July 2020 Book Club: The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

For our book club in July we read a book that I had already read and reviewed here, The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. I'm going to just repost my review and add in a few photos of the refreshments my creative friends came up with. As I mentioned before, we usually try to come up with refreshments that somehow tie into the theme of the book. I have to say, they hit it out of the park!

The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Fantasy
Content: Strong Language, Implied Sex  



How do you stop a murder that’s already happened?

At a gala party thrown by her parents, Evelyn Hardcastle will be killed—again. She's been murdered hundreds of times, and each day, Aiden Bishop is too late to save her. Doomed to repeat the same day over and over, Aiden's only escape is to solve Evelyn Hardcastle's murder and conquer the shadows of an enemy he struggles to even comprehend—but nothing and no one is quite what they seem.
 
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a mystery that crosses over a bit into the fantasy genre. The best way to describe it would be Quantum Leap meets Groundhog Day, set in an Agatha Christie like novel. I don't think I've ever read a mystery quite like this.

After what I thought was a bit of a slow start (it seemed to take a while to find out who Evelyn Hardcastle was and how she fit into the story) I found it impossible to put down, and it kept me guessing the whole time. Every time I thought I knew what was going on something else got thrown in there that I didn't see coming.

"If this isn't hell, the devil is surely taking notes."

  The story is set in a place called Blackheath and it really isn't what it seems. I really can't say much more in my review without spoiling things, but I thought this was a well written book. I really couldn't tell that this was a debut author. The story is well constructed with lots of bits and pieces that all come together very nicely in the end, and that can be hard to do in a time loop kind of story. I definitely recommend this one.