The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stu Turton – Review.

About the Book

‘Somebody’s going to be murdered at the ball tonight. It won’t appear to be a murder and so the murderer won’t be caught. Rectify that injustice and I’ll show you the way out.’

It is meant to be a celebration but it ends in tragedy. As fireworks explode overhead, Evelyn Hardcastle, the young and beautiful daughter of the house, is killed.

But Evelyn will not die just once. Until Aiden – one of the guests summoned to Blackheath for the party – can solve her murder, the day will repeat itself, over and over again. Every time ending with the fateful pistol shot.

The only way to break this cycle is to identify the killer. But each time the day begins again, Aiden wakes in the body of a different guest. And someone is determined to prevent him ever escaping Blackheath…

My Review

I really don’t know where to begin in reviewing this book. I can honestly say I found it a fascinating but exhausting read. And it is one that I only really appreciated how clever it was a few days after finishing it.
I don’t want to say much about the plot. It is one of those books where everybody who reads it will see it differently.
So, I loved the description of the family home that had fallen into disrepair, a common event in the time in which I decided the novel takes place. The characters are a mixed bag. The most likeable were those from the lower classes, at least they were the only ones who had any morals or thought for anybody else. Because Aiden ‘adopts’ so many differing personalities you see them for what they really are, not the image they show to everybody else. But my favourite character by a long way was the Plague Doctor. It has been a long time since I met a character so mesmerising.
I did try to make notes whilst reading but gave up. I had been advised that the print book was easier to read than the e-book because of the maps,and some said it was easier to follow. There were times though when I was flicking back through the book and that would have been easier on my kindle.
I felt that some of the characters were more modern than others and one of my theories about this was later proven wrong. But it is a book which I would definitely like to read again. Just to see whether I read it differently knowing what happens at the end.
I read this book with three other readers as part of a ‘buddy read’. we chatted throughout, coming up with multiple explanations.

They were:

Janet from fromfirstpagetolast.wordpress.com/

Kate from bibliophilebookclub.com/

Vicki from off-the-shelfbooks.blogspot.co.uk/

You can purchase the book here