept at these than I am.
However, it is quite the clever little read and found that the fantasy and the adaptive timelines were quite enjoyable to read.
Is there enough to be your own sleuth...
I don't think it is. If it is, then it takes someone much more adept at these than I am.
However, it is quite the clever little read and found that the fantasy and the adaptive timelines were quite enjoyable to read.
The influences of H.G. Wells, Agatha Christie, and the writers of Groundhog Day, Harold Ramis and Danny Rubin, can be seen throughout Stuart Turton’s debut novel, The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. The English countryside setting is straight out of a Hercule Poirot mystery. Blackheath is the remote country estate of the wealthy Hardcastle family, who are throwing a party for their daughter, Evelyn, on the anniversary of their son’s murder. Family can be so twisted. The guests that have all been summoned were also present all those years ago, the night of the murder, except one. One guest, the narrator/protagonist, decided to come to Blackheath because he wanted to be there. This complex novel is further complicated by deliberately confusing the protagonist from the beginning.
Are people whom they appear to be? A question for the ages, and it’s presented rather cleverly. There is a large cast of characters to keep straight as we figure out the mystery. This gets tricky since we learn about many of them as the protagonist jumps from body to body, day by day. Each time he jumps, he has no recollection of who he is and what he learned about the murder when he was in the other bodies. So, there is a lot to keep straight.
Can people change given a chance to relive their mistakes? Would they repeat them, ever learn from them? Like the classic 1983 comedy Groundhog Day, Turton has turned this question into a darker story at Blackheath. An essential element of the story which some might find triggering is suicide.
Overall, I liked the book; but being so confused for so long throughout made following along challenging. The audiobook is 17 hours and 4 minutes long and narrated by James Cameron Stewart.
Are people whom they appear to be? A question for the ages, and it’s presented rather cleverly. There is a large cast of characters to keep straight as we figure out the mystery. This gets tricky since we learn about many of them as the protagonist jumps from body to body, day by day. Each time he jumps, he has no recollection of who he is and what he learned about the murder when he was in the other bodies. So, there is a lot to keep straight.
Can people change given a chance to relive their mistakes? Would they repeat them, ever learn from them? Like the classic 1983 comedy Groundhog Day, Turton has turned this question into a darker story at Blackheath. An essential element of the story which some might find triggering is suicide.
Overall, I liked the book; but being so confused for so long throughout made following along challenging. The audiobook is 17 hours and 4 minutes long and narrated by James Cameron Stewart.
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