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A review by carolinekiiing
The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
It was free on Kindle, and that about sums up how I feel about the book. It started out super slow, and I understand the reason why, but the first 75 pages were still certainly a slog. I didn’t feel a particular closeness to any of the characters except for Evelyn, but that totally changed in the end. The Evelyn we came to know wasn’t all too important ironically, and most of the reveals surrounding her murder were either corny as hell or involving a totally irrelevant character just so that the author could say they trick me. The laws of the universe are clumsily explained through some Act III dialogue dump, which feels like the author forgot this was something they had to explain until way too late. Also- Insane fatphobia??? The only fully sympathetic character was just constantly assaulted by the author, as if his weight was some sort of moral failing despite the fact that he is disabled. Weird take, Stuart.
I liked the gothic setting and an interesting twist on the Groundhog Day troupe, but it wasn’t enough to distract from the weird shit. It’s a kinda fun read when it’s not being annoying or weird, I guess.
I liked the gothic setting and an interesting twist on the Groundhog Day troupe, but it wasn’t enough to distract from the weird shit. It’s a kinda fun read when it’s not being annoying or weird, I guess.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Drug use, Misogyny, Torture, Blood, Grief, and Stalking
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
CW: this is a murder mystery-esque, so there are themes of violence, death and murder throughout the novel. Drug use, animal cruelty and torture are mentioned in short detail. There are very brief mentions of rape and sexual harassment through the lens of one character, but it is not central to the plot nor often repeated. Also, the fatphobia is actually worse than anything else, so strap on for that.