The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
Ratings595
Average rating3.9
I'm really not sure what to think about this book. I mean, I really liked it, but I'm definitely going to have to read it again. There were so many chapters I had to rewind multiple times when I just gave up and kept going. I figured that the pieces would fall into place eventually. I've decided to buy the book and comb through it and highlight everything, and maybe I can understand it better
I had so much fun reading this book! It's one of those stay up all night reading kind of book. I loved it and I don't think I've read anything quite like it. Murder mystery meets Groundhog's Day is a very accurate description. Definitely recommend!
Really is like Agatha Christie meets Groundhog Day. Less funny more suspense/mystery. Recommend.
First of all, it has a couple of red flags:
1. Unnecessary mention of sexual abuse, that doesn't play a big role in the story and that is not properly addressed afterward
2. Potentially triggering description of a plus-sized character
That said, this was a book that I wasn't expecting to enjoy so much! It captures you (if you enjoy very descriptive and atmospheric writing) and doesn't let you go till the very end. The mystery becomes almost an obsession while you spiral down together with our main protagonist.
I believe that it can be classified as a murder mystery in a secluded location and really makes you feel like there is no escape.
Very enjoyable mystery. The surprises were excellent, I just wish they hadn't all been at the end.
I was really hoping I would like this book. It started so cool and I love the way the things are described. I thought it was beautifully written at first. But as it went on and on I just thought it was getting really dramatic. And then the plot.. Fuck me it is horrible. It starts interesting, a person who woke up and have no idea what is going on or where they are. But then the whole situation is just kinda explained by a dude in a plaque mask. Like.. okay then. And then plot twist after plot twist that made the story the most ridiculous convoluted shit. And there were WAY to many characters that I was apparently supposed to keep track of. The ending was also absolute trash.
The whole thing about a mystery book is that, if you do it right, the reader should be presented with a bunch of facts and when things are eventually revealed they are supposed to go “Oh of course!” And maybe able to slightly predict some aspects. But the way this was done just felt like random information pulled out of nowhere.
Found this book while browsing abroad last year. The title had caught my eye. As a blurb mentioned, it's sortuva cross between an Agatha Christie whodunit and Groundhog Day. But so much more than that. A man is reliving the same day in which Evelyn Hardcastle is murdered. To end the cycle, he must discover the murderer and prove it. But each day he's in the body of one of the houseguests at the crumbling old Blackheath mansion. And there are others racing to discover the murderer too. And another character who's busy killing off other guests. Twisty and very cool. This was a fun ride.
If the game of Clue took to amount of time as Monopoly, you would get this book. It definitely satisfies the desire for a whodunnit and there are many possibilities of twists that it kept me guessing the whole time. The author's ability to place the main character into different “hosts” and change his desires and actions based on the viewpoint of said “host” while keeping the the voice of the character familiar was wonderfully done. I liked the story and the idea of the book, but it was definitely a tedious read. I think it could have been edited down to The 4 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and it would have been less of a slog. I liked it overall.
A Few Quick Thoughts about The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (Audiobook):
Too little information and you're blind, too much and you're blinded.
Clue
Groundhog Day
Quantum Leap
Knives Out
Melkoinen kikkailuromaani. Ei tosiaan ihan perinteinen murhamysteeri, mutta mukavasti tässä on ihmettelemistä, kun Evelynin kuolemia käydään läpi. Synkässä maalaiskartanossa on juhlat perheen tyttären kotiinpaluun johdosta – mutta juhlapäivä on myös perheen pojan väkivaltaisen kuoleman vuosipäivä ja juhlissa on varsin synkkä sävy.
Kovin paljon ei kannata yksityiskohtiin mennä, mutta päähenkilömme pääsee elämään murhapäivän kahdeksan kertaa, kahdeksan eri henkilön silmin, ja mikäli hän onnistuu selvittämään, kuka Evelyn Hardcastlen murhaa, hän pääsee vapaaksi – hyvin yksinkertaista, eikö vain? No, onhan siinä jokunen käänne vielä tämän lisäksi.
Kiehtova asetelma kyllä kaikin puolin. Aika miehinen kyllä, kummasti kaikki kahdeksan näkökulmaa ovat kuin itsestään miehiä. No, naiset saavat jutussa sentään muutaman vähän aktiivisemmankin roolin, joten ihan pelkästään uhrin ja avustajan osassa ei tarvitse olla, enimmäkseen vain.
Wow. Very intricately woven, character development was amazing. Loved it. I was able to guess one of the big twists, but wasn't certain about it, and that didn't lessen its impact at all. So good.
There are so many “out there” moments in this book when I got to the end it was a little bit underwhelming. Kudos to the author though, don't think there is anything else like this.
I absolutely loved the concept of this book, it was so mysterious the whole way through. I usually guess what's going on but couldn't with this one, and thought the ending was such an interesting twist and made me question my thoughts and opinions on the subject matter. It took me a longer time to read than anticipated, which I found frustrating, but it was worth it!
This book had a strong start, but Aiden was so unsympathetic that I couldn't bring myself to root for him by the end. Aiden was so dry and couldn't seem to connect with anyone on an emotional level, which made his fumbling confusion more annoying than endearing or interesting.
The repetitive framing lost my interest by the halfway point. The main reveal about why Aiden was at Blackheath was interesting enough--this is actually one of my favorite fiction genres--but I wish the book would've gotten there sooner. Too many new twists and turns were introduced in the last third of the book that I almost quit entirely.
The ending felt unfulfilling and empty.
Wat een briljante puzzel!
Het uitgangspunt is super uniek. Een beetje een cross-over van een Agatha Christie, met de typische high society, en black mirror met de bizarre gebeurtenissen en gegoochel met de tijd.
Hoe verdwaald moet je zijn om toe te laten dat de duivel je de weg naar huis wijst?
Het verhaal begint met een compleet verward hoofdpersonage, die niet weet waar hij is of waarom hij daar is. Ook als lezer ben je volledig blind en wordt je in het verhaal gegooid en ontdek je tegelijkertijd met het personage beetje bij beetje wat er aan de hand is.
Doordat je eigenlijk compleet verdwaald bent binnen het verhaal kan het lezen in het begin wat moeilijk aanvoelen, maar de plot is zo intrigerend en het mysterie wordt op zo'n manier ontrafeld, dat ik alleszins gewoon de noodzaak voelde om verder door mijn verwarring heen te lezen.
Achteraf gezien ben ik ook enorm blij dat ik zo weinig wist over dit boek tijdens het lezen. Het komt het verhaal absoluut ten goede zo weinig mogelijk te weten, en je mag dus niet ontmoedigd geraken doordat je soms pagina's lang totaal kop noch staart aan de gebeurtenissen kan knopen. Maar vertrouw me maar, het is het doorbijten waard.
Dit mag dan niet de hel zijn, de duivel zit zeker aantekeningen te maken.
Ik ben echt onder de indruk van dit debuut en kan niet wachten om meer van deze auteur te lezen! De verwachtingen na dit boek zijn torenhoog!
Absolute aanrader voor al wie van intelligente mysteries houdt met een snuifje science fiction.
I genuinely enjoyed this book so much. While I found the start to be a bit flounder-y and slow, it set the whole story up so well imo. There is definitely a lot of information but thats how I like my mysteries!
The whodunit aspect is so layered that the a-ha! moment is actually quite split up and drawn out. I loved that it wasn't simply, “Oh, here, you're done. Buh-bye!” There are also some interesting moral questions that I'm still thinking about. I honestly could have done with like 20 more pages on the aftermath of the whole thing.
While this is a 5 star rating, I do have some questions (spoilers for the very end of the book): Who is Daniel? How will he stay in Blackheath without competition? Was Oliver lying when he said the rest of Aiden's incarnations would disappear one he left? How are they going to leave this prison and live in the real world? Were Anna and Aiden physically at Blackheath or was it something else? How were the people in charge of the prison able to make this prison without already knowing the murderer?
At the end of the day, I'm gonna put this on my bookshelf and re-read it in a year or two. Can't wait to see it from new eyes. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys a thick manor mystery with a large cast and period settings!
Elegí este libro por las criticas previas que había leído sobre él, en las que lo describían como un whodunit de Agata Christie mezclado con la peli de Atrapado en el tiempo. Lo cierto es que me parece una descripción muy simplificada sobre la trama.
Tiene un inicio al que le cuesta arrancar y no acabas de tener claras las normas del juego hasta bien entrada la novela, por lo que vas un poco bastante perdido.
Si este punto no te repele demasiado y te dejas llevar, disfrutas bastante con el misterio y te tiene enganchada durante sus casi 500 páginas. Aunque, eso sí es sin saber las normas es complicado poder averiguar quién es el asesino y para mí supone que el escritor ha hecho trampas a la hora de elaborar el misterio.
Hay que reconocerle al autor que la trama es bastante complicada y elaborada, llena de nudos y torbellinos y al final no deja (casi) cabos sueltos.
Cada personaje que ocupa el protagonista tiene una personalidad propia, (además de la suya) y eso se refleja muy bien, tanto en la forma de actuar como de pensar según el día de la historia.
El giro final me ha gustado, sin verlo venir desde muy lejos, aunque he visto un par de salidas metidas con calzador. Y me he quedado con ganas de saber más sobre “los médicos de la peste” y su mundo, ya que es lo que me ha parecido lo más interesante de este mundo. No diré más por que para no hacer spoiler a nadie.
¿Recomiendo esta novela? Dependerá del día que me pregunten, no me ha enamorado, aunque si que he visto ramalazos por intentar ser original y salirse de la línea actual, cosa que valoro. Sinceramente yo buscaba un whodunit fresco y diferente y no es lo que me he encontrado, en otras palabras mis expectativas han mermado mi opinión final.
I put this book down about half way thru because it felt like too much work. Two books later I picked it back up and finished the last half of the book in 2 days. I am still really confused by what happened in this book but I'm OK with that. I'm glad I went back and finished it. I wish that I had kept better track from the beginning of the book as to the cast of characters and all the bread crumbs that were left.
Aiden has to solve and prevent Evelyn's murder to get out of the neverending repeating day. He keeps repeating the same day in the bodies of different people. It is a strange book and takes a little getting used to. There is a bit of a surprise at the end.