Review - 'The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle' by Stuart Turton

I'm always up for a good, mind-bending story, something unique and complex I can just sink my teeth into. But even though I enjoyed The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, I actually found it a bit too complicated, which is something I never thought I'd say.

Evelyn Hardcastle will die at 11pm. Aiden Bishop has eight chances to relive the same day, inhabiting a different body each time, to discover who kills her. Only then will he be set free. He has many enemies working against him and also some who claim to be his allies, but who can he really trust? Such is the premise of this story, and it is an intriguing one.

There was so much I liked about this book. The plot is unique, fresh, and interesting. The writing is believable and riveting, and you can tell the author went to great lengths to keep track of everything so that he can correctly weave it all together. And the mystery itself is multi-layered; the more we discover, the more we realize is still hidden beneath the surface.

Yet, this is a case where the story's complexity is a bit too much and works against itself. It was really hard to keep track of everyone and to understand all that is going on. You really have to pay a lot of attention while reading not to feel lost. This was especially so in the first half of the book while we are getting to know all the characters.

The complexity also made revealing the solution in the end confusing, since it wasn't straightforward. Rather, more and more are added to the mystery while bits of it are solved. Even now that I have finished the book, I'm still not sure I understand everything.

I also found the implications of a sequential but also simultaneous timeline to be hard to grasp. Aiden lived sequential days in different bodies while the different bodies (with Aiden in each of them) interacted with each other simultaneously. It raises the interesting question of whether Aiden has control over his actions or is he predestined to do them because he has already observed himself doing so (from a different body). Too bad the story never satisfactorily explores this fascinating dilemma.

Still, even though the book had a few things that fell short for me, I found it entertaining nonetheless. This looks to be Turton's first book, so I look forward to seeing what he comes up with in the future.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars