Picture this: you’re trapped on a large estate, complete with mansion and various outbuildings, and you’re told that, later that evening, someone will be murdered at a party. You must figure out who does it, and survive the day while confronting a whole host of extremely unsavory people. Oh, and you’re being actively hunted by a sadistic, murder-happy guy with a knife known only as “The Footman.”
Sounds kinda . . . typical, right? I mean, there are almost certainly hundreds of whodunits that follow this formula almost exactly. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton, however, is anything but typical in spite of the classic murder-mystery setup.
Think Groundhog day, but each time you wake up, you’re in a new body where you get to watch yourself go through the same day over and over all while trying not to get killed before you can solve a murder that doesn’t happen until the end of the evening. Hell, you even get to talk to yourself, if you want! It’s an awesome and inventive twist on the classic murder mystery setup.
Update: Listen to me talk about this on the Professional Book Nerds podcast! We also talk about a bunch of other paranormal mysteries, and the PBN is a great podcast in general. Check it out!
The stats
Length: 17:04
Narrator: James Cameron Stewart
Released: September18, 2018
Clueless in Blackheath
OK, so our hero, Aiden Bishop, gets a full day each with 8 hosts (bodies he inhabits Quantum Leap style) to solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle. When he first wakes up as Sebastian Bell, he remembers only one thing: that he’s trying to save Anna. Other than that, he remembers nothing–not his name, what he looks like, or where he is–absolutely nothing.
From there, he sort of bumbles through the day, eventually befriending Evelyn Hardcastle herself (kinda), and getting a little bit of information on who he is and what he’s doing at Blackheath (the name of the estate where the murder will happen). We don’t even get Aiden’s name until nearly 2 hours into the audiobook!
The result of all this “I have no idea who I am or what I’m doing” is that the build up of suspense in this novel right at the beginning is a bit slow. It can take a little bit of time to really get into it, but the momentum builds, then accelerates, and it doesn’t stop until the very end. By the time I was halfway through, I found myself looking for excuses to listen just a little longer whenever I could.
What a tangled web we weave
Over the course of 8 hosts, and some hopping back and forth between them multiple times (each time he falls asleep, Aiden jumps to another host), the story gets complex. You’re keeping track of the murder mystery itself, and you’re keeping track of the hosts Aiden inhabits.
A very cool twist on the body-hopping is that Aiden changes a bit between hosts–taking on some of their personality traits, inheriting their gifts and curses alike. For example, there’s a banker who is extremely clever, which helps Aiden piece together a lot of what’s happening, but he’s also an extremely large man with a voracious appetite who has trouble walking even relatively short distances. One of the hosts is young and impulsive, so while he’s extremely mobile, he also gets himself into trouble almost instantly, rendering that host useless for most of the book.
It seems like a lot, because it is! But it’s done really well, and it’s easier to follow than you think–it’s just a little slow with the hook, in spite of being thrust right into the thick of things.
But should you listen to it?
As an audiobook, it’s very solid. The voice actor was good, his tone and accents matching the setting, dialogue, and prose perfectly. It might be easier to follow if you’re reading it because there’s a lot to keep track of, but then you’d miss out on James Cameron Stewart nailing the narration. If you’re going to be listening to this while distracted by other things (like cooking or cleaning), expect to be skipping back a lot, but, other than that, it gets a solid audiobook recommendation from me!
It’s fairly long at just over 17 hours, so it might be a good one for a long road trip or flight so you can listen to big chunks at a time. I think that’d make it easier to keep track of all the intrigue.
The good, the meh, and the bad
Good: Here we have the typical murder mystery setting, with the typical cast of character archetypes, and the typical gloomy setting. Then, we get this incredible twist on it, telling the story from entirely new angles that make the setting new and inventive. It’s engaging as hell (pun intended, which you’ll get once you read the book) once you get into it just a bit. Quantum Leap + Groundhog Day + murder mystery = a good time.
Meh: The “meh” and “bad” are going to blend together a bit on this one. This is a debut novel from Stuart Turton, and it shows in some places. The pacing at the beginning of the novel can make it a little hard for some readers to get hooked, and the metaphors are sometimes genius-level art, but sometimes . . . they’re not. I’m housing most of this in the “meh” column because, none of it is egregious enough to take away from what is, essentially, a brilliant novel.
Bad: I won’t repeat the stuff I said in the “meh,” but I will add this: every once in a while, there’s an awkward bit of dialogue or a metaphor that just falls too flat, and it’s a bit distracting. These more serious issues are very few and far between, however, and they didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book.
The verdict
Highlights
- If you like murder mysteries, and don’t mind a little of the supernatural thrown into the mix, than this book is for you. It’s well executed, not taking away from the classic murder mystery tropes, but using them to create something new
- It’s so good, I’m going to be picking up Stuart Turton’s other books
- Really interesting and unique character development
- Amidst all the horror, there is a note of optimism in it that I found cleverly done and endearing
- Long audiobook with a lot of detail, so you may want to save it for a road trip or something so you can listen in big chunks
- Some of the writing is a little clunky, but it’s rare and not bad enough to take away from what is, overall, an excellent book
Score (out of 5)
Wordcaster score: 4.5
Wider audience: 4
Audiobook performance: 4.5