Review by bamitstamz - The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

bamitstamz 's review for:

The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

3.75

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I really liked the concept of the book! Solving the mystery of who killed Evelyn Hardcastle by living the lives of characters who where there that day/the days leading up to the murder was v interesting. Towards the tail end of the lives, I was wishing that Aiden had received fewer lives to live through to solve the murder. It was just a little too long and drawn out i.e. the suspense of who was against Aiden, hearing the same day described over and over (we did get insights and reveals so it wasn't totally for nothing).

I liked that the main character discovered different clues while he was in different people, and that the person's personality influenced what was discovered.
I didn't like how Ravencourt's weight was the focus of his character. The author didn't seem to give him a personality, just made him a heavy man that was described in unpleasnt ways. It felt fat phobic and uncomfortable :\

I liked the thought experiment that was revealed at the end with the whole story being apart of a future's prison system. Throughout the entire book, I thought we were in the early 1900's, but we were actually far in the future where prisoners could be placed in different simulations to test if they'e been rehabilitated. I wish we got more of that, but it leaves you thinking about more than a murder mystery - our US prison system, prison reform, rehabilitation for incarcerated peoples, etc.

Content Warnings