Reviews

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

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sarahh1984's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

It’s not taken me this long to finish a book in a good while, and I’m really not sure if I liked it or not. On the one hand, it’s exceptionally well written and well plotted. At the heart of it is an intriguing mystery that I wanted to know the secret behind. On the other hand, there are virtually no likeable characters, everyone is abhorrent, and the main characters are almost too mysterious, so little is revealed about them that it’s hard to connect with them. And when their identities are eventually revealed, it feels like too little too late. In short, I’m glad I read it, but I’m not sure I enjoyed it!

khoovreads's review against another edition

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2.0

Flop. Way too long & unnecessarily confusing. Skip

bookntea's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

justinkhchen's review against another edition

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4.0

4 stars

An indulgent meta-mystery that almost self-implodes on its own gimmick; if Clue was adapted by Christopher Nolan, you'll probably get The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. One simply can't deny the novel's clever core concept — a video game-like mechanic allowing the 'protagonist' to engage the same day through different characters (alongside it varying skill sets and drawbacks), starting a nonlinear chain reaction of cause and effect. It is definitely an original, The Matrix-like take on the classic whodunit.

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle's main issue is its epic proportion; my initial enthusiasm for its grand puzzle waned drastically as the story progressed, by the last quarter I was very much ready for it to be over. The quality is evident: excellent writing, and the characters are all inspired by classic, 'murder mystery in a manor' archetypes — the problem is there is simply way too much of it. For me, the novel is stuck in a conundrum; it's length and detailed storytelling seems to imply it should be savored slowly, but the complexity of its plotting suggests rapid consumption (like reading a compulsive thriller), or else one would quickly lose track of all the narrative bread crumbs (unless diligent note is being taken).

Frustration aside, I actually do like The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle quite a bit — maybe in a 'I just climbed Mount Everest' kind of way: it started out exciting, then it got painful, but now looking back I'm glad I got to experience it. I actually wouldn't mind rereading this in the future!