Mystery

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-06-08 05:51:14
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Stuart Turton
  • ISBN：140888951X
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Summary

At a party thrown by her parents， Evelyn Hardcastle will be killed - again。

She's been murdered hundreds of times， and each day， Aiden Bishop is too late to save her。 The only way to break this cycle is to identify Evelyn's killer。 But every time the day begins again， Aiden wakes in the body of a different guest。 And someone is desperate to stop him ever escaping Blackheath。。。

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Reviews

Silvia ，

Originale， bello， travolgente e da leggere tutto d'un fiato。。。Un solo consiglio all'autore: esistono altre lettere nell'alfabeto oltre alla D （Dance， Derby， Daniel， Davies sono solo alcuni dei personaggi， ndr） Originale， bello， travolgente e da leggere tutto d'un fiato。。。Un solo consiglio all'autore: esistono altre lettere nell'alfabeto oltre alla D （Dance， Derby， Daniel， Davies sono solo alcuni dei personaggi， ndr） 。。。more

Mary ，

Not sure how this has garnered such great reviews。 I forced myself to finish it。 Too many characters （all 2-dimensional）。 Still cannot figure out what the heck the almost 500 page story was really about。 Salvation？ Redemption？ Evil？ Would not recommend。

Angelo Santacroce ，

Great new concept （to me anyway） for the murder mystery genre。 It's hard to give a full review for a fairly complicated story without giving too much away。 That complexity is part of the fun of the book; and I had trouble keeping track of all the goings on， so I assume the author had to be very careful with his plot plan as well。It's a first novel and it shows in the， at times， forced writing style， but not enough to distract from a very entertaining narrative flow。 The pace and suspense are mai Great new concept （to me anyway） for the murder mystery genre。 It's hard to give a full review for a fairly complicated story without giving too much away。 That complexity is part of the fun of the book; and I had trouble keeping track of all the goings on， so I assume the author had to be very careful with his plot plan as well。It's a first novel and it shows in the， at times， forced writing style， but not enough to distract from a very entertaining narrative flow。 The pace and suspense are maintained as each new set of clues and plot twists is revealed。 Given the largely predetermined structure of the story， there was enough time and space for me to guess at the underlying rationale and some possible endings -- none of which was the actual "correct" one。I really enjoyed reading this book， even though I felt the final wrap up could have been a little more inspired。 。。。more

Ally Jaswaye ，

black mirror in an ascot

Samantha Munro ，

“ Too little information and you’re blind， too much and you’re blinded” This quote honestly describes this entire book， full of plot twists and things you would NEVER expect， normally when I read a book I can see the ending from a mile away however this book continued to have me guessing。 I was told to “prepare yourself to have your brain fried and mind blown” a review written on the back of the book by the Daily Express。 I could never have prepared myself for the journey that this little story “ Too little information and you’re blind， too much and you’re blinded” This quote honestly describes this entire book， full of plot twists and things you would NEVER expect， normally when I read a book I can see the ending from a mile away however this book continued to have me guessing。 I was told to “prepare yourself to have your brain fried and mind blown” a review written on the back of the book by the Daily Express。 I could never have prepared myself for the journey that this little story took me on， the characters were so amazingly written and the writing was wonderful- from the descriptions of the settings to the thoughts and behaviours of each character。 I can only imagine the trauma poor Aiden was going through though。 。。。more

Edward ，

Agatha Christie on steroids。 The plot was very complex and there's no way you'd be able to figure out everything that occurs in the book。 Overly long and somewhat confusing。 Agatha Christie on steroids。 The plot was very complex and there's no way you'd be able to figure out everything that occurs in the book。 Overly long and somewhat confusing。 。。。more

Lacey Ficklin ，

It was a really good read。 You have to really pay attention because alot is going on in the book。

rachel schwab ，

I’m sure to other readers this is a great book。 The mind that wrote this must be brilliant。 For me， it was way to detailed and I kept losing track of all the characters。 It does all come together and I was able to start enjoying it。 But， then the end came and I hated it all over again。

Linda Knight Crane ，

Intellectual who done it mystery。 You might need a score card to figure out who’s who。

Amy Kubal ，

I could not get into this。 I got about halfway through and just NO！！

Melinda ，

CHARACTERS🔲 mary-sue party🔲 mostly 2D🔲 great main cast， forgottable side characters✅ well-written🔲 complex and fascinating🔲 hard to believe they are ficitonalPLOT🔲 you've already heard this exact story a thousand time🔲 nothing memorable🔲 gripping✅ exceptional🔲 mind=blownWORLDBUILDING🔲 takes place in our world🔲 incoherent✅ OK🔲 nicely detailed🔲 meticulous🔲 even the last tree in the forest has its own storyATMOSPHERE🔲 nonexistent🔲 fine✅ immersive🔲 you forget you are reading a bookPACING🔲 dragging🔲 CHARACTERS🔲 mary-sue party🔲 mostly 2D🔲 great main cast， forgottable side characters✅ well-written🔲 complex and fascinating🔲 hard to believe they are ficitonalPLOT🔲 you've already heard this exact story a thousand time🔲 nothing memorable🔲 gripping✅ exceptional🔲 mind=blownWORLDBUILDING🔲 takes place in our world🔲 incoherent✅ OK🔲 nicely detailed🔲 meticulous🔲 even the last tree in the forest has its own storyATMOSPHERE🔲 nonexistent🔲 fine✅ immersive🔲 you forget you are reading a bookPACING🔲 dragging🔲 inconsistent🔲 picks up with time✅ page-turner🔲 impossible to put downI'm not a huge fan of time travel， but this was so fun。 。。。more

Deborah Spence ，

After hearing so many favorable reviews， I have to say I was disappointed。 Two stars for the interesting concept。 However， very confusing， and I was glad to put it in the rear view mirror。

Myn ，

Hooked me at the start and I couldn’t put it down。 Such a smart， good， confusing read。 Totally recommend。

Beth ONeal ，

4。5

Jill Spaulding ，

Incredibly clever writing。 The detail and layering of the host days was amazing。 The twist ending did leave some to be desired in my opinion though。 I primarily read stories with at least some level of romance， but this made me want to try out more fiction。

Hannah ，

One of the best books I’ve ever read

Kelci ，

This is one of those books where the more I think about it， the more I dislike it。 First， the good:The author is extremely good at painting a scene and creating a mood。 There were some lines of description that I just had to stop and admire。 This is also a very engaging read in that you really feel a strong sense of urgency and danger。 Also， the idea of the detective jumping between bodies and reliving the same day is clever， unique， and creates problems for our hero in interesting ways。 Now， th This is one of those books where the more I think about it， the more I dislike it。 First， the good:The author is extremely good at painting a scene and creating a mood。 There were some lines of description that I just had to stop and admire。 This is also a very engaging read in that you really feel a strong sense of urgency and danger。 Also， the idea of the detective jumping between bodies and reliving the same day is clever， unique， and creates problems for our hero in interesting ways。 Now， the mediocre （with mild spoilers）:This might just be me， but I don't feel like the story gave me a sufficient opportunity to figure out who the murderer was for myself。 The culprit is barely present in the story until the end when the solution is revealed。 Now， I'll put a big caveat on this point because maybe if I went back and re-read the book， I'd discover a wealth of clues that I overlooked。 Or， I might just be a big dummy。 All I can say is that the solution seemed to come out of left field for me。 In addition， there were a few plot holes in the culprit's plans that annoyed me as I thought more about them， but I wouldn't say this is a reason not to read the book。 A lot of mysteries are kinda silly in this same way and they are still enjoyable。Finally， the bad:Ohhhh man is there a huge chunk of fatphobia in this book。 The main character inhabits the body of a fat person for several chapters that are just filled with long descriptions of how disgusting this fat person is， how ravenously he eats， how bad he smells， and what a terrible experience it is to be in his body。 At one point， the main character says that smiling is more difficult in this body because of all the flesh he has to move around to do it。 Which。。。that's just not how fat or faces work。 It's just really really mean-spirited and painful to read。Alright， spoilers from this point on because the rest of the bad has to do with the ending。（view spoiler）[The twist that the mystery and the time loop is actually a futuristic prison for the worst criminals of all time is a cool idea， but introduces a lot of heavy topics and themes into what was a pretty straightforward mystery。 That's not bad; in fact， I love media that grapples with heavy topics and themes。 However， the message of this part with Anna's redemption and escape seems to contradict the rest of the book。 At the point the twist is revealed， Aidan has been in multiple hosts and each of them has had some core of their personality that has persisted and influenced Aidan's actions， including the first one。 This implies that there is something inherent in each person's personality that persists even with an entirely new personality in control。 And in the majority of the hosts Aidan inhabits， that core is something gross， annoying， or straight out evil。Then， the actual murderer turns out to be Evelyn Hardcastle， who has been a cold-blooded murderer since she was a child。 She left her friend to die in a hole， killed her brother to cover it up， and then killed or planned to kill six people at this house party， including Anna and Aidan。 When her plan is revealed， she shows no remorse and there is no exploration of what could have caused her to be like this。 Can she be redeemed， too？ Does she need to have her memories wiped to do it？ What memories could possibly have made her into a remorseless killer even as a child？ Basically， the only person who seems to get any possibility of redemption is Anna， despite having done such horrific crimes that half the world thinks she's a monster。This muddled message extends to the sporadic criticism of this as a prison system。 There's a line in the book that's something like "bars don't make better men。" But this mental prison system is not really criticized。 Aidan doesn't argue that the system is flawed。 He rather says that the system worked as intended for Anna so she should be let out。 He's essentially just asking that the prison system follow its own rules， not questioning whether those rules are worth preserving at all。 So what's the point here？ The answer， in my opinion， is actually in the author Q&A after the book。 The author is asked whether he would support a prison system like this in real life。 He replies that he wouldn't "exactly" support it and then says "our prison system is barbaric， but some people deserve it。" If you take this statement as the theme of the book， it makes more sense。 The author didn't actually have a point to make about the barbarism of the prison system or the core goodness of people or redemption in a universal way。 Rather， as far as I can tell， he just doesn't think Anna， specifically， deserves to be tortured anymore。To me， this would be a far， far， FAR better book if the author actually explored this assumption he's making that some people "deserve" barbaric treatment。 After all， we have the perfect case study on a silver platter: Aidan。 Aidan voluntarily erased all his memories and entered a horrific mental prison in order to get revenge on Anna。 He did it in order to torture Anna even more than she was already being tortured。 This is a perfect metaphorical example of how even "good" people have cruelty in them。 Does Aidan now "deserve" torture？ How many people do you have to torture and kill before you deserve torture yourself？ If you only torture people who "deserve" it， does that excuse you from any culpability yourself？This set up is also a great platform to explore how our desire to punish those who have hurt us also causes us to lose something fundamental in ourselves。 Like Aidan， we lose pieces of our being in the process of wanton cruelty even if we have perfectly good justification for doing it。 Indeed， the fact that the prison wardens allowed Aidan to do this in the first place provides an easy extension into a criticism of prisons in general。 Like the Plague Doctor， we in the real world often justify prisons as spaces for "rehabilitation。" Yet even the author admits that our prison system is barbaric and， based on recidivism statistics， our prison system is far more effective at punishing criminals than rehabilitating them。 Likewise， letting Aidan into the prison and Silver Tear's efforts to keep Anna imprisoned undermine the idea that Blackheath is designed to rehabilitate the prisoners。 Instead， it's designed to trap them in a living hell for eternity and if there's someone like Aidan who is willing to lose his own humanity and freedom to make that hell just a little bit worse， so much the better。 The actual interesting question that I wish was posed isn't what any individual person "deserves。" The question is: what do we lose as individuals and as a society when we allow such cruel systems to exist？ （hide spoiler）]This got super long and I'm sure most of this is stuff that really just bothers me。 I wouldn't say not to read this book; it's well-written and interesting if you can get past the fat shaming part。 But， the TLDR version is that I was incredibly disappointed in a book that seemed to want to have a theme and message but didn't think deeply enough about it to make that theme coherent。 If you can turn off your brain all the way through， you'll probably have a much better time。 。。。more

Toni ，

I can’t be the only one who was so confused throughout。 I thought I was going to like this book in the beginning because it gave off clue and nancy drew vibes， but this was a no for me。 There were so many characters and events to remember， it got so confusing and was so difficult to keep up。 The end was just ridiculous。 I couldn’t wait to finish this。 I don’t recommend。

Erin ，

I almost gave up on this one， thinking it a sloppy mystery。 Not what I expected at all！

Sheila DeChantal ，

So。。。Picture yourself as a pawn in the game CLUE。 You are put in a cup and you are shaken about and dropped onto the board as a guest to solve the crime。。。。Yet， every so often， you are tossed back in the cup， shaken up， and dropped back in the game as a different pawn， trying to device what you have already learned from your past-pawn experience， as well as put things together as this new pawn。。。And then it happens again。And Again。And Again。And。。。You get the picture。 The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn H So。。。Picture yourself as a pawn in the game CLUE。 You are put in a cup and you are shaken about and dropped onto the board as a guest to solve the crime。。。。Yet， every so often， you are tossed back in the cup， shaken up， and dropped back in the game as a different pawn， trying to device what you have already learned from your past-pawn experience， as well as put things together as this new pawn。。。And then it happens again。And Again。And Again。And。。。You get the picture。 The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is like that。 With each new body， Aiden encompasses， he learns a little more， being able to use this body so to speak， to find out things that perhaps in the previous body he could not。 The trick is of course， that none of this is in any kind of order - so some things he is experiencing too early to understand， and some things might make sense much later。Yeah。For my full review - check it out at bookjourney。net 。。。more

Bianca ，

Okay my initial reaction when I started this book was that it was weird。 But as you get into the meat of it you realize what a well done， creative mystery this is！ It keeps you interested and on your toes until the very last page！ It was a great book！！

gaby ，

the seven deaths of evelyn hardcastle is a classic "whodunnit" story on steroids。 murder， deceit， betrayal， secrets and a large cast of determined characters at a ball there is much to love for the classic mystery fan。this book was ambitious; with time travel， time loops， and so many characters and details to weave through it could've been very easy to get lost or boring。 but somehow the details kept you captivated and you truly did want to know who killed evelyn hardcastle。the one thing about the seven deaths of evelyn hardcastle is a classic "whodunnit" story on steroids。 murder， deceit， betrayal， secrets and a large cast of determined characters at a ball there is much to love for the classic mystery fan。this book was ambitious; with time travel， time loops， and so many characters and details to weave through it could've been very easy to get lost or boring。 but somehow the details kept you captivated and you truly did want to know who killed evelyn hardcastle。the one thing about this book is that you have to be all in when you read it。 you can't have any side thoughts going on， and you have to be invested in the story to get anything out of it。 determination is key and if you go into half assed you'll not get anything out of it。 the story is fairly complicated， so unless you give it your undivided attention and you're genuinely enjoying what's happening， you'll probably not get much out of it。 overall， it was good？ i'm not a huge mystery fan， but i think anyone who likes that "whodunnit" with a large cast of potential suspects could definitely really enjoy it！ 。。。more

Rosy ，

Arrivare alla conclusione è stata una liberazione。 Si tratta di un libro pieno di aspettative。 Il fatto stesso che il protagonista si risvegli ogni giorno in un corpo diverso， che la vicenda si svolga in una sontuosa dimora d'epoca dove i convenuti si ritrovano dopo diciannove anni a commemorare una morte e a festeggiare un fidanzamento。 Aggiungiamo che lo scopo di tutta la vicenda è di evitare che la futura sposa muoia。 Tutti questi elementi e molto altro finiscono per rendere la storia inutilm Arrivare alla conclusione è stata una liberazione。 Si tratta di un libro pieno di aspettative。 Il fatto stesso che il protagonista si risvegli ogni giorno in un corpo diverso， che la vicenda si svolga in una sontuosa dimora d'epoca dove i convenuti si ritrovano dopo diciannove anni a commemorare una morte e a festeggiare un fidanzamento。 Aggiungiamo che lo scopo di tutta la vicenda è di evitare che la futura sposa muoia。 Tutti questi elementi e molto altro finiscono per rendere la storia inutilmente aggrovigliata。 Rappresenta una sfida per chi legge con delusione finale。 Per me è stato così！ 。。。more

Izzy ，

DNF！ I read 1/5 of it and I couldn't get into it and I don't like any of the characters。 DNF！ I read 1/5 of it and I couldn't get into it and I don't like any of the characters。 。。。more

pia （pixiepia） ，

3。5*

Jane ，

One of my favorite books of the year！ It’s true the back of the book blurb that describes this one as Agatha Christie + Quantum Leap + Groundhog Day - I would even add in Gosford Park + The Good Place！ Read this over the course of several chilly and rainy weeknights in June， ideal weather given how atmospheric this novel is and that there’s only 17 minutes of sunshine over the course of the day that this novel unfolds。 Granted it’s the same day， on repeat again and again。 For most of the players One of my favorite books of the year！ It’s true the back of the book blurb that describes this one as Agatha Christie + Quantum Leap + Groundhog Day - I would even add in Gosford Park + The Good Place！ Read this over the course of several chilly and rainy weeknights in June， ideal weather given how atmospheric this novel is and that there’s only 17 minutes of sunshine over the course of the day that this novel unfolds。 Granted it’s the same day， on repeat again and again。 For most of the players they awake with no memories and have to start from scratch。 Except for one man。 He’s tasked with 8 days and 8 different hosts to solve the mystery of who murdered Evelyn Hardcastle。 If he doesn’t the whole experiment gets rebooted and he starts over。 He’s in a race against time and two other players， though he doesn’t know who they are， and there’s a “footman” on the loose looking to kill him。 The opening is so clever。 A man wakes in a forest， with the name Anna on his lips， and he’s startled by another man with a gun chasing down a woman， looking intent on her murder。 The narrator is given a bloodied compass and told to head east。 This leads him to Blackheath。 He’s admitted to the house and informed that he’s Dr。 Sebastian Bell。 He’s a guest for a masquerade ball the family is throwing that weekend。 The rest of the day unfolds like a dream， or a nightmare。 He’s in a fog with no memories and no purpose。 He doesn’t know anyone in the house， he doesn’t even know himself。 He wakes the next morning as the butler and it doesn’t go much better。 It’s not until quite a few chapters in that he meets a mysterious figure in a masquerade costume that gets dubbed The Plague Doctor who sets a few ground rules and explains the point of all this madness。 To have the reader immersed in the darkness and confusion was an inspired choice by the author！ There was a tragic death at the house 19 years ago， there’s another murder expected at 11pm that evening， and there’s also the mystery of the true identity of our narrator and why/how this whole setup exists。 I can honestly say that I have never encountered （or can’t remember！） such a unique premise for a mystery and/or such a layered mystery。 It’s metaphysical， existential， and bound by the constraints of time in a way that was brilliant and completely new。 Everything is connected。 Change one moment， one decision， tug on one thread and the whole tapestry unravels。 The writing is lyrical， certain turns of phrase stopping me in my tracks。 It’s the only thing that prevented me from being scared out of my wits。 This is a dark novel with no shortage of violence。 But it’s not glorified and the focus is always on solving the mystery。 There’s also a surprising twist with a morality bent thats wrestled with rather than being pontificated about， making for a far more compelling read。The integrity of the narrator gives this novel its stirring humanity。 Ultimately it’s a novel about redemption and the power of forgiveness。 It’s also one hell of a mystery with a conclusion/solution on multiple levels， none of which I saw coming。 Definitely looking forward to the next novel by this author！ 。。。more

Fanny Mazzolai ，

3。5The writer is incredibly talented and spins the story without difficulty， despite the extremely complicated plot。That said， the plot really was too much for me and I didn't really like the final explanation， it didn't feel detailed enough， especially after all the work getting there！ 3。5The writer is incredibly talented and spins the story without difficulty， despite the extremely complicated plot。That said， the plot really was too much for me and I didn't really like the final explanation， it didn't feel detailed enough， especially after all the work getting there！ 。。。more

Chalice ，

Well， I'm a little disappointed。 About halfway through， I thought this was could be a really good book （despite a few descriptions that I could have gone without）。 However， when I got to the end。。。 I wasn't quite satisfied。 I don't know if that's due to how the theme was done or what。 Also， the explanation of how the whole thing worked felt kind of tacked on。 I wish it had been foreshadowed more。 Overall I thought the mystery was pretty epic， but at the same time， mehhh。 Well， I'm a little disappointed。 About halfway through， I thought this was could be a really good book （despite a few descriptions that I could have gone without）。 However， when I got to the end。。。 I wasn't quite satisfied。 I don't know if that's due to how the theme was done or what。 Also， the explanation of how the whole thing worked felt kind of tacked on。 I wish it had been foreshadowed more。 Overall I thought the mystery was pretty epic， but at the same time， mehhh。 。。。more

Emily ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Wow。From the start this book has you gripped and gives you enough to work with where you feel you can follow along and have nearly solved the case and understood what’s happening much like Aiden only for it to be debunked and for the story to take on a completely new direction or discover new evidence which sets you back to the start。 Due to binge reading late at night sometimes story lines and names got blurred but the writing mimicked Aidens own confusion and lack of clarity when switching bet Wow。From the start this book has you gripped and gives you enough to work with where you feel you can follow along and have nearly solved the case and understood what’s happening much like Aiden only for it to be debunked and for the story to take on a completely new direction or discover new evidence which sets you back to the start。 Due to binge reading late at night sometimes story lines and names got blurred but the writing mimicked Aidens own confusion and lack of clarity when switching between his hosts。 Each character is completely unique and compelling while every action is explained and justified leaving the ending nicely wrapped up and satisfactory。 However， I was left wanting more explanations and conversations and to know the true Evelyn which I could do by rereading and I would be more than happy to reread this book and find the clues and follow along after knowing all the twists as they came。 The writing is incredibly immersive and even in Aidens confusion we can learn about this world and it all becomes clear， we build the biggest bond with Aiden and he is an universally likeable character which means we view him in a similar way to the plague doctor。 There’s a lot of discontent towards most characters only for the reality to be revealed and the story is completely different。 A beautiful and gripping book everyone must read。 。。。more

Gracine Wee ，

thoroughly gripping right from the start

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0